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seem like good friends and relax into the afternoon,
listening to our travelling tales, laughing at the same
stories, and ignoring their chores. A friend of Melina s,
Elektra, drops by and takes a place at our table. She s a
lot larger than Cali s mum, with hair that s remained as
black as Milou s. She likes squid a whole lot as well.
 Are you staying in Antiparos for long? Elektra asks
me innocently.
I have no idea what to say.
 Not sure yet, says Miller, saving me from stuttering
through a response.
 You must stay here, of course, Cali announces, and
her mum looks to be in total agreement.
 Cool, Miller replies.
 Do you have the space? I ask, trying to impress
with politeness.
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 There s the room Elektra uses when she s had too
much retsina, Melina replies, smiling at her friend,
who in turn throws a calamari ring into Melina s bun.
It s like these ladies are from Cocoon and have found
some sort of fountain of youth.
 I will show you, and we can put your packs in there
and maybe take a walk into town, says Cali.
We follow her back into the taverna and up the
wooden stairs. There appears to be a whole lot of rooms,
and Cali shows us to one where both beds are set so
as to present their occupants with a view that insists
on getting you up and into it. I throw my pack onto a
bed and am immediately drawn onto the small balcony,
through doors which appear permanently fixed open.
Melina and Elektra are just below this room s balcony,
chatting in Greek and seemingly in no rush to prepare
for reopening. There s a balcony on either side of this
one, and it must be from ours that Milou launched
himself onto Cali.
 So who else lives here? Miller asks.
 My brother Thanos. We are the twins, Cali replies
with her turn of phrase I can t get enough of, and then
explains that her parents were long ago divorced.
 Do just the three of you run this place? Miller
continues.
 Mom and I make the cooking. Thanos and a friend
of his, Simon, are the waiters. Elektra helps out too
sometimes, like when I go to Amsterdam.
We say farewell to Melina and Elektra and walk
back in the direction of where we joined the bus for
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our short ride here. As we pass the jetty I mention the
old guy we saw giving the octopus a tough time when
we arrived, and Cali says it would have been a family
friend called Yorgos, who supplies their taverna with
some of his catch.
We take the road that Cali tells us gets you to the
chora, the main town area. The fields on our left are
dotted with olive groves and oak woods, and dusted
with wildflowers that provide insects for the migrating
songbirds, who still take time to perform as they feast
on the all-you-can-eat buffet. Cali points out small birds
called shrikes, black and white with yellow underbellies,
who visit the islands every summer.
 Antiparos is a stepping stone for many types of
migratory birds. Just like the tourists, says Cali.
 Do any of the birds like it so much that they stay?
I ask.
 Sure. The linnet is an island bird that never leaves,
Cali replies, keeping an eye out for one to show us
while she describes their mixed colours of olive green,
orange and yellow. She seems to enjoy the role of tour
guide, reminding me of the ancient guy I met at the
Acropolis in Athens.
Along the right side of the long road into town
are whitewashed houses with colourful hibiscus
and bougainvillea trimming their balconies. The
flower names are courtesy of Cali, who continues to
describe the island with such detail you d nearly think
she thought us blind. The late afternoon sun shyly
slips behind the odd cloud and offers some relief as
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Cali-power walks us right into the chora, which basically
consists of three squares in a row and is, she informs us
proudly, a traffic-free zone. The middle square is where
most of the nightclubs, bars and tavernas are situated,
and in the centre is a massive eucalyptus tree. In fact
there are plenty of trees around the whole town centre
providing shade for both the locals and tourists, who
are about equal in number.
The tavernas in the village are very different to Cali s
family s place. First up they actually have customers
despite their massively inferior vistas, and secondly
they all seem to have boards out front shouting the
standard items and prices in more languages than
the United Nations recognises.
 Are your menus in Greek or English? I ask Cali as
we cross through the main square.
 We don t have any, actually, Cali replies, sending
Gordon Ramsay into another right fit.
Cali explains that we re going to take the back way
for our return trip so that we can get a complete picture
of this side of the island. The back road is less certain
than the road into town and ducks and weaves, never
quite sure which direction it wants to go. Occasional
buildings litter the fields and are set further back,
probably, I imagine, because cars doing faster than
donkey pace might just leave this track at any moment.
Many of the trees that line the road have their trunks
painted white, which not only reflects light at night but
also acts as an insect repellent, our friendly tour guide
tells us. Cali could easily get a job with Lonely Planet.
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 How are you going, Miller? Cali asks my friend,
who has less need than me to act as if this is a casual
stroll and not in fact the most exercise we ve taken this
entire trip.
 I need beer, he responds simply, and Cali laughs.
 Not so far now. Maybe can stop at Yorgos s place for
a break. He lives just a short way further, Cali says.
A rumbling sound behind us turns out to be a
bus struggling to simultaneously keep both sides of its
wheels out of the roadside grass. The bus comes at us
at about the same speed as a dog being enticed towards
its bath. We step right off the road and wait for the
battered blue behemoth to pass us. Just as it does, the
at least thirty darkly dressed Greek ladies on board all
make a sign of the cross in virtual unison. Even the
driver lets go of the wheel briefly to do the same. I mean,
I know we re foreigners but that seems a bit much.
 Is there a 666 on my forehead? Miller asks us
both.
Cali doesn t understand the question for a second,
and then points out a small Orthodox church behind
us and tells us that most Greeks bless themselves
whenever they pass a church or if they see something
terrible happen. Like a car crashing as the distracted
driver makes to cross himself, perhaps?
As we continue, Cali runs us through a short
update on her family, including the fact that her twin
brother Thanos is thinking of redressing the imbalance
in Australia s population with me gone, by travelling
there in the next month or so. Further along we come
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upon two old detached village houses set among the [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]