Greek Drivers

 

Greek parking

Kathy had to go into Karlovasi today to see a notary. I’m glad she did the driving and the parking. While she took care of business, I sat on a bench in the shade, up wind of the fish monger’s truck, near the town square, and watched the traffic. Within minutes there was a fender bender.

In Vourliotes, most of the buildings have been modified by trucks. In Karlovasi, I noticed that most of the vehicles had modified by other vehicles. Many of the idioms which we take for granted, such as ‘right of way’, ‘no parking’, ‘speed limit’, and ‘tailgating’, are literally foreign concepts here. At every bend in the road there are little votive shrines where someone has missed the curve and left the planet. Greek drivers are forever in a hurry to get nowhere fast. The clock is not their friend.