Autumn has come early. Today (18th September) is what the Scots would describe as ‘dreich’ – wet and miserable. My wife and I escaped the heat of late summer as we were on the road in Europe on a mission: Operation Odin. We delivered our son’s dog to him in London.
Here is the dog’s reaction when he sees our son in the distance: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/OuhFyOorSxw I am a cat fan, but I really love that dog.
The trip made me think about some realities here in Greece. The first is the contempt that Greece has for its Balkan tourists. The road to Evzonoi on the border with North Macedonia is a disgrace. No effort – despite the money Greece earns from Balkan tourism – has been made to make the road smoother and safer. As we returned via Italy, I don’t know how good or bad the road is between Evzonoi and Greece’s A1 (Thessaloniki-Athens road) and A2 (the Egnatian Way, which runs from Igoumenitsa to the Turkish border). On the plus side, the A2 starts and ends at the gates of Igoumenitsa port, and the scenery of the first 40 or 50 kilometres is stunning.
The second reality is over-pricing or price fixing. For example, there is no point shopping around for a mobile provider as they all offer virtually the same deal. In the same way, the four Thermaikos-Thessaloniki ferry operators all charge the same fare: €10 single/€16 return – a 100% increase from three or four years ago.
And still on the same subject, can anyone explain how a 250g pack of Jakobs coffee costs £3.45 (€4) in a small London mini-market while the Masoutis supermarket chain charges around €6 for the same thing? And, since Brexit, Brits are paying import duties.
Back to the beaches, I live in Nei Epivates, about 25km from Thessaloniki. The beach is reasonable, but I don’t like the water as there is seaweed underfoot. Who comes to Nei Epivates? Mainly Serbs and Bulgarians. The Greeks who come tend to be people who do not have the means (money, time or transport) to go to Halkidiki, so it is hardly Mykonos or the Riviera. And yet, a draught beer (Vergina) and an Aperol Spritz cost us €16. I am pleased to announce that Nei Epivates is significantly more expensive than Venice! And the Vergina was shit. Moreover, we are constantly asked if we’re going to pay cash or card. I’m sure the VAT will never reach the government’s coffers if we opt to pay cash. Incidentally, the bar was Moon Ze, which my friend associates with the Greek μούντζα, the open-palmed, 5-fingered ‘salute’ that is the equivalent of the better-known single finger. I think I’d prefer the insult to the over-pricing.
Here is the classic mountza:
And the double mountza if you’re really pissed off:
And I like this: “One palm, so many words”
