Andros

This weekend I journeyed to the island of Andros.  A large island to the east of Athens is known for wind that is strong enough to make opening your car door difficult.  While I didn’t experience wind that strong, I did find the island to be windier than the dry city.  My time on Andros was relaxing, eye-opening, and highly valued.

In Andros we stopped at the archaeological site of Hypsili.  It is an extremely old site that consisted of the foundations of a small village and some walls.  For lunch the first day we stopped a picturesque tavera where we shared a variety of Greek foods from tzatziki to fried cheese.  To drink we had wine as well as water which we collected from a lion head spout on the side of the road.  The water, which comes down from a spring, proved to be exceptionally clear and perfectly okay for drinking. 

After lunch we travelled to Chora, the main town on the island.  At Chora one of the locals, who is a good friend of my Modern Greek teacher, gave us a tour of the town.  She pointed out the square of the unknown sailor.  This is an open square at the end of the peninsula that locals have fought to keep as open space.  It features a large statue of an unknown sailor and overlooks the water and a castle.  She said that it is where young people come at night to spend time, and she remembers a couple nights where she went skinny dipping in the water below.  I enjoyed hearing about the town and finding out all the small stories about the lives of the locals.  She also showed us her favorite church in town.  The church seems to be an integral part of the community there.  In the evening I enjoyed walking through the pedestrian streets filled with many people.  The yogurt pomegranate ice cream here is delicious.

The next day we visited a monastery up on the cliffside and visited Korthi, a town for fishermen on the other side of the island.  One fisherman let us onto his boat and told us about how difficult it has become for the fishermen with the new restrictions imposed by the EU.  Now the fishermen must go out alone rather than in small groups because they will not catch enough fish to split among multiple families.  We then hiked to a beautiful beach.  The calm, clear, warm water was a joy to swim in.  It is so much better than the cloudy waters of New England beaches.  While on Andros, we went to a different beach every day.  The one we visited on Saturday was extremely windy.  While the beach was gorgeous and I enjoyed swimming, sitting on the beach proved to be painful as we were pelted by sand.    At lunch on Saturday, I tried a small fish.  You eat the entire fish (eyeballs and tail!) in one bite.  It wasn’t horrible, but I also don’t think I would choose to eat it again.

I found island life in Greece to be completely different from Athens.  It is much quieter, slower, and prettier.  If I were to move to Greece, I think an island would be much preferred over Athens.  Athens tends to be quite dirty, loud, and at times, a bit unnerving.  Yesterday evening, a small riot formed outside our school in front of the stadium.  There was a large crowd of Greek men yelling and running about with flags.  Traffic stopped and police broke it up.  This morning as I walked by the stadium, one worker was sweeping up broken glass.  It amazes me that these riots are just a part of the usual happenings of the city.  I guess I’m still adjusting to all the commotion of Athens.  Until I can move to a peaceful Greek island, I’ll just have to get used to living in the city. Good thing all the history and ancient monuments make Athens a desirable place to study!