Greece Lightning

“You’re not doing it right!”

That’s what my wife told me.

“If your calves aren’t sore after a day of skiing, you’re not doing it right.”

Oh, that’s a relief.

Nadine should know, she has spent her entire life skiing.

Court Rules

Every year we try to book a family ski trip. Austria was a possibility, but too expensive. Slovenia, flights didn’t work. Slovakia seemed to be the final destination, but two school sports tournaments running into spring break eventually pushed these slopes for another day. But one night after playing basketball, a friend mentioned the proximity and seclusion of Greek slopes. Intrigue was piqued. Research was completed. Plans were then made. And plane tickets were purchased. Parnassos Ski Resort it would be in March.

Egypt and Greece embody thousands of years of ancient history, but a modern three hour flight now bridges these great civilizations. Skiing in Greece would be like meeting Khione, the Greek Goddess of Snow.




The White Family School Bus

The black, nine seater van we rented resembled a moving van. It did that. It safely moved us to Arachova and Mount Parnassos in Central Greece. Up here, the Gulf of Corinth Sea was visible between valleys of evergreen trees. The cool, snowless ski town of Arachova was home base. From Guesthouse Simou, we rented ski equipment from Stathi at Avalanche rental. Getting in his establishment that Monday morning required the next door baker’s help, as she yelled from the street, “Stathi, you have customers out here! Take this time to enjoy their funny antidotes about life in Texas and Egypt. And how silly those New Mexicans are.” That’s what I imagined she said as we don’t speak Greek.

As the first customers of the day, he equipped us for a week of skiing in no time, along with another common theme. Greeks would be welcoming, friendly, and engaging hosts.

A Trip in Time

Nadine’s childhood vacations revolved around family ski trips to Colorado. While living abroad, we try to continue this practice. The last ski trip, and a fantastic one at that, was to Georgia. Parnassos did not guarantee snow, and if there wasn’t any, Delphi and other sites lay down on the coast. This was also a spot Nadine and I visited 23 years ago with the TU Newman Center.

As life would have it, high winds cancelled the first day. So Delphi, Itea, and Galaxidi were on the agenda.

The next three days were different though. Those were dedicated ski days.

Do You Miss Me?

Simple, delicious sandwiches of salami, local cheese, mayo accompanied chips and juicy Greek oranges. This simple lunch vividly mirrored Nadine’s Colorado ski trips. Or so she has told me. She will probably confirm in the comments below.

The short drive up the mountain passed Boris. Who is Boris you ask? I can only imagine he was Greek. Young. Happy. Wanted to leave his mark. Maybe a bit self involved. Why? Because each time there was a flat, clean cement wall along the road, he felt it necessary to write his name. Why a happy guy? Because there was always a smily face written in the letter “o”. By the end of the trip, the family kept saying they saw Boris.

Their Happy Place

We chanced upon the parking lot of Parnassos. We wondered if this was the correct place. There were hardly any cars, not much visible snow on the mountain. But, it was indeed the entrance. Parnassos, and other ski resorts around Europe, haven’t received as much snow the last couple of years. Parnassos was open, but not all the ski runs and lifts. The easy to moderate runs were open, which suited our family perfectly. Monica still needed to learn and the other three needed a refresher. Myself, I still had the defensive basketball pizza skiing position perfected. Aguaranteed position for sore thighs.

Over three days, Sophie effortlessly went down every slope. Dom started snowboarding. Annie got faster. Monica skied blues by herself. Nadine was in her happy place. And my thighs were sore.

An unintended dose of reality occurred at the end. I threw out the challenge to rank the family’s current skiing ability. Her answer came as a bit of a surprise, like running into a New Mexican with a high school degree. Her final ranking – #1 Nadine; #2 Sophie; #3 Dom; #4 Me; #5 Annie; #6 Monica. I give it one more ski trip and Dad will be skiing in last place watching them all fly down the mountain.

Après Ski

“Any bottle of two euro wine is better than any Egyptian wine.” That was my favorite quote of the week, because it is funny, but incredibly true.

That leads to the question, what draws people to what they can’t have? I speak specifically of two items. Bacon and wine. The ease, access, and quality of these two items in Egypt are poor at best. But in Greece, these items are easily accessible and of good quality. After skiing, Nadine and I would conclude the day walking to the AB supermarket, pick up salami, wine, beer, and oranges for the next day.

And don’t forget the gyros. The Greek gyros were on another level of freshness, authenticity, and taste. Plus, that warm pita bread hit the spot after a day of skiing.

Just months ago, a ski trip to Greece never crossed our minds as a possibility. But like basketball and friends always do, it put our family in the right spot, on the Greek slopes of Parnassos.