As I started putting Ermioni into her chair, The Ya-Ya said 'ochi! ochi!' don't put her in, she is so upset, and it was not far to her home! So I got into the front seat with Ermioni on my lap, and typically Greek, the Ya-Ya shot away like a bally bullet train, and, talking non stop, she manouvered the old car around the bends with amazing skill, just letting her eyes rest on the road now and then, as she was looking at me while she talked! We were driving through a never ending fir plantation, the biggest in Greece, she told me proudly, but I was not really taking anything in, as my eyes were riveted on the road, and every time we manouvered another bend, I was sure we were going to roll down the mountain slope! I was quite hysterical, and scarcely took in the tiny villages that peeped from inbetween some Fir trees now and then, but I then realised that small as she was, Ermioni was a true Greek, as she had forgotten her anxiety, and was laughing and shouting every time we went round a bend almost on two wheels!
But all bad things have to end, and I was intensely relieved when at last we came to a small village, and the Ya-Ya actually slowed down, then came to a halt in front of a small two storeyed house, and I exhaled thankfully when I realised that we were home. The house was not big, with two bedrooms and a bathroom upstairs, and the kitchen, diningroom and a small sitting room downstairs, but from what I have seen of the other houses, this one was a mansion. The house was expensively but tastefully furnished, with a big leather sofa, and two comfy looking chairs in front of a huge fireplace. The Ya-Ya said that the fireplace used to be the cooking place where all the meals were cooked over an open fire. After we had a coffee each, I was left to unpack while the Ya-Ya cooked dinner. Ermioni had not completely relaxed yet, but she had stopped her crying, although she was still almost throttling me with her arms firmly round my neck. Dinner was delicious, with the filled peppers my favourite, but the pastitsio was also delish! After dinner there was a knock on the door, and an old man and two women entered the sittingroom, there eyes riveted on me, and I knew that they came to look me over. At first their eyes were full of distrust, but they slowly relaxed when they realised that South Africans were actually human, and then the Ya-Ya brought out a bazouki, and the old man started playing, and Ermioni fell asleep. I thanked the gods for that, as my neck was becoming quite sore. Then the old ladies got up and started dancing, very sprightly seeing they were about a hundred years old, and it was not long before the Ya-Ya pulled me up to join the fun! I tried to get to bed, but with the ouzo flowing freely, and my hand never without a filled glass, I wasn't allowed to leave, and this jolity went on till early morning, when the old man fell asleep with the bazouki on his lap! I was pooped!