{"id":1853,"date":"2016-10-01T13:11:58","date_gmt":"2016-10-01T19:11:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/triciakarsay.com\/guatemala\/?p=1853"},"modified":"2016-10-02T06:57:25","modified_gmt":"2016-10-02T12:57:25","slug":"i-am-in-the-sea-very-cool-very-free","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/triciakarsay.com\/guatemala\/i-am-in-the-sea-very-cool-very-free\/","title":{"rendered":"I am in the sea, very cool, very free"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"slaka\"<\/a>

I’m not sure about that interior road, although I might walk it next week when I go back to Poros, we drove along the “Unnamed Road” to get to Skala. Approx. 12km.<\/p><\/div>\n

Hi Tricia..to tell you the truth,make what is the best for you,becouse me i m in the sea,very cool,very free!The bus early morning come in Poros about 14.00′(very good for me)!!The second bus come about 19.00′(very good for me)..You see?Evrything is very good for me!Special becouse today the ship strike are stop,so you can come in kefalonia!!!!My opinion(just my opinion)come with the first bus(if you wake up early morning,if not ok!come with the next.How ever tomorrow all together we will dring ouzaki on the sea!Just let me know the time of your bus,and the rest i will fix it!!See you…<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Ship strike?? \u00a0Lucky me and good timing, that could have gone on for days and days. \u00a0Kyllini looked like a pleasant enough place to get stuck in for a day or two but really glad that I escaped that mess. \u00a0Vagelis sends the best emails!<\/p>\n

So far all of my Airbnb experiences have started\u00a0with wonderfully friendly, warm email exchanges with my hosts and unique first meetings. \u00a0In San Sebastian, I had to meet the friend of my host\u00a0at an outdoor bus station. \u00a0I didn’t know what or who to look for, but thankfully her 11 year old son recognized me from the description of my backpack. \u00a0It was quite confusing\u00a0to see a little kid you don’t know run toward you yelling “Pa-tree-cee-ah,\u00a0Pa-tree-cee-ah” in the middle of a place you don’t live. \u00a0In Charlotte, my host (and roommate!), Diego, was also an Uber driver so we arranged\u00a0an airport pickup. \u00a0I wasn’t using\u00a0Uber at the time, and couldn’t get my phone\u00a0to download the app\u00a0so\u00a0when we pulled over on an off ramp to figure it out, Diego had to talk his way out of a ticket. \u00a0And he did. \u00a0In Puerto Rico, I had to meet the host in front of his condo which seemed normal enough, but when I got there,\u00a0we\u00a0had to enter sneakily through the back. \u00a0Once I was in, I could enter and exit through the front. \u00a0My “cousin” was a great host, giving me a lift to the airport when I departed. \u00a0And on another trip to Charlotte, my host\u00a0left a key in a lock box chained to a railing in a garage with a secret code. \u00a0I felt like a spy.<\/p>\n

And here, in Kefalonia, as I disembarked in Poros and looked for the dark cherry-colored Ford fiesta to the right, there was Vagelis cheerily walking toward me,\u00a0with a super friendly greeting followed by quick look around me “Wait. \u00a0Ahhhh, is it just you? \u00a0Where’s John?” \u00a0Huh? \u00a0“Who’s John?” \u00a0For a second I thought I might unknowingly be sharing my little art house with some guy named John. \u00a0Or maybe he also thinks Stanley is a real person, named John. \u00a0“I thought you were two.” \u00a0Nope, just me and Stanley, who is a\u00a0bag, and this other little bright green monstrosity full\u00a0of computers and work that weighs more than my bag bag. \u00a0Then I thought he may have gotten confused by my phone call from the boat. \u00a0“Ohhhhh, a very nice man let me use his phone to call and let you\u00a0know I made the boat, maybe his name was John?? \u00a0Nope, that wasn’t it either. \u00a0Oh well.<\/p>\n

\"Gorgeous<\/a>

Gorgeous view of the Kefalonian sun setting<\/p><\/div>\n

Poros has a nice little harbor with a lighthouse and lots of charm. \u00a0Before we drove to Skala,\u00a0we stopped for a drink at a small, adorable cafe in the port. \u00a0 Facing the sea, it’s to the far left and if you walk through the first terrace of tables to the back through some rock entrances, there’s a small terrace that feels like you’re on the sea. \u00a0I think\u00a0“ouzaki<\/em>” literally means “little ouzo” but I think it might be similar to “meeting for a drink”. \u00a0I’m not sure if I’m remembering this correctly, but when I was working in the apotheke<\/em>\u00a0on Paros, we would often go out for drinks and bar snacks before dinner that we called meeting\u00a0for “ouzaki<\/em>“. \u00a0Which may or may not have included\u00a0ouzo<\/em>. Again, I might be pulling that from my ass. It probably just means “little ouzo”. \u00a0I had a little glass of white wine.<\/p>\n

We chatted a bit as the sun went down and then hopped in the dark cherry-colored Ford Fiesta to Skala. \u00a0The drive along the sea was breathtaking. \u00a0Dramatic rock formations in the water make the calmly beautiful sea even more enchanting. \u00a0It got dark quickly and we stopped along the road at St. Giorgios, a small church beside an archaeological site from the Archaic period. \u00a0Vagelis lit a candle and we were off again. \u00a0Drove through a pedestrian zone full of shaking fists so he could show me the main drag in the small town, drove by Manolis Taverna (best meat!) and the supermarket (there’s a\u00a0psychopath don’t go there!)\u00a0and \u00a0then we stopped at their hotel to meet Voula.<\/p>\n

Okay, time for a beach break before work! Back later, or tomorrow.<\/p>\n

Wow, the sea was perfect yesterday (and today too), crystal clear with jewel-like\u00a0patterns from light-washed\u00a0underwater stones. I swam for over an hour, what a great way to start a work day, or any day. Okay back to meeting Voula. Voula and Vagelis run the Hotel Skala in town, it’s her family business\u00a0and from what I can gather, they built this house using stones from the sea and live in it when they aren’t airbnbing it.\u00a0When we arrived at the hotel, I got a quick tour, and was welcomed\u00a0with a glass of wine and an invitation to relax on the terrace and wait for Voula to return. \u00a0The smell of jasmine was everywhere, hypnotic and soothing, it’s my absolute favorite scent. \u00a0Voula returned\u00a0from shopping and greeted me\u00a0warmly. \u00a0We talked a bit about the hotel and the island and I assured her I would be okay in the house by myself. \u00a0She was really worried about me in general, but\u00a0also that I might\u00a0be disappointed with the house. \u00a0I can’t imagine the person who would be disappointed staying here. It’s magical. \u00a0Hope to chat with them more about the house and the village.\u00a0 So now it was finally time to go to the art house.<\/p>\n

The house. \u00a0What can I say, it is just spectacular. So unique, and I love every creative inch\u00a0of this little gingerbread home\u00a0made of sea pebbles and stone and tiles and colored glass and shells and cork and metal and wood and mosaics and just surprising details at every turn. \u00a0On one corner of the outside facade, there is a Tsantali wine bottle floating on a wall\u00a0of pebbles. I have three of those bottles in my apartment\u00a0on a floating ledge on my\u00a0kitchen wall! \u00a0 And there are spirals everywhere (I love spirals!) from the railing on the staircase up to the loft bedroom to the insets on the fireplace. \u00a0Yes! There’s a fireplace. And a cow print painted chimney! \u00a0Every day I notice something new. Like right now I am looking at this thing that’s suspended from the slanted wood\u00a0ceiling over the fireplace that looks like an elongated corn cob still in its husk. \u00a0A straw hat lamp shade is peeking at me too. I’ve been here almost a full week and I’m still noticing new things. And I am still in absolute awe of the place.<\/p>\n

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