DAY 57

Tuesday 6 September 2011


The car started right up (*Hallelujah chorus*), and we left the busy truck stop with the promise of a fixed car by the end of the day. Despite countless old fashioned houses and vast farming areas, we discovered that Greece was still on its game when we passed a field of solar panels.


After a stressful and thus far fruitless odyssey, a saint called Kostas (friend of our VW camper van guru Sebastian), flagged us down in the "town center" of Psachna, no doubt designated as such by a tiny old church crammed in the middle of the area. Our savior took us to a mechanic who was a good friend of his father's and we watched with baited breath as the workers talked to Kostas. They almost instantly said they could not fix it, and needless to say we were crushed. But not to worry, Kostas had another mechanic in mind who was also his father's friend.

Like we said, Saint Kostas

We pulled into mechanic Bill Talegas' garage, which was more like a private home converted into a business. We knew we had found our answer, because like a real old pro he was running from car to car tweaking this and that, all the while speaking with his employees and customers. After all that, he told us simply, it needed a new battery, and that was it. We had so many more questions, but that was all the one-on-one time we got with the doctor, for he was back to rushing between clients.

We believe our "Magic Hare" Isabel gave us led us to our next one,
hanging on the wall of Talegas'

To celebrate our good fortune and Kostas' help, we went out for coffee at one of Kostas' favorite places. He sipped his drink delicately while we gulped ours down (the American way?). Shortly after Nicole experienced the full effects of a strong Greek coffee, and these effects did not wear off or become comfortable for a few more hours.


We said goodbye and on Kostas' recommendation went to a beach side community on the island (it shows how lost we were getting to Psachna that we had to be told we were even off the mainland). After a delicious dip in the ocean Dian and Charles explored the area on foot while Nicole slept off the effects of the strong drink.

Dian, Georgia, and the jack-o'-lantern Georgia carved

After scouting for a good restaurant, Dian and Charles struck gold, and all three ate a delicious dinner of Greek salad, crab salad, and pork chop with potatoes. The service was definitely on "island time," but we were in no rush. At the invitation of Georgia, our friendly waitress, we explored the upper deck of the 58-year-old establishment, which had jazz music swinging from the bar speakers. It was from this vantage point that we were able to look down upon the ocean, the sky, and THE CAT EATING OUR CRAB SALAD! Georgia tried to shoo it away, but to no avail. Too bad, so sad, we were given a fresh crab salad no charge. It seemed that the zoo door had not been closed, because a cat or dog or two were always at our table, always watching our hands go from plate to mouth, plate to mouth.

No words are needed, it knows what it's done

We walked lazily from our car to the end of the hotels and beach bars, and took the computer to a nearby hotel that had Wi-Fi, where we called Dian's parents and blogged (Day 31 now complete)! That night was incredibly windy, and paired with the crashing waves of the sea, it made for a fantastic cornucopia of natural noises.

A glowing ocean lit our way home