Hmm, where to go for a Sunday outing today?  Well, friends had told us about a big “hole” in the rocks on the very southern tip of Paros.  This shows on the map as Cape Fanos; there are no roads there.

So we parked our scooters at the end of the road to Tripiti Beach then headed across a farmer’s goat pasture and up the hill to the cape.

As we looked back at the beach we saw a group of about eight senior citizens (that’s about all you see around in late September) enjoying the beach and snorkelling.  It looked tempting but we were on a mission so we kept trekking along the goat trail across rough rocks.

We skirted a few high cliffs that had Karin on edge.  He he. Then in the distance we saw what looked like a cave but with sunlight beyond.

Sure enough as we got closer we saw first an indentation in the hillside that turned out to be a big hole.  There were numerous caper bushes growing around the edges but I am sure no one would be interested in picking them.

This photo shows the hole side of the arch that we saw from the westerly shore.  In effect the hole was a cave that caved in.

Its always a joy to discover something new on a Sunday walk.

(Don’t forget you can click on the photos to see them more clearly.)

Years ago Naoussa was our favourite place to go on a Sunday morning to read the newspaper over a coffee and pastry.  But as it grew more upscale and touristy we went less and less.  It’s often referred to as a Mykonos wannabe for its high prices.  You can count on one hand the number of meals we have had there in nine years.

Now that will change as a friend who has been coming to Naoussa for 30 years introduced us to the Meltemi Taverna.  Its located on the marina pier; just turn left at the bridge.  By the way most of the tavernas as you turn right on the pier have the reputation as tourist traps.  But if you continue to the right around to the old harbour you will find some very good, if high end, restaurants.

I tend to judge a taverna by the quality of its giant beans and its stifado(stew); both were excellent at the Meltemi as was everything else we had.  I can’t comment on the price because I am sure our host got a special Greek price; I know I was shocked at how low the total was for food and drink in Naoussa.

At a quarter to 8 I started talking about a new holiday that I predict will be as big as St. Patrick’s day all over the world.  September 24 is Arthur’s Day and 2009 is the 250th Anniversary of the founding of the Guinness Brewery in Dublin, Ireland.  World wide at 17:59 GMT people raised a glass of the dark stuff in a toast to founder, Arthur Guinness.  All heads certainly turned when we did the same in the middle of a traditional Greek taverna.  I don’t know what the proprietor thought of me bringing in my own black cans.  Guinness does go well with Greek food but we can only get draft in few places during high season, so the widget cans have to do when we want to reminisce about Ireland.

P.S.   I had a left over can so the next night I made a Guinness and maple syrup sauce to glaze salmon steaks.  It was quite good but the best part was it only took 1/4 of the can which left the rest for the cook.

Australia has not been high on my list of places to visit but I often hear and see good things about the people of Sydney.  Here is an example.

“To get people excited about the Sydney International Food Festival and celebrate international food, national flags of participating countries were recreated using popular local foods of each nation.”

More eatable flags at Toxel.com

Clan of the Cave Bears in real life!  American author Jean Auel made a career and several novels about the emergence of modern humans from the clash with Neanderthal types in prehistoric times—or is that still going on.

Anyway Greece has now opened to the public one of the sites where these events actually happened:  Theopetra Cave in Trikala prefecture near the famous Meteora.  This site, well known in archaeological circles, has been excavated since 1987.  Artefacts have been found dating from between 50,000 BC and 3,000 BC.  They include stone tools from the Palaeolithic, Mesolithic and Neolithic, pottery from the Neolithic, plants and seeds that indicate diet as well as skeletons from 15,000, 9,000 and 8,000 BC.  Rich diggings by anyone’s standards.

The cave has a large entrance that opens to a large rectangular chamber of 500 sq.mtrs (5,000 sq.ft.).  It is the only known site that contains evidence of two major cultural transitions:  the replacement of Neanderthals by Homo sapiens and the change from hunter-gathering to farming.

So Greece is not only the birthplace of democracy and western civilization; it is also a home town of humans.  Wouldn’t you like to attend a family reunion here?

Facts from ANA

Yesterday was a quiet day; a little on the warm side and humid.  Karin wanted to get out and do something but riding our scooters on the asphalt would be hot during the day.  So we decided to have an early dinner and then in the evening ride over to Prodromos, a small village that I had only passed by in the last eight years on the island.

When we turned off the highway and into the main village square we discovered a sound system and chairs being set up for a concert that evening.  So we decided to kill some time and wait the hour or so before the music started to see if we wanted to stay.  There is a local group that we don’t particularly care for, but a friend had told us they liked this one. 

A Greek village welcome

To start we walked through the narrow footpaths—no cars allowed—admiring the details of the old, traditional Greek village.  Around one corner we were suddenly looking through a large glass window at an open hearth oven as a man and woman were loading several pots of various size and shapes into it.  Karin used a little Greeklish to discover that this was a community oven that would now be sealed for 12 hours until Sunday morning.  The main thing being cooked was Revithia, a bean soup, that is best when baked in this traditional method.

Well used oven

When we finished wandering the streets it was dark so we headed back to the main square and went into the one village taverna for an ouzo.  Just as we finished we heard the music starting so quickly grabbed the free suma and nuts on offer and sat down.  We were surprised to see not only a friend from Aliki who plays the drums, Yannis Paroussis, but also another friend and hotel owner, Ioannis Xydis.  We knew he was an ex-professional singer but had previously only heard about his impromptu performances after the fact.  So this was to be our first time hearing him perform.

Ioannis Xydis in Prodromos

We were shocked.  He is very good!  I won’t give a concert review but this group of about 5 musicians and another 5 singers put on a fantastic show full of Greek themed music without much of the heavy folk music that we usually hear.  The audience was really into it and several gave impromptu dances which were also good.

Feeling the music

This group is good enough to be performing at a night club with a cover charge and expensive drinks.  Here we were in a pleasant village square full of people who knew each other and served free drinks and snacks.  Thank you Paros.