In order to go further south from Kyparissi, I would need to cycle along the mountain road to Pistamata, which is considered to be the most dangerous drive in Greece.
However, Storm Ianos, brewing off the western Mediterranean coast, had strenghtened to a ‘Medicane‘ and due to hit Southern Greece over the coming days, pummeling the area with heavy rain and winds until Sunday. I was advised not to attempt the trip, even by car, until the maelstrom had passed.
Naturally devastated by this news, I was left with no option but stay a few extra days in the most beautiful village in Greece, housed in a cosy cheap hotel, eating delicious breakfasts and dinners washed down with litres of local rose wine in-between visits to the beach and chatting with the friendly locals.
I went off for a swim, to ponder this terrible situation 😜
Of course I could have made a dash for it, but by midday I knew the decision was a wise one. I watched from the beach as heavy clouds enveloped the mountaintops, obscuring the road high above. I would have been blind on that treacherous road.
The sun still baked the beach, and conditions were ideal for cycling up and around the village with it’s challenging steep hills, returning frequently to cool off in the water, and taking-in some work calls.
The local people respond with a smile to a simple ‘Kaliméra‘ (Good morning/day) or ‘Yiá sou‘ (Hello) and really appreciate the little effort it takes. In contrast I always found the Dutch would ridicule my accent and grammatical errors, while Czechs would just tell me not to bother, because the language is ‘too hard’. Older Greek men always give a surprised grin when greeted with a military-style salute or a simple tip of the baseball hat.
In the evening I sat outside a restaurant and asked to be taught how to properly drink Ouzo. Instead of it being an aperitif, as I had always thought, or a digestif, Ouzo is meant to be sipped (after addition of a generous splash of water) in accompaniment with small plates of food. There is no rush, consume that aniseed goodness in a slow, contemplative way. While I had no dinner partner, I frequently exchanged a raised glass and a ‘Yia Mas!‘ (cheers) with the local men sitting nearby. I was pretty mashed by the time I got back to the hotel.
At that stage it was raining heavily, with strong gusts. But the weather didn’t worsen overnight.