Bob's Three Month Cretan Adventure: POPI'S TAVERNA: The Crossroads of the World

Monday, August 1, 2011

POPI'S TAVERNA: The Crossroads of the World

Dear Friends,

Over the years, I have had the privilege to eat at many fine dineries across the world. Some had great food…and others, well, let’s just say the food was not so great. And, I have paid exorbitant prices just for the honor of sitting in a 4 or 5 star restaurant and eating 1 star food but still paying the 4 or 5 star prices!

But I must confess, the places I enjoy the most are those with the most simple furnishings, sitting with common folk (like myself), and eating the simplest of foods. One such place located here in the little seaside village of Amoudara is Popi’s Taverna. Now, Popi refers to it as Mavrakis Beach and I think that probably is the “official” name. But, over the years, my friends and I have come to call it simply…Popi’s Taverna or just "Popi's". I first went to Popi’s Taverna in 2008. By 2009 I had become a regular customer of Popi’s. I clearly remember one afternoon, after I had finished a cold Mythos beer, I asked Popi if I could have another. In her very sweet manner and in her Greek accent she answered, “Bobby, please make yourself feel at home here. If you want another beer, please just get up and get it yourself from the cooler.” At that moment, I knew that I had been accepted into Popi’s family of customers and that I was one of them!

Popi’s little taverna is located about a block (perhaps less) from my apartment, at the end of Naxou Street where the road runs into the Mediterranean Sea. If you get your feet wet, then you know that you have gone too far and need to back up a little. There, in a little non-descript, whitewashed building on the right side of the road sits Popi’s Taverna. Her taverna is furnished simply and unpretentious – the chairs are a white plastic and the tables are metal and covered with white enamel. Popi rents out spaces on her beach complete with beach umbrellas, sun beds and small tables upon which drinks or food can be placed while catching some “rays”. Inside the covered, but open-air space of her taverna, one can order cold beer, assorted juices, soft drinks, chilled wine, raki and coffee. Popi also has a little freezer with various ice creams treats. If you are hungry, don’t ask for a menu – there isn’t one. But, Popi will tell you that she can prepare a nice Greek salad, or an omelet, or a sandwich - usually ham and cheese on a toasted baguette and dressed with only the freshest of tomatoes, onions and green peppers. But…but…but, if you talk to Popi really nice…give her a big smile…and ask her in the nicest of tones, you might…just might be able to persuade Popi to fix you one of the finest…most delicious…tastiest fish filet dinners that has ever delighted your palate! I am not sure what kind if fish it is…perhaps sole…perhaps something else. But, it has the most pleasant taste – not an over-powering fishy taste, but a mild flavor that will have your taste buds begging for more!!! Popi fries it in olive oil to perfection, places it on the plate with an order of freshly cut and fried potatoes and a few tomato slices along with a soft baguette of bread. A glass of white wine provides a nice accompaniment to the meal. All of my friends who have ever gone down to Popi’s with me and sampled her fish filet dinner have agreed that it is one of the tastiest, most delightful fish filet dinners ever eaten!

Another of the reasons that I enjoy going to Popi’s Taverna is the people I meet there. There are always people from distant countries who have come to Crete on their vacation, and at any one time there can be people from several different countries sitting together and enjoying each other’s company under the roof of Popi’s Taverna. That is why I often refer to Popi’s Taverna as…The Crossroads of the World! I really enjoy sitting there talking with travelers from other countries and learning about their customs and their cultures. Under the roof of Popi’s Taverna we truly all become brothers and sisters in the family of Mankind!

Take care, stay well, and let me hear from you.

Your Friend and Fellow “Silent Warrior”,

Bob Armistead

ABOVE PHOTO: One of the large
bamboo umbrellas that can be
sat under at Popi's Taverna.

ABOVE PHOTO: Popi's Taverna at
the end of Naxou street.

ABOVE PHOTO: A few people

enjoy a cold drink and relax under

the cover of Popi's Taverna. Popi

is seated far left and often joins

her customers in conversation.

ABOVE PHOTO: An elderly Greek
gentleman enjoys a cup of Popi's freshly
made coffee.

ABOVE PHOTO: Sunbathers enjoy
laying out on Popi Mavraki's beach in
front of her little taverna.

ABOVE PHOTO: Sunbathers on Popi
Mavraki's beach enjoy the late
afternoon sun.

ABOVE PHOTO: One of Popi's beautiful
Greek salads topped with only the very
best feta cheese along with a baguette of
bread and a chilled glass of wine.

ABOVE PHOTO: Popi proudly
displays her famous fish filet dinner.
This has got to be the best fish dinner
in all of Greece!!!

ABOVE PHOTO: This fish filet
dinner only lasted a few minutes
after this photo was taken!

ABOVE PHOTO: A chilled glass of wine
at Popi's Taverna. Notice the beach umbrellas
in the background and those same umbrellas
upside down in the glass of wine!

3 comments:

Anonymous said...: Hi, Bobby, thoroughly enjoyed your depiction of the ambience of Popi's. Please tell her for me that her longer hair-do looks good!
Regards, Jim Janakes; August 9, 2011 at 8:19 PM
Anonymous said...: I was so happy to read about Popi, and to know that she is doing fine! :) I visited her ten years ago when I was staying few months in one of her apartments. She is such a lovely person. She even invited me to come and dine with her family at her home because I had some fever and she thought I was too sick to make my own dinner. I haven't met many people more friendly or giving than she is! Really special person, miss yopu Popi :)

Wish you all the best!!
-Sanna, from Finland

(and Popi, if you can get my regards, I'd like you to know that I have a family of my own now: 7 years old son and 3 years old daughter! :); September 9, 2011 at 12:47 PM
Bob (Bobby) said...: Dear Sanna,

It will be my pleasure to pass your comments along to Popi. I am sure she will be glad to know that you are doing well.

Your Friend,

Bob Armistead; September 9, 2011 at 2:04 PM

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FIND IRAKLION AIR STATION ON GOOGLE EARTH!

If you download Google Earth on your computer, you can access satellite photos of the base. After downloading Google Earth, go to the empty bloc in the upper left-hand corner of the opening page that has the identification, "Fly To". Then enter the following co-ordinates: 35 19' 46.96N, 25 17' 02.20E in the empty bloc, then either click on the "magnifying glass" icon, or hit "Enter" on your computer. These co-ordinates will take you to the rooftop of the Security Compound on Iraklion Air Station. If you enter: 35 20' 11.60N, 25 04' 11.70E in the empty bloc and then hit "Enter", it will take you to the rooftop of the La Stella Apartments where I am currently staying in the seaside village of Amoudara.

Bob

Excerpts from "ZORBA, THE GREEK", by Nikos Kazantzakis:

"I climbed a hill and looked around. An austere countryside of granite and very hard limestone. Dark carob and silvery olive trees, figs and vines. In the sheltered hollows, orange groves, lemon and medlar trees; near the shore, kitchen gardens. To the south, an expanse of sea, still angry and roaring as it came rushing from Africa to bite into the coast of Crete. Nearby a low, sandy islet flushing rosy pink under the first rays of the sun.

"To my mind, this Cretan countryside resembled good prose, carefully ordered, sober, free from superfluous ornament, powerful and restrained. It expressed all that was necessary with the greatest economy. It had no flippancy, nor artifice about it. It said what it had to say with a manly austerity. But between the severe lines one could discern an unexpected sensitiveness and tenderness; in the sheltered hollows the lemon and orange trees perfumed the air, and from the vastness of the sea emanated an inexhaustible poetry.

" 'Crete,' I murmured. 'Crete...' and my heart beat fast."

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"I was happy. I knew that. While experiencing happiness, we have difficulty in being conscious of it. Only when the happiness is past and we look back on it do we suddenly realize - sometimes with astonishment - how happy we had been. But on this Cretan coast I was experiencing happiness and knew I was happy."

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"I looked at Zorba in the light of the moon and admired the jauntiness and simplicity with which he adapted himself to the world around him, the way his body and soul formed one harmonious whole, and all things - women, bread, water, meat, sleep - blended happily with his flesh and became Zorba. I had never seen such a friendly accord between a man and the universe."

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"How beautiful Crete is...Ah! If only I were an eagle, to admire the whole of Crete from an airy height..."
Nikos Kazantzakis

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Opening remarks made by Bob Armistead at the first Charlie Flight Re-Union

June 22, 2007

WELCOME HOME, “CHARLIE FLIGHT”

"We were the eyes and ears of the United States Air Force Security Service. We served during a time when it was not popular to be in the military; nevertheless, we served, and we served well. We were sent to another part of the world to serve in a country where we had never been, and on an island that some of us had never even heard of. When we arrived on Crete we became the best of friends, but by the time that we left, we had become more like brothers.

"We were sworn to a code of secrecy and silence - never able to share with our families or friends the details of the work that we did. And, consequently, never able to be fully recognized by our country for our contributions, our sacrifices, or our achievements to the cause of freedom and world stability. Some have referred to those of us who served in the Air Force Security Service as "Silent Warriors". I think that is a most fitting and proper title which all of us can wear with dignity and with pride.

"We came from a most diverse background. We were of virtually every race and ethnicity, but to most of us that didn't matter. We were rich and poor and middle class, but most of us just didn't notice. We came from almost every social and cultural background imaginable, but most of us didn’t care. We were Jewish, Protestant, and Catholic, but most of us just chose to worship each in his own way. We were Republicans and Democrats and Independents, but we were always Americans first. We were well educated and not so well educated, but we were all smart. We were farmers, mechanics, store clerks, college students, and construction workers, but we became morse and non-morse intercept operators, analysts, telemetry operators, linguists, code breakers and teletype operators. We were first termers and "lifers". And, if one of us wanted to infuriate one of our peers, we would just call him a "lifer". But in our hearts, each of us had only the highest admiration and most profound respect for those who had chosen to make a career of the Air Force.

"Each of us did a job that was no more important to that of the fellow working next to us, but each was vitally important to the peace and security of the United States and the free world. While the rest of the world slept, we were awake and keeping watch – 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year! Perhaps our legacy is the fact that, while we were on watch, there was never a terrorist attack on the United States! And when our overseas duty was finished, we quietly came home. But none of us returned to the sound of bands playing, crowds cheering, or small schoolchildren waving tiny American flags.

"We smoked a lot, drank way too much, and used language that would make our dads chuckle, and our mothers cringe and blush. We did all of those things that young men do when they're away from home and out on their own for the very first time. We worked hard and played hard. And we laughed a lot. We made fun of everything and everybody. No one was safe and no subject was sacred. We even poked fun at ourselves! We were as different as different could be, but we were all united by a common cause, and stood side by side and shoulder to shoulder. If you took on one of us, you took on all of us. Truly, we were brothers!

"And, then there were the sights and sounds and smells of Crete. Who could forget the odor of Greek cigarettes? When I first arrived on Crete and walked into the old airport terminal, I immediately noticed a yellowish-brown haze that floated in the air like the Angel of Death and smelled like a mixture of smoldering straw and sweaty socks. My first thought was, "My God, these people are smoking marijuana." My second thought was, “Hmmm, wonder if they’ve got any more?” And what about the tiny Greek villages with the white-washed houses that dotted distant mountain sides like small white patches of snow? And do you remember the sound of herds of sheep bleating by the roadside and blocking traffic as they crossed from one side of the road to the other? Then there was the beach that we had nicknamed "twelve point five" because it was exactly 12.5 kilometers east of the base. You would never have even known it was there unless you stopped and walked to the edge of the road and looked over a cliff that dropped down about 60 feet. There was a steep and winding rocky path that led down to the beach - unspoiled and pristine. We spent many a four-day break there - camping out and drinking and cooking over an open fire. When we left, we always made sure that the only thing we left behind was our footprints in the sand. Now even those footprints have long since been washed away by the tides of time just like we were never even there. And then there were the little stands in downtown Iraklion that sold souvlaki for about 5 drachmae. And who could forget Minos wine? Or Ouzo the national drink? It was crystal clear but when you mixed it with water it turned a milky white. Or what about Raki, their equivalent to moonshine? It burned going down...and it burned coming back up. There was no way that stuff would stay on this boy's stomach! One of us even put some in a Zippo lighter...and it lit! And do you remember old Greek men in black knee-length leather boots with their white hair, and their white mustaches that were curled up on the ends; and, old women in their long black dresses and heavy black stockings, and head-scarves that wrapped around their heads and across their mouths hiding wrinkled, toothless smiles? And do you recall the children in the slums of Iraklion - the ones with dirty faces and tattered clothing, but with sparkling dark eyes and smiles as bright and warm as the Cretan sun itself? And how curious they were. They used to look at us like we had just stepped off of a flying saucer! And what about the minoli carts that zipped around Iraklion, and motorscooters that carried Papa, Mama, and two or three little ones hanging on for dear life as they darted in and out of traffic? Or the Greek Orthodox Priests with their long black smocks, dark beards and black cylindrical shaped hats? Do you remember the peak of Mount Ida and how it would be covered with snow until June or even July? And what about the crystal clarity of those turquoise-blue waters of the Mediterranean and Aegean Seas? And do you remember those purple, and lavender and red sunrises that reflected on the early morning waters of the Aegean Sea? Some mornings I used to get up before daybreak and walk down to the base beach with my Nikon camera and just stand in awe and amazement as God put on a spectacular and different show almost every single morning! And who could forget "midnight chow" or the lowering of the Greek and American flags at the end of the workday, and how you had to stand at attention and salute until they were lowered? And what about the music we loved - rock n' roll, blues, soul, country, gospel, and yes, even classical? Then, there was Christmas. On Christmas Eve fifteen or more of us would crowd into someone's room in the barracks and we would listen to Christmas music - Bing Crosby singing "White Christmas", and Elvis singing "Blue Christmas". And we would talk and drink....mostly drink. Each one of us would wear his best artificial smile and try to act like it was no big deal to be away from home and our families on Christmas. But I'm sure that when each of us went back to his own room, each went to bed wondering if our loved ones missed us as much as we missed them. And, I can remember some of the young first-term airmen who were married and living in apartments off base. We thought they were so lucky! Sometimes they would invite several of us single airmen over to a good home-cooked meal prepared by their wives. To you ladies who were there, you will never know just how deeply we appreciated your kindness, your hospitality, and especially your good home cooking!

"But then, gradually it all came to an end. One by one, we left. We left Crete and we left the Air Force, taking with us a few souvenirs and many memories. We returned to our families, and our friends, and the girls we had left behind. We went back to school; we got jobs; we settled down; we began new lives; we got married and we started families of our own. But, we never forgot - we never forgot the Air Force, Crete, "Charlie Flight", or each other. Now, for most of us, we are back together for the first time in about 35 years. We've all changed. For many of us, our hair has turned grey or even white. And for others, it has turned loose! Most of us now have wrinkles when we smile and crow's feet etched at the corners of our eyes. Some of us may walk a little slower; our gait is not quite as lively; and, we may not walk quite as tall or straight as we once did. Some have put on a little weight, and others, well, the weight has just shifted. But if you look deep into our eyes, I mean really, really deep...past the tiredness and beyond the years, you will still notice a certain sparkle when each of us talks about Crete and "Charlie Flight" and each other. Now, we've come back together. Welcome home!"

HERE LIES A SILENT WARRIOR

by Bob Armistead

We served in silence, never breathing a word
Of the things we'd seen, or that which we'd heard.
We worked by a code that few have ever known,
And we served in countries that were far from home.

We left all our friends and familes behind
To perform the work to which we were assigned.
We manned our positions - every hour of every day.
Our work never stopped, and we never did sway.

We did all that was asked and we did it with pride;
We stood shoulder to shoulder and worked side by side.
If I'm ever asked, "Would you do it again?"
I'd just smile and say, "How soon can I begin?"

The time which I've served, I'll never regret.
And the men whom I've known, I'll never forget.
Now time has passed and our hair has turned gray,
And our ranks are thinning with each passing day.

So when my bell tolls for the final time,
And the echoes fade from the very last chime,
And my eyes are closed and I've been laid to rest,
Just be assured that I've served with the best.

Please drape my coffin with the American Flag,
And on top of my casket lay out my dog tag.
With my dog tag as my I.D. and the Flag as my shroud,
I'll go to my grave...an American...and still proud!

I'll trek to that place to join all the others,
My comrades in arms: My sisters, my brothers.
I'll be with my friends who have gone on before
And are waiting for me beyond Death's door.

So, when I'm gone, shed no tears for me,
For I've died as I've lived - an American and Free!
And once I've traveled to my Eternal home,
Just carve the following on my gravestone:

"HERE LIES A SILENT WARRIOR"

Copyrighted 2009

*This poem was written as a tribute to all who have ever served with the U.S. Air Force Security Service, or its subsequent command names.

Bob's Three Month Cretan Adventure