Early in our trip to Greece, Lily asked me if I was feeling something special inside being in my ancestral homeland. I was disappointed to report that I wasn’t feeling anything. That all changed today with our trip to Kolindros, the town where my great grandfather and great grandmother, Basil and Krisoula Darais, lived before leaving to the United States early in their marriage (Krisoula joined him a few years after he left because she was taking care of his mother, I think).
The day started when we left our farmhouse that we loved so much and took a drive to Kolindros.
Ammon threw up on the way, and I even took a picture of it because it was quite spectacular how much he vomited. I’ll spare you the photo. That also felt like a God moment because there was a huge rest area with a gas station, supplies and a restaurant within minutes of when Ammon threw up. This allowed us to have what we needed to clean everything up, and get lunch for everyone at Goody’s (which seems to be the burger chain of choice in Greece).
When we approached Kolindros, Lily and I were blown away by how tidy and bucolic their countryside is. It’s all organized into well maintained picturesque sections of farmland. We couldn’t get enough of it. Lily commented it was the most beautiful farmland she has ever seen. I too was completely taken by it. It also gave me a flashback to the Naxos farmland near Demeter’s temple that had such tidy and ancient plots of olive orchards.
When we arrived inside Kolindros, we drove around a bit and then went to their main square. I stopped into a shop which is the blue building below.
They were so friendly there, and one man spoke a little English and was able to tell me that there were a few Darais’ in town and he also told me my face looks like a Darais (so cool!). We really struggled so he found a nearby teenager to talk with me. The boys name was Stereos and he’s friends with a Darais (Nico?). His friend is the son of Konstantinos, son of Antonios (more on him later). I tried connecting with Konstantinos prior to my trip and received word he would not be able to meet with me. But it was so fun talking to someone who knows my Greek family! I think that Antonios was a cousin of my grandfather, Alexander.
Then we all needed to use a bathroom, and that was a perfect excuse to buy lots of sweets so we felt good about descending on someone’s toilet with so many of us. And I’m so glad we did! They were my favorite treats of the whole trip. I’m sure some of it was the magic of being in Kolindros, but the syrup filled balls of dough, baklava and chocolate creme cookie sandwiches were so good. The dough balls especially were so unique and addictive. I could get enough of them! The main behind the counter was also super sweet. It was confusing buying treats. He and the lady who helped me barely spoke any English. There was a sign for 6 Euros next to the chocolate cream cookie sandwiches. That seemed like a ton to me for one treat, but I bought it anyway. That must have been per kilogram or something because I didn’t have to pay near that much for them. Which is great because I asked for 5 and I got a giant box. Lol, it’s hard with the language barrier!
Then we all went to the cemetery to look for Darais names. Thank goodness we have Lily who knows how to read Greek. I never would have known that said Darais! This is the grave of Antonios Darais who I mentioned earlier.
I thought the graveyard and gravestones were so beautiful. I took a lot of pictures. It was also so amazing to spend time with my relative from across the world.
Then we headed out of Kolindros, all the while continuing to admire the countryside.
We made our way to Portaria, except first we paid a quick visit to super-crazy-land. I actually don’t remember the name of the little town in the cliffs our GPS mistakenly took us to (right next to Portaria), but it was the one time on the trip that driving felt scary. It was night time, and the city was built into a steep mountain-side (dare we say cliff?) and the roads were incredibly narrow. We had to drive up narrow switch backs to climb the cliff. On the turn of each switchback, it was so steep that my large passenger van (seats 9 and has tons of luggage space) would completely pause mid-turn, so it could downshift and actually make it up the crazy steep incline. At one point we went down (and then back up when we realized we needed to turn around) a narrow brick passage-way that was so steep and narrow that I felt all of my adrenaline pumping as I tried to focus. Right after that (thank Goodness), we met two gentleman (who run a hotel and are starting a honey and olive oil business) give us the directions we needed. Roads were also crazy in Portaria, but NOTHING like the other town we were in.
Portaria was amazing, maybe my favorite place I’ve ever stayed. It’s also way up in the steep mountains, but roads are decent and the hotel gastronomy we stayed in was charming beyond words.
They serve food from their local farm that is remarkably inexpensive for how delicious it is. It was definitely one of our favorite meals from the entire Greece trip.
People went crazy for the baked apples. I think they were local, possibly even from their family farm.
We were all very tired and very full after such an incredible dinner. But I wasn’t too full for more of those crazy amazing syrup filled dough-balls!
Also, here is a video my mom sent about Basil eating a Pupachino. She has been so super sweet to keep sending us videos and pictures of Basil to further light up our days.
Also, I just want to effuse about Lily for a little bit. Today I got to be in my ancestral hometown, and for all of October, the whole family is getting the most incredibly rich cultural experiences and it’s all because of Lily. She had the vision for this trip and planned everything. Lily thinks day and night about how to provide her family with everything she can, and cultural experiences are at the top of her list. We are so blessed to have Lily in our lives who is always planning such meaningful, awe-inspiring and educational experiences. I love you so much!
