Kalambaka at Koka Roka

September 6, 2007

I have arrived in Kalambaka after a 5 hour train ride. What a gorgeous place. If not for Mara and Arthur’s invitation, I would have never come here and it would have been a complete shame. There are megalithic rocks surrounding the town like father figures and it feels like a tiny village although it has a population of 150,000 people. Arthur and Mara own a hotel/restaurant here and the first thing we did was eat from the restaurant – where the chef…is Arhtur's own mother (Katerina). She made lamb and rice balls in a thick lemon/chicken tasting broth and it felt so good to eat some home cooked food that I had never tasted before.

I ended up taking a nap, watching a movie on the couch and going to sleep. The pace here is a little slower and for me it’s just right. Mara is 5 months pregnant now and I like talking with her about what she’s going through. I admire Mara very much because she had listened to her heart and not her head and within this last year moved to Greece and got married to a man that she had only known for a short time.

I fell asleep looking at a small black scorpion near the ceiling and for some reason it didn’t bother me. I didn’t think of it again.