“Travels to a Different Time” : 17July1973: Ios and Paros Greece: Our New Dutch Connection: The Magic of a Frisbee

On the bus to the boat to take us to the island of Paros we met two Dutchies Michael and Susan. We sat down as the sun was rising to have some Delphi apricot juice. We got along with the Dutchies by the time we were all herded on the boat. After a stop on the island of Naxos we reached Paros The only room available was for 4 so we ended up sharing it with the Dutchies. We settled in and all of us headed to the beach and I taught Michael how to play Frisbee. He caught on quickly. The locals and tourists have never seen a Frisbee before so there is a crowd that always gathers to watch. It is a great way to meet new people and breaks down the barrier of language. On the way home I bought some Papadopoulos cookies and the Dutchies a bottle of wine. We all went out for souvlaki and had a walk after that boating meal.

18July1973: Paros, Greece: Roasting on the Beach: The Dutchies Fall Ill

Poor Michael woke up with a stomach-ache. We picked up lunch supplies and took a putt putt boat to the beach. There are many small beaches separated by rocks so it is like having a small private beach. That crystal clear water and sand! We could put aside the bad start to the day as all were woken up by screaming Greek mothers blasting their children for some transgression. We fried under the blazing sun getting burnt. Still have that Canadian pasty skin. We played Frisbee in front of a sizable crowd. We had a lemonade at a cafe after taking the putt putt home.  The sun must have fried my brain as I felt like nodding off. Susan had a bad headache. Headed home and Mom washed some clothes. We went out for a beer before dinner and saw the Dutchies who were feeling better. The dinner was good but a crabby waiter was annoying. We had watermelon for desert and came home feeling the burn.

Golf and Your Mental Game: Is Your Racing Mind in Its Overcomplicated State Ruining your Golf Game?

Is your mind racing to and fro when playing golf? You are playing a game and your mind should be on the game from moment to moment as if you focus on your game from moment to moment you are at your best in terms of concentration and focus. If your mind is judging each shot with a cascade of good and bads are you focusing on the good and bads instead of the game in the present moment? If your mind is judging your performance you are missing the game which you know is the next shot not the last shot! Are you so caught up you fail to notice the wind, the sun playing tricks on your vision and the humidity that is zapping your energy and slowing down your ball. It seems like there is a conspiracy in your mind to divert you from your game and the beautiful environment you are golfing in. Is your mind in the game here and now or is it trapped by what just happened on the last hole you were playing? Perhaps you should focus on the here and now instead of 5 minutes ago. My goodness will you destroy your game if you focus on the mist hovering over the 4th hole that is dancing with the sun. There is more to life than golf. Look and enjoy what is unfolding in front of you. Get out of your game to get into your game!

“Travels to a Different Time” : 15July1973: Ios, Greece: Grab the Buns While They Are Hot!

Interesting I was reading a book and one of the characters was explaining her day in Greece in the late 1960’s. Get up have breakfast and walk to one end of the village to get bread for breakfast and lunch. Read. Have a nap and walk to the other end of the village for wine and then out to the only restaurant in the village for dinner. This is an accurate portrayal of life of a tourist in a small Greek village. It is like that in Ios except we had swimming added to the mix. As that hippie said a couple of years ago on the boat in Greece you live in the moment. Life slows down. Eat, sleep and swim. Not complicated but very complicated with a totally different rhythm. I have a feeling this idyllic life is not going to be the case in Bulgaria. Today we were up at 11:30. Wild Bill has left thank goodness. We had an early lunch of a mess of scrambled eggs and hunks of fresh baked bread with that great Ios honey. We played checkers until three when the furnace like conditions were less oppressive. We walked down to the village below at 3 and plopped down in the sand beside a couple from Vancouver. The girl went to school with my cousin Jane! Small world. I played Frisbee in the water with her husband. On the way home we saw a kid taking some buns into a bakery so we bought a couple and they were just baked and delicious. We went to our favourite restaurant by the windmill and had dinner with the Vancouverites. We had an ice cream at a local cafe and watched some amateur talent festival on television. Simplicity or just an entirely different way of life?

The author watched sunrise from the hill in the background. His favourite restaurant was just around the corner. He watched sunsets from the top of the hill listening to classical music.

16July1973: Ios, Greece: On the Verge of a Tourist Explosion

These hippies may be scorned by Mr. and Mrs. Straightlaced but what they have done is launched a beachhead like on Guadalcanal except they are not US marines but kids looking for a slice of undiscovered heaven. They abound in big numbers here and mark my word tourism is going to explode on this island and when that happens the hippies will discover a bit of paradise elsewhere. Like there were 75 people this morning waiting at the bank. Rooms are scarce and you have to wait to get a table at a restaurant. After the bank I bought some breakfast including a carpussi (watermelon). Greek watermelons are the best in the world. They are sweet and juicy and often we put it in the ocean to chill it down and eat the whole melon on the beach. Sometimes we put a couple bottles of beer in a mesh bag to cool them down. How long before they build a Sheraton Hotel here?

Mylopotas beach in Milopotas village, Ios island, Greece

RKS Wine: Israel the Trip That Never Was

I have been invited to two press trips to Israel. I suppose someone appreciated my reviews of Israeli wines available in Canada or perhaps my reviewing some great Israeli films. The first one was a wine and food tour but I was already booked for a wedding in Greece that conflicted me out. The second was organized out of the Israeli consulate in New York and as I write about travel it was more of a travel trip such as seeing some key touristic sites. Three days before the trip I was rudely disinvited as the organizers thought I was American and the tour was starting at Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv where the Americans were all arriving on the same flight. Talk about being jilted. So while these feet may not be walking in Israel these lips have not forsaken Israeli wine which ranges from excellent to mediocre just like any other wine producing country in the world. Canadian consumers are frightened by the unknown and that is what Israeli wines are in Canada. What a pity.

One of the best wineries in Israel is Galil Mountain Winery. I must have reviewed a dozen or so of their wines and most were in the 80’s and low 90’s in terms of score.

So we try a Galil Mountain Red. It is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot. On the nose there are some notes of black cherry, blueberry, dates and milk chocolate. On the palate the tannins are moderate. There are rather stern notes of cherry, spice and blueberry. While the nose is inviting the palate is somewhat stern and stiff hiding its marvels perhaps for food and never having gone on that wine and food tour my knowledge of Israeli cuisine is very lean. I would suggest beef brisket or Mami Ribs. The palate does not deliver. Galil Mountain can definitely do better, much better but this is most likely their entry level wine and at $26.95 and simply not competitive quality wise in its price range.

(Galil Mountain 2018 Red, KP, Upper Galilee, Galil Mountain Winery, Kibbutz Yiron, Israel, $26.95, Liquor Control Board of Ontario # 5477866, 750 mL, 14.5%, Robert K. Stephen A Little Birdie Told Me So Rating 86/100).

RKS Film: “Visionary Gardeners”: “Seeds and Time”

“Visionary Gardeners” is a new 5-part television documentary in which innovative Canadian gardeners share their gardening stories will be premiering across Canada on Vision TV over 5 Monday nights beginning March 7, 2022, at 9 p.m. ET.

I review wine, hotels, restaurants, travel destinations and many things in between. In all these genres there is a creative soul creating a dream or fulfilling a vision. I appreciate and sense the passion. For example, having taken several media trips to cover wineries here in Canada and in Europe a consumer will see a bottle of wine and it goes down the hatch but having talked eaten and drank with owners, field workers, blenders and marketers there is far more than wine in a bottle. There is love and passion creating a product as there is love and passion in gardening.

So when I saw the first episode of “Visionary Gardeners” called “Seeds and Time” I see not so much mindful gardeners but visionaries creating their gardens with a passion and their own ideology. And their ideology is precious and should be heard.

David Young

Being an urbanite in Toronto I have a small backyard I have been cultivating over the last couple of decades. I would not consider myself a gardener but I till and prepare the soil and spend hours weeding. I grow herbs with great success understanding what works in clay soil and what works in pots. And throughout the cold months I enjoy with pride my herbs particularly the 20 bags of pesto I made with my sweat. I have other plants but my basil, oregano, savory, thyme, tarragon, lemongrass and chives are my gardening passion however inglorious as that may be. But that straggling passion enables me to connect with former punk rocker Paul Spriggs who climbs Vancouver Island mountains to collect seeds and grow them in rock gardens at sea level. Then there is David Young in Georgian Bay who recreates original vegetation on massive slabs of glacial rocks. They have deep thoughts on their passion and how it connects them with nature. Intriguing. As for me getting hot and sweaty so I can use my herbs in my cooking throughout the year may not be so philosophical but my pastas with homegrown herbs is my connection with nature and I am damn proud about it!

So pardon my diversion but watch episode # 1 and in half an hour you’ll get a couple of lifetimes of passion distilled Coles Notes fashion.

Paul Spriggs

So you say you are not a gardener? But aren’t we all gardeners of some sort metaphorically as we plant seeds in our life and watch them grow? I love my spaghetti sauce with herbs more than caviar. Why? Because I made them with my own hands.

I have many readers ex-Canada which means they can’t access the series just yet until out of Canada distribution deals are struck. At least for Canadians following each episode will stream free for two weeks after the episode airs on television at www.visiontv.ca

You can see the trailer for the series here https://www.visionarygardeners.ca/news/world-premiere-on-visiontv

Not a gardener well the cinematography so far has been stunning!

“Travels to a Different Time” : 14July1973: Ios, Greece: Wild Bill Continues to Be a Pain in The Ass: Dinner With Maria the Lesbian

Wild Bill’s puke has a terrible smell to it so I slept out in the porch and was ravaged by mosquitos. Must have had twenty bites on my hands. Thank God no malaria in Greece…hopefully. Watched the sunrise. Am I a dreamy hippie? I headed down to the village below and bought eggs, just baked bread and some incredible Ios honey. Mom cooked up a mess of eggs which we had with warm bread Ios honey and orange juice. Who needs bacon and eggs! We just chilled out and read until 2 when we went down to the village beach. Up the hill to shower and head out for cocktails. I feel like Holden Caulfield in “Catcher of the Rye” saying “cocktails” but it was a beer for me and ouzo for Mom. Cool a minor (by one month) drinking a beer with my Mom. We met up with Maria (and her sweetheart) a Greek lesbian for dinner at the “windmill restaurant”. My God in Europe German POW’s, interpreter for Canadian liberators of Holland, prostitutes, Turkish conmen and many nefarious characters. I am living “Casablanca”. In any case we ate like kings for about $1.25 each. After dinner Mom went up to the windmill and performed her gurgling windmill impression. We had an ice cream on the way home and the puker Wild Bill had his friends over in the room playing guitar and smoking something I think was not tobacco. It took them an hour to clear out. Damn stupid pukehead.

Golf and Your Mental Game: Wasting Your Experience by Being Judgemental

Play 50 rounds of golf in a season, Marshall 8 hours a week in a seven-month season and then suffer through a rotten winter and you may gain a valuable insight. That past season and all those games were in the past and what did all the fretting and continually judging yourself accomplish? Most likely nothing but pain in the past which today means nothing. The more you heap value judgements on your game the more mental energy you waste and steal from being in the present moment. Isn’t it preferable to let those judgements stop commandeering your game and be in the game? If you are continually evaluating and judging good and bad you in effect lose your mind to judging instead of playing golf.  Golf is a beautiful game and you are simply wasting your energy by judging each shot as good or bad creating a vast data bank of comparisons from last year, the last round and the round you are playing. You have made the shot. The shot is done. Isn’t it rather fruitless punishing yourself or patting yourself on the back for a shot of the past? Continual self judgement is toxic in that it prevents you from seeing things as they are and mobilizing your true potential. Put in simple terms your mental energy should be spent on thinking about your next shot and not wasting it on the past.

“Travels to a Different Time” : 13July1973: Ios, Greece: Wild Bill Pukes Up His Dinner and Lots of Retsina: No More Greasy Goulash: Shark Attack

On the way home from picking up breakfast supplies I had a wipe out and the glass bottle of water broke and I cut my hand. Not badly and its nothing a bit of salt water can’t fix assuming the sharks don’t smell the blood and attack! Went to village beach to hang out. I finished reading my book while standing waste deep in the ocean. No oozing blood so the sharks can’t smell me. After dressing up Mom and I headed out for a drink with some mezze of octopus, cucumber, feta cheese and tomatoes. Mom had an ouzo and I had an Alpha beer. Greek beer is decent and hits the spot in the heat. Went to Yianni’s for supper and after being traumatized greasy Yugoslavian goulash with its gristly beef we both had a delicious beef and rice dish. The beef was so tender and the sauce rich. Although the daytime heat can be intense here the evenings can be cool. We came home and Wild Bill puked up his dinner and obviously he had too much retsina. I had to move out to the porch to sleep as the stench was unbearable. Thanks Wild Bill.

“Travels to a Different Time” : 12July1973: Ios, Greece: Watching Sunsets with the Freaks: Watching Sunsets with the Freaks

Up early to watch the sunrise on the coast below the village. Spectacular! Picked up some breakfast supplies and headed to a supposedly fantastic beach. We had to take a bus then a put putt boat. What a beach. Crystal clear waters and beautiful sand. No speargun fishing this year. Came home for a siesta and headed down below to Yianni’s for a top rate dinner. We are used to the small Greek restaurant servings but there was more quantity than we expected so we passed the extra food to a German chick and her boyfriend. Before dinner we joined the freaks on the edge of a big hill listening to classical music. Yorgo the sole village policeman attends as well and he looks nervously at all the freaks. Is that dope I smell? We will make watching the sunset a regular activity. My mother is the oldest hippie in the group! I must give her credit for living like a vagabond. It takes some guts at her age. Many her age criticize freaks but she sees most of them as intelligent and good kids. Points for that Mom!

Freaks is not a nasty term. It is what many of the hippies call each other. Sort of a brotherly term! Long hair, strange clothing and jewelry and of course for many dope. Greece is close to Turkey and lots of hashish comes into Greece from Turkey. I understand they catch a few hippies every year trying to smuggle it into Greece.

“Travels to A Different Time” : 11July1973: Piraeus and Ios: Overweight Greek Brats and Hippies: Who is Mom Sleeping With?

Up at 6 a.m. somewhat spaced out by grungy bus travel, transatlantic crossings and a late-night movie I shouldn’t have watched in Bangor the night before our flight. All we could find to eat was a package of cookies. There was mass confusion on the docks with shouting and arguments. There is nothing like travel exhaustion to give everything a surreal edge. On the ship we met a Greek girl Athena who is going to university in New Jersey in the fall. There were loads of hippies more than the usual on an island steamer. There were also a large number of overweight Greek kids. A strange crowd of passengers. We traveled last year to a Yugoslavian Island of Murter where there is a deaf mute camp. Is Ios a haven for hippies and overweight children! We had some chow at the snack bar on board. For once I am not starving on a continual basis. We stopped at the island of Paros a beautiful looking island and we said good-bye to Athena. After 8 hours of sailing, we arrived in Ios and had a trouble finding a room. Mom forgot the Munich bag we purchased with Fritz last summer. What ever happened to that guy. Not a question I think I should ask. I had to tear back to the ship and rescue the Munich bag. Mom went up the hill to a village and found a room but as we trudged up the hill to check in she forgot where the hotel was. After an emotional time we found it and off to a true Yugoslavian greasy dinner one doesn’t expect in Greece (pardon the pun). What did Mom book? Why am I sleeping in a room with three others. Where is Mom?