Temenos 2016

Spetses

Last year, in my first solo trip to Greece in several years, I continued to post photos and text of my journey--referring to myself in the third person, in a lame attempt at "literary" anonymity. (The very word "literary," as it applies to this blog, demands quotes or an asterisk or a big wink and a casual nod.) On the advice of a respected colleague, a fellow editor in the book trade, I have dropped the third-person, I've come to believe, as suggested, that it  is indeed "a bit creepy," so I have reverted to the first person. I am me,,, and there is nothing I can do about it.

My first trip to Greece, back in the surreal junta days of 1972, was an anticipation-filled journey,seemingly as easily made as a trip to the corner store. Now the long flight from New York or Boston to Athens is slightly more gruelling. The recovery is a bit longer. The ambitions are slightly more tamed. But the excitement of being in this special land is no less wonderous, exciting, and electric. Nevertheless, your beleaguered correspondent bounces back less quickly. Day one in Greece: I did not run 8 miles, swim, or stay out until the wee hours. This should not be mistaken, however, for maturity.

-------

With a few hours of sleep under my belt, I navigated the urban nightmare of Athens and headed on the national road toward Corinth, and then exited onto the impossibly curvaceous road through the Argolid to the little coastal outpost of Kosta, abandoning the VW in a parking lot and taking an eight-meter traditional caique across the narrowest section of the Saronic Gulf to the small island of Spetses--birthplace of my maternal grandmother (b. 1899), where Ann and I were married 24 years ago. It is also a place of the fondest memories, dating back to 1979, when I was a student of the classics in Athens and often fled on the weekends.

But, oh my, this place has changed. Doesn't every place change? The impoverished, dessicated island that my grandmother left for a better life in the States back in 1912 would be unrecognizable to her today--a home for the Athens jet-set, it features extraordinary villas, super yachts, and a host of famous tourists.

And yet the beauty and grace--and remarkably, even remnants of the old traditions--remain.