Camp Zero

This is the abandoned radar tower at Camp Hero in Montauk. If you google "Montauk Project" you will quickly find that Camp Hero is a locus for almost every conspiracy theory in circulation. If I recall, it is something about Alister Crowley and the Pope plotting to assassinate Kennedy using technology recovered from an alien space craft downed by ex-nazi scientists over area 51.

A few decades ago nobody wanted this property and you could have had it for a dime. If I had known, I would have bought it and turned it into a techno rave club. The dj would have been stationed on the deck just in front of the curved reception field. He would have spun vinyl as it slowly rotated. The doof doof from the giant speakers would have been absorbed by the acres of surrounding pine barrens. I would have called the club "Camp Gay-dar"

Last Look

I ran up to the Parthanon for a last look. The gates were closed when I got there so all I had was this last peak from around the corner.

I am staying in the tower

I was only supposed to stay until tuesday but Nick and Mem invited me to stay until I left Greece. This was pefect for me. I am not the kind of traveler who likes to go everywhere and see nothing. I prefer to stay in one place and really get a feel for it. I like to have lazy days where I get up early and practice yoga, read the paper, play guitar then sleep in the afternoon.

I was by myself the first night at the house. Nick and Mem had some things they had to attend to back in Athens. There was a terrific wind storm. The ocean far below the house was covered with white caps. Every door and window in the house was rattling. It was like an army of lunatics were trying to break in. I described it to Nick when he got back:
"This place is loaded with ghosts." I told him.
"How can it have ghosts? It's a new house." He said.
"It's not the house that's haunted." I said. "It's the island."

The Mayors House

We had dinner on the little plaza in front of the how do you call it? The mayors house?
"Hmm." I replied. I thought a bit. "Town Hall?"
We were accosted there by a half dozen or so stray cats. I made the mistake of feeding one a little bit of my roast rooster. After that, I had friends for life.

Ioulida

This is the main city on the island of Kea. It's just what you think. All of the houses are climbing on top of each other. The entire island is terraced for farming. It once was lush and green and originally was called Hydrosa. There are hundreds of miles of stone walls to support the terraces. In order to support the agriculture here there must have been thousands of people living here. As near as I can tell though that was all over more than a thousand years ago. In the 5th century BC there were four cities here and they had joined the Athenian leauge. By the 1400's the population had declined to 200 people.

On the way back up.

On the way back Maria-Elena, Thalia and I had to get out of the car to make it lighter, so that Nick could get it up the steep inclines. The engine gave off a rancid smell. The body was covered in fine dust.

Aphrodite

Nick and I hiked up over the ridge and down to the site of one of the ancient cities that was being excavated. They were not just uncovering the temple here but actually rebuilding it. A small group of columns had already been erected.

There was a small rock island about 300 meters off shore and a group of boys had swum out to it and were diving from a precipice. We could hear their shouts above the waves. It was a pity that Johannes was not here. I know we would have been heading out there, into the lion's mouth, to join them.

Nick and I paused to rest on a rock bench before heading back. We saw a woman swimming towards the shore. She paused before getting out of the water and looked at us.
"She must be naked." I thought. "And waiting to see if we were ok." I gave her a little wave and she emerged from the froth. It was a perfect moment. An inspiration for Aphrodite. Now I see how myths come to be.

The hidden beach

Maria Elena was disappointed that the beach we finally arrived at was not empty.
"It's so crowded!"
There were about ten people there, a few tents and three cars. A motor boat was moored about 20 feet off shore. Half of the people there were crowed in the shade beneath a solitary tree. I told her that she needed to visit Coney Island with me.

The road dips deep.

We had to use a four wheeler to make our way down the treacherous dirt roads.

Giant Beans

Who needs California.

Stuffed Tomatoes

The tomatoes grown at the Taverna are juicey with a sweet tang. They cut like a piece of steak. The rice though, comes from China.

Mousaka

If you could just try it. Eggplants picked by dawn's light. The creamy topping made from milk from a goat that is watching you behind a hand hewn frence. Fresh meat hand ground in the kitchen .

Everybody Digs In

Nobody is afraid to dig in. The plates are brought to the table and it's a free for all with everybody reaching over each other to get at the food.

Grapes without wrath

These grapes were hanging over our table. I reached up and tasted one. They were a little bit too tart for eating. Then I drank a small pitcher of white wine that was made from them. It was crisp with a lot of straw. This is the first time I have been in a restaurant and the grapes were not made out of plastic.

I want to go to New York

When I first met Thalia she told me.
"I am four years old."
Her first nanny was from South Africa so she speaks English fluently. She always talks in perfect little sentences with all of the articles intact. At one point, after I had known her for a bit she said to me.
"Rene. Can I tell you something?"
"Sure." I said.
"I would like to go to New York."
Her mother, father, her father's brother, his wife and her friend all told me the same thing at one point or another. But she was the first. So. Dibs.

Mem tells me that Thalia is often asking when she is going to get married and have her husband. I told her:
"You should wait until you have finished the first grade. Then you will have your education."

Pistachios

These pistachios were being left out to dry. I tried one and was taken aback at how rich and creamy the taste was.
"Oh yeah." I thought. "This is why somebody had the idea to make ice cream out of them."

It was like the first time I had fresh squeezed orange juice. I was a young teen and we were on vacation in Florida. I could never go back to frozen canned orange juice after that. I have had other similar experiences, like in Heidelburg when I had beer that came direct from the brewing process without ever being kegged or transported. Before that, I had never liked beer at all.

More watermelons then you can imagine

The taverna also has a roadside vegetable stand. The food was so good here that I told Nick that I wanted to live under one of the tables.

this is how french fries are made

Normally I am snobby about french fries. But when I saw them at this stage of the process I could not resist trying them. Indeed, they were quite excellent.

Onions and figs

The Taverna we went to grows all of its own food. The vegetables we had reminded me of when I was a kid and everybody had a little garden. Everything then had real taste.

The view from Mems house

When I got out of the car I said to Nick.
"My god. The silence here is almost deafening."
My ears felt numb, as if they were in a vacuum. By the next morning I had gotten used to it. By then I could hear the waves lapping on the shore in the bay below the house. This morning I heard somebody cough,  inside their villa, a half mile away.