How Hymettos Can You Go?

Little known fact (by people who know little): Athens has a giant mountain on its (eastern) doorstep. On Sunday, Tracey and I decided to scale that sucker.

Of course, we had different agenda. Tracey is a nature lover and needed a break from pollution Mecca of Greece. I was hoping to reach heaven, and brought several ladders in case the top wasn't quite there yet.

Needless to say, I didn't reach heaven (although writing this blog would be a pretty good way to kill some time in eternity). But I did learn alot of things along the way. First, Tracey taught me what talis is (a collection of loose rock,smaller than bouldering, that harbors asps and slippery moss).

Why can pictures never capture the steepness of an ascent? Also, right after this Tracey uttered the classic line "Just one final push." Once we "pushed," we discovered at the top of this that we had about 3 times as long of a climb left. Luckily, we'd brought tiropita.

Secondly, I remembered what snow looked like. But much more importantly, I learned of the Greek custom of building little snowmen (or snowcats) on the hood of their cars and driving around collecting cool points until it melts.

I was also reminded that from up high everything looks awesome. Maybe we should try this with the economy. Oh wait, the Republicans already did...



A couple other lessons learned during our journey: some Greeks walk their dog by driving alongside it while it runs after them (When done on a mountain, this is considered "sporty"); if someone builds an ice rink at the summit of Hymettos, they stole the idea from me and are legally obligated to give me a cut; Tracey looks good in little girls' hats (we didn't beat any up this time, I swear!).


But perhaps the most important lesson that I learned in my quest to find heaven is that maybe I've already found my paradise, and it's right here, with all you guys. I guess sometimes it takes losing all you have to really appreciate it. Even if it's only for 5 hours.