Big Trip Day 124 – Athens

The travelogue entries for today (13th August 1973) also cover bits of the previous two days. Saturday (Day 122) saw me boarding the boat at Heraklion, a last minute scramble and panic. The journey was uneventful and I managed to get some sleep on a bench on deck. It was lovely, waking during the night... … Continue reading Big Trip Day 124 – Athens →

Big Trip Day 122 – Farewell Matala!

Today is a day of beginnings and endings. For the former, I would like to introduce my new notebook. Although it says 8th August, my first proper travelogue entry was for today - 11th August. You will also note that it lasted a rather long time. I may have had some intermediary notebooks, or I … Continue reading Big Trip Day 122 – Farewell Matala! →

The Avren Weekly Lottery

Let me introduce you to our weekly village lottery. To enter, every Tuesday evening I drag my entry ticket (Number 5) to the end of the lane and place it carefully by the side of the road. I check on Wednesday evening to see if I have been lucky. Alas, not today. I check again … Continue reading The Avren Weekly Lottery →

Big Trip Day 118 – Matala Contemplations

I note that last night I received letters from my parents and good friend Vanessa. The latter contained sad and tragic news - two of her friends had been killed in a car crash while hitch-hiking in Greece. Unsurprisingly, this made me feel sad and weird. When I wrote my reply this morning, a praying … Continue reading Big Trip Day 118 – Matala Contemplations →

Big Trip Day 117 – Matala Party Morning

The day began at 08.30 hrs when Dave from Portsmouth woke us to come to a party. I was feeling the leftovers from last night's drinking - I always said that with ouzo you get a leftover rather than a hangover - but in true Matala spirit, I strolled over to his camp for a … Continue reading Big Trip Day 117 – Matala Party Morning →

Big Trip Day 116 – Matala Party Night

The entries in my travelogue (how effortlessly over the past few weeks of posting have I elevated my tatty, intermittently written in, often illegible notebook to such a noble status!) for today (5th August 1973) refer to the activities of last night. Early in the evening there was smoking and... ...slight hassle when police came … Continue reading Big Trip Day 116 – Matala Party Night →

Big Trip Day 114 – Matala Peach

The title is as intended, not a typographical error. Today's (3rd August 1973) very short entry in my travelogue refers to the events of last night. We were joined by the three US marines again. Last time they brought a large tin of kidney beans (why?!), but this evening they have brought two 7lb tins … Continue reading Big Trip Day 114 – Matala Peach →

Big Trip Day 113 – Matala Wind

"The wind is in from Africa,Last night I couldn't sleep..." [From "Carey" by Joni Mitchell] Always good to throw in a Joni Mitchell line or two, and it certainly removes any ambiguity that might surround the meaning of today's title. No, it is not about gastronomical turbulence (although with my diet at Mama's Cafe that … Continue reading Big Trip Day 113 – Matala Wind →

Big Trip Day 112 – Matala

Beach life continues apace. There is no end to the entertainment possibilities offered by this beautiful bay. I am writing today because this is when I wrote the entry in my travelogue, but the event was last night. We saw a Greek movie projected onto an outside wall. The story involved a girl caught underwater … Continue reading Big Trip Day 112 – Matala →

Big Trip Day 107 – Return to Matala

We arrived back in Matala early yesterday evening. It is great to be back, although there are a lot of new faces. Tom is still here. If I remember correctly, he was from Sweden and had a thing about Bob Dylan's Don't Think Twice. If I remember incorrectly, he could have been from Barcelona and … Continue reading Big Trip Day 107 – Return to Matala →