Home from home

I travelled on the Solomos with a friend who was going to Athens to Serifos in the afternoon. The journey was smooth and we were soon seeing that magical view of Hora atop of the mountain, the view that captured my imagination all those months ago. I checked into my room, by the beach but as I walked to it, I met two people I knew who just happened to be in the town. After a nice shower I walked into the town and had dinner at a taverna that I know is good. In fact most of them are. Sitting next to me was a girl on her own, and we struck up a conversation over the evening. She was Lithuanian and had a Greek boyfriend in Athens. She was going to Sifnos in a few days. I told her of my time here and of course the accident. Unfortunately I did not sleep at all well in the evening and woke up a bit out of sorts. My shower is very unusual. When operating it shines a light which might relate the temperature of the water coming out of it. If you can read the sign on the wall for fun!

After having my breakfast, I walked into the port and went to Grans. It’s interesting because the staff who were there before, no longer seem to be and each of the girls now there, I knew from other places! The guy making the coffee recognised me and said hello. I had a jambontiropita and a coffee and had both while doing some Greek and ferry watching. Next job was to get a car for a few days, so I can get about. I went to the place I had my car from last time and got a good deal for cash as usual. I then drove up to Hora to go to Marinos coffee shop. He was so pleased to see me. Luckily there was someone there who knew some English and helped translate. Marinos sister was there too, they had similar faces I would say. The coffee shop will close tonight, as he is off to Athens for something to do with his leg, I understood that. I had parked in the big car park, largely empty, and the rusting van that had been there years is now gone. There were a few cats, the others will still be scavenging at the still open tavernas. When I got back to my rooms, I noticed this nice little windmill model outside the rooms.


I have picked up my cases from a friend and am now sorting through them to decide what to bring back. There are some charity bins for unwanted clothes. I had a nice meal at Porto Vecchio, as they may not be open much longer. They do a nice tortilini with truffles. I started with mussels. On the way back, I took this photo that I like.

The following day I met up with one of my friends on the island, we were to have a nice walk from a beach that I knew ( Sykamia )  up the valley into the nearby village of Galani.  Unfortunately most of these smaller villages have no shops or tavernas, but the beach has a taverna which we checked was open, just. The path follows the valley with wonderful views all around. Neither of us would do the walk on our own, but together it’s clearly safe for us to do so together. We had a break at the village and turned around and then went to the taverna. There was this fantastic view as we got to the beach.

We ordered the food, and as we were the only people there, it did not take long to arrive. It was very good, a good nice light lunch.

Although I have been in touch with my friend, since I left , there was still a lot of catching up to do. So we had a nice long relaxing lunch before we went back to Hora where I left my car. I popped into the shop I used to frequent and saw the husband of the proprietor who I knew. Unfortunately his English is not so good and I am not sure he had heard about my leg, so it was a best efforts to explain what happened. It’s funny really, fun some ways it feels like only yesterday since I left this place, but in another it seems an age ago. A visit to the dog palace beckons today.

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