15 Sep Return to the Motherland
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“Return To The Motherland” was written by Ithaka, and published in The Surfers Journal [ USA ], Goodtimes magazine [ Greece ], Fluir magazine [ Brazil ] and Surf Portugal magazine.
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The year was 1991. My dad, (a New York Greek from The Bronx who had relocated to the west coast) had died of a chronic illness. Ironically, just weeks later, I received a completely unexpected offer to go to Athens to work in the fashion industry for several months.
It was late winter and although I knew I’d be missing out on some decent Southern California spring swells, I didn’t hesitate to go. I reasoned that I’d be seeing the motherland for both myself and my father. He had been born in the U.S. and had never once had an opportunity himself to go visit the land of his parents.
I really hadn’t anticipated surfing in Greece that first trip, but brought a board with me anyway and looked for possibilities. I found many interesting set ups; shelf-reefs, points, beaches, small bottleneck bays, etc. However, with little knowledge of the area’s seasons, swells and wind – I barely saw a wave over ankle-high the entire six months I spent in the country.
Regardless, during my stay, I had become completely intrigued by Greece, the history of my ancestors (especially the ancient mythology) and had had a great time. For months I had considered relocating to become closer to my roots. But over my lifetime, surfing had become my dominant focus and identification (something even more important to me than my DNA lineage). And ignorantly, not recognizing the surf potential in the Mediterranean, I returned to California from Greece…and resumed my global pursuit of oceanic waves and adventure.
Since then, I have lived in three other countries (Japan, Portugal, Brazil) and have been surfing around the world. But the people and beauty of Greece had made a huge impression on me and I vowed to one day return and at least attempt to ride waves in the land of the gods (and my grandparents).
A year after that, in 1992, traveling with friends from Spain to Morocco we arrived by ferry in Ceuto …(a city on the Mediterranean side of the country) en route to the famous Atlantic Ocean right point breaks near Agadir in the south. And we saw waves there in the north, on the Med side. GOOD WAVES – 1.5 meters spinning down a series of small left points. I suggested we all go for a surf, but was quickly reprimanded by one of my traveling companions, a veteran Moroccan charger.
Nobody surfs the Mediterranean side you idiot !
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So many things have changed in the surf world since then. People don’t tend to make those kind quick judgments on what is or isn’t a wave for surfing. Waves are where you find them, especially uncrowded waves. Slabs, lakes, rivers, etc., it’s anything goes. And advances in equipment and weather prediction have unzipped the arena to new dimensions.
As we all now know, the possibilities of The Mediterranean Sea are extensive. The Mediterranean has about 45,000 km of coastline divided between about twenty different countries, with approximately 3000 islands.
It is fair to assume that a high percentage of these places has some rideable surf on occasion (in the right season) and some areas have ocean-type consistency much more frequently than the outside surf world may believe….or want to admit. Knowing when and where it will happen, and having money and a mode of transportation to get there, is where it starts getting complicated.
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Finally, late this winter. I returned to Greece with a singular mission; to surf. And thanks to a good friend made via internet, Giorgos Papandreou, and other introductions that he made for me including – Christos Hatzis and Ignatios Manavis, my trip was an absolutely epic soul-surf adventure, full of positive vibrations and solid waves.
Half of my excursion occurred in picturesque luxury with easily accessible quality waves, where breaks can get almost crowded.
And the other half consisted of a surf safari (sometimes by four-wheel drive) to isolated areas of one of the islands. Overall I was very happily surprised by what I encountered. In eighteen days I surfed sixteen times, including three quality breaks that had never been surfed before.
Waves on the trip ranged from 1m – 2.5m faces. From mushburgers to barrels. From chop to glass, to 30km offshore wind blasts. Over sand. Down points. And over sharp reefs. But all of it one thing in common, COLDNESS….(at least by my Southern Californian standards). I wore a 4/3mm wetsuit with a hood and booties the entire trip and often felt frigid, the winds cutting thru to me as if I were wearing a 2mm spring suit. I’ll definitely be investing in a better wetsuit next time around.
The surfers I encountered in Greece definitely elevated my sense of extremeties. They surf when there are waves, no matter what the weather is like (redefining my definition of what “hardcore” is). We frequently surfed in really heavy rain, even light hail at times. Ironically, in warm Brazil where I am currently residing, people rarely even surf when it is raining, no matter how good it is.
I was also totally impressed with the Greek surfers’ extensive, weather and wave knowledge. Predicting swells and wind practically to the minute. This is new to me.
With the incredible variety of wave conditions the country has to offer, and judging from the sheer stoke, athleticism and natural surfing ability I witnessed first hand on my visit, Greece will no doubt birth generations of great wave-riders and someday produce surfers of international competitive consequence.
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