Travel chronicles

When you come back from a holiday, a good long rest is in order. That may sound strange but it’s true for many, and a four-country holiday within a span of two weeks may be adventurous for the very young, but as age creeps in, I will have to rethink that next year when we again set out for new “conquests”.

But what is havoc for the joints and limbs was pure joy to the senses and sensibilities. Our first stop in this four-country traipse was the beautiful country of Greece, ancient and historic, a sun-drenched archipelago of more than 6,000 islands and islets blessed with incredibly friendly people.

We stayed at the Athens Atrium Hotel in Syngrou Avenue, a medium-sized and charming hotel that I was told is a favorite of many travelers because of the friendly service and friendlier rates as well as its strategic location. Unlike other hotels, Filipino travelers will appreciate warm and personalized service – it was easy to ask for buckets of ice or borrow some plates and utensils if you happen to bring in some food and drinks for consumption. Other hotels in other countries we visited later were not so accommodating. And the breakfast buffet was just as good.

Land transport is always a prime consideration when you spend a few days in one country. For our group of five (my wife Babes, my brother Rey, his wife Evelyn and daughter Ina), we needed comfort and space, so our Mercedes Vito, an exceptional carry-all minivan arranged for us by the Philippine Greek Embassy (through Capt. Kostas Calafatis of Technomar Crew Management Corporation) was perfect. The plus was our driver cum guide, Vassilis Antoniades ([email protected]) who became a friend during our four-day stay in Athens. He was prompt, polite, very professional and well-informed, highly educated and proficient in English. Oh yes, English is widely used here as a second language, which is a big edge for their thriving tourism industry. Our next stop, Turkey, presented a big problem in this area, but that is another story.

At the top of our agenda of course is the famed Acropolis, an ancient citadel and we had to climb up a rocky outcrop to reach it, but it was well worth it. Entrance fee is a mere 12 Euros per person for a four-hour tour. At the time of our visit, there were throngs of visitors-- students, tourist groups, families and elderly couples who were there, and we all shared one mission which was to drink in the vast beauty, the historical importance of the legendary Acropolis.

The site of the ancient ruins has a surface area of three hectares which is about 150 meters above sea level, so we could see all of Athens from the top. The ruins date back to the Neolithic age, I gathered from our very learned and capable tourist guide Lina Charokopou (linasorhar @gmail.com) who also told us about the main wall which was to serve as the main defense of the acropolis (760 meters long, 10 meters high and several meters thick which followed the contour of the hilly terrain).  And this was in the 5th century! We surveyed the site with incredulity and marveled at the architectural and engineering genius of the ancient Greeks who built this fortification manually, but with so much precision and an unparalleled eye for beauty that it has earned for the Acropolis a place in history as the preeminent monument in the European Heritage list of monuments in 2007.

We spent half a day at the site, marveling at the Parthenon which was damaged in 1867 when the Venetians attacked it, the monumental gateway called the Propylaea and the Temple of Athena Nike (yes, that is where the sporting outfit got it from), daughter of Zeus and the goddess of wisdom. History tells us that Greece went through several attempts from outside forces like the Persians and Turks to overthrow its government and its seat of power in the early years, and the ancient limestone temples and magnificent columns which are the hallmark of Grecian architecture are now mute testaments to these power grabs. The buildings and temples were relentlessly built and rebuilt, using marble in later years. Later too, mainly during the Byzantine and Ottoman periods, the Parthenon was converted into a church dedicated to the Blessed Virgin and the Parthenon became its cathedral, though this was later transformed into a garrison of the Turkish army in the Ottoman era. The predominant religion here is the Greek Orthodox which is similar to the Roman Catholic except that they do not recognize the Pope.

The Greek people have a very strong sense of their rich history. It is indeed the Cradle of Western Civilization, and they have preserved much of their valuable artifacts at the Acropolis Museum at the very same site, several meters from the Parthenon. You could tell from the pride with which the tour guides spoke of these artifacts how the Greek people continue to take immense pride in their ancient civilization which still lives on in contemporary Greece. They still speak the same language they used 2,500 years ago and were it not for the Euro, they would still be using the same currency, Drachma, up to now.

Important tips to remember: wear comfortable shoes meant for climbing because the natural stone can be slippery, though navigable. Also bring drinking water for the long tour, a hat, sunglasses and for good measure some sun block.

Sated with a sense of history and much-fulfilled by our knowledge of Greek history, architecture and the famed Greek mythology, we walked back, tired but awe-struck by the beauty we just witnessed, and headed for another adventure.

This time, however, our tummies held sway over our other senses, and we ventured into our first authentic Greek meal, a culinary adventure that opened the door to our immersion into Greek cuisine. It was early evening, but the sun was still bearing down on us at 7 p.m. At the prodding of our tour guide, we had ice-cold Greek beer which was very good and seemed to drain the tiredness out of our limbs. While waiting for our food to be served, we appreciated the quaint restaurant which, like many others in Greece, had tables set out in the open for al fresco dining. We feasted on baskets of warm bread dunked in olive oil which the Greeks proudly say is the very best in the Mediterranean region and balsamic vinegar. Then our food arrived:  octopus grilled slightly so that it remained tender to the bite and was flavored only by salt and a squeeze of lemon (this was so great we had it every meal!), lamb that was slowly oven-roasted with a gravy-like sauce (very flavorful), the famed Greek salad of fresh greens with different kinds of olives and generous clumps of feta cheese, dressed only by extra virgin olive oil and flavored slightly with lemon which the ladies so enjoyed, a saucy beef dish that also was very tender, crispy calamares with a twist of lemon which was demolished in no time, and strips of fried zucchini which turned out to be very pleasant. It was, by all accounts, a feast, and if that spread looks too much for our small group, think of five hungry tourists anticipating a feast to celebrate our first day in Greece and you will not be surprised that not a morsel of food was left behind. When in a foreign country, don’t be intimidated by unfamiliar dishes. I never thought I would enjoy grilled octopus and fried zucchini.

The sun finally came down at around 8:30 p.m., giving us a glimpse of a rising moon as we headed back to the comforts of the Athens Atrium Hotel, our home for the next four days.

More next week on our memorable Greek adventure.

Mabuhay!!! Be proud to be a Filipino.

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