July 30 AMORGOS

Yesterday we had breakfast in Katapola at our favorite café, Mudos, which has good food at reasonable prices. The owner is a taciturn kind of fellow but after a couple of visits he really warmed up and now we get big smiles from him, his son, and the kitchen helper.

We caught the 10:30am bus to Aigiali. We found a nice shady/sunny spot on the beach. Simone and I set up our towels in the sunny area and Mom set up her towel in the shady area.

Aigiali Bay:

I went for a long swim. The water was warm near the beach but got cooler the further you went out. I enjoyed surfing the incoming waves which rolled gently onto the crescent-shaped white sand beach. There were a lot of children playing in the water close to the beach. Only a few people – those who were confident swimmers, I suppose – swam further out. I went out about 20m but lost my confidence in the surging ocean and turned back toward the beach.

The nice thing about waterproof cameras is that you can take pictures of yourself in the ocean:

Simone and Mom don’t like swimming so they just waded in the surf. They went for a long walk along the bay while I dried off in the sun. We swam and sat in the sun for close to two hours.

We didn’t want to overdo things so we packed up and found a café in town, just off the main road, that was just opening for the day. You could see an old man peeling a huge bucket of potatoes. You could also hear someone inside the café cutting meat with a cleaver.

The restaurant in Aigiali:

Mom had spanikopita and Simone had tiropita. I ordered pork souvlaki but was served chicken souvlaki, but didn’t mind because it was excellent. Some feral cats came by to beg for scraps. One tried to scratch Simone every time she fed one of the other cats. I was able to pet a cute gray cat but I got overconfident and petted him near his belly and he bit me. It was a warning bite – it didn’t break the skin – but it made me remember that I was petting wild animals, not house pets.

We caught the bus back to Chora and stopped in to see Susie and Rita. We stayed for an hour, chatting and eating the last of the welcome cake, before catching the bus to Katapola.

We washed up and relaxed in the pension until 7:30pm and then walked into Katapola to Mudos. Mom and Simone tried pastitsio, the Greek version of macaroni and cheese. I got to sample it and it was very fresh and tasty. Our favorite feral cat, who we’ve named Anastasia, spent a long time with us at Mudos. She’s a gorgeous calico cat, thin but clean and healthy, who has obviously had a litter of kittens recently. She’s very gentle and purrs when you pet her.

We all slept well last night and woke up early. We had a very light breakfast at Mudos before catching the bus to the monastery. The bus drops you off on the road at a desolate junction. You have to walk down the road to what is now a parking lot but used to be a wide spot in the road. Then, you have to walk up 350 stairs to the monastery, which is located high up on a cliff.

The junction:

A beautiful painting at the base of the stairs:

Simone wanted to get some exercise so she walked the stairs at her own pace. Mom and I took things slower – me because of my bum legs and Mom because of the heat. The steps are wide and there is a knee-high wall which provides some comfort as you scale the side of the mountain. The steps, however, are rocky and uneven so it’s important to choose your footing carefully.

The stairs and the monastery high above:

Half way there:

Almost there:

It was nice to reach the monastery and the shade of some small trees. The shady area turned out to be the robing/disrobing area. You have to wear respectful clothing into the monastery – shirts that cover your shoulders, long pants for men, and skirts below the knee for women. No exceptions. So, many people climb up in shorts, etc. then put on pants and skirts outside the monastery.

The shady area:

The steps to the monastery are steep, between 20 and 30cm in the rise. We were greeted at the door by a young boy who directed us to walk up the stairs. At the top of the stairs was another boy who directed us to walk up another flight of stairs to the prayer chamber.

Inside chamber was the holy icon that washed ashore hundreds of years ago, as well as beautiful paintings, wood carvings, and offerings. The chamber is lined with seats for the monks. These days there are only three monks at the monastery but in the past there were over 100 monks there.

The chamber was monitored by a monk, who offered blessings to those of the faith and answer questions about the monastery. Simone got into quite a discussion with him and he told her about some of the historic events at the monastery and pointed out one offering, which looks like an upside-down turban, which was given to the monastery by a Turkish seafarer who was caught in a storm, saw the monastery, and promised an offering if God provided safe passage for him and his ship.

From the chamber we walked down the stairs and were directed up a set of stairs that I hadn’t noticed on the way up. At the top of the stairs was a reception room with chairs and tables. Two more young men served water, brandy, and brandy jellies made by the monks. We sat down next to a man from Thessaloniki who spoke English and told us that serving brandy was a traditional offering to visitors to provide relaxation and stimulate the nerves after a long journey. We got talking and I laughed loudly a couple of times, and he shooshed me. He was very nice about it. He just wanted to remind me to be respectful in such a holy place.

Outside the monastery we stripped off our dresses and long-sleeved shirts. I thought the climb down the stairs would be easier but it was actually quite difficult. The stones were slanted and could be quite slippery. I slipped twice but managed to catch myself. A German woman fell down the stairs below us, but luckily she was unhurt.

Photo break on the way down:

We walked back up to the junction and waited for the bus, which came 30 minutes later. It was a quick drive back to Chora – all uphill. Rita met us at the bus stop and we walked to a local ouzeri where she had arranged for lunch.

The restaurant:

I knew we were in for a wonderful – and large - meal when I heard her ordering mezethes. Sure enough, close to 10 dishes arrived for us to sample - tzatziki, patatas, beetroot and garlic, zucchini balls, tiropita, spanikopita, “monk” (layers of eggplant, beef, tomato, and cheese), “athirina” (tiny deep fried whole fish), swordfish, shark - as well as a bottle of local wine. Dessert was baklava and what looked like very thin angelhair pasta wrapped into a ball around nuts and soaked in honey.

The first few dishes:

Athirina:

We feasted and talked for over two hours. Mom and Simone were absolutly gobsmacked by the meal. They’d never seen a spread like that before. I remembered having a similar meal in Athens with Susie, Rita, and Stella that lasted from 9pm to about 2am.

Simone, the owner, Rita, and Mom:

We caught the 4pm bus back to Katapola and have just had a long siesta. The heat was ferocious today and we were all feeling drained. Of course, we had a huge meal to sleep off as well! It’s 8pm right now and we’ll probably walk down to town around 9pm for a light snack before settling in for the night.