An Odyssey in the Second Year of the Plague – Play Time

 

A drum break in Athens

All this odysseying can leave little time for music practice... and – pandemic permitting – I have to play some jazz when I get back to the UK.

So I was fortunate to discover Artworks Studios at Elliniko in southern Athens, not far from where I have been staying.

It had an excellent set of Gabriel drums which I was able to put to good use for a couple of three-hour sessions that helped stop me feeling so rusty.

I have no hesitation in recommending this excellent place.

The masked drummer

An Odyssey in the Second Year of the Plague – A Modern-Day Homer

 

Andronikos Sakkatos

Athens has many attractions... but for me, this time, perhaps the greatest was to meet again with Andronikos Sakkatos, the archaeologist and passionate Odysseist, whom I encountered by pure chance last year in Ithaca at the end of my own odyssey [see this blog, An Odyssey in the Year of the Plague – 13: 29 September - 4 October 2020].

We met this time at a café near the Acropolis, and Andronikos spoke for the best part of two-and-a-half hours about his hopes for Ithaca to start making the most of its Homeric heritage.

Much needs to be done. The archaeological site of the Palace of Odysseus must be secured and made visitor-friendly, hundreds of still unsorted artefacts have to be put on display, and the island needs a new cultural centre focused on the importance of The Odyssey to the whole world.

This is the message of Andronikos – a modern-day Homer who seems capable of singing the praises of Odysseus forever. He didn't even take a break for a second cup of tea or a snack – "I can't eat when I am being passionate," he explained. "I am a machine!"

He may be a machine but he also has a huge heart – a truly great man and a real Ithacan hero.

An Odyssey in the Second Year of the Plague – Payback at the Acropolis

 

And so to Athens... which I have visited many times over the past 40 years... but not since the awful mistake known as Brexit.

A small reminder of what the British have done – and of course they don't enjoy a good reputation here in relation to the Parthenon and the cultural treasure purloined by Elgin – was provided by staff at the Acropolis Museum.

People as old as me get half-price entry there: €5 instead of €10. To get my discount I was asked to provide ID. I handed over my passport and was about to get my reduction when a supervisor appeared and intervened.

She told the ticket seller – and the ticket seller told me – that there was now no discount for the British since they were no longer in the EU. I asked futilely whether it made any difference that I hadn't voted for Brexit...

It didn't of course. And I paid my €10. I fear the cost of Brexit will go on increasing – on so many levels.

An Odyssey in the Second Year of the Plague – The Big One

 

Pera Pigadi Bay  ©Jane Cochrane

This was the toughest of the walks on Ithaca – in fact it was also a large part climbing, and a small part mountaineering.

That's me pictured on the beach at Pera Pigadi Bay before setting off to the top of the crag far above, which is known as the Korakos Petra.

It has been convincingly argued that this was the route taken by Odysseus's son, Telemachus, when he returned to Ithaca from trying to find out what had happened to his long-absent dad.

Last week locals were saying that this ascent could no longer be done. But I am glad to say that they were proved wrong.

If you're wondering why I'm not giving much more detail about this and the other walks I've been helping to research on Ithaca, it's because all will be revealed when Jane Cochrane's new book, Walking in the Footsteps of Odysseus on Ithaca, is published – hopefully later in 2021.

An Odyssey in the Second Year of the Plague – A Farewell to Ithaca

 

The man himself – Odysseus

This past week on Ithaca has been intense, with eight great walks completed... following in the footsteps of Odysseus... and Homer.

The island, as always it seems, has been filled with magic... from the touristy (yes, there are some tourists!) and boaty bustle of Vathi in the south to the more rustic and peaceful Stavros, Frikes and Kioni in the north.

There are no cases of covid... yet Ithacans have no problem continuing to wear masks in shops and offices. And why anyone would have to go into quarantine returning from here to the virus-stricken UK is beyond me. The other way round would make more sense.

Next stop is Athens for a reunion with archaeologist Andronikos Sakkatos [see this blog, An Odyssey in the Year of the Plague – 13: 29 September - 4 October 2020] to get an update on what the future holds for the site of the Palace of Odysseus.

An Odyssey in the Second Year of the Plague – Blood on the Tracks

 

Ithaca 2021

Walking on Ithaca is a pleasure that does not come without pain... particularly when one is following the paths less trodden.

At the end of my odyssey in 2020 I was left with my legs badly cut – from walking on an Ithacan path that had been seriously blocked by trees blown down in a cyclone [see this blog, An Odyssey in the Year of the Plague – 13: 29 September - 4 October 2020]. The agony by a hundred cuts came courtesy of the briars and undergrowth that I was forced to make my way through, off-piste.

I was more than happy to return to Ithaca... but I never wanted to repeat that particular experience. However, after following a less well-walked path that petered out into thick forest and bush... I've just done exactly the same. And my legs are covered in bloody scratches – bloody painful scratches, in fact.

Maybe this time I will learn my lesson.

Ithaca 2021

An Odyssey in the Second Year of the Plague – One More U-Turn

Bust of Odysseus in Stavros, Ithaca

 

It's wonderfully surreal to be back in Ithaca and visiting the site of the Palace of Odysseus.

I gambled on things taking a turn for the better while I was here: i.e. that Greece would go from amber to green.

But against all the odds – and after 18 months of refusing to do so – the UK government appears to have acted sensibly... and turned Portugal from green to amber, thus quashing hopes of Greece and Spain getting some sort of reprieve.

Will I be doomed to roam the Mediterranean until at length the gods decide to allow me to return home?