Now The Tourists Must Run...
There is one restaurant open in Barbati at the moment and needless to say it has become our ‘regular’. We even have ‘our table’ which the proprietor now directs us to as we arrive...
Nomads – still creatures of rhythm and routine!
As we set off last night into the dark wet night, air clean and washed with cold sharp energy; I said ‘restaurants sometimes are closed on Mondays aren’t they?’
These proved to be prophetic words….
‘Oh well we have yoghurt and honey at home ’ I said – ‘And the “firewater” that Spiros gave us’!
We drove into Ipsos and curb-crawled our way along the main street, looking for anything resembling an open eatery!
We passed two bars with gatherings of men, which looked more like drinkeries!
Right at the end of the seafront we happened upon an oasis, a bit like something from 'The Matrix', a restaurant set up for dining, white tables cloths with shiny wine glasses and silver cutlery – and no one in there…
We hesitantly opened the door and were warmly greeted by the owner.
‘Are you open for food’ we asked ‘yes yes, but not the full menu’
‘You have saved us’ I said…
We settled into a corner by the radiator, in our new restaurant, and chose our meal.
I counted up that I had six thin layers on – I have gleaned this from ski ing friends as the best way to go when feeling chilly – especially when only one jumper is owned between two! The rain was beating down again…
‘Are you on your holidays’ our restaurateur asked us politely…!
Today we ran to the same route as we had driven last night; a flatter road to save my quads which are complaining at the sudden introduction of miles of downhill running – preceded by the up!
‘I love it that we are here in the winter’, I said as we ran along side by side. It is so quiet, very few shops open, a few of the locals going about their day. Two cats were ‘doing it’ on the path by the boats. We were re united with another doggy friend who had two mates with him; delighted to see us, they crossed the road in front of all the traffic, which slowed and swerved to accommodate them; drivers here are used to random dogs in the middle of the road!
‘It is amazing to think of this street and this beach in the summer isn’t it’? I said to Anadi as we jogged back along the quiet road; a cars passed us and hooted and the person inside waved; we recognized her as the young woman from the supermarket in Barbati which is shut up for winter…
‘Yes’ he agreed ‘packed full of people and beach umbrellas lining the beach and all the shops and restaurants open’.
It really and truly is the yin to the yang; the whole town is hibernating now, it is the fallow period, where energy is regained before the summer madness ensues…
We have noticed that the men seem to grow tummies in the winter here which they lose in the summer; like the hobbits in between campaigns; I remember that they would rest and have to let their belts out a notch or two…
Rest and recovery are vital to our wellbeing and our health; if we rest we can sustain and maintain supreme efforts.
The summer season on a Greek island is rather like an ultra event; it is long and I imagine challenging as well as rewarding, changeable terrain and circumstances each day that require the qualities of an endurance athlete …
stamina, strength calmness under pressure, flexibility and agility…carrying on when the going gets tough -never giving up; staying in the step and the next and the next...
The Greeks are asked this every season; and in recent years they have been asked this more than ever; that they keep going, with their economy crashing around them.
When we were here last I recorded podcasts with Nikos and George, where they both spoke about how endurance running had helped them individually, and how it was positively affecting Corfu island and the whole of Greece.
Participation in sports has trebled as well as the amount or race events being created.They are finding peace in the mountains, in the running step, through getting fit again.
Community spirit has built too, because they are running together and creating events together. This is helping them on many levels, as friends and the neighbouring villages all pull together and work on projects.
In the bigger picture, they are keen to attract tourists to Greece for a reasons other than delicious greek food and Ouzo...
Now the tourists must run as well!