Adventure #8: The Cliffs of Insanity

Adventure #8: The Cliffs of Insanity

Monodendri is similar to Clidonia in that it's not too far from Micro Papingo as the crow flies, but takes a long time to get to. Unfortunately, Penguins don't fly. They're mostly aquatic birds. This is Pen Pen not flying.

Mike drove The Beast, which is a very old VW contraption. Odds are good it's older than me. It's definitely older than Pen Pen. We passed through the sharp winding roads down from Megalo Papingo to the river where we stopped for a quick jump from a 25 foot cliff into freezing water. Then up through Aristi past Vikos to Monodendri. This is Pen Pen singing “The Long and Winding Road.”

The sign as you walk towards the Monastery in Monodendri advertises that the Vikos Gorge is the deepest canyon in the world. I'm pretty sure this is like when you ride the world's oldest wooden roller coaster in San Diego and they announce that it's the world's oldest just before it leaves. It probably wouldn't have been terrifying otherwise, but now it is. This is Pen Pen getting psyched out.

As far as I could tell from the sign in the Monastery which was entirely in Greek, the Monastery was built in 1412. Or it's 1,412 kilometers high. Or the last 4 digits of the phone number is 1412. It's definitely old. The Monastery itself is a series of interconnected buildings, some of which are still standing and in regular use, some of which are crumbling. This is Pen Pen looking down into the courtyard.

Up the staircase is the path that leads to the Cliffs of Insanity. Pen Pen and I went on alone because that seemed like a really great idea at the time. Obviously when going to a place called the Cliffs of Insanity the best course of action is to be as far as possible from anyone who could come help you. The path to the Cliffs of Insanity is a winding path along the rock face about 1 or 2 feet wide. This is Pen Pen thinking this is just a fantastic idea.

I'm not afraid of heights. I have a healthy respect and dislike of them. People from the Midwest who see Jaws are afraid of sharks. Fear is irrational and unfounded. I have a deep respect and dislike for heights. I'm fine with ladders. I'm fine with sky scrapers. It's great heights where a tiny slip or misstep would mean plummeting to my inevitable death that make me a little uneasy. Despite what Ben Gibbard may tell you, falling from such great heights will not result in a fluke hit for your quirky synthpop side project. No. It results in a painful and disfiguring death. And that, Mr. Gibbard, frankly will not fly. This is Pen Pen singing a little Third Eye Blind.

The Cliffs of Insanity are the sort of place that would either be featured in the training montage of an action movie as the residence of the heroes trainer / retired mentor / only person who can save us. Alternately in one of those movies where a photogenic young privileged white person comes to a country of people with much darker skin and learns to appreciate, and sometimes save, their deep and ancient culture. Like in Avatar. As a photogenic young somewhat privileged white person in a country full of people of comparatively darker skin whose culture I already appreciate, I was mostly learning to breathe at regular intervals. The caves along the Cliffs of Insanity were once the home to ascetic monks abstaining from pretty much everything, but now are mostly the home to lizards and tourists. There were probably lizards there back in the day too. This is Pen Pen wishing we had the budget for some cool aerial photography.

About halfway up the path there's a tiny door in the rock which leads to path to the caves. For some reason. My working theory involves Hobbits. This is Pen Pen grateful that there's finally a door that's vaguely height appropriate for him.

We made it past some more ruins and crumbling walls to the caves themselves. Although most had succumbed to time and weather at this point, there was one that still had a dirt floor bed, half an entry way and even the makings of a second room. This was a luxury monk cave. This is Pen Pen contemplating giving up all worldly goods and pleasures.

Much in the same way that the water by the river is a lot less cold once you've already been in it, the walk back wasn't nearly as terrifying. We made it back with a minimum of plummeting thousands of feet to our deaths and watched the company run through "The Killing Room" at the Monastery. This is Pen Pen looking back safely from behind a pile of rubble at the Cliffs of Insanity. 

This is a song I wrote this one time. You should download it and share it with your friends.

Vertigo by nathanleigh

Adventure #7: Micro Papingo (Day 4)

Adventure #7: Micro Papingo (Day 4)

We started the day with a reading of my play “Our Lady of the Holy Powerstrip.” It's in its' first draft, so it was a little rough, but I got a lot of useful information, and great feedback. And I was hardly anxious at all about people reading my totally unfinished work. My very special glass of apple juice helped. This is Pen Pen reading the stage directions.

I sat on the porch and wrote for the rest of the afternoon. Around 6:30, Jess, Brian, Pen Pen, and I met up and headed down to Megalo to meet up with the rest of the company and drive to Aristi. We took the shortcut through the gorge which goes over this beautiful stone bridge. After trains and abandoned buildings, I'm a big fan of bridges. For those keeping track, this means that bridges are the opposite of air travel. Brian keeps talking about this Indiana Jones bridge that goes over the gorge a little further down. I tried to find it yesterday but only found a bridge made of two old logs and some rusted corrugated tin. It was definitely dangerous, but didn't scream “adventure in a dashing fedora” to me. It more screamed “tetanus at best, or more likely, falling and crushing your skull on the rocks below.” Normally that's a taunt that's hard to resist, but I had places to be. We took the normal bridge. Which is still pretty cool. This is Pen Pen crossing the gorge.

The whole company crowded into 3 cars and headed down the mountain to Aristi where the apprentices were performing. On the way we passed the river, which is the sort of blue that usually only exists in Crayola boxes and theme parks. Once we dropped the company off at Aristi, Mike, James, Rosy, Pen Pen and I headed back down to the river for an impromptu dive. It was about 25 feet from the rock to the water, which was extremely cold. Imagine being smacked upside the head with a bag full of coffee. I didn't have my bathing suit with me, so I dove in my shorts. Did I mention how cold it was? It also meant I spent the rest of the day slightly damp, desperately in need of a towel. Thus proving right Douglas Adams once and for all. Or at least Towelie. This is Pen Pen getting ready to jump.

We arrived in Aristi conspicuously wet. We ordered a few orange Fantas, and watched the apprentices' show, which had a really good local turnout. One guy had his phone out taking video the whole time. This is Pen Pen being an attentive audience member.

We got back to the house, where Sameerah and Bjorn had made a very tasty dinner for the whole company which involved sweet potato fries. After dinner, Amanda treated us to Story Time. It was a story about an Indian farmer with a magic cow that could give him anything he wanted. I would personally prefer a magic goat. This is Pen Pen reading Hindu stories.

This is a song I wrote this one time. You should download it and share it with your friends.

Tear Up the Stereo by The Androgynous Androids

Adventure #6: Clidonia!

Adventure #6: Clidonia!

Rosy, Sameerah, SJ, Pen Pen, and I headed down to Megalo at 8am to go horseback riding at Ianthe's sister's place. I got Kera who was described to me as the lazy one, So he and I got along great. About half way through the trip Kera and I decided screw it, and went and played some Mario Kart and ate Doritos on the couch. Good times. He made so many Simpsons references. This is Pen Pen riding Kera.

Last year I took a hike to the nearby abandoned village: Clidonia. Or Kledonia. I kind of fell in love. There's a house there that's mostly still standing and wouldn't be too hard to fix up and make livable. I've been talking about it all year, so Rosy, Pen Pen, and I hiked up after breakfast to see it. It's about an hour and a half hike or an hour and a half drive. To walk there, you walk through Megalo to where the sidewalk ends and then keep going. This is Pen Pen paying tribute to Shel Silverstein.

We passed by a herd of cattle on the way. We could hear their bells from a mile in either direction. This is Pen Pen needing more cowbell.

The hike was unfathomably beautiful. We would walk in zig zags down to gorges and then back up. The path is marked with red stones, sometimes arrows, and two or three signs. All of them are at arbitrary intervals, and often hard to see. So it's pretty hard to get lost. This is Pen Pen navigating the trail.

We only got lost once on the way there. Three times if you count the times I saw something cool and wanted to go explore and then took a minute to find my way back to the path. So basically just once. At the peak you could see from miles in every direction. This is Pen Pen enjoying a 380 degree panoramic view from a mountaintop shrine.

Although people had been leaving for years, the village was completely abandoned in the 60's. There was no road up to it, so the younger generation was moving down the mountain to the cities beneath. Apparently people like roads. Kids these days. In the intervening 40 years, many of the buildings have decayed and crumbled. A few years ago, the ever anonymous “they” decided the peak just east of the village was an ideal location for a cell tower. So “they” added a new paved road up to the village and another mile up to the cell tower. Like “they” do. This is Pen Pen looking down at the village from the cell tower.

There are a few structures still in good shape. There's the Taverna, which is open all year round. There's also a farm. A few houses under repair and disrepair. And of course, my house. We got to the village tired, hungry, and thirsty. The Taverna was open, and the waiter spoke excellent English. He told us they had spinach pie and Greek salad. Those were our options. We chose both. Both were excellent. This is Pen Pen feasting after a long hike.

After lunch we explored the village for a while. All the buildings with doors on them were locked. Our waiter told us that in addition to the Farm, some families are starting to come back to the village, or building new houses in the village. This means I have to act fast to get my house. We found a house that had burned down at some point after it was abandoned. The doors and windows were blocked up with rock, but the back half was completely demolished. The interior was covered with the stones from the wall, and all the beams were charred black. This is Pen Pen exploring the ruins.

We wandered up to an old church on a cliff and sat for a while admiring the view of the fields below. Then we walked up to my house. I have a dream of one day buying and fixing up this house and spending the rest of my life sitting on top of a mountain writing. I'd miss everybody a lot, but seriously. Did you see the panorama? I'll also have a pet goat, and a donkey. And maybe a Vespa. This is Pen Pen, windswept, gazing up to the house.

It had two stories once, but now doesn't even have one floor. It also is distinctly lacking in doors, windows, and functional chimneys. To say nothing of its' profound lack of heating, electricity, or plumbing. Oddly enough, because of its proximity to the Taverna, it does have WIFI. So it's basically perfect. This is Pen Pen peering out through an ex window.

We started on back to Megalo with a minimum of distractions. We did see a building with a moat, though. A moat! On a mountain! Mountain moat! Like all the cool stuff, it was locked. So we walked back briskly trying to get Rosy back in time for rehearsal. Despite getting horribly lost once, we actually made it just as the cast was starting to congregate for rehearsal. We walked down to the general store, which is apparently run by 8 year olds, and bought some refreshments. In solidarity with the store's proprietors, I got a juice box. This is Pen Pen back at our hotel room sharing my juice box.

The apprentice company had a performance of Theyestes in Vikos, so the full company headed out there to watch. The sun set slowly behind their open performance space. Afterwards we all came back to the house for a big meal, another late night singalong, some drinks, and then more drinks. There's a local drink called Tsipouro which is distilled from the residue of the wine press. It's fantastic. And strong. And fantastic. Some time around midnight we started to panic because we had no play to read tomorrow, so Rosy graciously volunteered one of mine. Specifically a new one called “Our Lady of the Holy Powerstrip” which is only in it's first draft. I stayed up for another hour or so trying to get it ready to be read by actors. This is Pen Pen correcting grammar.

This is a song I wrote this one time. You should download it and share it with your friends.

Apart by A Thousand Ships

Adventure #5: Micro Papingo (Day 2)

Adventure #5: Micro Papingo (Day 2)

We woke up this morning and there were hardly any scorpions in Rosy's suitcase. So we caught the scorpion in a glass and set it outside. This is Pen Pen hunting scorpions.

With the scorpions successfully rocked like a hurricane, we headed up to the house for a design meeting. I thought we had a pretty good excuse for being late. We read through another play, and then had a big lunch of leftovers. Casey and I did the dishes. This is Pen Pen putting away the clean dishes.

Rosy and I went back down to the swimming hole for the rest of the lunch break. We lay down on the rocks and read for a bit. About 5 pages in I fell asleep and had a dream that James was playing piano for me. I woke up to find that it was David Bowie. Or Mike Garson. It's hard to tell sometimes. I've always operated under the assumption that if it's florid and elaborate then it's Garson, if it's lyrical and simple then it's Bowie. Who knows, really. I also saw a 50 year old man with a nipple ring, so now I can cross that off my scavenger hunt list. This is Pen Pen working on his tan.

While Rosy was in rehearsal doing a clowning workshop, I took a hike up the mountain. James suggested I go to Sunset Peak, since the sun was about to start setting. His directions involved the phrase “I'm pretty sure it's that way.” So I didn't exactly find it. I probably should have learned in Dusseldorf not to take directions from James. Instead I found a mile and a half of rock scramble that I decided to climb. I got to the top of it and sat down for a bit looking out at the two Papingos; Micro and Megalo. I got a little writing done on a new play I've been trying to start for months. This is Pen Pen being inspired by the view.

The way back wasn't quite as easy. It turns out that rocks and gravity are friends, so the ground kept giving way beneath me. I only slipped and hurt myself once or twice, which I think is a major accomplishment. I made it back to the house, had another Thanksgiving dinner that couldn't be beat, and didn't get up until the next morning, when we all went horseback riding. That's how the song goes, right? This is Pen Pen watching the last rays of sun vanish behind a mountain.

This is a song I wrote this one time. You should download it and share it with your friends.

Noise (alternate mix) by nathanleigh

Adventure #4: Micro Papingo (Day 1)

Adventure #4: Micro Papingo (Day 1)

I woke up surprisingly not jet lagged and had a tasty breakfast at Dias'. I couldn't remember the word for “vegetarian,” so he brought out some ham. I know it translates literally to “eats green things.” Which is strange because I often eat cheese and would be very uncomfortable if it were green. This is Pen Pen having breakfast.

Afterwards, I walked up to the house where the rest of the company was still having breakfast. While cleaning up, Rosy got attacked by a table. This is Pen Pen fixing Rosy's leg.

We read the play the company's producing this year, then had a big communal lunch. Rosy and I went down to the swimming hole. It was pretty crowded, so we decided to follow it to the source. We had to swim to get there, so I left my bag on a rock and hoped no-one stole it. No-one stole it. The swimming hole is a series of interconnecting pools and waterfalls. The ground water seeps in from the cliffs 40 feet up. It looks like the roots of the trees are raining. Basically it's Lothlorien. When we got to the second to last pool we had to scale a 25 foot rock face to get to the last pool. A boulder sat on top of another waterfall through which the sun shone. There was no Smoke Monster as best as I could tell. This is Pen Pen at the swimming hole.

We watched a run through of the apprentice's show, then headed back to get dinner started. It was Rosy and my night to cook. For 24 people. I did the cooking and Rosy did the cutting. We made crepes with sauteed vegetables, feta, spinach, olives, with a white wine cream sauce. It was delicious. This is Pen Pen cooking.

Last year the company roasted a whole lamb on a spit. It was terrifying. I spent the day drinking whiskey and hiding inside the house. Other than the lamb on a spit 20 feet away from me, it was kind of a great day. This year we made a lamb out of vegetables. This was mostly the apprentices project. Teamwork! This is Pen Pen with a lamb.

After dinner, we drank Jameson and had a sing along on the balcony until 1 in the morning. Jess and Rosy made a list of songs I need to learn before the next one. This is Pen Pen taking a rockin' guitar solo.

This is a song I wrote this one time. You should download it and share it with your friends.

Super Mirage - Dance Hall by supermirage

Adventure #3: The Journey from Dusseldorf to Micro Papingo

Adventure #3: The Journey from Dusseldorf to Micro Papingo

We boarded our flight to Athens around 14:30. The plane took off and made a horrible buzzing noise, so I was pretty sure we were all going to die. We didn't, which I thought was a nice gesture on the part of Agean Air. James and I were sitting next to each other this time. Pen Pen rode first class, of course, because he's a pimp. This is Pen Pen looking down at all of us plebeians from behind the divider.

James and I slept through most of the flight. When we landed in Athens a bunch of people on the plane applauded, presumably to show their appreciation for also having not died in a horrible fiery plane crash. James' bag didn't transfer so we had to pick it up and re-check it. I'm pretty sure that's where I lost the chocolates I bought in Dusseldorf. This is Pen Pen waiting for luggage.

The flight to Ioannina was relatively painless. We slept most of the way. Ioannina is pronounced the same way you'd pronounce an arrow hitting its' mark in a cartoon. Not “thwip” but “yananananananana.” Pen Pen was greeted with much fanfare. This is Pen Pen in front of the airport.

We weren't greeted by Ianthe or Rosy. They're both dead to me now. Instead it was Mike and Amanda. Also good. This is Pen Pen stealing James' girlfriend.

Mike drove us up the winding mountain roads. Pen Pen wanted to drive, but couldn't reach the pedals. This is Pen Pen at the wheel.

We got to Megalo Papingo where the rest of the company was having dinner. Warm welcomes abounded. There was more food than any of us could possibly eat. Also more booze. This is Pen Pen eating all the food.

After I fell asleep at the dinner table, Mike drove us up to Micro Papingo where all the One Year Leasers live. Rosy, Pen Pen, and I have a room at Dias' where I stayed last year. We got home, unpacked a little, and passed right out after a long day of travel. This is Pen Pen asleep in his bed.

Here's this song I wrote this one time. You should download it and share it with your friends.

A Thousand Ships - Acting Like A Child by athousandships

Adventure #2: Willkommen mit Dusseldorf

Adventure #2: Willkommen mit Dusseldorf

We had about 5 hours to kill, so we decided to head to take the train to downtown Dusseldorf and scope out the scene. After stopping at almost every information kiosk in the airport, we realized that a pair of ADD kids with a language barrier are not really a good team for getting directions. We eventually worked out a system where James would remember the first part of the directions and I'd remember the second. That went generally better. First, we went down to the Gepäckaufbewahrung to drop off my heavy suitcase. This is Pen Pen at the Gepäckaufbewahrung.

We hopped on the Sky Train, which is basically a train from the future, to connect to the main train line that goes downtown. We sang the Monorail song. This is Pen Pen on the Sky Train.

After much discussion about which direction to head, we bought our tickets (which no-one ever checked) and got on the S1 train. It turns out, that neither of us can understand any German at all. If I were to have a conversation using all the German I know, it would go like this:

Good morning. Speaking is forbidden. Attention, Jew: I do not understand, because I don't speak German. No. You, you hate, you hate me because I am a jelly donut. Submarine, superman, beautifulsixteenthbirthdaycake! Thank you. I love you.

Having learned most of my German from WWII movies, clearly I would be a big hit at parties. This is Pen Pen waiting for the train in the rain.

We went the wrong way. We ended up in Duisburg which is north of Dusseldorf. So we got off and waited for a train to come in the other direction. The schedule said there would be one within 5 minutes but we waited for almost 20. Clearly this dispells the myth that the trains in Germany run on time. Or James can't read a German train schedule. Either way. This is Pen Pen in Duisburg.

We finally made it to downtown Dusseldorf where it was kind of gross and raining, but having nothing better to do, we soldiered on. I guess Dusseldorf isn't much of a happening place at 9 on a Sunday morning. Most of the stores were closed and the streets were pretty much deserted. This is Pen Pen in front of Gay Sex World.

We wandered around for a little while and it started to rain harder. So we walked into a little cafe. The waitress spoke excellent English and we talked for a while. She told us where the interesting things were in the city, but that most of them were closed on Sundays. She's coming to New York soon, so we gave her our contact info. This is Pen Pen with our new friend Gap.

We walked up to the river where there was a lot of interesting sculpture. One of them looked like my dad. This is Pen Pen riding an eagle.

Around 11:30 we headed back to the train station. There was hardly any confusion at all about which train to take. We got back to the airport quickly and went back to the Gepäckaufbewahrung to retrieve my bag. Somewhere along the way, I lost the luggage tag. Oops. Luckily I had a picture of Pen Pen packing the bag, and could describe what was in it, so she let me take it. This is why I keep him around. He's always good in a bind. We checked in and waited for our plane. I registered this blog and made a few posts. This is Pen Pen doing graphic design.

Here's this song I wrote this one time. You should download it and share it with your friends.

The Last Time You Saw Me by nathanleigh