Off to the upcoming “Most Crypto-Friendly City in the World”, Loutraki, Greece! (Part 1)

Off to the upcoming “Most Crypto-Friendly City in the World”, Loutraki, Greece!

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The flights from Terrace to Vancouver, Vancouver to Munich were pretty straight forward despite the roughest “tzulve-minuten-fleigen-rutter-zu-das-flughaven-im-sehr-windich-und-holperiges luft”, a.k.a. “twelve-minutes-air-pocket-filled landing”, I have ever encountered in my life… Many were filling the little white bags of their stomach content freshly filled with some of the tastiest airplane food I had ever tried, quite a few were scared for their lives letting out mumbling prayers, others whimpered.

After over twenty hours of travelling, not factoring in the ferry crossing or the drive over to Terrace, reality started to blur a bit and the long six hour stuck in Munich Airport seemed liked half a day! Though the flight over the Canadian tundra, the arctic and the ice cap of Greenland were an astonishingly beautiful sight to behold in the slow-motion dimming light of the sunset, the desire to photograph the whole scenery only came fleeting across my mind a few times. After all, I was going out of North America for the very first time, I was going to Greece!

The flight on Lufthanza over to Germany was an absolute delight. Nothing to compare with the usual Air Canada Economy class I usually fly on. Their economy class was more like what Air Canada calls Business Class! It was a bit surreal, but greatly appreciated. The space between the seats, their width accompanied by an individual screen for every single seat, the quality of their scrumptious meals and the service was simply outstanding.

In a daze, I walked on the cold hard marbled floors past the overwhelming scents of perfumes and “Duty Free” area, continued as far and as quickly as possible toward booths where fresh organic vegetables and fruits were displayed. The food here looked appealing, not like the over processed, if not unnatural, foods found in other parts for the world… There was pride in their nutrition, it was obvious, and I highly value nutrition. After all, the the #1 medicine we can invest in is the food we eat everyday. I enjoyed a freshly squeezed orange juice and found myself a decadent sandwich to munch on while waiting for the plane to Athens.

I played a game while people watching. I thought, let’s try to find out which area of the world the people who came across me came from. From their genetic look, to their outfits to their general demeanour I’d try to decipher and find proof in their language, when I could hear. It was, to some extent, a surprise to me to come to realize that most fit the analysis. Reflecting on this matter, I came to realize the extent to which we find a lot of diversity in cities such as Vancouver or Montreal, Canada. Even Quebec City, the “Big Village” where I come from originally doesn’t allow such preconception to find truth in its precepts. There is so much diversity, genetically, fashion wise and even on the behavioural demeanours…

The flight from Munich to Athens was super smooth straight from the beginning, none of that turbulence from the earlier atmospheric conditions, though a colossal cumulus nimbus seemed rather foreboding. The sun was setting quickly. In the foreground, the North-Italian Alps rose and passed by, the Mediterranean Sea started to extend its reaching the land we flew over all the way into the embrace of the night.

The soothing state I found myself in gradually moved into a bit of a euphoric state. I was finally on my way to Athens. To top it all, I was soon going to see and hang out with my close friend from way back, @onceuponatime, who had not only cordially invited me over but paid out of his heart the very generous cryptocurrency cost of this whole trip! I thought from the get go, I must have friends in very high places to be given such an opportunity and gift for such a friend. Within minutes, the plane was full and an epic cryptocurrency conversation started, the third one in three planes I had taken. I guess it was really a crypto currency trip and definitely played the role of crypto-diplomat for STEEM, BITSHARES, EOS and the now famous HERO.

A former marketer for GOOGLE, the man sitting beside me, accompanied by his new born son and his wife, was on his way to Athens to attend a wedding on his wife’s side of the family. He told me that he was now working for the best digital advertisement company in the world, G2! The conversation became very lively quicker than we could lift off the ground, sometimes sparring sometimes colluding the conversation was vibrant and full moving in and out of the realms of digital information and lasted till our safe landing.

Charged by the trip, Greece itself and eager to see @onceuponatime, the energies allowed me to reacquire a keen awareness and, after warm salutations to one of our new accomplice in the liberation of this digital conscious that is gaining terrain on the global level, it was time to get my luggage and reconvene with the person who has brought to me the consciousness awakening of cryptocurrencies.

Clad in traditional white cotton, can in hand, following his hip surgery (https://steemit.com/life/@onceuponatime/suffering-in-comfort), we grinned at each other, two childlike hearts, and quickly moved on to a cab waiting for us outside as we passed from the cool and comfortable A/C air to a thick 30 degrees Celsius wall. It was midnight after all, Athens time, and we still had an hour to go before reaching our final destination that night, so I thought…

The local Loutraki Taxi driver played traditional Greek music for us, and covered the trip on the deserted highway in a snap. It was but a sign of the time. After all, I was told soon enough, lights, speed limits, lanes and stops signs are but optional in Greece!?! I still wish I would have had buy camera to prove it and share this madness with the rest of the world. That may very well be for another time. Strangely enough, I cross my fingers! Being in God’s hands is the last resort one finds to convince oneself to let go and letting be while traveling in such rigours.

An hour later, we’re let off at the Door of our little hotel. We drop off my baggage in my room and, lead by my host eagerness and my desire to go with this indomitable pace, we went and enjoyed an hour stroll along the sea calming my waters and grounding me for a very solid night sleep while my room cooled down to an air conditioned 24 degrees. Tired to the core of my bones, my first hour spent in Loutraki was on all levels dreamlike, among a strong proud and laid-back community, thriving to be prosperous and happy, a resort destination for many in the heart of this Eurasian Basin. Simply said, an unimaginable 5 days had started in this dazed and surreal introduction to a city ripe to slowly become the “Most Crypto-Friendly City in the World”.

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Now that we are finally in Loutraki, stay tuned for the soon to be released next episode of this unbelievable crypto-trip, among some very notorious and immensely good-hearted Steemians, Mediterranean air, sacred spaces, Greek art and divine foods for my very first time out of North-American soil.

Till then, keep on thriving, Steeming, smiling and taking good care of your selves and loved ones,

Namaste :)