My Travelogue in Greece-3

My casual Travelogue in Greece
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Installment #5 <== You are here.
Installment #6

Installment #5

Last Tuesday, Steig Radio interviewed me, and this was great promotion for my Saturday Full Moon Concert - Oct. 28
But they went further: After the interview they did an extended "Iasos Tribute" radio show where they played a lot of my music pieces, and again, to promote my concert.

Everyone in our conference of course knows about my Saturday concert. And they are all communicating with each other through, WhatsApp, where each member of the Conference, can send a message to everyone in the Conference. So lately, there has been a lot of Excitement within WhatsApp about my radio interview and the "Iasos Tribute" show that Steig Radio aired immediately after my interview. There were many reports that my interview was "excellent" and "totally unique" and "captivating". How nice! I'm actually starting to feel very honored - here in Greece - even by the locals.

One afternoon, the participants of this Dream Palace Symposium took a walk to a nearby shrine - the Shrine for Pan.

So of course, they wanted to photograph me playing my Pan Pipes at the Shrine of Pan. Which I did.

Here's a group shot of some of the members of this group.

In this photo, the person to the left of me - Christoff Garry - in a purple T-shirt - became an extremely close friend of mine. He's from France, has a strong French accent, and it feels - to both of us - that we have been friends for lifetimes.

Then one afternnon, the entire group went on the half-hour walk, from our hotel, to the Parthenon.

Here, as we get closer, we see it at a distance:

As we got close to it, I was very disappointed.

When I went there (about 20 years ago), I snuck in at night, and had the ENTIRE Parthenon to myself !
No tourists. No talking. No transistor radios. No cameras. Just me. I was playing flute there for over an hour.
I experience significant past-life-recall there.
But now, it feels like an on-going construction project - with scafolding, and cranes, and other heavy construction equipment.
And lots of talking tourists.

As we approached, we also saw another building on the left with nice statues:

Here are some more shots of the Parthenon:

So, naturally, they wanted to take photos of me in front of the Parthenon (Greek in Greece)

By the time our group was walking back to the hotel, it was dark, so we got a nice view of the Parthenon all lit-up at night, while the hill it is on remains dark;

Then Saturday - the Main Event!

The Big Day of my Concert - on a Full Moon in Taurus - with a Lunar Eclipse!

The concert venue was Romantso

They had a nice large screen, and a stage for me.
But if I would be performing on the stage, I would be blocking the left half of the screen, so my images would have to be half the size.
(Technically, half the width and half the height = 1/4th the size.)
So rather the diminish the drama of a beautiful large video image, I decided to perform on the floor, in front of the screen,
so the entire screen could be dramaticallly filled with my video images.

I had an entire string of ....... well, let's just call them "technical challenges".
(The Greeks have many excellent qualities, but "being organized" is not one of them.)

Here's some of the audience (photos taken under very low light).
But many more entered after these photos were taken.

(sorry for the out-of-focus photos. Low Light, hand-held, and they were all moving)

Here's how it looked from my point of view:

After I bowed to signify that I was finished, there was the usual Stillness & Silence.
After about 5 minutes of this, I mentioned that in 20 minutes we would have the Lunar Ecliipse!

Despite an entire string of "technical challenges"
I managed to pull it off anyway!
It was a GREAT SUCCESS!

And we had a packed-house - standing-room-only!

I think a significant factor for having such a fabulous turn-out,
is that this event got a LOT of publicity!
And I think there was a lot of publicity because of National Pride -
that a world-recognized Greek musician was doing his first-ever concert in Greece!
If I had been Italian or French or Spanish, I doubt they would have been so enthusiastic
about publicizing this event.

And they loved it!
Afterwards I was showered with
enthusiastic Appreciation, Praise, Love, Hugs, & Gratude.
And many wanted to have their photo taken with me - which I, of course, obliged.

At the end, they all had GLOWING EYES and BIG SMILES!
One woman told me later, that she was "high all night" from my concert.

By the time I was finished packing and back in my hotel room, it was 1:30am.

And I had to catch a 6:00am Taxi to get to Piraeus, to take a ferry, to get to my next Adventure:

the fabled island of

Hydra!

Installment #6

Hydra!

I should explain that Maya was planning on joining me in this entire trip.
But sadly, she had a health issue that came up, that made her feel unable to make the long trip to Greece.
So Maya and I were planning to do all this together, but I ended up going alone.

Piraeus is actually the section of Athens which is the port, where all the big boats come and go.
When I reached Piraeus to catch the ferry to Hydra, it was still dark - early in the morning.

While I was waiting for my ride, it gradually became morning.
Here are some of the ferries that were docked then in Piraeus:

And also large cruise ships.

Now days, all the ferries here list themselves as a "fast" ferry.
They all have 2 thin hulls, with a broad base connecting them.
This makes them fast and also very steady in the water.

This is the ferry that I took, going to Hydra:

Because of their speed, all the passengers are "inside" the ship.
Not even the crew is outside, when it is moving fast.
I would estimate they are going around 35-40 miles per hour.

Here's a 5-second video I took from my window - to give you an idea of their speed and their steadiness.
To DOWNLOAD this 5 second video,
Right-click or Command Click on this link
Ferry boat Speed

And Finally! we reached my beloved
Hydra
which I enjoyed so much about 20 years earlier!

Hydra is famous for having absolutely no cars!
(I also don't remember seeing any motorcycles there either.)
Everything is within "walking distance".
And for heavy loads, they use donkeys.

The Greeks pronounce "Hydra" as "eee' dra".

Well, of course, I was excited to find my hotel. So I started asking the locals where the "Therme Sea Luxury Resort" is.
Strangely, none of the locals knew where it was. In fact (very strange), they had never even heard of it!
Most strange considering everything is within walking distance.

So I figured I'd better ask for directions. I asked a local, where I could find this hotel, whose address was:

Ermioni
Thermisia , Greece
21051

Strange: They did not know this address. So I kep asking around for this address.
Finally! One knowledgeable man informed me:

     This it not on Hydra.

                What!

     This is on another island.

              What!

     Yes, it's on the island of Ermioni - just as the address says.

                Ermioni is another island?     It's not part of Hydra?

     Nope. It's another island.

                Is this island close to Hydra?

     Yes, it's a nearby island.

                Can I get there by Ferry?

     Yes, it's a half-hour ride on the ferry.

                Are there any ferries leaving for Ermioni today?

     I don't know. Go ask at the ticket office.

So I rushed to the ticket office!
Fortunately, yes, there was another ferry leaving for Ermioni, in 1 and a half hours.
So I bought the ticket and sat at an outdoor taverna by the docks, eating a bite, and trying to calm down, while I was waiting for the ferry.

And I thought, that I had booked a hotel on-line, on the island of Hydra!

Installment #6

The Island of Ermioni
(Yeah, I know. I had never heard of it either.)

When we arrived, this was a bustling dock - filled with tourists, and tavernas, and ships, and yes - cars & taxis.
Huge population, compared to Hydra.
FINALLY! I had reached this unkown island.

So once again, I started asking around,
           Where is the "Therme Sea Luxury Resort" ?

I don't think I need to describe how I felt, when several people all told me the same thing:       They had never heard of it!
Finally, in my desperation, I asked a Taxi driver. At least he must know!
He had never heard of it either!
By now, my nerves were getting tense.   (Can you sense my aura deflating?)
I pulled out the address and showed him:

Ermioni
Thermisia , Greece
21051

The Taxi driver, had never heard of this address!
He could tell I was desperate. So, in his compassion, he looked up the name of this hotel on his cell phone, got their phone number, and phoned them.
They explained to him - in detail - how to get to the hotel. (Whew!)
So he agreed to drive me there. (Whew!)

Man oh Man! This hotel was in the boon docks. It was in the middle of no where!
We drove with the ocean on our right, for about 25 minutes, and finally got there.

Sure enough, it really was a luxury hotel - but.....in the middle of no where!

It was SO no where, that if you wanted food, you needed to take a Taxi to a small grocery store - 15 minutes away!
But to give credit where due, they did inform me that they provide a buffet breakfast at this hotel.

My room was very clean and elegant:

There was a most-noticable eerie-Silence at this hotel........as if I was the only person there, aside from 2 or 3 staff.
EVERYTHING was SO silent, that it felt surrealistic - like being on a strange deserted planet.
No talking, no music, no bird sounds, no air-conditioning sounds, no wave sounds,.......not even the sound of wind!
It was as silent as being at the top of Heleakala Crate on Maui - when there is no wind.

So I took a nap to de-stress, and then looked around.

(By the way, did you notice that - in the middle of the afternoon - there is nobody there?!?!?!)

And their so-called "beach" was actually just pebbles leading into the ocean. No sand.

I know that Greece tends to have a rock ocean floor, rather than sand or mud.
And this makes the water truly "crystal-clear".
But at least in other swimming places, there were flat rocks easy to walk on - as you enter the water.

The next day, I did go swimming here - while wearing my sandals.

Later, I hired a Taxi so I could get some food at the small grocery store - 15 minutes away - by Taxi.
By the way, chatting with the driver, he informed me that many tourists who think they are getting a hotel in Hydra,
end up on this island of Ermioni. Evidently, an internet search for "Hydra hotels" also brings up hotels in Ermioni.

The Taxi driver encouraged me to explore the complex across the street.
He thought it would make a very interesting & pleasant walk.

So, that afternoon, after doing my swim-with-sandals,
I explored this complex across the street.

This is a series of connecting-canals - all leading to the ocean.
On both sides of these canals, were expensive luxurious speed boats - each with its own private dock.
And farther back from the docks, there were luxurious 2-story homes - one for each private boat dock.

This looked like it was private homes for the wealthy - for when they felt like playing with their speed boats.

But - once again - NOBODY HOME!
Plenty of expensive boats docked.
All the plants were well-mannicured.
All the sidewalks were spotless.
Everything was in pristine shape.
But ..... walking all around, I never saw even 1 other person!
(What planet am I on?)

And all the homes, side-by-side, on both sides of each canal, were all elegant 2-story homes:

In walking around, I finally found the entrance connecting the canals to the ocean:

I started feeling like the Universe had purposely brought me here, so I could experience a forced Reclusive SILENCE retreat.

Yes, Silence is Golden. But with EXTREME SILENCE, it starts feeling eerie, and makes you wonder: Where am I, really?

So I figured I'd make the best of it, and get some abundant rest.

But pretty soon, I established a new friend - a cat. This cute cat bonded with me instantly.
I gave it water and spanikopita (spinach & cheese pie), and it very happily ate the food and drank the water.
Instantly we became great friends. It loved rubbing itself next to me, and being petted by me.

We even ended up taking naps together:

(We were sleeping side-by-side, but I had to get out of bed,
to get my cell phone, to take this photo.)

Then I set my alarm,
so I could take the Taxi next day, at 5:50 am,
in order to take the 6:45am ferry to Piraeus,
in order to take the 1:00pm train to

Delphi!

Proceed to next section: 7 of 8
Installment #7

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