Lechaina

On top of mount Lycabettus

Akronafplio fortress

Palamidi fortress

Enterance of ancient Mykines

 Cool hill near Mykines

Beach in Nafplio

       On Friday I caught a bus to Isthmos to get picked up by my uncle's friend's Greek family, Dimie and her parents. Isthmos is near Corinth and is characterized by a deep canal that connects the Ionian sea to the bay on the other side. We walked out on the bridge that crosses it and looked down. After that we made our way to Dimie's great aunt's house in the small town of Lechaina on the west coast of the Pelloponese region of Greece. Neither Dimie's parents nor her great aunt speak any English besides two or three words here and there, so there was quite a language barrier from the beginning. As soon as we reached her great aunt's house, we sat down to eat. The first thing was a soup that was a bit like minestrone, but different. After that, they continued to put more food in front of me: more soup, bread, bread sticks, marinated olives, feta cheese, and two different kinds of salad. All of this came with a couple glasses of home made wine. Just when I thought it was all over, they pulled out some peanuts. We ate those and when they were almost gone, out came the fruit. First an apple, then an orange, and finally a pear. For dessert was some chocolate with almonds in it. I was so full, but in a good way.
       Friday was a day for honoring the dead, so we went to the cemetery to see the graves of some of their family members and light some candles. Then we headed to the church to pay our respects to some of the saints. After that we headed back to their house to watch a bit of TV before going to another church on the other side of town (the town is very small. You can walk from one side to the other in 10 minutes). At this church they had a sermon and procession in honor of the dead. We, along with a huge crowd of people holding candles, followed a group of boys dressed in church garb, carrying staffs, banners, and a cross. They led us back to the cemetery where just outside they where having a symbolic burning of Judas with a large bon fire fuelled by wooden pallets. There were so many firecrackers and some mortars going off all night. After that, we headed back to the house, watched some TV, and drank cognac before going to bed.
       

       The next day I got up and was fed several types of bread, warm milk with honey, and salami. Dimie was still asleep for a while after I woke up, so I had to nod my way through all of the Greek and look out the best I could for facial and other physical language cues. We ended up taking a drive by the local castle before taking a brief walk on the beach. We also walked around the local port for a bit.
       That evening at midnight was the resurrection celebration. We all walked over to the church, lit some candles, and listened to a sermon. Then the priest brought out the "light of Israel", a flame that is supposed to have been brought all the way from Israel, and we all lit our candles on it so that we all had a little bit of the "light" to take with us. We walked back to the house and at around 1 am we began the resurrection feast. The first course was a stew made up of some vegetables and the organs of a goat, including the liver, the spleen, and the brain. After that we ate the goat and some beef. We spent another hour or so after that hanging out and watching TV.
       On orthodox easter Sunday, we went over to Dimie's uncle's house to eat more.  I really wish I could've communicated with everyone better, but I still had a good time. I learned a few Greek words, and they learned some English, and it all went well. In the late afternoon, we took a walk around the outskirts of the town. The countryside was nice and the air was fresh.
       The next day we went to the island of Zakinthos. The ferry trip was short and we had a pretty relaxed day walking around the island.        

       Today I headed to Trikala. I should have been able to catch a bus that would've taken me straight here, but because of the holiday it was full with people going home. Instead I had to take three different buses to get here. It was okay though, because there was some really beautiful and dramatic scenery along the way. I'm staying two nights in a hostel here.

I'll write when I write.

Also, always feel free to add comments or questions at the bottom and I will answer them the best I can.