I took a shower and came out of the bathroom to my wife holding two pieces of baklava in a container with a candle in them singing "Happy Birthday." She brought the baklava from Patmos and purchased a 1 candle because that's what they had.
That was just the beginning of my 33rd birthday.
This was a sweet contrast to later in the day when we drove to a beautiful at the northeast corner of the island and Emily had to use the restroom. There was a small church there. It was Sunday and I figured it would be open - perhaps she could sneak in and use the restroom given the urgent nature of her need and the fact that they should be charitable, nice people.
I was waiting in the car when Emily approached a few minutes later.
"It's like someone brought a horse in there and it shit all over the toilet! Not in it, but all over it. You can't believe it, it's like an explosion....can I have your camera?"
My shock must have been apparent because Emily said, "No, not for that, for this...." busting up as she pointed to the cove and the setting sun. And we laughed for a good five minutes.
As my story implies, we rented a car for the day and drove around the island, checking out different points of interest. It was the first gray, hazy, humid day since we left home - beach-going was unappealing, so the car was perfect.
Samos is an amazingly green, and beautiful island. In parts of its interior, Samos is very lush. Our visit to Pythagorio - home of triangles - was great. It's a really cute town that was worth a quick walk around and where we found a fantastic restaurant which someone in Patmos recommended to us.
But things became more interesting later when as we drove through the northeast part of the island, we turned off the main road to visit a town the hotel owner recommended we visit - Manolates. As we navigated the side road, the world suddenly changed and we were driving into a forest. It was the traditional sylvan setting of Greek mythology. Part of the Jason and the Argonauts story took place on Samos. I could imagine a Pan and a Centaur running by to meet up with Artemis and Dionysus for drinks at one of the tavernas tucked into the hillsides.
"Hey, how's the forest going these days?"
"It's good, it's good. We ran into some guy named Jason just south of here. In a real rush too. We invited him for ouzo and some olive oil covered cheese, but he really didn't seem to have time...said something about sheep...."
"It's been getting strange on this island ever since Hera moved off to Olympus."
"Tell me about it..."
The road turned extremely windy and led sharply up a hill to Manolates which turned out to be a small, traditional hillside village. We climbed the steep path through the town, got to the top and then decided to follow a hiking trail there to go see a waterfall our hotel owner mentioned. We never found it. But the trail led through beautiful wooded areas and the whole way, Emily keep asking, "Where are we?!" This environment was at such odds with everything else we have experienced in Greece, that it was shocking.
When we finished the hike and the town, we had just enough time to make to down the hill and to drive around the other side of Samos town along the cliffs of the northwest shores, arriving at the edge of the island - and the unfortunate church bathroom - in time for sunset. Sunset viewing is a major practice in Greece. Picking a nice spot and taking the time to look seems to be a cultural activity in the islands.
Because of the haze, this one was just tones of pastel oranges and pinks emanating from the clouds.
All day, the winds were still, the clouds hovered and I remembered tropical islands of my past - particularly Singapore - where you'd just find yourself praying for the rain that would break the swelter of the low hanging clouds. This wasn't that bad...but by nightfall, Samos was a sweatbox.
Sure enough, just as we went to bed, a lightning storm broke out with loud thunder and the entire sky lighting up like prohibited flash photography at a public event. We fell asleep to the storm which raged most of the night and it made me realize why the ancient Greeks feared Zeus most of all. Those lightning bolts were violent.
When we awoke this morning, the clouds were gone and Helios had returned the brightness. Greek mythology said that when Helios first rose, driving his chariot across the sky, he started over Samos. Today, it feels like it as I begin a new year with new adventures and opportunities.
My best birthday yet - with my wife, in our first year of marriage, on our amazing adventure, enjoying a Sunday - the best and most relaxed of all days here - in Greece. As the Greeks say, "Bravo!"
That was just the beginning of my 33rd birthday.
This was a sweet contrast to later in the day when we drove to a beautiful at the northeast corner of the island and Emily had to use the restroom. There was a small church there. It was Sunday and I figured it would be open - perhaps she could sneak in and use the restroom given the urgent nature of her need and the fact that they should be charitable, nice people.
I was waiting in the car when Emily approached a few minutes later.
"It's like someone brought a horse in there and it shit all over the toilet! Not in it, but all over it. You can't believe it, it's like an explosion....can I have your camera?"
My shock must have been apparent because Emily said, "No, not for that, for this...." busting up as she pointed to the cove and the setting sun. And we laughed for a good five minutes.
As my story implies, we rented a car for the day and drove around the island, checking out different points of interest. It was the first gray, hazy, humid day since we left home - beach-going was unappealing, so the car was perfect.
Samos is an amazingly green, and beautiful island. In parts of its interior, Samos is very lush. Our visit to Pythagorio - home of triangles - was great. It's a really cute town that was worth a quick walk around and where we found a fantastic restaurant which someone in Patmos recommended to us.
But things became more interesting later when as we drove through the northeast part of the island, we turned off the main road to visit a town the hotel owner recommended we visit - Manolates. As we navigated the side road, the world suddenly changed and we were driving into a forest. It was the traditional sylvan setting of Greek mythology. Part of the Jason and the Argonauts story took place on Samos. I could imagine a Pan and a Centaur running by to meet up with Artemis and Dionysus for drinks at one of the tavernas tucked into the hillsides.
"Hey, how's the forest going these days?"
"It's good, it's good. We ran into some guy named Jason just south of here. In a real rush too. We invited him for ouzo and some olive oil covered cheese, but he really didn't seem to have time...said something about sheep...."
"It's been getting strange on this island ever since Hera moved off to Olympus."
"Tell me about it..."
The road turned extremely windy and led sharply up a hill to Manolates which turned out to be a small, traditional hillside village. We climbed the steep path through the town, got to the top and then decided to follow a hiking trail there to go see a waterfall our hotel owner mentioned. We never found it. But the trail led through beautiful wooded areas and the whole way, Emily keep asking, "Where are we?!" This environment was at such odds with everything else we have experienced in Greece, that it was shocking.
When we finished the hike and the town, we had just enough time to make to down the hill and to drive around the other side of Samos town along the cliffs of the northwest shores, arriving at the edge of the island - and the unfortunate church bathroom - in time for sunset. Sunset viewing is a major practice in Greece. Picking a nice spot and taking the time to look seems to be a cultural activity in the islands.
Because of the haze, this one was just tones of pastel oranges and pinks emanating from the clouds.
All day, the winds were still, the clouds hovered and I remembered tropical islands of my past - particularly Singapore - where you'd just find yourself praying for the rain that would break the swelter of the low hanging clouds. This wasn't that bad...but by nightfall, Samos was a sweatbox.
Sure enough, just as we went to bed, a lightning storm broke out with loud thunder and the entire sky lighting up like prohibited flash photography at a public event. We fell asleep to the storm which raged most of the night and it made me realize why the ancient Greeks feared Zeus most of all. Those lightning bolts were violent.
When we awoke this morning, the clouds were gone and Helios had returned the brightness. Greek mythology said that when Helios first rose, driving his chariot across the sky, he started over Samos. Today, it feels like it as I begin a new year with new adventures and opportunities.
My best birthday yet - with my wife, in our first year of marriage, on our amazing adventure, enjoying a Sunday - the best and most relaxed of all days here - in Greece. As the Greeks say, "Bravo!"
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