A relaxing afternoon

Tuesday 21st afternoon Hora, Serifos

So a lot of the morning was taken up by a phone call and thinking about questions I might have for the Estate agents. Amazingly during a thirty minute phone call, the wind just stopped and there was no sign of it on the way out. As it was near lunchtime, I went to the bakers. But no sign of either of my favourite slices of loveliness. Tomorrow they will be back I was told. The supermarkets have things that I could turn into a lunch at home, but I did not really want to walk all the way back to put it all together. So I went to the Town hall square as I call it and went to the place I had dinner the other  night and had a coffee, bread and a small plate of mixed things, like cheese, salami and so on.

The coffee arrived in a metal container with a handle so you pour it out yourself. At the bottom was what best can be called sludge, I don’t think you are meant to drink that. The standard Greek coffee is like an expresso. They are probably surprised that I don’t tip tons of sugar in like they do. I had a chat with the owner where I had the lunch, she told me these morning winds can appear here and are not unusual. She also advised me to shop in Livadi, I guess the shops here do have to pass on their extra transport costs. She also said in the winter the buses run a couple of times a day. All useful information! As it was now hot, I walked back the way I did last night but with the advantage of being able to see where I was going.

At the house I decided to escape the heat, try some Greek and do a crossword or two. The problem I am finding with the course I am doing is the words they are trying to teach me aren’t very useful to me. I want to be able to ask for the bill, I don’t want to ask where the toilet is. Even if I got that word perfect, they are either going to reply in Greek in which case I won’t understand a word of it, or realise as most do, that I am English and reply in my mother tongue. I think I will look up Greek translation web pages, some of them seem quite sophisticated. I have on my phone a list of words I know and should be able to remember. 

I had better luck with the crosswords. Or at least I could read them. After a nap, I walked into town and went to a small taverna overlooking the bus stop square, I looked at the menu yesterday. I ordered a moussaka and a Greek salad, both were very good.  It was just nice taking my time to eat, looking out, people watching and looking out towards the sea. A guy was painting his house, white of course and in the distance were two horses eating what little was left on the ground. I did ask one of the guys in the Taverna how to ask for the bill, he was really patient and said it in chunks, but I must admit I struggle to remember it now! One for the phone! Afterwards I took a gentle walk back to the house.

I am sort of building up a sort of database of people who work in shops, tavernas and coffee shops. The baker and supermarket is run by a Greek lady, quite short with blonde hair. Working with her is a young girl, a teenager who seems to do a lot of the carrying back and forth from the shop. She maybe her daughter I guess.  The place where I had dinner, their son, goes to the rubbish bins for them among other things. I did not see Constandia in the bar I was in last night. I have just realised I forgot washing powder, I need to get that at some point.

When I walk past my local placeholder church, there are always children playing around it. A partially rebuilt house is another favourite haunt of them. I know it’s safer here than home, and it’s good to see them taking advantage of that. 

As I used the road to walk to and from the taverna, I took a photo of an old taverna now a ruin, it just has the word restaurant on the side of it to tell its story. From above you can see the roof is caving in.

On the way back, I looked at the cliffs this town clings onto. In the town you can sometimes see bits of the cliff which have not been concreted over. In the cliffs are lots of holes, and in one where loads of doves, sheltering from the heat. You can’t really see the doves in this photo.

Tomorrow I might pop into Livadi and have a look around there, see the car hire guy perhaps. Also have a look at what shops are there. The good news is that in the summer the ferry only takes two hours to Athens, but the Sea Jet is sixty Euros each way. I can get the slower ferry which takes twice a long, which reduces the fare to thirty six Euros. Dinner is at home tomorrow night!