Anyone reading this has a chance to win a free cup of coffee or tea at Mikro Cafe on Paros if they can guess the movie the above quote is from. This was my reaction after walking back to the port last night after dinner. I ate in Chora at a lovely little place called ‘Karavomypos’. It is not quite traditional Greek, but it has taken some Greek ideas and spun them into something quite good. I started with louloudakia, zucchini flowers stuffed with rice and then fried. They were served with a mayonnaise style sauce. Very tasty. The entree was grilled pork tenderloin with a side of oven roasted potatoes seasoned with garlic and oregano. Also very good. For dessert I had a small plate of cherry spoon sweets, a fruit conserve in sugar syrup. Yum! An excellent meal and I highly recommend the restaurant to anyone coming to Serifos. They are only open for dinner.
Mamiya c330 and a view of Chora, Serifos
On the walk back down the hill to Livadia (4km) I chose ‘The Stairs’ a broad rambling staircase leading back down to the port. It only took me 25 minutes in the dark but the way was lit pretty well most of the time. I did have to be careful and I did take a wrong turn once in a while but I figured that as long as I was heading downhill I was alright. At one point during the walk home I chanced to look up. There were few lights where I was and I had not seen so many stars since I was in the fields behind my mother’s house in New York. It was inspiring and so that line from the movie…
I hit the beach early this morning (07:30) and sat on the sand as the sun warmed the earth. It was lovely, and quiet, the water still as glass. As I dove in I was surprised how warm it had become since yesterday, but then I remembered that I was on a different side of the island. I basked in the sunlight, drying off slowly, swam some more and then headed off in my Suzuki jeep to take pictures. I was able to shoot a whole roll of 120 in one area, documenting some walls and part of a donkey path. I was grateful once again for four-wheel-drive as the road to and from the site was very steep and made of sliding gravel. Bravo Vitara! I continued and stopped at the Monastary of Taxiarchis (Archangel Michael), a beautiful 15th century structure still in use. It has served the island well as a fortress against raiding pirates and a spiritual center. By 11:00 the temperature risen to an unbearable heat and I pulled into Chora and sat at a cafe, ordering a espresso freddo and a water. As I cooled off under the pergola I realized that my day nay have to be cut short. I had been up since 07:00, tramping about in the bush and although I had stayed hydrated the dryness of the climate had worn me out. i went back to my hotel and relaxed until 15:30 when I went back to the each and lazed about until 18:00. Then I came back to the hotel and showered, lay down and slept until 20:45. I went out, ate dinner (review tomorrow) and here I am back at the keyboard. It is just after midnight and I am seeing the end of my island hopping. In two days I head to Sifnos where there are few beaches to write about but much in the way of local color and sights to see. I go home to Paros next Tuesday and it will be good to be back. I miss the friends I have there and am growing tired of eating dinner by myself all the time. The locals begin to look at you funny…
JDCM
Serpico.