Greece

The French drink a lot of juice, Germans like eggs .. Today there was hardly any visitor from Germany so nearly all hard-boiled eggs are left but yesterday all were gone. There is a lot of visitors from Russia, but mainly families, that defy the stereotypes of rather tipsy from the morning party animal. Bakery pastries should be sweet not savory - no one really wants pita with spinach, but already milk pie with cinnamon disappears quick. Household members, which now I count it anyway help it to disappear LOL.. Only, to get such a sweet pastries in the bakery you have to before 7.30. Heavy, thick Greek yogurt with a spoon drawn in a large container eat all nations - is delicious. Children, of course, choose Nutella or chocolate flakes with milk, which is for me I brought up on the scrambled eggs for breakfast and cheese will never understand. Guests are generally nice - probably the quality and price of guesthouse makes the selection . Only once a visitor from Israel looked very unhappy with the content of breakfast table, but Yiannis - owner of the guesthouse gave him extra tomato or cucumber and winked at me, "They're all there such, do not worry".

Kalambaka at the foot of Meteora

Sunset

I get up in the morning at dawn and my eyes hardly open. Sure I want to sleep more, but it's nice to watch a day in Kalambaka, small town at the foot of Meteora, unusual rock formations of looking like suspended on the top, almost in the air monasteries in the Greek mainland wakes up. I start work at appx 6.30 make lots of coffee, jump on a bike to buy bread and finish cleaning around. 11.30, which makes it the usual 4-5 hours a day for board and sleeping which is inscribed in the idea of ​​volunteering so popular recently. In the evenings,, when it is colder I am exploring the surrounding countryside and today I'm off , so finally I could sleep and write something. I'm here for a week now and how much more will stay I do not know. Probably not for long, because the domestication gene of mine is kindda damaged. I am fine here, some luxuries areound but I need my tent.

In June, I returned to Athens. Stay in Poland was interesting, much longer than planned and full of twists and turns, which incidentally did not end – I was longing though fr my bike which I left here, longing for living on the road. .

Akropol

While planning, therefore, my life I thought, that, however, I will not take a ferry to Turkey because it is a tad too expensive and I just go around by land. And that really always wanted to see the monasteries in Meteora and it might just be an opportunity, to come here. On workaway.info site I did not looked in for half a year now and somehow I googled it now. Supposedly hard at this time of year to find a place to volunteer, but this time Yiannis, the owner of bed-and-breakfast guesthouse in Meteora replied immediately. Come, take a look, You see if you like it he wrrote. So, I have been here for a week now and became responsible for breakfasts from A to Z – call me breakfast MASTER CHEF-I.

I chose sunday as a day of departure from Athens , because it is always a few cars on the road less. The first kilometers on the bike a little bit of catching balance, but it turnes out, that such things you do not forget. No problem on flat roads, less smoothly uphill of course. Outweighs the latter because Greece is a mountainous country. There is admittedly the coastline, but although willing I would jut plunge into water (Oh yes!) when I think about making my way through the lines of hotels, rumbling of music and filled with people and villages with search of safe and quiet corner for the night that I already have enough. In the mountains the is always a place for me and my tent and people are authentic.

At the supermarket in the town of Lamia a man started to talk to me, his name was Manfred. tiny, sunburnt, slim blond guy. Manfred is German, in his sixties and from 20 years he's been living on the road. Here and there, he is traveling with different means of transport - recently it is .. quad. Barely visible under the vehicle and lay panting hard (nomen-omen) Eva - his black dog, best friend and defender at the same time. "Come Eva, we are going to the park!"Says, When I accepted his offer to show me the place, where peace can wait out the worst hours of the day or 13-17.00. The temperature rises 40 degrees in the shade, air stands and burns and all living creatures are hiding in the shadows hardening motionless. As a living being doing the same thing. Every day I stop even 4 hours per day, life in the body and mind somehow enters the 18.00. Life has created me an unexpected scenario, who brought me to Greece in the middle of a hot summer, to cope with,.

Fortunately Hellas as long and wide in every town or somewhere along the way there are springs of water. The water is cold and good, and by the way can be to effect fast laundry. he splashes himself, I am kidding fresh bottle, sometimes even I cook something or do salad, because the food in taverns is too expensive, I relax and go further.

After 16tej Manfred rises from the bench. "Sun smaller, time to work "states. What kind of job I already know. The last six months he spent in Athens in the area of ​​Omonia Square (generally not very interesting spot) in a Pakistani store. 20 Per day for 10 work hours. Here it is different - Manfred sits at the supermarket, placed next to reluctantly leaving from the bench Eva and between them lies the cap on money. "Yesterday was a good day, at the time I saved 15 euro. today poorly, only a few "says. "I do not have much output, in this age already I do not want to work. Germany? Where there! I tried to go back in the past year, but I endured some two months. Constant visits to offices, still something they want, interrogated, bid to appear.. it's not for me. I left and I live like before – laughs. I'm here for three days, I already know I plan to move somewhere. I do not like people recognize me, I do not like to zadomawiać. I do not know where I will go, because everywhere I. I sleep here bench, Eva and so disarmed, but most often I go somewhere in the mountains, and I have the world at his feet. I do not have a tent and other things because I stole a few hours left on parked car in Athens. But I deal with it. Eva has all the vaccinations and dog papers needed to travel, accompanied me from Azerbaijan – I would not find a better friend from her.

We say goodbye after a few hours, I set off with plans to acquire the kind of a small, but still the mountain range, which I want to wtachać evening. I set off with the aim, despite that, Manfred philosophy that is very close to me, But I would not ever have to sit in front of a hat shop.

The air is thick, T-shirt sticks to your body and something that feels through the skin, that can be a storm. I check - and yes, rains are announced for the next day, So I hope, with I already at the bottom. Dark grabs me, but just before the summit, and I do not want to descend in the dark, holding up their tent I suppose preventive measures – considering, to the tent did not stand in the open air is on average possible CO9, I put the bike at some distance from the tent and I cover with foil. Hak knows where and what the lightning may shoot?

I fall asleep with hope, that the storm will miss this place, or in general it will not be. Vain are hopes, however.. At about 1 They wake me up at night loud murmurs. No, I do not want to hear, it seems to me.. and these flashes are sure of going through cars, a lot of truck rides at night, after all.. Mrrrrrrr ... wrrrr ... now it's my sky growls over his head. What should I do? There's not think of, I sit in the tent and enough. I assume earplugs, to shut out those grunts and I cover my eyes shirt, not to see lightning. I can do. I am adding to this a couple of Hail Marys no, but so heart pounding like crazy.

Storm does not want to leave, but the friendly spots and good walking along until the morning. The next day, the sky is blue as if nothing had happened, and only more crisp air tudzież surrounding puddles testify, that something happened here.

I roll tired until about 11tej, two kilometers to the pass and then a dozen km descent.. yeah! When I pass a parked truck driver waving to me with a smile. Odmachuję. After some time at the gas station I see the same car. Kierowca zagaduje, when he finds out where I go to the Russian. Vitaly is a Bulgarian and runs from 20 years. I saw you there at the top, I have. Coffee can do? such cold, in Greek – asks.

In total, why not. I throw eyes truck, and I think, that as the cab from both sides are open and people close to the station it is probably safe? Vitaly entertainment me coffee and then make a second breakfast. We talk a bit about the hard life at the present time .. it's nice, but thank you, because I have to go, remove some more kilometers before it gets too hot - I gather and raise. But we in the same direction, so what you go, I'll take you! The offer does not interest me, especially, when repeated it is somehow 10 times. Vitaly may not be dangerous, but importunate and the end does not give up. Surely you do not want? But why? I feel like temples pulsate me and wonder, if he really thinks, that would I desire to have sex with unwashed old man? Is the hell have duplicate, these trucks stereotypes and spoil nice meeting two people, which often they are on the way? The fuck hedgehog.

Meteora is Greek suspended in the air. Every day of the week lift up my head and I can not get a good look at this extraordinary work of nature in which man a superhuman effort put in their two cents. Byzantine monasteries (and there are still six active here) They seem to barely keep the giant, vertical, looking like a cleaver cut in half kilometer high rock. This is one of the most beautiful places on earth have seen.

This is another nail in the coffin of tourism, They will again be canceled reservations because people are afraid to travel” He said on bad news from France Yiannis, and already the news from Turkey to podłamał. Eh, once it was tourism, Germany came.. Now we have somewhere, but there is still a lot of French. Further it is difficult to predict what will happen, wish to talk.

It is difficult to him, another hard, I am also not easy - say, that the issue of predictability attained the zero state. That proved to be, that in September I have to be back for a while in Poland.. One of the reasons is that, that my tenants filed a denunciation of renting an apartment is now actually my only source of income (Someone might need to rent a nice studio apartment after renovation in Lower Mokotów in Warsaw? Free of October.. ). In addition, the doctor will also gladly watch me again, ordered to appear for 3 months. For a long time I feel like I bounced off the walls and shaking her over and over again. Until then suspended as the monasteries of Meteora, I look forward to the time, when a glimpse of the acceptance of all the judgments of fate.