6-10-6-12 Mitilini, Lesvos posada      When I was staying on Lesbos I committed a major faux pa. Instead of staying with my relatives I stayed in the main city, Mitilini. I am not completely sure why, but I did. Each night, I would arrive back from the visiting my Aunt and Uncle at about seven or so. Then I would eat a pick nick lunch (it was expensive for a non-touristy city) and take a shower. All those things being done it was time for the evening posada.     One mistake I made on my two previous trips thought the Mediterranean was not to take posada clothing. In most of Mediterranean Europe, in the evening, the entire town goes to the promenaded dressed in their best clothing and walk up and down to see and be seen. So on this trip I brought some "nice" clothing. In reality it was my everyday clothing in disuse. I had my a pair of tan Chicano's and a couple solid color T shirts that looked like nice shirts. So I would put one or the other on and then go out to take part in the posada.      The posada starts just about sunset, which meant about 9:30. People go out to the promenade, which in this case was the waterfront, and take a slow stroll around once, twice, or six times. Some families would walk together. Other groups of teenagers/adolescents would also pace the promenade. There were also a fair number of couples, both young and old. No one was in a real hurry to go anywhere or see anything. The entire idea was just to walk and enjoy the cool Mediterranean evening. The funniest groups were to watch were the packs of young men and young women. The packs of men, known as harpooner because they want to "harpoon" someone would check out the packs of young women and salavate over them. The women, being intelligent young women, knew what the harpooners were all about would flirt with them and then abruptly leave the harpooners, with longing looks.     After their allotted laps, the older people then sit and talk with each other and the younger crowd took to various cafes. These cafes were not your traditional coffee shop serving either strong Greek coffee or stronger Greek Oozo. (Mitilini is well know for its Oozo.) They were more a cross between the traditional cafes and the trendy bars which seem breed explosively on other islands. I am sure that the older, Greeks chose to go to the more traditional cafes.     Being only half Greek I chose to only take two laps before settling in on a Bar/coffee shop to write in my journal. I had several choices. There was Flame Taverna, Bar, Bowling. This seemed very popular, especially among the younger crowed. It had T.V.'s lining the walls showing all sorts of videos. I am sure the bolwing was also a draw. There was also the obligatory desert shop. Every city has one. This was popular with families. Especially families with young children. They would sit and socialize, and participate one of the all time faviorate Greek pastimes: People watching.There was a little hole in the wall selling outrageously priced drink with a completely bar empty one next to it. For some reason people would pay for the drinks even though there were cheeper drinks to be had down the street. I guess this was the place to be seen.     I chose a bar called Faces because it had reasonable prices and the people had been nice to me when I was trying to rent a scooter earlier in the day. This seemed to be a toned down rival to Flame. It had more room, better music, less fancy lighting and more people my age in it. So there I sat, writing my journal. A waitress came up to me and I ordered, in what I thought was perfect Greek and practiced many times, "Frappe me gala ke zakari". Ice coffee with milk and sugar. She brought me the drink and then did something that surprised me. She asked me to pay. In the traditional coffee shops, you do not pay until you are done for the evening. Often people sit for several hours with out paying for a single drink. I wasn't sure why but I paid her. She then paid the bar tender. This interaction completely baffled me. As I wrote and sipped, I watched people walk back and forth. These people weren't looking for a place to sit yet. They were waking around checking people out and being checked out. It was funny to watch it. They would try so hard not to look at the person they were interested it. I tried to ease drop, but didn't catch much. In traditional Greece, as long as you had one drink, you could stay as long as you felt like. Since I had my drink, I knew I was safe to hang out here for the night. At one point I decided to move to the bar. When I did so, the waitress was insisted I keep my recite. This action also baffled me.     As I went continued my trip, I would learn the reason for these oddities. They were all signs of changing times. I had to pay when my drink was delivered. Apparently a lot of the young take advantage of the Greeks being slow (very) to bring the tab and skip out. Once I knew this, it was quite entertaining to watch some of the young harpooners looking remorsefully when they were brought the tab instantly. Having to keep the receipt was also because of this. The waitress didn't want another waitress or the bar tender to think I was a freeloader.     I had two very rewarding days of people watching. Its an aquired taste, but it helps to have a parent who is a behavioral psycologest. One thing I learned I should have done differently was to announce that I was an American. I fit in, which was my plan. On this island, with little tourism people thought I was just another Greek being quiet so they didn't come up and talk to me. If I had ordered in English, being polite and sure not to be confused with the ugly American, I would have been the center of attention after all, Americans never travel to Mitilini. At least not America guys. Guide Books |  FAQs |  Photos for Sale |  Travel Essays |  Links Contact info: