In a couple of days we'll be at day 50-something of this journey, unbelievably almost at the half-way point! We're happy to say we've only had minor bumps along the way, short bouts of homeless panic / homesickness but not many at that!
I'm skipping ahead on some blog postings here, and will catch up later, but suffice to say our time in Naples was fantastic - what a city! If Florence is art and soul, and Rome is law and order, then Naples is the beating heart - loud, gritty, passionate, people yelling, streets crammed with families. Loved it. We spent our last day down at the Port, found a sporty thing we could do together!, before saying goodbye the next morning to the sketchy neighbourhood that we loved.
We've definitely re-found our travel legs, after that two-and-a-half decade break! We figure we've covered closed to 200 kms on foot so far, adding up the massive walking days we've had. We've rediscovered how flexible we are together, how not much really bothers us, how we can do with very little, we're able to easily gauge each other's daily energy and priorities. What we love most though, and its so refreshing, is to not be responsible for a whole pile of stuff except....lunch? Wine with dinner or a cold beer?
And our kids are thriving. Truth be told, we embarked on this life change as a family, but we didn't really know what impact it would have on our kids. Despite lots of prep and care, there's been some guilt and worry for sure. But after 2 back-to-back long Skype calls this week, they are managing their lives just fine. Go Team Wolvin GO!
And meanwhile, we are 4 for 4 on the AirBnB bookings! What an invention. We love that we're not in tourist areas, and that our money is going into regular people's pockets as well as neighbourhood mom and pop shops. Although we feel like we stand out, we're made to feel very welcome by storekeepers who are happy to have our business in these EU economies. Our hosts too have been so kind - a medical student, a geologist and his artist wife, a physics student, a retired architect, and now in Apostoli, Crete an organic olive farmer! Another bonus is you get to meet people, trade language lessons, find the local haunts, hear how their life is, and they're always happy we're Canadian.
We are very excited about what the next 3 weeks will bring! We've just arrived in Apostoli, Crete yesterday. Apostoli is in a farming valley, about 35 kms southeast of Heraklion, which is on the center north coast of Crete. Manolis, our host, offers to drive us to his place if we meet him at the Heraklion Organic Market, which we do. He packs up his tables, umbrella, cash box and remaining produce along with our bags and off we go!
We find out a lot about the area on our drive, get delayed by a shepherd and his sheep crossing the road, he names the mountain ranges for us, some of the sites we must try and see. He tells us about his olive farm and 3 other plots of land that he owns where he grows veggies. He talks about this village where he was born, how businesses have collapsed, the young people have left, how everyone is working together to try and sustain their lives. He is lucky with his work, and his wife who's an elementary schoolteacher in the next town over. People work for him in exchange for food. They have 2 boys, aged 11 and 13.
We arrive to find our 400 square foot space for the next 2 weeks is exactly as we imagined - except halfway up the mountain! It's in a traditional Cretan home that's been rebuilt for guests. We are attached to Manolis' home and the masonry and view of the valley is stunning.
Our little kitchen and our roof which also serves as our patio. Today was cloudless, 23 degrees Celsius.
Our sunset last night, followed by this morning's sunrise, complete with roosters, goat bells, chicken clucks and dog barks - haven't found any cows yet. The silence is golden. After living in the forest for 20 years, travelling urban for the last 2 months has been exhilarating, yes. Every now and then we've sought out green space days, realizing how much we need it! This quiet period in Apostoli has been planned for exactly this - countryside, peace, recharge, read, run, bike, write, eat, nap.
So many feral cats!, and the view to the left of our walkway.
Today's walk down into town is to catch the bus at 10 am. Businesses have all closed in Apostoli, population 350-400. We cannot buy a thing anywhere, and have arrived with 1 days worth of food. But there's 3 buses a day to the next town over, 5 kms away, Kastelli, much larger, and with a food market, veggie grocer, butcher, bank. We walk down the mountain with our knapsacks and bags, prepared to get 4 days worth of food. A beautiful morning! Apostoli does have one Taverna, which we'll definitely go to for some meals. The neighbourhood:
Bus stop!
Food is expensive in Greece, moreso than Italy. 2 dinners with leftovers, lunches, breakfast, coffee, fruit, cream, beer, wine and a small bottle of Metaxa = $140 Cdn. Our dollar is so far down, and combined with higher prices = OUCH. We've managed so far to stay under budget (gotta get Marc to let us take a taxi every now and then!), and hopefully we can do the same in Greece.
We find our way back home with 4 bags of food, have lunch and a short read, and Marc sets off on his run. You know he's going up!, to the top of the mountain, probably 3 kms one way. He's got to see what's on the other side, which he describes as lunar, a rocky, rocky valley, filled with olive groves. As he has been known to do when inspired, he collects interesting gifts for us on his runs, this time sheep bones and the always sprigs of wildflowers that he knows I love. Kindness.
We settle in for the rest of the afternoon in the sun, snooze, read. This place is going to be wonderful, we hope to help Manolis with some of his farm chores over the next two weeks. He's gotten his bikes ready for us - lots of flat valley to explore, with a small lake we can see in the distance.
Greek wine is brutally expensive! By the liter bottle, €15 - NOT! We spy a box on the floor at the back of the wine shelves, 5 liters for €9, and its drinkable! This one translates to "The Party's Wine!", dry red. We'll let you know about the Metaxa!
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