My Greek Odyssey

Trekking Through Greece

One of the things that I enjoy a great deal is hiking and backpacking. It is a great way to savor the natural world around us. The beauty of  walking in the midst of our natural surroundings is that it allows us to slow the hectic pace of our lives down and to reduce the noisy stimuli of the chaos that engulfs our modern civilization. One of my most memorable hikes was climbing Mt. Fuji in Japan and arriving at the summit just in time to see the sunrise.  Recently our family trekked up Mt. Madison, one of the mountains in the Presidential Range of the White Mountains in New Hampshire. The Appalachian Mountain Club maintains a number of huts where backapckers can enjoy a hot meal and sleep in a warm bunk bed before continuing their climb.  These huts are maintained by college students on summer break. All the food is transported up the mountain on the backs of those that work at the huts, every few days. The whole operation is designed to produce zero trash. No paper products of any kind except toilet paper. I may enjoy roughing it, but only to an extent. The food at the huts is superb, homemade bread, hearty soups, and rib sticking meals.  After the climb, it all tastes good. Families with older children and teenagers have precious little time together unencumbered by all the distractions and demands on their time.  When your in the wilderness, it gives everyone an opportunity to get to know and appreciate each other again.

My first back packing trip in Greece was back in 1980 when I walked the length of Corfu and Epirus. If you really want to get to know a country, try seeing it at about 2 mph. Rural Greeks who live off the beaten tracks love visitors and take delight in showing hospitality to strangers whether or not you speak their language.  When I made this trip it was a completely unplanned affair, however, I never had a problem finding a place to sleep or somewhere to get a meal. I always had a small supply of fresh bread, olives and a tomato or two and looked forward to eating a midday meal and siesta under a tree along the way. Every village has a kafenion (cafe) and it is a great place to meet people, talk, refresh oneself and get important information such as tips on places to stay or see.

Greece is developing a burgeoning ecotourism designed to bring people to the truly beautiful and unspoiled areas on the mainland and islands of the country. My next backpacking trip will be in the Zagoria region of Greece and Albania, an area, by the way, where my Dad born. "The villages of Zagoria are uniquely endowed with extraordinary natural beauty, a vast temperate forest ecosystem, distinctive architecture, cultural wealth and the sheer romance of an ancient way of life. From the Slavic word meaning 'behind the mountains,' Zagoria is defined by the Gamila (Tymfi) and Mitsikeli Mountains as well as the Aoos River. It is a part of the massive Pindus Mountain Range that stretches from Albania to Central Greece."  Read the rest here. For pictures go here. For additional information consult The Mountains of Greece: A Walker's Guide.  This time I want to plan my trip a little more thoroughly and maybe even stay someplace really nice along the way. My wife Anna, who can hike like a Marine, will accompany me, after all, the trail gets lonely and is always more fun with someone else. For those of you interested in trekking through Greece start at this link. For those less adventuresome people who are intimidated by the difficulties involved I would recommend a guided tour. Make sure you talk to someone who has taken the tour previously to avoid any surprises.

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Greece 101, USA 95

I was up early this morning to hear the news that the Greek Team beat the pants off the Americans at the World Basketball Championships.  What a nightmare scenario this has been, do I root for my fellow countrymen or the distant cousins who look like me? Talk about being torn. My buddy, Demonax wasn't about to let me slink away without committing to his dream team. I was cornered, no escape, put up or shut up, in the immortal words of Huckleberry Finn: Is you is or is you ain't?? I don't profess to be much of a sports fan, my experience is strictly based on playing street ball and intramural basketball in the Marines. The last time I actually got excited about basketball was when I lived in Greece and a Greek American named Nick Galis lead a Cinderella team of Greeks to the European Championships. His return to the Greece helped Greek basketball reach heights never imagined before, leading the national team to the Eurobasket 1st place in 1987.

I hate what has happened to professional sports in the US, too much money, too many primadonnas, too many criminals masquerading as athletes, too many performance enhancing drugs and too much emphasis on the "stars" and not enough on team play. There are many great American athletes and teams; unfortunately, sport has taken a backseat to the profit motive and sportsmanship to hooliganism, both on the field and in the stands.

The Greeks deserved this victory because bottom-line, they played as a team and played their hearts out. Tony Mejia, a writer at CBS Sports had this to say: "The lesson here is that in the international game, teams beat individuals every time. The U.S. had the better players. Greece had the better team. The Greeks have been together longer, and that familiarity is what the Americans are looking to breed with the current system that's in place. Ultimately, the United State's downfall was no different than that of any young, talented team playing a more experienced squad. Because of its skill level and quick start, Team USA might have gotten a bit too comfortable. Greece pulled the ultimate role reversal. It looked like an upset, and felt like an upset, but you got the feeling the Europeans felt like they were in control along. "

Greek play-maker Theodoros Papaloukas, the MVP of CSKA Moscow's Euroleague Final Four win earlier this season, is widely accepted as one of the best Europeans not in the NBA. More importantly, he is emblematic of his fellow team-mates:   "I talked to some (NBA) teams this summer, but I don't think they were very interested by the offers they made. But it's okay. That's life," he said.  "In the states, the mentality is different. They look at different things. I don't know if they have the chance to see the way I play.  I'm not a stats player. I play to help my team win. I think I have a winning mentality. I don't care if I score one day and then don't the next day, and then play some great defense another day. The most important is winning. And in the past few years I've done that. I could understand if teams weren't interested in me if I didn't win the cups. But that's life."  Papaloukas is content with his professional life. "I don't want to be greedy," he said. "Life gave me a lot of things. I think God has treated me very well."  Bravo.

Center Dwight Howard, the NBA Orlando Magic star, had high praise for the Greeks:  "They went out there and played hard. If they felt like they were the underdogs, they played hard the whole game and had the fans behind them and won the game."  Carmelo Anthony, who had a game-high 27 points in defeat, also had praise for Greece: "Greece was playing so hard, coming back from behind," he said. "I want to take my hat off to them for playing so hard … To lose any game is a shock to us."

I hope this is a wake up call for American fans. It's a shame that a country that practically invented the game and has so much talent, can't seem to succeed in international competition. Maybe its time we take another look at how we approach athletics in this country. Basketball is a team sport, constantly focusing on personalities and salaries has resulted in another disappointment for the fans, they deserve better. It's about time Americans do what we have always done, adapt and overcome, however, first, we need to relearn the basics.

As for the Greek team, I can just imagine what must be going on in Greece right now. The Greeks exhibited the kind of mettle that Greeks have been capable of throughout history.  A small country of 11 million didn't produce a bunch of "superstars,"  they produced a team.  These Greeks played together harmoniously, cooperatively, unselfishly, they used their brains, kept their wits while others were losing theirs and they were not dependent on any one leader. In fact this  team has a number of fine leaders and a great coach. I have often lamented that Greek unity is elusive. When it exists, Greeks come together and produce miracles. Many thanks to these fine men for helping the rest of us believe again in what is possible.