One day in the life of a local on a Greek island

A panoramic view of Perama, the port town of “Yera” where I grew up

Whenever I mention to a foreigner that I am from a Greek island, even though I thought it to be something mundane, everyone seemed super interested and surprised and of course, wanted to learn more. So i’ll try to narrow it down to pretty much what it feels like on an average summer day.

With spring already here and summer being on it’s way, I think it’d be best to describe an average summer Saturday. Plus that I miss summer a lot and looking for an excuse to talk about it.

You wake up roughly at 9:00 am don’t even bother to check the weather forecast, put a T-shirt and your bathing suite and head for breakfast.

A typical freddo capuccino, which is espresso topped with frothy milk and also served cold over ice. Freddo cappuccino is the sort of trendy coffee to have in Greece at the moment.

If you’re not “feeling it” in your place you go to the nearest cafeteria either by foot or with your scooter, grab a newspaper and order a nice cold “Frappe” or a “Freddo Cappuccino / Espresso” in any case, it’s ice coffee to compensate for the warm weather outside.

While catching up with the news there is a 100% chance that someone you know will pass by and after chatting for a while you mutually agree that other obligations can wait and you both go for another round. After all, there’s a saying in Greek:

“I’ll pay the coffee, you pay the tavern!”

(Whoever says it first picks up the smaller tab)

While enjoying your coffee you will always hear some nearby fisherman shouting out his offers for his morning catch. At first you just ignore him but after a while and especially when the combined smell of salt fish starts getting right through your nose you can’t help but pay him a visit and buy a few.

8:00 am The fishermen of Perama are sorting through their nets after a morning of hard work.

After shopping and catching up it’s time for lunch. You head home grab something light to eat and off to the nearest beach. By nearest I mean~ 3–5 km radius at least. You hop on your scooter and off you go. By the way you always have a towel sitting permanently under your seat just in case.

When you’re at the beach you find a nice spot, preferably in the shade and depending how you feel you either take a quick nap, more commonly known around the Mediterranean, a Siesta.

Or you could take a nap on an air matress. Just make sure you wear sun screen.

Depending on your company you can play a game of Tavli (which is more commonly known as Backgammon) and accompany it with some ouzo and meze.

After you’ve digested you head to the crystal clear waters of the Aegean for a refreshing swim. Having the sea close by can, at times, be less overwhelming so many choose to just go in and out and others don’t even bother to enter. The fresh breeze may be enough at times, especially if you’ve got chores to attend later and cannot bare the itchiness of the dry salt on your skin.

A group of old women enjoying a glass of ouzo with some meze.

Half the day has gone by so as a nice way to end it is by visiting a local taverna with friends and staying for at least three hours catching up with everyone, eating fresh fish accompanied by traditional Greek salad. All the products are local of course. Chances are that the owner is a distant relative of yours or friend so he will also buy you a couple of bottles just to keep the kefi going…

There are different ways to express kefi. It is the simplicity and joy of sharing a meal with our loved ones and eating delicious food. We can find our kefi when dancing and creating music. Mostly, though, people who have truly found their kefi are able to relax and enjoy the good moments of life, no matter what.

Being abroad for the past four months has really made miss the small things we get for granted and I am really looking forward to make the most of the upcoming summer.