Castle at Molyvos

We tried to see the castle above Molyvos yesterday. It was built in the 1400s just before the Turks took over. I say tried, because the innards were closed for renovation. But from the outside it looks less like a castle than a fortress made of huge square cut stones. Which leads to the question how did they cut the stones? It was a great vantage point to be sure. It would be hard to approach stealthily by sea anyway.

Almost all of the buildings in Molyvos are built of stone. It makes for a beautiful town with all of the clay tile roofs, which Joop says are unusual for Greece because they are pointed and not flat. The rest of the buildings in the surrounding area are made of concrete. Only the occasional rural building is made of stone and these are usually in the fields collapsing. All of the buildings have shutters which Kyran covets. He maintains he simply adores shutters. They do help to keep things cool. I adore all of the marble. Marble floors everywhere. It seems so luxurious. Several of the rural buildings still have the rebar projecting from their tops. Joop says that this is to be able to maintain that the building isn’t finished and then the taxes are lower.
When I look around and see the pastures that the sheep and goats live in, I cannot believe that creatures can live on so little. The only plant left that is not an olive tree, is a thistley type low creeping bush. To see a pasture you see just these yellowed tufts scattered everywhere which upon examination are those thistle bushes. I can see a goat maybe eating that stuff but a sheep? I read that the thistle is the ecological dead end – when everything else is gone. The sheep have an interesting afternoon habit of gathering in a huddle with all of their heads in the centre and all along the perimeter are hindquarters. They are probably planning a rebellion.

We decided to eat in the harbor last night. It is death defying to walk down these narrow cobble stone lanes which are meant for cars or people, not both. Even though there is tons of people milling about, whenever a car passes you have to press yourself into a wall or building. Scooters are not so bad. You just worry when you see a nervous wobbly driver, who is probably a tourist. The greeks drive their scooters very assertively as if they could not comprehend anything might get in their way.

I asked our waiter a question that had been plaguing us. Why were there so many cats that are missing the top portion of one ear? He maintained that it is from fighting. I disagree. The only ear missing I ever see is from frostbite. I see a lot of fight wounds but never just a portion of ear. Maybe it is a genetic trait Kyr suggested. I felt a bit sad for the Tom cats down along the pier. Where ever there is a small post that offers a tiny bit of shade, a big Tom will be lying. One had found a post with a tiny patch of fresh water. He lay there drinking, nursing his eye which was caked with pus. What a hard life for a cat. So lonely. I saw a Tom leap gracefully off the pier into a fishing boat that was headed out. So I guess when they are healthy there are moments of excitement to be had.

We might attempt to see a portion of the south island today. There is a museum with some unusual fossils – a sea turtle as big a a Volkswagen bug, and some olive groves to walk through. It is difficult to pry ourselves away from this little enclave where you can snorkel all day. I seem to be coping with the heat almost too successfully as I now experience moments of being cold and relish being able to sit in the sun to warm up.