Brian's Blog

Hello this is Brian. Erica asked me to write a blog describing my last team trip to Chios since she was not there. Chios is one of the many Greek islands scattered between Greece and Turkey. However when you are on the eastern side of Chios you can actually see the mainland of Turkey.

We arrived for our game against the team from the island on Friday afternoon and went directly to the pool for training like so many of my trips around the world have started. After we went back to the hotel had dinner at the hotel restaurant (with a very good Turkish desert!) and then went to our rooms to relax and sleep eventually. I had a plan though for the next morning. Since we had rented four cars to drive to and from the pool and three of those cars were driven by teammates, I was going to borrow one the next morning and see as much of the island of Chios as I could. I wanted to be a tourist for a few hours. So Friday night I researched where to go from the trusty Lonely Planet Greece travel book to find a destination. The next morning I convinced the two Slovakian teammates, Jozef and Michael, as well as the funniest guy on the team, Alexis (nickname Bull) to come along so we could find an interesting setting for a coffee.

Chios isn't a very touristy place but as we started driving we soon found out how beautiful it really is. Chios is known for the production of Mustica trees which are used to create the ingredient in chewing gum. We headed south to where the majority of the Mustica groves were grown. The first place we went to was a town called Pirgi which was a small local town but with some interesting Turkish influenced architecture. The houses had small connected black triangular shaped art on the sides which almost looked like the face paint designs the Mauri's (sp?) wear, in New Zealand. We decided we wanted to go somewhere else for coffee, somewhere closer to the water so from the map we decided we would go to a town 6 KM away called Emboreios. It was a very picturesque little cove with pebble beaches but most things were closed save for a few petite Greek taverna's (restaurants). We also went a little further up the coast to Mavra Volia beach but there were no cafe's there. There was however a nice beach of black volcanic pebbles looking out toward Turkey. So our road trip continued and we decided to head back toward our starting point but along the water toward the next town of Komi. When we stumbled upon Komi we found a small village with two visible people and one of them was working in a cafe so we parked on the sand beach and asked if we could take one of their tables from their patio to put right in the sand. It was a great scene to relax and drink a coffee (or even a corona). I felt like I was in the Corona beer commercial where there is nothing but two beach chairs, an umbrella made of straw (there was another closed cafe next to us with these umbrellas), sand, and sea. Since we had a game that afternoon, we drank our cappuccino's looked out at the water, and decided we would try and continue up the coast.

There was no one around and I think we were driving on a board walk for a while made out of cobblestones but then it continued into unpaved roads up over hills. On Chios there is the largest military presence due to the proximity of the number one foe Turkey, and I read that if you are driving on dirt roads that you shouldn't stop because they will think you are doing something suspicious. We were driving in a small Hyundai Accent car not made for off-road travel and the road was very much made for an off-road jeep. I had to maneuver around deep mud puddles, sharp rocks, and the occasional half to one foot drop offs while the other guys were telling me "Slow Down!". I didn't think I was going too fast. The guys in the car were starting to think I was crazy but I was having so much fun on this adventure that I kept pressing on until they were afraid we would run out of gas! The gas light came on and there was nothing in sight but hills. So they convinced me to turn around. (I am happy Erica wasn't there because she definitely would have made me turn around immediately.) We turned around and headed down hill and the gas light turned off. We headed toward a main road that we weren't sure existed and suddenly we found it and were headed back toward Chios Town.

On the way back in a small village there was a truck with a an over sized box in the back of chickens and hens for sale. Bull our Greek entertainer said in his broken english "We buy chicken". It was half statement and half question. We pulled up next to the stopped truck and he rolled down the back window to ask in Greek. Jozef and I were laughing hysterically with tears in the front of the car as the transaction took place. We weren't sure if he was going to do it and as we were laughing we heard him say in Greek "two euros, three euros, or four euros". Michael was in the back with Bull. I don't think he knew what to do but handed Bull a five and then took something back from Bull. Jozef thought it was the five and as we were driving away he found out it was the change and that there was actually a chicken in the back seat of our car! Bull was petting and talking to it like a proud father. We were thinking we could give it to our coach as a funny prank but were unsure of his reaction so Jozef decided we should drive around until we found someone who would want to add it to their farm. The first person we saw was driving on the road opposite of us in a tractor and definitely looked like a great candidate. Bull spoke to him from the back seat across Michael's lap but he said "no" with a weird look and told us to go to the gas station coming up in about 100 meters. We thought great we can get some gas and maybe pay with the chicken. The gas station was closed. So we found another gas station and put five euros in the car but they definitely didn't look like the type who would want a small chicken. The next town we found was Kallimasia and we turned in. At the first house we saw an old, typically dressed, woman (all black clothes) beating a rug over the railing of her patio. They had cages full of birds outside their garage and we thought they would love an addition. Bull started to yell out to the old lady. When she looked at us dumbfounded we saw the old man (her husband?) in the small driveway cleaning something and he came out to the car and agreed to whatever Bull told him. Then he gently took the chicken across Michael's lap.

Finally we made it back to Chios town for another coffee and then to our hotel just in time to make our team lunch. A few hours later we beat the team from Chios in a wild high scoring game, 16-13. It was my first game since my surgery and I was happy with my performance considering I had been out of the water for almost a month. Overall it was a great trip, and one that I will never forget.

Michelle & Nico's Visit

Delphi

Achaia Clauss Winery

Mykonos!

Marco in Mykonos :-)

Mykonos lunch

In front of the Acropolis

We have been fortunate to have Michelle and Nico visiting Greece for the past week! Last Thurs. Brian and I met them in Athens for a full day of sightseeing. We saw everything there was to see and saw as much of the city as we could. We even found some great live Greek Bozuki music! On Fri. we left for Mykonos. We were so excited but had seen the weather forecast showing lots of rain and we were happy when we landed and there was none. The three of us checked into our hotel and Michelle and Nico got upgraded to the honeymoon suite! It was a really nice hotel and we were the only ones there, haha. We realized shortly after check in that pretty much the whole island was shut down. Unfortunately this country really functions on a seasonal schedule and when it is not summer time it is hard to get the full experience. We were still optimistic though b/c we had heard that Mykonos was the party island! We thought, people can still party when it's cold out! Apparently not though and that night, after a delicious Italian pizza dinner, as we strolled through "Little Venice," the part of town that is supposed to "go off," there was hardly a soul in sight. We did find one little bar that we could hear Greek music emanating from but as soon as we walked in every single person in the bar turned their heads and stared at us and as Nico said it felt like the music was going to come to a screeching halt. We decided to move on. We gave up our Mykonos party search and headed back to the hotel hoping the next day to get more out of the island. The next day the rain did decide to show up. Brian and Marco were headed to the island via the ferry and we decided to rent a car so at least all of us could see the island this way. We thought we could at least drive to the beaches to check them out and after picking up B & M from the port we got on the road. We drove to a few of the infamous Mykonos beaches but they were shut down and locked up as well and from what we could see they weren't anything impressive. As we had heard Mykonos really only has one thing to offer, and that is a really good time, in the summer. We were disappointed but we still took lots of pictures on our last day there to take advantage of the shining sun and we headed back to the main land and finally to Patras. Brian and I showed Michelle & Nico our life here in Patras, eating and drinking lots of coffees. We were able to take them to the Achaia Clauss winery, Brian and my favorite place in this city. The people there are so friendly and the woman took us on another delightful tour. Since Nico is from Napa I think he especially enjoyed the tour. The next day I drove them to see Delphi, another favorite spot of mine, a 2hr beautiful drive from Patras in one of the most picturesque spots for any town. Finally, on their last night with us we took them to Bozukia. They had been dying to get a night out on the town in Greece and it doesn't get more authentic then Bozukia. I think it was quite an experience for them and I am glad Brian and I had another opportunity to go b/c it will probably be our last time. Our time here in Greece is boiling down and we need to take advantage of every minute. This morning, after about 3hrs of sleep I drove them to the bus station and sent them on their way to the airport from where they will head to Santorini! I hope the weather is better!

Information on the immigration problem here in Patras

Since about a month after arriving here in Patra I was made aware of a very big problem that has only increased ten fold since we have arrived. The refugee situation in Patra is one that although try as they might, Greece must not pass a blind eye to. There are thousands of young men who have managed to get to this city in the hopes of getting on one of the many ferries that pass through these ports daily. They are desperate and are willing to do whatever it takes. This entails living in a shanty town they have created for themselves out of huts made of trash and old clothing. Chasing the trucks hoping to break into them and hide wherever they can. Climbing the barb-wired fences that line the port. They spend their days standing by the roads that outline the port staring either at the street looking for trucks with unlocked backs or staring out into the sea dreaming of what crossing it might provide them. There was an incident recently that I wanted to share. Here are two articles that we found and I have pasted them below:

March 3, 2009

www.nowpublic.com

"Hundreds of refugees from Afghanistan clashed with riot police for hours yesterday evening in the western Greek city of Patra. The disturbances were sparked off when an Afghan man was seriously injured while trying to board a truck entering the city's port. After the accident tens of fellow refugees attacked the vehicle throwing rocks and other objects.

Later the tensions escalated leading to protesters setting up barricades and closing streets near the port. In reply the police deployed riot units and used tear gas in an into the early hours of Tuesday morning as police attempted to confine the protestors to a shanty town that serves as a home for over a 1000 refugees in the city.

Unconfirmed eyewitness accounts reported on Greek blogs and Indymedia Patra speak of the involvement of residents including members of far right groups in efforts to put down the demonstration. Eventually the police were able to push back the refugees to their encampment and disperse far right groups.

Patra, which is Greece's gateway to Italy has become a way station for immigrants seeking to reach the rest of Europe. However, the Greek state has been reluctant to give official asylum status to all but a handful of immigrants entering the country without proper documentation. Greece's daily newspaper Kathimerini has reported that out of 20,692 asylum applications submitted in 2007, Greek authorities approved eight.

As a result refugees are forced to attempt the crossing to Italy illegally, often in the backs of trucks bound for the Italian ports of Brindisi and Ancona.

The riots are the latest in a series of clashes between refugees and the authorities in Patra, including a series of accusations of police abuse of Afghan refugees. In September 2008 there were also riots as refugees clashed with police and Customs officers inside the port following the beating of three immigrants."

March 6, 2009

www.athensnews.gr

"VIOLENCE between police and demonstrators erupted in Patra on March 2 after a truck driver was reported to have deliberately struck a 17-year-old Iranian migrant with his vehicle putting him in a coma.

A police spokeswoman told the Athens News the driver was arrested, but refused to say what, if any, charges he faces.

'Migrants and other eyewitnesses told me they saw the driver of the truck speed up and literally sandwich the 17-year-old between his vehicle and the truck in front of his,' said Mihalis Sidiropoulos, a member of the Patra-based Movement for Immigrants' Rights.

'Doctors at the hospital have told me the boy remains in critical condition,' Sidiropoulos said. 'We know he has a brother in Greece. We're trying to find him.'

The incident took place outside the port, in a traffic jam caused by a lineup of trucks waiting to enter port grounds. The trucks were to board ferries bound for Italy. Migrants often try to hide on or in these trucks in the hopes of reaching Italy and points West.

According to Sidiropoulos and various news reports, the driver of the truck spotted the boy trying to climb the back of the truck ahead of him. The driver then allegedly closed the distance between the two rigs, sandwiching the boy between the trucks.

The incident sparked a confrontation between police and hundreds of undocumented migrants, most from Afghanistan. The angry mob surrounded the driver and hurled rocks at his truck to protest what some migrants reportedly called attempted murder.

Police fired volleys of teargas to disperse the crowd.

Greece is under mounting pressure to crack down on illegal immigration and find a permanent solution for Patra, where a shantytown just north of the port houses hundred of undocumented migrants and asylum seekers.

The incident on March 2 spurred area residents to renew their demands that authorities drive the migrants out of town. But local human rights advocates say this will solve little. Instead they are calling on the government to grant migrants refugee status.

'This would solve the problem because it will legalise their status, which is what they want, and it will allow them to travel to Italy legally,' said George Kanellis, a member of the Movement for Immigrants' Rights.

The asylum-seeker approval rate in Greece is the lowest in Europe. Greek bureaucrats reject almost every application for refugee status, says the UNHCR, the United Nations' refugee agency.

Greece has faced an avalanche of Europe-wide criticism since November 2007, when the German non-governmental organisation Pro Asyl published a shocking report accusing the Greek coastguard of 'systematically abusing newly-arrived refugees.'

The European Commission is also challenging Greek asylum practices by taking Greece to the European Court over a provision in national legislation that allows authorities to withdraw an asylum claim if the applicant leaves Greece without authorisation.

The mast majority of people seeking refuge in Greece are Afghans and Iraqis.

The situation in Patra is not new. Patra Mayor Andreas Fouras has repeatedly called for a state-run centre for undocumented migrants. In August 2008, Greece announced it would create a reception centre on the outskirts of town - far from the port - to temporarily house undocumented migrants. The centre has yet to open, reportedly for fear the European Union could accuse Greece of facilitating illegal immigration to neighbouring Italy.

The situation in Patra attracted international attention in February 2008 when local authorities rounded up hundreds of migrants trying to find passage to Italy by hiding in our under trucks. Most were undocumented, though some have at least managed to apply for political asylum.

On February 23, hundreds of truck drivers blocked the port of Patra to protest the growing number of migrants trying to hide in and under their vehicles. They demanded the government take measures to put an end to illegal immigration."

The top photo is one I took of a couple of refugees trying to get into the back of a truck right in front of our car. They create quite a menace to the truck drivers b/c they stand in areas along the roads where trucks have to pass through and have to slow down either at lights or detours. I have mixed feelings about the situation here. The thousands of refugees that have inhabited this city have really affected the environment. They are homeless and are wanderers and squatters in parks that would normally be wonderful places for people to enjoy. While they don't normally pose any type of threat to anyone they travel in packs and are just intimidating to be around. Their main focus is finding a different life for themselves, and I respect that. Since most of them are from Afghanistan and Iraq I imagine they are fleeing the war situation and are choosing asylum rather then joining say the Taliban. For this I am grateful. I think Greece is in a precarious situation to do something and yet they are a country that does not like to ruffle any feathers. They want to maintain their neutral position in this world. I would love to hear what everyone else thinks about this so please post comments!

End of Carnival, Infections & Travel - An update on our life

These pictures below and the one above are from the last day of Carnival. On the Monday after all the festivities and partying it is a holiday and everyone gets off of work. That morning we were awoken by a text from Fotis saying, "We'll go to fly our kite and eat fishfood. We want a lot to join us!" Well that about says it all. On this day they fly kites and eat fish. Brian was feeling sick but he was also anxious to get out of the house and get some fresh air. We didn't know what was wrong with him but we thought maybe he was getting the flu since he had been having night sweats and a fever for the past two days. Fotis and Mary came by and we followed them to a really cute town about 20min. away. Here we met Lambros, Jozef and a couple other people. Lambros was determined to get his kite into the air, so we watched his attempts for a little while until he gave up. We then walked to a cafe on the water and pointed out all of the successful kites in the air along the way to give Lambros a hard time. He insisted that his whole life he had been an accomplished kite flier and he did not appreciate our jeers. Lunch was long and we all got pretty antsy. Fish consisted of shellfish. I have not seen very many fish filets here and I miss them dearly. We ate octopus, shrimp, calamari and potatoes. Brian was still not feeling great and after waiting forever for our food we tried to quickly eat and leave.

Turns out Brian's "sickness" was much more serious then we thought. After a couple of trips to the hospital we discovered that he got an perianal abscess. It was EXTREMELY painful for him and he was in pain whenever he sat. After prescribed some antibiotics we hoped it would go away. The timing couldn't have been worse b/c two days later I was supposed to leave for my 2+ week long trip to Italy and Dublin. We assumed some bed rest and his antibiotics would clear up the situation within days so I left for Italy hoping the team could handle anything that Brian would need. Italy was fantastic. You see a picture below of Kirsten and I in front of the Trevi fountain. Kirsten (Jeff Power's wife) and I started off in Naples (which was not as dangerous/dirty as I heard it would be!) and traveled to Pompeii, Capri & Sorrento before going to Rome to see Jeff play water polo against another Italian team that has two other young American players that we know. We had a really fun night in Rome and spent the next day seeing all the sights before heading via train to their town of Bogliasco, a beautiful, small beachside town near Genova. During all this traveling I would talk to Brian and realized that his pain/discomfort was only getting worse. He had to go to the hospital again and they told him he would need to have the abscess drained and/or possibly cut out. It was really hard and painful for him to do anything. He had to have Elsie take Marco to relieve that responsibility and just getting food from anywhere was a challenge b/c it was too painful for him to drive. They told him after his surgery he would have to stay in the hospital for a few days and now knowing the conditions in the Greek hospitals we decided it would be best if I came home. I had two days left in Bogliasco and then I was supposed to head to Dublin to meet Kelli (Tim Hutten's gf) and her mom and spend 5 days there with them. I luckily had a day in Bogliasco and Kirsten and I took advantage of the time so I felt like I saw everything and I bought a ticket home for the next day. Unfortunately I would miss my trip to Dublin but it was more important for me to go home to help Brian. His surgery happened while I was en route but he had a couple of teammates there and his coach and manager there for support. His surgery took place with two other patients in his room and a small curtain that barely covered him. The door to the room kept opening so basically everyone saw and heard firsthand how difficult and painful it was. Brian survived though and luckily they sent him straight home, without having to stay in the hospital. Since then he has felt much much better but is not just uncomfortable, having a large hole where the abscess once was. He has to go to the hospital every few days to have them replace the gauze that is inside the hole and I have been helping him with keeping it clean so as not to get an infection. Unfortunately it is a slow healing process and it will be another few weeks before he can get back into the pool and back to his job! They lost their last game that he had to miss to a team they had beat before and they play Vouliagmeni tonight and Brian and I will watch from the stands. It is now more unlikely then ever they will make it to the playoffs but I think they are safe to not get kicked back down to second division, so that's good. We all just hope that Brian will make a safe and quick recovery!

Carnival has come and gone and I leave Greece for now

Well we survived Carnival! It was all it was hyped up to be. On Saturday we got up slowly, pacing ourselves for the evening ahead. At 6pm we headed out to meet our group. We were group #148 and we were dressed up as Ice Cream people. I'm not exactly sure if there is a word for what we were (there probably is one in Greek since they have a word for every emotion known to man) but when we first saw our costumes we were skeptical. They really turned out great though and as I perused the other costumes groups had I couldn't help but think ours might be the best. Each group met in a different part of a very big street here in Patra called Korinthou. We brought our water bottles of our beverage of choice and once every one was in place the parade began. There must have been hundreds and hundreds of groups but since we stayed with our group the whole parade I am really not sure how many people or groups there were. According to Lambros there were 1 million visitors in Patra this weekend, so as you can imagine there were people everywhere. There was music blaring in the streets and we were all dancing and singing our way down Korinthou for at least a couple of hours. Honestly it went by so quickly that when we finished the parade we kind of looked at each other like, that's it!? The Saturday night parade was mainly for the adults to enjoy themselves and the floats and a lot of the children were left to join us for the parade on Sunday. On Sunday we met again in the same spot. Brian woke up feeling just terrible. He had the aches and chills and we weren't sure if he had picked up the flu or if he was just feeling the effects of a few cocktails. He tried to rally and come to the parade with us on Sunday but after being surrounded by the noises and smoke and heat of the crowds he thought it best to go back home to bed. It turns out he was sick and he has been fighting a fever and infection now for the last couple of days. We went to the hospital today and got him some antibiotics so hopefully it will pass soon. So Elsie and I charged the parade alone on Sunday, a lot less energetically I must say, but we still enjoyed ourselves. It was MUCH longer this time, and with just my bottle of water I definitely noticed the length this march along. We decided to head home after a coffee, much to the dismay of some other people from our group who were ready to conquer the evening once more. As we walked home I didn't realize once away from the parade the spectacle our costumes would make and we were asked to take pictures with random men more then once. We were also able to see some of the other groups go by as the parade was STILL going on. There were also some great floats, lots of horns and whistles and shouts and firecrackers. It was a celebration as only foreign countries can do. I ended up going home and staying there to keep poor Brian company but Elsie made it back out later. That night they burned parts of the parade out at the port with explosions and fireworks, I'm sure we missed quite an experience. Not to mention another long night. We did get to experience one of the famous Carnivals though and it was an experience I will never forget!

I leave for Italy tomorrow morning on my own little travel adventure! I'm so excited but so sorry I have to leave Brian when he's still not feeling well. I hope he and Marco can keep eachother company while I'm gone! I am meeting Kirsten, Jeff Power's wife, in Naples and then we are going to Rome, maybe stopping in Florence, and then to their current home town, Bogliasco. I then leave for Dublin after a week and spend about a week there, culminating on St. Patrick's Day, so fun! As soon as I get back I have two friends coming to visit so I am starting a whirlwind of travel and fun. If I get a chance to blog while I'm away I definitely will!