I traveled through Greece on horse and carriage at age 14. 11 of us - 5 girls 6 boys between 12 and 16 years old with a husband and wife team to lead us.
We started in Argos where we picked up the horses, carts and gear from a man who stored them for the couple. We headed to Piraeus and jumped a ferry to Iraklion, Crete. We circled the island and returned to the ferry. I was one of the cart drivers because I was good at it in traffic. We stopped at the palace of King Minos etc. Every night we camped in a large tent - gypsy style. Usually in an olive grove. Once on the rim of the Isthmus of Corinth. Not only did villagers rush out to see us and feed us, we also had the privellege of staying with true Romani. The woman who was part of the husband wife team spoke Romani. We all looked like gypsies. Wild hair, our tents. We learned to speak Greek. We learned to take food to cook in the bakery ovens for cheap while they cooled down after the morning baking. It was common for people to use the ovens in this manner. We would get yogurt straight from the maker. We ate so much good food. Octopus etc. (Try 'Skordalia' if you ever get a chance or make some - it's easy)
We could sing the Greek national anthem in Greek. People loved us. They thanked us for WWII as if we participated. They told us how they hated "the hippies" with their needles. They tried to talk the girls into being models. They tried to bang all of us in the cities. They all wanted to be with the crazy American Gypsy kids that sang the national anthem in Greek while one of us played a guitar. We would do it for tips and then go buy treats. Even a bottle of Ouzo (bad idea). Everywhere we went, people would come to meet us. We returned to the mainland and traveled to Paleo Astros. We also visited Mycenea. We got to see Agamemnon's mask at the museum and plenty of ruins. We even made it to the Acropolis. It was a wild time for a 14 year old.
I returned to Greece with a British gf at the age of 22. We drove down from Switzerland. We stopped by Argos and stopped by the horsetrader's home out of the blue. I spoke Greek and reminded him of my name. It was nap time but he got his wife up and we stayed for some dinner and spoke of the trip. He and his wife had tears in their eyes that some stupid American kid made his way back and remembered where he lived, his wife's name and enough of the language to get around.
My GF and I stayed in Greece for that summer so I have almost 5 months immersed in the country and culture. The same experience would be hard to match as an adult. I cherish the memories.
Here are a couple of pics I dug up.
Me making kindling for the evening fire out of an olive branch...
Me at the front corner of the cart with my back turned helping to hold it back while we descended a typical mountain path. the old brake stick was pretty ****ty - especially when wet.