Hi there

Totally agree - we've travelled throughout Greece and always drunk the tap water, even in remote outposts. It is perfectly safe, it just has a higher mineral content than some other places which sometimes can upset very delicate stomachs. Just wash your fruit and veg off as you would at home and enjoy your food. No worry about ice in drinks either.

WTT, I think you may be operating out of assumptions that are 60+ years out of date -- just after WW II, because of wartime devastations, some European countries' water systems were damaged, but this condition is long long long ago. I'm puzzled why you'd think Greece and not Italy would be in this distant past?

Mexico's problems are entirely different, related to its infrastructure etc.

BTW, bottled water on the islands you mention (except Paros) is widely used because of scarcity of fresh water and need for desalinization. On islands such as Naxos and Crete, blessed with many springs, tap water is in wide use--- and in Crete there are several big bottling operations.

Another note: the fresh fruits you'll fnd in Greece are much less likely to be polluted with the heavy pesticides US agribusiness relies on.

In general I agree with the previous posts. The water in Greece has always been good; in fact, on my first trip to Europe, Greece was the only country I visited whose water was judged perfectly safe to drink from the tap. I also had no problems drinking from streams, as well. Unlike in some other countries, I've never had an adverse reaction from anything I've eaten or drunk in Greece.

However, last year in Poros the waiter at the restaurant I patronized every night warned me about drinking the water because something had happened within the system. So I think they're well aware of what's going on. Unless warned otherwise, your food and drink will be as safe, if not safer, than in Minneapolis.

But I did hear one really odd thing about their vegetables. The owner of one restaurant apologized for not having fresh tomatoes early in May. He said he'd just put his plants in the previous day, and he wouldn't get his first harvest for 20 days. That's about 40 days faster than I've ever experienced.

I've never had any bad reactions to anything I've eaten in Greece. I think in general, Greeks and other Europeans are more careful about food handling, and more concerned about the sources of their than most Americans.

You'll probably notice how much better the fresh fruit and vegetables taste in Greece than in North American. This is a result of less irrigation, more sunshine, and being allowed to ripen on the vine. Greek farmers still grow many varieties of produce, instead of just the varieties that ship well and store well.

On the other hand, I have become sick from food I have ordered in the States, on many occasions, and in several locations. Ordering salad in Minnesota is very dangerous, in my experience.

Thank you, everybody, for your great responses. I'm off to Greece tomorrow morning!

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