Animal stories and Greek wildlife

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Greek beach wildlife, gemista, and eggs in tomato sauce

I was spooked in the water by a sea turtle ! (but, in my defense, it was huge!)

If you’ve been following me for a while you must know that I live in the small seaside town of Nea Peramos (near Athens).

Our local beaches. and especially the popular one that I swim in, are graced by sea turtles.  I have repeatedly seen two together, but other locals say they have seen a whole family floating together.

In the recent years, we have been spotting a seal too. One day, it floated right past my husband and me in the deep waters. By the time we’d recovered from the shock it had swum away.

The seal has long disappeared from our area, but the sea turtles are still here. I see them on most days, far in the deep waters, mostly.

Their heads are so big they are easily spotted from afar.

The other day, one of them, a huge one, was splashing by a buoy in the deep water. That kept on for whole minutes. It was quite a show, and I seemed to be the only one who had noticed it.

I guess it’s because I always look out for them. That day, I could see its giant head and its whole fin as it splashed about, looking like it was having fun or hunting for something by the buoy.

And then, another morning, I had the shock of my life. I did a deep dive in fairly shallow waters, and as soon as I came out, about four-five meters away from me, I saw a huge sea turtle staring at me, its head fully out of the water. I froze. It had big black round eyes like buttons, and a green head covered with scales. Of course, I panicked 😨 and swum swiftly to the shallows.

As I neared four elderly women, I told them I just saw the turtle. Soon, a bunch of people gathered there, all of them looking out to sea to try and spot it.

By the time I got out to sit on the sand, I was laughing. They were all looking at a cormoran in the deep water (we have loads in the marshes of our area and they come over all the time to hunt in the sea).

The cormoran, as you probably know, has a long and thin neck, much like a swan’s, while the sea turtle has a huge, almost ball-like neck as seen from afar.

And yet, the locals were looking at the cormoran and going: “Oh! Look! It’s the sea turtle! Oh, how cute!”

Bless them, they couldn’t tell the difference. The funniest thing, though, was that the sea turtle was just to the left of them at the time, a fairly short distance away, but they never saw it. They totally missed it. They were focusing on the cormoran in the far distance instead.

This is what real-life comedy is made of, surely. I know I tittered as I watched the sea turtle swim near them totally unnoticed and couldn’t stop 😅

I was pleased to find these photographs online, taken by a local lady, who spotted the turtle while kayaking in the deep waters. These are the only photos I have of the turtle, but hopefully, more will follow. Just look at the size of that head. No wonder I panicked! 😛

 
 

Who enjoys cooking when it’s scorching hot?

I certainly don’t! This special, fried eggs recipe I am sharing today is my late Grandmother Antigoni’s. You will find many variations of it online with the names ‘kagianas’ and ‘strapatsada.’

Back in the 1980s, when I used to spend three months every summer on Corfu, Granny used to serve this often for lunch. She used ripe beef tomatoes and lashings of olive oil.

The sauce was divine and ample, begging for pieces of bread to be dunked in it. I remember feeling amazed every time. How could something made from just a couple of basic ingredients taste so heavenly?

I kept asking my granny to fess up, convinced she kept a special ingredient as a secret, but every time, she assured me she did not.

These days, I use much less oil than Granny did, seeing that when she treated me to that meal I was a youngster, but I am getting long in the tooth now, LOL. Still, despite the fact I serve it rather dry on the  plate now, it still has the same heavenly taste.

Following Granny’s advice, I only make it with summer tomatoes. Try it! Just make sure to serve it with fresh, crusty bread. It makes all the difference. Yum!

GET THE RECIPE

 
 

My new, enhanced Gemista

Speaking of summer recipes, I had to squeeze in this one since I recently updated it on my blog.

I made a couple of changes that enhanced the meal, including the temperature it cooks on.

Also, I now add half a teaspoon of turmeric in the bowl that contains the raw rice, tomato, and herbs mix. This enriches the taste further, not to mention giving the potatoes this mouthwatering, yellow tint.

So, what do you think? You’re welcome to get the recipe and dine like a Greek!🍴

This meal is perfect for a summer lunch or dinner. It’s equally delicious served cold, so makes for great picnic food on the beach 🏖️

GET THE RECIPE

And don’t forget the tzatziki! 😘

 

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Swallow baby boom, hunting cats and glass stickers. A fun post.

 

Swallow baby boom

One swallow does not make a spring, they say. But what about two nests brimming over with swallow babies?

That’s right. Next door to me, on the porch of my parents’ house, swallows have come and gone for years now. Two nests remain there all year to be filled again and again every spring. Sometimes, they claim just one, and sometimes both.

I don’t know what happened this spring, but both the nests have been claimed and they are both filled with babies!

In the picture above, you can see one of the two nests on my parents’ porch.

The result? A small murmuration of swallows keeps busy flying here and there all day, bringing sustenance to the little ones. I can count 4-6 birds swooping over my head at any one time, whenever I visit the porch next door.

They have been particularly more daring this year, flying low over our heads when we are in the garden near the nests. Sometimes, they perch on cabling overhead, peering at us, whereas in other years they would fly off the moment they saw us approach.

One morning, I was milling about in the garden, really early in the morning, and I thought I’d go see the nests. It was about ten days ago when none of the babies had flown out the nest yet.

Well, to my surprise, I found one baby on the ground! And I am so glad I checked as I don’t normally do that, so early in the morning. It was a fully formed swallow, with its wings all perfect, but it was just smaller, naturally.

It was standing on the ground, totally still, and it looked pristine, so my first reaction was relief, seeing that I have two avid feline hunters around and a very inquisitive doggie–my parents’ dog, Gino, that I have ‘taken under my wing’ (pun intended) since they passed away.

Anyway, I went closer to catch the baby bird, and it hopped away from my grasp, moving toward a large table. I panicked in case it hid somewhere out of my reach, so on my second attempt I really went for it and caught it in time.

The moment I trapped it inside my loose fist it calmed down and totally stopped thrashing.

Thinking quickly, I then went next door to my house and took one of my cat-carrying bags to keep it safe. Putting it inside proved tricky.

The baby seemed too scared to let go of my hand. It had curled its little claws all around one finger and wouldn’t let go. I had to shake it off my finger gently while giving it a little nudge with my other hand to transfer it to the bottom of the bag.

Once it was secure in there, I put the pet bag on a table before the window, so the baby could see the sunlight. It sat calmly looking from behind the mesh.

And then, I got to work…

The problem was I needed help to put the baby back up in the nest. They are located really high, you see, on the level of a tall ceiling, and because of a health issue I cannot lift any heavy weight. That meant I could not move the really tall ladder needed for the task.

Plus, I didn’t want to wait till my husband came back from work in the late afternoon to do it for me, as I worried the baby wouldn’t make it without food all these hours.

A couple of phonecalls later, I found a kindly neighbor to come and help. As he lifted the heavy ladder to place it under the nest, he told me the swallow nests are considered good luck for the home in his country of Albania.

This made me smile, as my mother and father also thought that. They had swallows return for many years, not just to their house here but also to their country home on the island of Limnos where my father came from.

So, anyway, my neighbor first checked the nest from which the baby had fallen–I knew which one it was because I’d found it on the ground directly under it–but that one was so full of babies that it was obvious why it had fallen. It probably got squeezed straight out by its siblings. So, the nice man put it in the other nest that was luckily less full.

I thanked him and we both went our way, and I hoped the baby would be fed soon as I didn’t know for how long it had been on the ground. I was worried the parents might not feed it, as I understand sometimes wild creatures abandon the young that have been touched by humans. I hear we humans leave quite a stench to the things we touch–at least, to their nostrils 🙃

I also worried it might fall again, in case it had actually tried to fly while not being ready yet. Perhaps, I imagined, I was unlucky enough to save the most overconfident swallow that ever lived 😅

But, anyway,  I worried for nothing. In the afternoon, my husband and I witnessed the babies being fed busily by their parents in both nests.

A couple days later, the oddest thing happened. I was on my porch, putting clothes on the line, and one swallow came to perch on a cable near my porch, almost at eye level.

It just sat there watching me, not in the least skittish about me being so close and gazing back at it.

I like to think it could smell me, perhaps, and knew it was I that had saved the baby. Maybe, it had come to check me out, or perhaps, even to chirp a little thank you to me 🦜

What do you guys think? I could be imagining things! Or, perhaps, as my husband often tells me, I am humanizing, as always, the way I forever humanize the cats and the dog, by trying to explain their behavior in human terms. I do admit… I am guilty as charged!

 

This is an old photograph taken by my mother at the porch of their house on the island of Limnos, where they used to spend much of every spring and all their summers during their retirement.

As you can see, the swallows came for a visit there too, though these do not look like typical swallows to me, seeing that they have these striking white lines on their heads and these nice brown shades. The swallows we have here in my town are the common house martins–they have black on their backs, white underneath, and no white lines on their heads.

Anyone recognize these birds? I’d love to know what swallow species they are. I am guessing they are a less common species for Greece.

As it turns out, there are five different swallow species that are  common in Greece:  the red-rumped swallow, the barn swallow, the common house martin, the sand martin, and the Eurasian crag martin.

The first three species have mainly black and white colors while the last two also have brown or gray shades.

Four of these five species make nests high above the ground using mud and dry plant fibers. The shape of the nest varies among the species. The sand martin is the only one that makes holes in the ground to make a nest, usually near water.

Greek law forbids the destruction of swallow nests, and the punishment is up to 1,000 euro fine and 1 year in jail! Many people, sadly, mind the visit of these intelligent, minute creatures and heartlessly destroy their nests on their walls.

I cannot imagine ever being bothered by the swallows’ sweet and busy song. It is rich in my ears every morning when I go out on my porch. It’s the sweetest goodmorning ever.

The only thing that seems a little bothersome is the small mount of poo that gathers under the nests, but a sheet of cardboard or a scrap of old cloth on the ground fixes that. And if it is built over furniture, perhaps, then one could place a makeshift shelf underneath the nest using a plank of wood and fix this problem.

The swallows arriving in Greece fly across the Mediterranean from Africa and can even fly back and forth from Siberia. And, these delicate little creatures have quite the stamina. They can fly across the Mediterranean in just one day!

In contrast to other migrating birds, the swallows only fly in the day, and pause to rest in different places during their journey.

Last, you may be surprised to learn that swallows don’t feed from the ground, but only during flight, catching bugs mid-air!

 

I recently installed these stickers on my living room window. The flowers went in first, just for fun, and then, I got the hummingbirds too, this time for a specific reason. I wanted to protect the swallows and sparrows that are prolific where I live.

Earlier this month, a little bird, probably a sparrow, perhaps blinded by the glare of the evening sun on the glass, hit it hard mid-flight.

I was in another room at the time and came straight out to see what the thud was about. It was pretty loud. I hoped it wouldn’t be a bird, as this had happened twice before over the years, before I even had cats, and when I saw what it was my heart sank.

By the time I got there, one of my cats–the younger one, Sissi–had already snatched the poor soul. She catches birds with gusto, and she’s really good at it. So, as sad as I was, I wasn’t surprised…

I managed to catch only a glimpse of the birdie lying still in her mouth, and I couldn’t save it, as Sissi then ran off with the bird and there was nothing I could do about it.

It broke my heart so much I knew I had to do something.

Happy to report I haven’t had any more mishaps since installing the stickers. I really hope they will deter the birdies from flying that way again.

In the first day or two, my cats, Sissi and her mommy, Loulou, sat and gazed at the hummingbirds from time to time, and also raised their paws, trying to catch them. Now, they coexist peacefully, as you can see.

And, if they mind these birds are made of plastic I’d rather they feel a little peeved than snatch another birdie while I’m watching. It’s not always easy being a cat mamma!

Till next time, enjoy this glorious summer and reading awesome stories!😀

 

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The village of Nymfaio and the bear sanctuary of Arcturos

Nymfaio, Florina

I visited the village of Nymfaio during my stay over Easter in Kastoria.

This village is situated in the prefecture of Florina (Greek region of west Macedonia). You will find it on Mount Vernon (Vitsi) at an altitude of 1.350 m.

According to UNESCO, Nymfaio is one of the ten most picturesque villages of Europe!

Truly, its name, that means ‘The Land of the Nymphs’ is befitting to this enchanted place that is graced by lush forestland and precious wildlife too.

Nymfaio was a delight to my eyes as I walked through it, along its cobblestone paths. The stonework and the classy old architecture on some of the buildings were just breathtaking, and I invite you to look at my photos on Facebook and see for yourselves.

By far, the most imposing edifice was the Nikeios School, an architectural marvel that nowadays operates as a conference Hall of Thessaloniki’s Aristotelian University.

We followed the many helpful signs to the Arcturos bear sanctuary as we made our way through the village past quaint dwellings and a piazza with charming eateries and cafes. Soon, we exited the village and came upon a path that ran through a marvelous beech forest…

This is me tip-toeing in the woods while looking out for bears haha

The beauty of the beech forest was remarkable. It literally took my breath away, which meant I couldn’t run (ha ha) when I read the sign that told me I was in bear country! Let me repeat that: Wild bears were actually roaming free where I was walking, folks! The sign said I ought to keep quiet, which suited me just fine!

I mean, who wants a bear to know you’re nearby, right?

Yes. I will admit that, for a few moments, I panicked to know I had entered a place where a bear might appear at any moment.

Andy and I were taking photos back in Nymfaio as we speedily followed the guide – but we still had fallen behind the others in the coach group. Most of the people had gone well ahead of us and there were only a few, the most aged naturally, lagging way behind us, as we all made our way to the bear sanctuary. So, we were walking alone, my hubbie and I, and I didn’t like it one bit.

But then, I thought, Oh well. I never heard on TV of anyone getting attacked by a bear in this country, so my chances are good. You know?

So, I cast my trepidation aside and, after that, I thoroughly enjoyed my walk (about 15-20 minutes, as I recall) in this mesmerisingly beautiful setting.

When we reached a cabin amidst the forest that served as the office and gift store of Arcturos, I was pleased to reunite with familiar faces from the group.

Before I relay the details of my visit to the bear sanctuary, to tell you a little about Arcturos:

The name Arcturos means ‘Bear Watcher’ in ancient Greek, the name for bear being ‘Arctos’, by the way. And that is why the Arctic is called the Arctic, folks!

Arcturos is a non profit, non governmental, environmental organization (NGO) founded in 1992, focusing on the protection of wildlife fauna and natural habitat, in Greece and abroad. They have sanctuaries in Nymfaio for both bears and wolves in two different locations amidst the forestland near the village.

A guide took us into the forest, asking us to speak in whispers and to turn off the sound on our phones.

Arriving shortly later in a wooden construction with a roof and rows of seats we were invited to sit and enjoy a short presentation from the guide.

He was very pleasant, eloquent, and highly informative about the work of Arcturos and the bears themselves. Many of the facts I learned about the bears (brown bears, as the case is!) were very surprising.

One of them was that they actually never attack humans unless provoked and that they shy away from noise. He said, if you’re walking in the wild and you want to avoid brown bears, all you have to do is make some noise. The easiest thing, he said, is to play some music on your phone, and they’ll go far from you.

He didn’t say which kind of music, though. I mean, heavy metal or that cursed trap music that sounds like screeching cats would certainly do the trick. But soothing melodies like songs by Michael Bolton or Celine Dion? Now, that music may actually entice them closer to come lie down for a nap haha

“Music hath charms to soothe the savage beast”, after all 🙂

Anyway, here are some of the facts I recall from that awesome presentation:

When Arcturos is notified that a bear is being abused or in need of assistance, they collaborate with the authorities to rescue it and bring it to the bear sanctuary. This oftentimes takes place in other countries too, like Turkey or Bulgaria, where, to this day, it is still common to find a bear being abused in a circus or put in a cage outside a store or at a petrol station, in order to attract customers. So cruel, but sadly true, and it made me very sad to hear it.

But thank goodness for Arcturos. According to the presenter, there are no circuses left in Greece today that use bears, and I was relieved to hear it. I remember about 10 years ago, a circus had come in town on two different occasions, and they used animals. It was an Italian circus I will not name. I had complained to the council both times and was shocked to find they had no idea that animals in circuses were abused. The second time they assured me they wouldn’t allow another circus act with animals in town again and were, in time, proven true to their word.

To hear Arcturos had worked so hard to educate people so that animal acts in circuses have now completely been a thing of the past in my country was wonderful news to hear.

Our guide said they give the bears names in the sanctuary, and separate the males from the females. They also spay and neuter them, as the sanctuary is just a safe haven for them and only them to spend the rest of their lives in to the end. They are not to breed more bears in captivity, or to be released in the wild. The last is not a cruelty, but a mercy, because, having known slavery for most of their lives, it would be impossible for them to survive alone out there.

The staff at the sanctuary take care of their every need. They give them all the kinds of food they need, and they never go hungry. They have medical care, and especially the old bears get to live longer, because they go without nothing. In the wild, old bears cannot hunt, so die soon after they stop having the use of their eyes or their legs. An adult bear often has to cover long distances every day in search of food.

Another thing that surprised me to hear is that bears don’t hibernate as such, but rather fall into a deep sleep. Their bodies do not grow cold or rigid and their strong sense of smell remains fully alert. They will readily wake up if needed.

A bear can smell humans from far away, even while it is sleeping in the winter.

A note on the food – the people at Arcturos make sure to simulate life in the wild as much as possible, and in this sense, start to give the bears less and less food when it’s time to go into their deep sleeep, as it is the lack of food in the wild that biologically triggers this long sleep in their system.

After the presentation, we were led to the area where the bears are kept behind fences and buzzing electrical wires. Most of them were napping under the trees, and a couple approached lazily behind the fence the curious humans who looked at them with wonder. The bears seemed peaceful, and used to human presence. There was no sign of agitation, the way you often see wild animals behaving in a zoo, and I was pleased to see that.

We were told that all the bears had been rescued from zoos and cages outside stores, in Greece and abroad. Knowing they had found a safe heaven in this beautiful forest where they could stay forever, never to be alone, never caged or chained again, and with all their needs met, made my heart sing.

Before departure, I visited the gift shop, and made sure to support Arcturos with some purchases, hoping what little I spent would help them save more bears and more wolves in future. By the way, they don’t stop there, you know! They also save deer, otters, jackals, and other creatures of the wild!

I have a little bear figurine and an Arcturos mouse pad on my desk as I type this, and they remind me of the rescued bears every day.

To hear more about Arcturos and to support this wonderful cause with a purchase or a donation, please visit their website.

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Freshwater fish in Kastoria, a lunch under Meteora and natural beauty in Grevena

SEE THE PHOTOS

Freshwater fish extravaganza!

All species seemed to be represented in the numerous tanks of the Aquarium of Kastoria, the biggest aquarium in the Balcans for this type of fish.

Among the exhibits I was pleasantly surprised to also find lobsters and even newts.

In a previous post, I shared a little about my trip to the Prespes lakes and a particularly delicious meal of trout I had on the shore of the Big Prespa. The other fish option on the menu, also fished locally, was ‘grivadi’ – a word I hadn’t heard before. I asked the waitress what it tastes like.

She said it has a very acquired taste, and thus, advised me to have the trout instead. So, I took her advice, and really enjoyed my meal. But the word ‘grivadi’ stuck in my head, and I promised myself to look it up or even attempt to find it in a store back home so I can try it some other time.

I didn’t have to wait long to find out what it is!

Among the exhibits in the Aquarium of Kastoria, during the same journey, I saw ‘grivadi’ fish swimming in a large tank! The sign told me so, and the English name mentioned on it was ‘cyprinus’. I did recognise this word, and from what I can remember, I’ve never actually eaten this fish.

My curiosity satiated, I moved on to the next tanks, and then, I found out that the Koi fish is a type of ‘grivadi’ (Cyprinus) too!

Needless to say, I was appalled.

KOI? I almost ate KOI?

I am still laughing thinking about it. For some reason, it shocked me to think people eat at the Prespes Lakes a type of fish that dwells as mere decoration in garden fountains in other parts of the world.

My mind swiftly concocted the image of a lady in a posh mansion somewhere sending her maid to the fountain in the garden with a net to go catch lunch for her and the lord.

Ha ha.

As I said, I found the notion hilarious and considered myself lucky. So glad I had the trout, folks. So glad 🙂

SEE THE PHOTOS

Beautiful Greece…

Pleased to share today some more pictures from the coach trip of last Easter – from 2 stop overs where we enjoyed some marvelous vistas. We made the first stop for lunch at the city of Kalabaka that is crowned by the majestic Meteora.

Sadly, we had no time to visit a monastery that day and when we returned to the area on our way to Athens it was Easter Monday and the monasteries were closed to visitors.

I visited two of the most renowned monasteries of Meteora in the far past–an unforgettable experience–so I wasn’t too sad about this. Plus, I know I am bound to return another time to visit them again 🙂

I couldn’t have enough admiring (and taking pictures of) the iconic rock formations from the coach window and especially during our stop over at the restaurant Theoxenia, just out of Kalabaka. It was a great restaurant, by the way, with a wonderful buffet, where we got to enjoy gigantes and briam. Yummy.

We made another short stop that day on the way to our hotel in Kastoria. It was in the middle of nowhere in the area of Grevena where we caught people diving in for a swim in a serene river. The rock formations there were smooth and just as stunning, so reminiscent of Meteora. I had no idea Grevena is so beautiful… I was so pleasantly surprised.

Truly, Greece is gorgeous wherever you go! So much fuss is made over the islands, and rightfully so, but the mainland holds tremendous treasures that only savvy tourists know about. I’ve been travelling around Greece all my life, and I am still amazed by how diverse it is.

It offers so many different kinds of landscapes, and many are just not what the average tourist expects to find in Greece. I don’t care how biased this seems – I will say it: What an amazing country this is! The more I travel in it, the more I realize the surprises it has in store are simply inexhaustible.

Check out my travel report from the city of Kastoria and its alluring lake views!

 

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Hungry pelicans and shy flamingos in Lake Kerkini, Serres

I visited Kerkini Lake during my stay in Salonica last month.

This beautiful lake with the sparkling still waters is artificial – made in 1932 when a dam was constructed on Strymon River.

Situated in the prefecture of Serres, the lake is near the famous Fort Roupel, and the border to Bulgaria.

It is 17km long, 5km wide, and quite shallow – about 35m deep.

The lake is under the protection of Natura 2000. This beautiful natural habitat is the home of wolves, wild boars, wild cats, jackals, ferrets, and other feral creatures. The lake is graced by many Great White Pelicans (Pelecanus Onocrotalus), Dalmatian Pelicans (Pelecanus Crispus) and a few thousand flamingos too!

Water buffaloes are farmed in the area, making Kerkini a famous location for sampling high quality buffalo meat products.

We got the first glimpse of the lake from the coach about 1 hour after leaving Salonica. Once we drove past the dam, we began to travel along a country road beside the lake to get to the boats our guide had booked for us beforehand.

As we cruised beside the lake, our guide informed us about the water buffaloes being farmed there. A few moments later, a lady on the coach suddenly exclaimed: ‘There they are! I can see them!’ which was followed quickly by the guide saying, as tactfully as she could, ‘Erm… no, actually, these are cows!’

The whole coach erupted in loud guffaws, which set us off perfectly on this wonderful fun adventure on the lake in the company of magnificent winged creatures…

They look serene enough but try and feed them…

We had a lot of fun on the boat as the captain had brought a bag of fish to throw to the pelicans. The ploy worked. They rushed towards the boat and followed us throughout our ride. Two of the passengers were a little boy and a little girl, and they had a go throwing the fish to the pelicans too. Their squeals of joy and their excited faces only enhanced the fun experience.

Natually, the pelicans were fighting for every fish, watching intently, it seemed, as each fish drew an invisible arc in the air before landing in their midst. Most of the time, they would scrap amongst them. Sometimes, they nipped at each other or even chased the pelican that got the fish into their mouth.

I have posted a couple videos on Facebook, all of them short, to share with you the fun we had feeding the pelicans, but most of all to show you their smooth gliding, and the even more mesmerising smooth landings they performed on the water. True poetry in motion!

Do take a look: Video1 Video2 Video3

It was all very entertaining, and the pelicans were evidently very accustomed to the company of people. I was amazed by how daring they seemed to be, floating peacefully, so close to us. At some point, one of the pelicans was floating right behind the side of the boat where I sat – just a sheet of wood between us, and it hit me how amazing it was that I should be so close, gazing into the face of such a majestic winged creature. I perceived it as a great honor and these moments will forever hold a dear place in my heart.

I often see cormorans in my town of Nea Peramos in Attica, seeing that the Natura 2000 area of Vourkari (a marshland) is close to it. The cormorans that live there often fly over to town. I’ve seen them perched on top of the fishing boats in our marina many times, and they sometimes swim close to me in the sea in the summer. But I’d never seen a non-domesticated bird so close to me before. As I said, it was an exhilarating first experience for me.

I wish I could say the same for the flamingos, but no such luck…

According to the local boat captain, who was amazing and really informative, there were a few thousand flamingos in the lake, but they were very timid. Indeed, we tried several times to move closer to them to take a better look and every time they moved further away.

In the end, we gave up and just killed the engine to gaze longingly at them from a distance.

It was fun, mind you, watching them flee. They seemed to be running on water on their spindly legs, something that set the little kids squealing, and all the passengers, in general, marvelling at the sight.

More new experiences awaited us at the restaurant nearby…

The restaurant, Elodia, was decked in beautiful wood and stone and the whole setting with the big property around it made it feel like a ranch-type-of-place, which was enchanting. The property featured a body of water and an enclosure where they kept deer too.

In the above picture, please don’t get fooled! This is not a real water buffalo. Not a cow either haha 🙂

Still, there are living creatures in the water. I’ll get back to that in a minute…

I wanted first to report on the buffalo meat, which both my husband and I tried for the first time.

I had buffalo meatballs in tomato sauce with linguini pasta and Andy went for buffalo bifteki with rice and fries. And he was glad he chose that because he originally wanted a steak, but the waiter warned us buffalo meat is a little harder than pork or beef. Andy was glad he didn’t go for the steak as he found the bifteki a little too chewy for his liking as it was.

I found my meat soft enough, since it was cooked in tomato sauce, and even though I can appreciate it was tasty, I wasn’t too enamoured with it. It had too rich a taste for my liking, just like the deer meat I tried many years ago. In a way, I am glad, as if I’d loved it I’d have had a hard time finding it at the bucher’s in Nea Peramos 🙂

Apparently, buffalo meat is a lot richer in iron and protein than beef. It is also very healthy as it is low in calories and fat. So, if you haven’t tried it, it’s well worth a go.

Back to the creature dwelling in the water outside the restaurant…

It wasn’t just the pelicans, it seemed, that were accustomed to humans in Kerkini. As soon as we approached the water buffalo sculpture, we saw two heads bobbing in the water. One of the creatures rushed to come out and go behind the fence where a family had just arrived.

I didn’t even know the area of Kerkini had otters! It was a delightful surprise.

I left that place feeling absolutely chuffed and well connected to nature.

Our coffee stop in Serres offered one last surprise encounter…

On our way back to Salonica we made a little detour for a stop in the city of Serres for a coffee.

We were taken to a beautiful festive square that was decorated beautifully (it was the holiday season).

Andy and I found the last vacant table at a seemingly popular cafe on the square as it was brimming with locals.

We had a little time to kill before we had to get back on the coach so we walked around the large square taking in the decorations. Suddenly, to our surprise, we saw a squad of soldiers marching towards us in formation!

As it turned out, it was time to lower the Greek flag and to put it away for the night. A local military camp, it seemed, had taken it upon themselves to raise and lower the flag daily.

It was moving to stand near the squad and listen to the soldiers sing the national anthem.

I must say, I returned to Salonica that evening with a mind of beautiful images, along with some extra patriotic pride in my chest LOL! All the more exciting for me as the last bit wasn’t even remotely expected!

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