Ios



One of the most captivating epics of Ancient Greece is, of course, Homer's Odyssey. In this, Odysseus makes a long, harrowing voyage across the Aegean Sea, encountering a cyclops, sirens, evil witches, and other fabulous adversaries on each island at which he stops. The reader of this tale, then, would expect the Aegean and all its islands to be a treacherous zone of the world rife with danger and adventure.



Well, aside from the danger of spending all your money on the over-touristed and over-developed islands of the Cyclades, there aren't too many hazards the modern Odysseus faces. Once again, then, my expectations of Greece carved from my classical education were entirely misdirected. Well, at least somewhat - there were plenty of "harpies" on these islands :)



My first stop on my island-hopping jaunt about the Cyclades was the island of Ios. Ios was described in Lonely Planet as a party island for the young and cheap. Well, I can confirm that I felt, for the first time in my life, old. I was squeezed on all sides by 18-20 year-old Italian youths as I tried to meander down the few tight, narrow alleys that define the island's hot-spot. I went into a few bars and clubs, but came to realize, soon, that people-watching on the alleys was far more entertaining than actually going into the clubs.



I realized the next day that avoiding the area altogether and enjoying the island's beaches, windmills, and churches was far more rewarding. The bars and clubs were best left to the young and cheap.

The Temple of Poseidon



On the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, monitoring the sea since ages past, stands the Temple of Poseidon. As I understand it, the Athenians had originally deliberated between choosing Athena or Poseidon as their iconic god. When they finally chose Athena, and built the Parthenon in her honor, the Temple of Poseidon was built here to appease this watery deity.



Legend holds, too, that this is the spot where the father of Theseus had stood and waited for Theseus to return from his encounter with the Minotaur. The father had requested his son, if he should return from the encounter successfully adn alive, to fly a white flag on his ship upon his return. However, Theseus - axcited from his victory over the Minotaur - forgot his father's instructions. Upon seeing his son's ship returning with no white flag waving, Theseus' father committed suicide on this spot.



The site of the temple of Poseidon, then, is rich with Ancient Hellenic history, and is a beautiful and secluded spot of raw natural beauty as well. Thus, the Temple of Poseidon provides one with all that the Acropolis lacks: the opportunity to immerse oneself in the history of Ancient Greece and feel oneself transported back into the classical world. Hence, I truly enjoyed my trip to the Temple of Poseidon.



I was also lucky to meet an Uzbek woman who turned out to be a famous theater actress in her home country. We enjoyed a very nice dinner of Greek salads and appetizers back in Athens and discussed the finer points of acting. (It has always interested me how actors can infuse their own, real emotions into a part in order to bring a higher level of reality into the role.) As Ancient Greece was the birthplace of modern theater, I found this encounter to be quite serendipitous. All in all, a very welcome break from the modern hustle of Athens.

The Acropolis




The Acropolis is the icon of Greece. It towers above Athens, drawing the eye to the timeless and ancient temples that crown its peak. The Acropolis is, quite literally, the pinnacle of Ancient Hellenic culture, mythology, and thought. Any trip to Greece must include a trek to this infamous peak.



Unfortunately, in summer at least, the Acropolis is also perhaps the most densely populated locale in all of Europe. I was fortunate to have visited early in the morning, and even then the queue stretched halfway down the hill. By midday people were lined for hours waiting in the sweltering heat for a view of these old, well-stacked rocks. Even when you finally gain admission and can mill about within the confines of the Acropolis itself, the hordes of tourists makes the experience less than enchanting. It is impossible to stand in wonder at these monolithic temples and imagine yourself a denizen of Ancient Athens, as I so like to do when I visit ruins of the ancient world. The screaming hordes too quickly break one's reverie, and the steel scaffolding forming an armature about the Parthenon does nothing to help the illusion of antiquity. Even photography is an exercise in patience. One must stand and wait for untold minutes to catch a snapshot with fewer than ten people in the foreground. Even then, one's memorial photos of the Acropolis look like some other family's vacation photos.








Eventually, I gave up trying to take decent photos of the temples on the Acropolis and took advantage of the splendid views of Athens the Acropolis provides.



Ultimately I came to realize that the best sights, however, were to be found amongst the visitors to the Acropolis themselves. I don't know if this is a new worldwide trend or if was happening only in Greece, but some of these girls were wearing shorts that were just short! I don't mean to come off as a pervert or anything, but oh my god!






So, if you can't take a photo around the crowds, make the crowds the subject of the photo. In Greece, as I soon came to realize, it is not the icons of the past that one should occupy oneself most with, but the revelers of the present.

Going to Greece



One of the reasons I took a position working here in Montenegro was the country's close proximity to Greece. Since studying the classics at St. John's for my BA, I have longed to set foot in the Acropolis and the Ancient Agora and follow the paths twined centuries ago by such great thinkers as Homer, Plato, Socrates, and Aristotle. I yearned to touch the earth and smell the sea and, thereby, perhaps glean from the natural surroundings the germs of inspiration for the fantastic creatures of Greek myth. Being in Greece, I hoped, would give me insight into the aesthetics and culture that had given rise to one of the most inspired civilizations of all time. Hence, when the opportunity came this past summer to take a long vacation, I was anxious to visit Greece.

Well, as typically happens when one sets his sights so high, I was bound to be disappointed. Walking on the Acropolis, one feels too inundated by the insane number of crowded tourists glutting every vantage point to begin to imagine how the place may have looked during times of antiquity. On the other hand, Greece is a thoroughly modern country and Athens boasts a variety of shops, restaurants, and nightlife. Just so, while skipping by ferry from island to island to take in the tourist sights or carouse the nights away at some of the best nightclubs in Europe may not recall the epic voyages of Odysseus or Achilles, the opportunity to be hedonistic, materialistic, and tanned is not altogether a bad thing. Ultimately, Greece was not what I had hoped it would have been, and perhaps deciding to live in the Balkans just for the opportunity to enjoy the overpriced and overtouristed sights of modern Greece may have been a foolish decision in retrospect. Still, it was a summertime adventure, and at least the photos turned out well. Look forward to several future posts chronicling my tour of Greece.

In this post, I show you Montenegro by plane and Athens by night: the first day of my adventure.

Albania


Podgorican apologists are quick to point out that one of this "city's" advantages is that many desirable destinations are close by. While I would eschew the notion that being able to leave a place in any way makes that place at all more desirable, I must confess that the close proximity of mountains, sea, and neighboring country's cities is indeed a boon. Indeed, there are a number of cities one can (and indeed, to keep any vestigial sanity, must) escape to in order to forget about the limited possibilities in Podgorica that are not too far away, and one of these - and perhaps the most easily reached - is Albania's capital of Tirana.

It is a direct, if bumpy, road from Podgorica to Albania. The road can be somewhat dangerous. Cows, tractors, bicyclists, and pedestrians amble beside the international thoroughfare while hurried, careless, and often insane Albanian drivers whiz by (a situation which, sadly, resulted in the death of one tractor-riding farmer by the hands of some rather self-important and thoughtless businesspeople, as perceived by your humble blogger.) Nevertheless, the promise of an actual city - with a modern-looking downtown, movie theaters, bowling alleys, nightclubs, and international restaurants - makes the harrowing trip to Tirana more than worth it.


On the road to Tirana


Sights on the international highway

Personally, I am blessed with good friends in Tirana as well: Travis & Amy, and Dotti & Ron, teachers at the school there whom I met during curriculum writing in Seattle and Yemen. Through them I have met many other kind Albanians and international teachers. thus, whenever i am feeling down and lonely (as is oft the case in Podgorica) I recall that I have friends in a proper city close by. I rent a car, and can spend a weekend enjoying Albania.


My good friend Travis, with some of the cool graffiti of Tirana


Amy and Dotti in central Tirana

It is unfortunate that many Montenegrins themselves do not take advantage of the sights and activities to be found within the borders of their neighbor to the south. In addition to Tirana, Albania boasts fantastic mountains, wonderful lakes, and splendid beaches on the southern Ionian coast. However, there is a rift of animosity between the Montenegrins and the Albanians. Kosovo is part of the equation. Montenegrins are convinced that the Albanians have an evil, long-term ambition to spread out and consume the whole of the Balkans like a human fungus, just as they perceived happened in Kosovo. It is too bad that Montenegrins can't see past their racism. Albania is certainly a wonderful place to experience.


The old fort at Kruje


Tourist trinkets for sale in Kruje


A child at an amusement park in Tirana

Kite Beach



Much of my time this past summer was spent on the 12 km. stretch of sand south of Ulcinj, Montenegro, called simply "Veliki Plaza" (Big Beach). And on Veliki Plaza, few places were more relaxing and cool that Kite Plaza.



Veliki Plaza is blessed with winds that constantly blow against the shores, creating ideal conditions for kite surfing. There were several operations that conducted kite surfing schools. One of these, and the one that had the coolest set-up, was the Russian-run Kite Plaza. Many days were spent swinging gently in the hammocks there, getting slowly buzzed on beer or wine, and watching the elegant dance of the kite surfers as they leaped and frolicked upon the waves.



Although I didn't learn to kite surf myself, I have every intention of learning next summer. Sadly, Kite Plaza itself was practically demolished by jealous local police who claimed the owner had overstepped the boundaries of her lease (ah, the thuglike bureaucracy of Eastern Europe) but surely the winds will blow and the kites will soar next summer as well. Maybe I'll see you upon the waves!