European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - November 4, 1993, Darmstadt, Hesse                                We4it���ftn2s2-2i2�2i nowadays a woman leads a Hay filled Donkey cart Down a Street in Gar me a turkish town in Cappadocia. Continued from Page 3 vacationers who temporarily adopt it Many of them athenians Are far from shy in proclaiming its superiority to the other islands friendlier Greener Ana More mountainous better cuisine and most important less corrupted by the hand that feeds  _ june 23 Caroleine. A 2 3-year-old dutch woman on the ferry Quot i be never prayed so much As i have in Greece. I was having a Nice meal with a Beautiful View and i thought of my sister and got sad thinking she would never see this. She was Only 34 there was so much she never got to . Mourning works in strange ways. I myself have been having dreams about dead friends and the dying character from Angels in America. Lit a votive Candle for my Mother in a Remote Church on a Hill Over the sea. Quietly celebrating my own 36th birthday i feel acutely grateful to be alive to be Here. June 25 a 3 37 . Casablanca disco town of Fira Island of Santorini. Groovy Young internationalists High on what dancing to the red hot Chili peppers. Sfanos was sensuous and somnolent Santorini is sexy and sensational. Millennia of extreme volcanic and other tectonic activity have defined the landscape and Seascape burying several civilizations in the process the argument is put Forth that the archaeological site at Aero Fri a relic of a minoan civilization that was entombed in volcanic Rock in an eruption circa 1450 b.c., provides evidence that this was Atlantis. Creek myth and history remain inextricable inscrutable palpable. Fast Forward some 3,500 years in the Wake of a devastating earthquake in 1956 the main town Fira has been developed into an upscale International destination with chichi bars restaurants and class a accommodations dinging to the face of the Caldera. In its present configuration the arc of the Crescent shaped Island embraces the Volcano and a couple of smaller islands All of which were once part of a contiguous land mass. By Daylight it s As if the grand Canyon had been plopped into the Caribbean. Sunset bathes the sea and sky in a Blue Orange Wash and turns the Cliff that is the  Western face into a striated palette of Sienna hues which Blush deeper and Richer As darkness Falls. When the night lights glitter the Island becomes a Brilliant Black Diamond. Santorini wears its ravishing Beauty so boldly that the nowadays men of Pargos on Santorini move through the streets in a sunday morning procession honouring a Saint. Island can take on the unreal aspect of a tarted up theme resort tourism is virtually the entire Economy. The r popular beaches on the Eastern Side Are magnets for \ european package Deal vacationers and the backpacking set. Fira s jewelry and clothing shops attract patrons from the luxury liners moored in the Harbor. The night life does t get started till after Midnight. Some of the country s finest chefs have been recruited Here and to Dine on crab meat stuffed mushroom Caps and cheese and Herb stuffed pork chops on the Terrace of the Alexandria restaurant while discussing the politics and economics of tourism with the proprietor an artist who also runs a gallery and the town s jazz bar is a rare treat indeed. A however. Such Heady cosmopolitan gratification prompts me to take Refuge for several Days at a Homey and extremely pretty pension in Pargos. This quiet medieval style Inland Village serves As a staging area from which to launch sorties to the beaches waterfront tavernas and archaeological Sites All within 20 minutes by Motorbike. June 29 on one such Outing serendipity steers me to a Trail head marked by two Windmill Twenty minutes of clambering Down the face of the Cliff on a Switchback path deposits me at a plot by the sea where a Man is watering a Brace of donkeys from a Well. He brings me Over to the Terrace of his modest whitewashed House and offers me a Glass of homemade wine poured from a pastic water bottle. It tastes sweetish almost like Sherry. A Creek whose name is Partenio gavels Speaks no English but he s dear i expressing a desire to go fishing. He needs a hand. 1 a we launch the boat Tenios a Stocky shortish Man about 50, with a Limp Row around a nearby Point and instructs me to take the oars while he lets out three lengths of net maybe a couple of Hundred Yards. Then he rows  to his compound which includes a Hal dozen rooms to let with twin Barracks style cots for $10 a night. He shows me a hut that houses a Volcano fuelled Mineral Bath. It a he s got about a acre of land under cultivation the two donkeys and a dog that dotes on him. For lunch he serves a salad of cucumbers Capers onions and tomatoes and a Side dish of potatoes and Zucchini All Home grown. He pulls three sea urchins from the sea scrapes the quills off one of them and makes me eat some of the gooey briny meat. From Partenio Rowboat one can see Fira to the North up on the Ridge of the Cliff and it was impossible. Not to be stricken by the contrasts of experience Santorini was showing me the previous night i d feasted on gourmet stuffed goodies proceeded to a Jam in the jazz bar and finished off at 3 . In Casablanca dancing with a South african australian woman to the latest in euro House. Twelve hours later i m hanging with a virtual Hermit who does t serve anything he does t grow catch or ferment. June 30 Reading . Donleavy s the destinies of Darcey dancer gentleman end this jumps out Quot unless you were better off where you be been you re always better off where you Are. But no matter where you be Beer or where you Are you la never know if you la be better off where you re  i m tempted to move Down to Partenio Camp. But i m determined to Bolt for Turkey the next morning on a High Speed boat that would bring me to the coastal town of Kusa Dasi in six hours. In Fira though i learn the boat has been cancelled and the next Best Way to get there is by taking a ferry out of Santorini this evening connecting to an overnight ferry from the Hub port at  the Island of Samos where i would kill a Day waiting for the evening ferry to Kusa Dasi. _ july fax a arrive in Kusa Dasi on schedule change some Money proceed directly to the bus station a most turks can t afford cars so they have a first rate bus network a and v Cape Adonis at his tavern near a Sotiri on the Island of Santorini where some of Greece s finest chefs Cater to tourists. Nevi a 4 stripes Magazine november4, 1993