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Here it is, finally, the last of the five senses (replete with added benefits):

1.       Crunch of small fish bones between teeth - A good source of calcium, too. Just make sure you swallow only the small ones...nearest emergency medical service is, um, Athens.

2.       Large pebbles underneath feet and smaller ones in between toes - Improves circulation, and you can leave your pumice stone at home. 

3.       Relentless scorching sun - Yes, a definite melanoma hazard, but, hey, your clothes dry really fast!

4.       Undulating enveloping womb-like sea—soft, warm, buoyant, caressing - Bad birth experience? You have a second chance.

5.       Wind whipping across bodies, motorbike engine humming beneath, bugs    smashing faces - If you're shooting for an economical trip, open your mouth (good protein, too).

6.       Precarious balance on uneven pavement - Everyday walks down local streets double as sobriety tests (and keeps police pay reasonable, which is extremely important, given the current Greek economy).

7.       Sticky white sea-salt on sun-dried skin - Get use to it.

8.       Rough white-washed walls - You'll be pleasantly surprised on your return home, when your hands no longer get bruised or turn white when you accidently brush the wall.

9.       Cold marbled floors against bare feet - One Greek solution to electricity-free and environmentally-friendly air conditoning.

10.   Hard unyielding mattress and pillows—with bumps in the strangest places - Packing tip: remember tempurpedic travel pillow. Do they have travel mattresses-in-a-bag yet?


What comes to mind when you think of Greece and touch?
 
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Oh, the visions of Greece! One of my favorite Grecian senses—and , I’m sure, yours too! So, without further ado, let’s get started:

1.       Everything bathed in golden light: It’s the end of another glorious day. The sun is starting to make its way down into the sea, and everything thing takes on that glorious Grecian gold. It’s no surprise that the Greeks love their gold, and, in fact, if you are fortunate enough to have your loved one call you “My gold,” then you know that you are indeed their precious beloved. If you’d like to get that picture portrait for proof of your fabled trip, then do so at this time of day. You’ll literally glow in the light.

2.       Blinding bright whites: Most of us, when we think Greece, see all of those white cubic houses that populate the Cyclades, but what we don’t realize, what we can’t realize until we’re actually there, is the blinding nature of the white due to the incredibly piecing light that I have not found in any other land. This quality of Grecian light is so unique that it attracts photographers from all over the world, and captures the imagination of such writers as Lawrence Durrell. Yes, Greece is the land of the brightest light with whites so white and colors so bright that they overwhelm your eyes.

3.       Every blue imaginable: Just when you think that you’ve figured out that particular Aegean blue, or the clear deep sky blue of autumn, the light changes and the blues change with it. I’ve lost my soul in several layers of tempting sea blues, and, at other times, lost my body as well. I’ve witnessed many, myself included, who have literally jumped off the boat to swim in exactly that one particularly enchanting blue.

4.       Playful dancing streaks of  light across the sea: The dazzling dance of light on each drop of sea water is so captivating that I’ve asked God to reincarnated me as that particular light. It isn’t too great a leap before you’d swear you’re watching angels.
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5.       Piercingly pink bouganvillas and blood-red poppies against a dry wheat-colored landscape: The bouganvillas are everywhere. The blood-red poppies make their appearance at Easter. See Red Poppies, Greek Easter.

6.       Red earth, white marble: This is the land of stark contrasts of earth and air and sea.

7.       The Acropolis
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8.       Lightning: It’s ubiquitous—from the set of My Life in Ruins at Delphi, to the goat-populated mountain-tops, to the small sea-side harbors. 

9.       The brightest stars, the ever-present moon, and the blackest nights: Just as the brilliant light turns everything dazzling white, its absence makes the moon and stars their brightest, and, conversely, the nights their darkest.

10.       Glorious pink sunsets: The shimmering pool that was once the sun melts into the azure sea.

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This list is longer than the previous two, perhaps because everything makes noise in Greece—even the silence…

1.       “Δέκα-οκτώ- δέκα-οκτώ- δέκα-οκτώ (theka-octo-theka-octo-theka-octo)”:  For those of you who don’t know Greek, this is, literally, “eighteen-eighteen-eighteen.” There is a bird that makes exactly this sound. They even call it the “theka-octoura,” or something like that.  When I first heard it, I thought I was having auditory hallucinations (not an infrequent occurrence in Greece).

2.       The cacophony of church chimes: Some are beautiful. Some make you want to toss yourself over that Grecian cliff…yes, the one right outside your door. The first time they wake you up, you swear to yourself, never again, I will find every church within a five-kilometer radius and stay outside that radius. But even if you do manage to find every church (which is unlikely) there are, for example, over 100 churches in the town of Skopelos alone…so, good luck with that! By the way, they go off every half hour, the deep dark night included—so you may want to request noise-cancelling headphones on your birthday list.

3.       Crashing dramatic thunder and rainstorms: Did I mention this kind? The kind that have grown adults cowering under the table? Or that Grecians island roofs suggest protection rather than actually provide it? I spent one such extremely long night mopping up the floor with the only towel I had. The rain was dripping down the inside of the walls—a situation that made buckets useless.

4.       Low-pitched drumming of the ferry boats: Yes, the ones that arrive at 5:00 am.

5.       Irritating voices on loudspeakers, often early in the am:  What is that extremely annoying noise—a cross between a sick animal and—dare I say it—a human voice? Are they actually saying something? Yes, they’re usually selling something…anything from onions to dirt to political candidates.

6.       Cats in heat: I’ve come to the conclusion that one of the joys of American city life is never having to deal with these bizarre screams in the middle of the night (unless, of course, you live in poorly insulated apartments, and what you’re hearing aren’t cats…).

7.       Horns

8.       Raised dramatic voices: Number 7 or a football game is often a prerequisite, but certainly not necessary, not in the least.

9.       Confused  roosters: If you somehow manage to escape the church chimes, and you’ve forgotten your alarm clock, no problem. Greek roosters consistently crow at 2am, 3am, 4am and finally 5am. You’ll have plenty of opportunities to avoid sleeping in.

10.   Three am garbage collection: You’re in the middle of Athens and there aren’t any nearby roosters? Don’t worry, there’s the 3am garbage collection. Be sure to stay on the ground floor to experience the full affect. The first time this booming shaking noise awakened me, I thought Athens was having another of its frequent earthquakes…or we were under attack. Nope. Just the friendly sanitary engineers. (Thank God, they were engaging in Number 8 so I could tell the difference.)

11.   Waves: One of the loveliest sounds on earth, it almost makes up for the previous ten…almost.

12.   The whining and rumbling of motorbikes: Again, if you have the unbelievable experience of no churches and no roosters and no 3am garbage collections, there’s always the motorbike. Remember, Greeks stay up all night—so you’re only gonna escape this one if you’re on a motor-free island, like Hydra (but it wasn’t quiet , even there…another story).

13.   European sirens: You know these from the movies. They’re real, and they sound exactly like they do through your surround-sound home speakers.

14.   The Da-daaa da-daaa da-daaa da-daaa of the Greek ring-tone

15.   The chattering din of an extended family of birds at 6:30pm: The animal (and people) wildlife in Greece provide you with so many time-telling opportunities. You really can get by without a watch.

16.   Blessings and Greetings: This is definitely one of my favs and includes such lovely expressions as: “Kalimera,” “Kalispera,” “Kalinixta,” “Ti kaneis?”  “Yeia sou,” “Na eisai kala,”  “Filakia,”  “Kalo Xeimona.”

Would you like to share some of your sounds of Greece?


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Athenian Garbage Can (ΚΑΛΠΗ, btw, is the sign for the ballot box)
Okay, this post comes with a warning. It’s not going to be filled with  the usual lovely intoxicating smells, because, let’s face it, many Grecian smells are repugnant! Just thought I’d give you an opt-out before reading.

Still there? Okay, read away:

1.       The rich smell of the sienna-colored earth:  This one actually smells good. I almost understand why some pregnant women get cravings to eat dirt. It must be Grecian dirt.

2.       The intoxicating perfume of night-blooming jasmine mixed with donkey dung: This combination is near and dear to my heart, being one of my strongest olfactory memories of Skopelos. Now, of course, donkeys are hard to find, which makes my nose even happier, as you can imagine. Jasmine will find you everywhere…even in the most unlikely places.

3.       Diesel:  This shouldn’t come as any surprise, since so many Greek vehicles run on diesel. The part that is surprising, to the extent of being disturbing, is that I actually miss this smell in sanitized California.

4.       Cigarette smoke:  This includes pungent freshly-lit to stale, and everything in-between.

5.       Heavily-cologned men:  Good or bad, depending on the cologne…and the man, of course.

6.       Garbage and sewers:  Especially common prior to elections (garbage strikes) and after big storms (No, I won’t elaborate.).

7.       Garlic and oregano:  Not only popular in Italy, these twins make an appearance in Greece as well. Garlic shows up in everything from mageritsa to tzatziki and skordalia (see previous blog posts here and here). At least garlic is good for your health. And oregano is not only a part of the traditional Greek salad, but dresses up fries and potato chips.

8.       The wet salty sea:  Close your eyes, take a deep breath…no! don’t do this at the harbor.

Dare I ask? What is your most memorable Greek Smell?

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Greek Flavors
I think of Greece as a multi-sensual experience. Certain tastes, smells, sounds, sights and “feels” come to mind. After all the recent conversations about holiday foods on Twitter, it’s no surprise that I’ll start with the sense of taste today.

The following tastes remind me of Greece:

1.       Cinnamon:  The Greeks put cinnamon on many different dishes, including meat dishes. My fav, thus far has to be rabbit stifado  (a stew with pearl onions) served with cinnamon (sorry, vegetarians!).

2.       Lemon:  Again, lemon appears in many dishes. It may be substituted for vinegar in a traditional Greek salad or appear as an accompaniment for not just fish, but chicken, lamb, or pork.

3.        Salty everything:  First thing Greeks reach for when those raw tomatoes or Greek salads hit the table is the salt shaker. Folks with high blood pressure or kidney problems should grab their portion before it gets generously sprinkled.

4.       Anise:  We must include the anise-flavored ouzo or tsipouro. I mean, we must!

5.       Sharp Feta: True sheep’s-milk feta appears in many dishes, not just as a generous slab on Greek salads.

6.       Mastic and Rose water: These flavors appear in everything from baked goods to confections such as Turkish Delight.

7.       Thick pine-flavored Skopelos Honey, crunchy walnuts, and heavy rich Greek yogurt:  You haven’t experienced the flavors of Greece until you’ve combined these three wonderful ingredients together!

8.       Sweet peach and tart sour cherry:  These difficult to find fruit juices in the U.S. are available throughout Greece.

What is your favorite Taste of Greece?

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