Last night as I was lying in bed drifting off to sleep, my mind was lazily thinking about what I had written about Greece and how I failed to convey how magical it was for me when I had visited, not once but twice. The second visit was with my sister and we landed on the Isle of Corfu and made our way up the mountain to the village of Pelikas to meet up with John, Bill and Greg, the Canadian trio. It was in that village that my sister and I discovered the small village restaurant manned by father, mother and young daughter and we ate like princesses every day at breakfast and dinner. The homemade breads, the slow roasted lamb, melting in our mouths, the dense and tangy Tsazikis sauce that we dipped our lamb and bread in and licked our fingers, it was paradise. But we wouldn’t have known that paradise if I hadn’t discovered Greece before with my summer school roommate and our friends we made during our school session at the University of London program.
I think that the island that made the most impact on my psyche was the tiny island of Hydra, it was farther away from Athens than the others, we took the hydrofoil called the Dolphin to get there and still it was quite a ways. The trip out there was gorgeous, blue sky’s and turquoise green waters and the view of Hydra coming up right in front of us was breathtaking:
It was here that I fell in love with Greece, I had always had a profound love for its mythology and its stories had filled my head with images of rocky landscapes, clear crystal clear waters and blue, blue skies; the reality of Greece in person did not disappoint at all. Furthermore to have the chance to experience the daily life on one of the prettiest islands that I have ever seen, where we saw the people work so hard, and play just as hard, it was wonderful. The houses were proudly kept very clean and bright, the colors were so joyful all around, the streets were swept up, there were no cars to be seen, everything was transported by donkey and cart. At night is when I felt the real magnificence of where I was, my friends and I were lying on the smooth rocks right off the beach where we swam during the day and the night sky looked like a swath of black velvet adorned with thousands of bright diamonds, more than the eye could count, it was grand on a scale that I had never seen before, there was no pollution, no clouds to obstruct how tiny I was in relation to the universe. I’ll never forget that night time sky, I have searched for a replica and I have yet to find it.
I know that Greece has had its serious share of economic problems and they are far from out of the economic woods, but I seriously suggest to anyone who has the desire to visit, Greece is so worth the trip, it is beautiful and historic, our roots are there, it was the birthplace of democracy and antiquities. I am so thankful that I had not one, but two chances to go and visit such an amazing country and people.
laurieanichols 