David's Diary: Saturday, May 10, 2003

A Circus and Dinner

While we were exploring Argostoli yesterday we saw lots of posters for a circus that is in town for the next few days. We goofed around today, read, did a little shopping, and generally took it easy. In the late afternoon we wandered along the waterfront and found the circus.

High Wire Act

We entered the big tent while the sun was still up and learned that this is a traveling circus that visits many different cities. The performance lasted for an hour and a half with a half-hour break. Many of the performers were young, perhaps in their early twenties. Allen sat entranced, but Kevin complained about the person behind him who kept kicking his seat, and we're not certain what Jocelyn thought about the whole thing. It certainly was different -- we were the only tourists in the place. I always enjoy it when we are doing things that the locals do.

Allen Watching

When Jocelyn and I got back to the boat last night after midnight, there was a Greek sitting near our boat. He asked us if we were really from Canada and when we said "yes" he told us that while he had grown up in Argostoli, he had immigrated to Canada as a young man. He learned the restaurant trade in Montreal, but after meeting his wife they had moved to Vancouver. He spent more than ten years running a popular Canadian/Greek restaurant in the very center of Vancouver and had recently moved back to Argostoli where he opened a new restaurant.

Cooking at Casa Grec

With the local connection to Canada we couldn't resist visiting Casa Grec, a nice restaurant in the center of Argostoli. We met the staff, learned that they are the only restaurant open year-round, and sat down in elegant surroundings to have a nice dinner. I enjoyed my swordfish and just as Karalee and I were sipping on the last of our wine there was the sound of fireworks. We ran out of the restaurant and up to the main square where a big celebration was taking place.

A major telephone company was launching a new service and they had put on a big party for the entire town. People were dancing, fireworks were going off, and everyone was having a great time. We took it all in and then returned to Casa Grec to finish our wine and pay our bill. In the few days we've been here we have seen that the people of Argostoli are lively and full of life.