We got up a bit late, enjoyed a quick breakfast and headed back to Athens. I collected my things and set off to Larissa Station to get a ticket north to Thessaloniki and then on to Skopje (Macedonia). I was too late for the morning train and would have to wait until midnight. So began the cascading travel modifications I’ve been making for the past week or so.
I used the opportunity to catch up with some of my new friends around the city. My first stop brought me to the awesome home of Kostas and Fotini. They recently started to rent a four story building which they are using to host workshops, classes and more. It’s quite incredible. From the wind turbine building shop in the basement, to the expansive hall for yoga classes, presentations, movies and more, the massage space, Fotini's herb space and tea room to rooftop soon-to-be-garden, it was an inspiring, evolving example of urban permaculture. We sat down and shared photos and thoughts over tea, and I used their sun drenched rooftop to finish drying my still damp (but now clean) clothes from a couple days before.
It was great catching up with Fotini and seeing what an amazing oasis they’ve begun to grow in Athens. We went our separate ways around 2pm, and I went to the city center to lunch and relax a bit before meeting with Kristos at the Saligari site.
At 6, Kristos and I connected outside the McDonald’s at Syntagma Square and headed over to the parking lot-turned-community park that a number of activists had taken over after it had been boarded up and cleared of some of the city’s oldest trees a year or so ago. The park was full of life - both plant and human, and it was very clear that it was an asset to the community. That said, it faces it’s own share of problems being located in what Fotini had deemed, ‘the asshole of Athens’. Kristos brought me by to show me the cob structure he had begun there.
He had returned from the workshop at Lefkada to find it had been vandalized - not exactly the most welcoming home coming. We talked about design ideas for the roof and finishing and were joined by Ilias and Rosa. After an hour or so there, we said our goodbyes and parted ways. Again, so good to know that there are bastions of light in a place full of so much decay.
With another four plus hours left before my train, I found a cafe, ordered a fancy coffee shake, enjoyed it in the fresh air under an umbrella, and finally made my way to the train station. I passed a few more hours there, boarded the train, found my seat and slept through till we arrived in Thessaloniki in the morning.
No comments:
Post a Comment