"Hot Greece, hot sun." The startled Danish tourist looked up at the kiosk owner and simpered: "No, not really, no, in this heat Greece is no fun at all."
It was hard not to agree. Even the heat-honed Hellene shook his head very slowly - body language never being easy when the mercury hits 44 degrees. All around us in the heart of historic Athens, there were tourists who were doing their best to grin and bear the worst wave of unmitigated heat in a decade.
After all, many had dug deep into their pockets to fly into this furnace. But even the professional sunning brigade were finding it all unpleasant - even the ones who sought solace by diving headfirst into public fountains. Most holidaymakers had fallen listlessly under the shade of snack-bar umbrellas, clasping little plastic bottles of cold water to their chests. "It's the best way of keeping cold," said an elderly Swiss woman sitting it out in a post office. "It's like having your own personal air conditioner," said an elderly Swiss woman. Air conditioners are what the Hellenes have been madly buying, and using, since the heatwave hit the country. So much so, in fact, that the public power company, reporting nationwide blackouts, announced that by 9 a.m. yesterday electricity consumption had reached record levels.
Meteorologists are predicting even higher temperatures today, so things will only get worse. The government has put hospitals, health clinics and the fire-fighting department on alert. It has given free access to public beaches, opened air-conditioned stadiums and set up a special "heatwave committee".
With very little green space, and far too many people, overcrowded Athens always suffers in the heat. Now, there are real and growing fears that people will suffer sunstroke. By last night there were reports that at least two people had died of heat-related heart attacks in the northern town of Ioannina. Hundreds of others had either fainted or been rushed to hospital as a result of heat distress.
Thirteen years have elapsed since more than 1,000, mostly elderly people, were killed by similarly sizzling temperatures in the capital.
This time, the vast majority are taking their precautions against the dark side of the sun.