Day 2 - June 18 - Euboean Coast

Today we head off to the beach where the hot springs drain into the sea. We went down to the tiny secluded beach area where there are probably about 50 people in the area, and most of them under a large tent on the beach. It is unbelievably hot out and the sun is very intense. We pulled some chairs up near the rock face to try and catch some shade. There was a steaming waterfall coming off the opposite cliff and in the middle of the beach was a small fissure where hot steaming water drained in to the sea. The water in Greece is unbelievably clear and the beach front area is small. Excitedly, I slosh into the water only to learn that it was pretty darn cold. So I walked over to the falls to only jump out in pain as the scalding hot water hits me. The tour books said that people do not stay in for long because of the temperature of the water; I was thinking that I could not stay in for 20 seconds let alone 20 minutes. There were plenty of people sitting right under the falls, the scorching water pouring down on to them. I tried and tried again to get under the falls but had to recoil each and every time. Faced with an inevitable sunburn due to lack of cover and the heat of the water I was ready to leave after 10 minutes. Eventually I found a shady spot under a cliff overhang slightly behind the waterfall where I could keep out of the sun, be horizontal in about a foot of water and enjoy the nice warm water of the Euboean sea as it combined with the scalding waterfall. Once I found this spot I was ready to spend the next 12 hours right there! We stayed there only a few hours but I was happy as I languished in the crystal warm water. Being hungry we went back to the beach front area to one of the many cafes that lined the shorefront. There was a cafeteria that was open that had the most scrumptious array of traditional Greek dishes. All home made, they had stuffed tomatoes and peppers, lima beans, green beans and tomato, meatballs in an egg and lemon sauce, calamari, everything looked so good Ann, Nick and I bought enough food for twice as many people. I guess they liked us because we were not charged for the calamari because they said it was not full portions. It was here where I learned that I was SOL on finding “good” beer (i.e. ale), oh well Amstel is fine with me. We sat outside under the canopy and devoured the bounty. This restaurant was easily one of the best eating highlights of the trip. It makes me hungry just thinking about it.

When we got back to the village we all piled into the car and drove really far to the town of Prokopion. In this town is a church that contains the mummified remains of St. John the Russian. The sarcophagus containing his body had a glass top, his body was small and very short, he was dressed in traditional gown, and on half of his face was mask, much like what the phantom of the opera wears. The reason for the mask, reads the informational plaque, is that the body was burned and they wanted to cover the burn on his face. The multitudes who visit his shrine are such that there is daily bus service to the shrine from Athens. Countless miracles flow from his relics and icons, and even now-when the spirit of the world is having such an oppressive effect on traditional Greek piety--icons of the Saint are often found in buses and in nearly all Orthodox homes. St. John was neither a celebrated hierarch, nor an eloquent theologian, but a simple young man who spent the better part of his life in a stable.

Along every road in Greece you see thousands of small roadside shrines. They are probably more frequent then mile markers in the US. Most of the shrines are built to resemble real churches. Inside each you will usually find an icon, a candle assorted trinkets. Some contain what looks like a bottle of water. The shrines are not to mark where someone died along the road, although by the way people drive in Greece you would think that. Put up and maintained by individuals who have made a vow to do so, they are places for weary travelers to stop for spiritual comfort. People are very religious in Greece, you can say what you want about their politics or the football team, but you better not say anything bad about the church – if you do you will be thrown out of town by an angry mob. I recall seeing a car pass the church – with couple of teenagers inside – as they passed the girl in the passenger seat crossed herself in respect to the church.
By the time we go back to the village, it was 9:30 and time for dinner. We ordered out for souvlaki – in fact it is safe to say that every dinner was at 10:00 and we ate souvlaki.