Whilst the planning responsibilities may have been different from the usual “Paul and/or Yoni plan and the lemmings follow”, we always seem to be able to work in some democracy time. A democracy morning was declared by Susan and Kim. We could do as we pleased until 10.45. Some of us worked online, some did nothing and I took the opportunity to drive 10 minutes down the road to a largish supermarket. There is nothing like exploring a supermarket in a foreign country to see what is similar and what is different to what you are used to in your home country and thus give a clear window into the culture of the place you are visiting. I only found local wines in the wine department, including plastic gallon jugs of local plonk that cost 6€ for 4 litres, lots and lots of whole large octopus in the freezer and more sweets than tinned food on the shelves.
We set off for the Akrathos Newlands Winery for our 11.30 tasting and tour with Panos, the son of the founder and now co-owner. The winery is organic, and I’m happy to say that this is irrelevant. Whilst the minimal ecological footprint, organic growing and winemaking practices and use of almost entirely local grapes is admirable, if the wine is no good then it’s all for nought. Gladly, the wine was very good. There was a white that we all loved. Even Garry who doesn’t drink white found it acceptable, which is a giant statement. There was less agreement about the rose’ and the reds but there was no doubt about the high quality and interesting varietals and blends. Panos was impassioned about his winemaking but extremely laid back with the tastings, in that adorable Greek way. As we sat on the back porch, nibbling on some titbits he had prepared, overlooking the rows of grape vines, mountains, valleys and sea in the distance, he was happy to let us soak in the ambience, with twenty minute gaps between each wine tasting. Everything was chill. Towards the end he realized that perhaps he had gotten his relaxed timing a bit wrong, and had to start to push us out, as following us he had another and much more interesting group arriving. He was excited about the group of 40, 30 year old women who were coming to meditate, practice yoga and drink wine. He was going to meditate and yoga with them. He quipped that he already has 2 ex wives and maybe he would find his 3rd ex wife in the group. Who could blame him for being more interested in 40, 30 year old women than 3 mid sixties couples?
We really wanted to buy some wine but only had carry-on trolleys. Yoni seemed convinced that his ElAl Platinum status afforded him the right to send luggage, so we decided to buy 6 bottles between us, wrap them well in a protective cardboard box and send them as luggage. Let’s say that things didn’t exactly go as planned, but I’ll go into details when I describe the final day.
Next stop was the historic town of Arnea. If Yoni’s towns on day 2 were more retro local than quaint and picturesque, Arnea showed us what you can do when you take the time and effort to make your town look beautiful and well preserved. The houses were tastefully painted, the alleyways and streets looked well looked-after and there was a general feeling of civic pride. It was easily the most beautiful village we had seen in this part of Greece.
There is also a local history and heritage museum, which wasn’t exactly where Google Maps said it was. It took us a few minutes of stumbling around in circles before finding it, but I’m glad we perservered. Eleni, who is born and bred in Arnea, was our guide for the museum tour, proudly explaining that all the exhibits, old tools, photos and clothing were donated by locals when they decided to establish the museum. Sometime lo-tec local museums can be a bit amateurish, or even sloppy. This was neither. It was well thought out and put together, in an old but refurbished local house. It truly gave us an idea of what life was like a hundred years ago in the village.
Kim and Susan had a small game planned for us, where we needed to ask random locals the meaning of certain random words in Greek. It was very cute and Paul/Yoni would never have thought to do something like that had we been responsible for the planning. Maybe we’ll take the idea and incorporate into our upcoming Japan trip in October.
I am happy to report that we finally had a meal that was merely good, and not amazing, at the local taverna in the square in the middle of town. Not every meal needs to be WOW. We might get spoiled.
Once back in Ouranoupoli, we saw that the bottom of the main street, next to the Byzantine tower and the sea, had been blocked off and a stage erected. The locals weren’t sure exactly what was happening but they thought it was some sort of Balkan festival. There were lots of children in the traditional clothing of an Eastern European nations but we were too anthropologically ignorant to determine where from. We waited for a few minutes to see when the folklore was starting, but we didn’t see any movement, so we continued on to our chosen restaurant for the evening. Upon returning from dinner, we learnt that the mysterious Eastern European country was Georgia but we had, unfortunately (or not) missed the artistic display. All that remained were a lot of speeches, plaque and flower bouquet presentations, and general backslapping in what can I can only surmise was mutual commitment to the ongoing friendship of the denizens of Ouranoupoli and the good people of Georgia. Who knows? My understanding of the Greek and Georgian languages is not great.
