Ahh this is more like it

After our day and (almost) a bit in Athens, I was sincerely hoping for something much different out of Zaharo, where we are spending nearly 2 weeks. If it wasn't bad enough that Athens has little to no disabled access (making access with a stroller difficult), the stress of getting onto two trains with a metric tonne of luggage without disabled access (lifts, ramps etc), was the breaking point.

Once we were on the train to Zaharo, it was nice to kick back in first class. Even with Cody desperately tired for most of the way, the journey was still quite pleasant. Watching the countryside change, the further we got from Athens, was cleansing. There was also the isthmus (sp?) near Corinth,which was positively awesome; can't wait to see that on the way back :)

So, Zaharo.

It reminds me a lot of where we stayed when we went to Hawaii. A small beachside community on Maui, called Kihei from memory. Very similar here, except there is a higher percentage of yobbos ;)

In Athens, everyone was particularly rude and obnoxious on the roads; bus, truck, car, motorbike, you name it. Red lights mean "meh, you COULD stop", green lights mean floor it. No lines on the road and ultimately its just a massive risk to be a pedestrian. Zaharo isn't the complete opposite or anything, but you feel much safer walking at the traffic lights when the green man comes, than you do in Athens.

People still double and triple park here, and also park so badly that it blocks off whole streets, but the bigger amusement is the motorbikes. Every young yobbo has a motorbike; in some cases they are similar looking to a scooter in that they are step-through, but they are mostly geared and the engine isn't on the wheel. On the whole, they are also 4-stroke, so different to Australia. Also different is that whilst every man and his dog (almost literally) has a motorbike, they have skills to go with it. They ride like maniacs, yes. But they are still ultimately quite skillful at it. Even the Yiayias riding bikes are good at it!!

Soooo anyways. We have eaten at the same place almost every night; traditional, homemade food, just like Yiayia used to make ;) No one is claiming its good for us though *laugh*. Lunchtimes have been a loaf of bread, tomato, cheese and bananas on the balcony, if for no other reason than to get out of our poky little room).

When it's not stinking hot outside, the balcony lunches have been absolutely perfect. For the first couple of days, we were watching fighter jets flying around the nearby mountains and over us when they swing back for another go. Awesome :)

The other thing we have done so far is duck down to the beach. It's the Ionian Sea from what I can tell, as opposed to the Mediterranean, but hey. Its lovely and cool, soft sand, tiny waves. Ickle loves the beach too, so we have found *grin*. Definitely heading back there!!