Seven reasons why we want to return to Greece
Updated on the day: 9/3/2021. We had paradise just a flight away and we lived as if it would wait for us forever. . "Greece? Yes, it's on my list...", we said, unconcerned. How we have dreamed ever since of the blue domes of Santorini turning red at sunset. With the majesty of the Acropolis guarding the vibrant Athens like a god. By sharing ouzo and bread with the locals, giving thanks -"efcharistó, efcharistó"- for the table full of delicacies of infinite colors.
Greece , warm and Mediterranean, always receives whoever visits her with open arms and much to offer: a exquisite gastronomy , incomparable landscapes, a mix of cultures that could only occur at that point right between East and West . We want to return sooner rather than later, and we have seven reasons why.
The sea entering the magical cave of Melisanni
1. FOR ITS APPETIZING CUISINE
Tasty, balanced and very varied. This is Greek cuisine, which, despite the clichés that have been exported, is much ** more than feta cheese and tzaztiki .**
Base? A quality product that, for the most part, comes from sustainable farms of the lands of the country. And for sample, a button: the number of organic farms it increased by 885% between 2000 and 2007, the highest increase within the European Union.
Furthermore, in the Hellenic country it seems that the fast food it hasn't caught on at all and, wherever you go, it's easy to find home cooked taverns with traditional dishes served with the love of a γιαγιά , based on the local raw material and seasonal cuisine.
The bread, Of course, there is never a shortage on the table, and what bread...! "This is how the loaves that were eaten forty years ago must have been", you will think, while you doubt if finish the basket before the first course arrives and you wash it down with exquisite wines elaborated with the know-how granted by hundreds of years of history.
For after-meals, which are as long here as in Spain, there is also a choice: tsipouro, masticha, ouzo or any of the typical liqueurs of the area in which you are, without forgetting the love that the Greeks lavish on coffee. They especially love the frappe , the cold and shaken variety of this drink, which they will delight in consuming even minus two degrees , sitting in large groups of friends at small tables facing the street.
Oh, and don't be surprised that, at the end of the meal, they serve you a dessert even if you haven't asked for it: soon you will understand that they not only cook with the love of a granny: they also love you fatten how would they...
Taramosalata, one of the delicious Greek 'meze' ("starters")
two. FOR HIS DISARMING HOSPITALITY
With this image of grandmothers we come to another basic point of the Hellenic personality: hospitality. Absolutely everyone will care about your well-being, from the supermarket cashier to that lady who meets you on the street looking at a map with obtuse face
"This is an unhappy man who is lost and it is necessary to help him, because all foreigners and poor belong to Zeus ", wrote Homer in The Odyssey, where this trait of the Hellenic personality was already made clear.
Likewise, the Greeks, communicative and affable, they love their country and, therefore, they love that people come to visit it, so they will not miss the opportunity to inform you of everything that comes to mind about his land. If you also learn two or three words in their language -"Yassas!, Kalimera!, Efcharistó!-, you will finish conquering them.
In that other meaning of hospitality, the one that has to do with the hotel industry, the Greeks also fall in love with mysterious caves converted into rooms facing the sea. Or at The Saint, pure relaxation with views of the Santorini caldera. Also in Wild Hotel, a beautiful hotel like an amphitheater around the virgin beach of Kalafati. And even with a unique spa, carved out of the mountains.
You, here: think about it
3. FOR ITS EXTRAORDINARY LANDSCAPES
Greece is a country of only ten million inhabitants, who occupy around 132,000 square kilometers (To give us an idea, Spain occupies about 505,000). However, its position on the map means that it has many different landscapes , capable of providing the traveler with options of all kinds.
For starters, there are your proverbial beaches , known for the purity of its elements and bathed in the calm waters of the Aegean, Ionian and Mediterranean Seas.
There are those who fall in love with ** the 227 inhabited islands ** that it has and with its coquettish life, with those white villages that we never tire of seeing in the photos: Lefkada, with its chalk cliffs and its white beaches; leafy Corfu, with its rich historical past -it was the Republic of Venice-. The Saronic Islands, a sky made of sea perfect for sailing; Paros, Naxos and Anafi, the forgotten paradises of the Cyclades; Crete, full of life and beauty...
There are also those who bet on enjoying the practically virgin nature his mountainous forests and the still intact traditional charm of its rural villages , which is easy to do practically anywhere in the interior, since the 75% of the country is covered by massifs . Impossible to resist Pelion, the magical mountain of Greece. Nor to stately Metsovo and Zagori, stone villages in the middle of an ocean of trees. Much less to Meteora, a unique landscape, a World Heritage Site, made up of stone colossi that rise more than 600 meters from the ground. And there is more: on its summits, defying gravity and common sense, monasteries rise up to seven centuries old.
Of course, in Greece there are also ski resorts for those looking for snow, long rivers and huge lakes for those who prefer water sports, and horizons of strange rock formations for lovers of unique prints.
You just have to choose what you want and Greece will put its many wonderful options for a perfect vacation. A good idea? Tour the secret interior of the country by car, completing the Greek road trip that you will never forget.
Meteora, a World Heritage Site, will remain etched on your retina forever
Four. FOR HIS EXULTANT IMAGINATION
In Greece, everything has a story. And also an exceptional one. If you go to Pelion , they will tell you that argonauts , those heroes commanded by Jason who were sailing in search of the golden fleece, arrived at its beaches, watched from the top of the mountain by the gods.
If you head towards the cave of melissani , you will know that it gets its name from a nymph in love with the demigod Pan , and that she committed suicide by drowning because of unrequited love.
If you want to immerse yourself in the ancient pool of Cleopatra, they will tell you that the vapors of its thermal waters come directly from the hand of Pluto, god of the underworld.
In the Hellenic country, it is impossible to find a bend in the earth without a passionate legend behind, which, without a doubt, gives an irresistible imaginative nuance to the trip. Especially if you go with children !
The amazing pool of Cleopatra, in Hierapolis
5. FOR BEING THE CRADLE OF WESTERN CIVILIZATION
Everybody knows that the Acropolis most famous in the world is in Athens, but what if we stop to think what this means? We are talking about a city that was built in the 5th century BC , and who drew the trajectory of our history, our thought, our culture and even our art.
The Hellenic era changed everything, and laid the foundations for the society we live in today , so it is necessary to walk through its walls and columns reflecting on the miracle which means that they are still standing, with a chill on the skin and knot of emotion in the throat.
Greece treasures hundreds of classical monuments , has many interesting examples from other historical periods and exhibits in its museums everything that we go over in the textbooks but that today, with the experience that maturity gives, fascinates and moves us in equal parts. And just for that shudder of wonder It's already worth the trip.
All started here
6. FOR ITS RICH CULTURAL MIX
Europe, Asia and Africa have left their mark on this country strategically located in the middle of the three continents, so their culture and traditions they are varied and unique for the foreign visitor. It's easy to delight in your delicate crafts, its beautiful folk costumes, its distinctive architecture, its striking customs...
As we have already said, the Greeks are very proud of their country so you don't have to look very hard to find these elements, which will appear without you looking for them. For example in music coming out of the loudspeakers of any restaurant, which will probably be traditional -or very tradition-based-. Although, yes, it is not easy to hear no melody due to the noise that is formed when there are more than two Greeks together!
It is also curious to appreciate his religious devotion, which causes Sunday masses remain full -unlike what happens in Spain-. And his eagerness to break the laws and keep smoking within any establishment, as well as their willingness to settle dance as soon as they get a chance...
7. FOR THE VIBRANT LIFE OF ITS GREAT CITIES
Whatever time it is, you will always find atmosphere in cities like Athens and Thessaloniki . There stands one surprisingly creative youth that is changing the rules of the game in the country at the stroke of drive and entrepreneurship . Don't give up, either for host refugees , to organize in self-managed communities or to fill new shops neighborhoods that were uninhabited.
The crisis, that hit the country so hard and whose effects are still being felt, has not served to intimidate the Greeks, quite the contrary.
Once recovered from the initial blow, they have reinvented themselves and, above all, they have done what they do best: have fun and fill cafes and restaurants with revelry, live the street and with it, create a festive atmosphere in which you will feel welcome and more than encouraged to enjoy long nights eternal , of those that you will remember, as in a daydream once you get back home...
This article was written on 12/28/2017 and updated on 3/9/2021