Sweet Sorrow

 

Morning run/swim/run

Sunset in Evangelismos

 

In about ten days I will lock the door to this little house in the southwestern Peloponnese and head north to Athens in the trusty Citroen. And then two days later I will fly to Boston via Zurich.

And so this summer in Greece will have ended. It has been such a gratifying visit—one full of both large and small accomplishments, such as completing house and garden projects, meeting up with old friends, meeting new friends, swimming/running every day (or twice, or three times), and playing music with others. And eating. Did I mention eating?

Last night I played with a lovely Brazilian-Greek vocalist at the taverna in Evangelismos, a village about 15 kilometers away, along a winding road surrounded by olive groves that stretch out as far as the eye can see.

 

The track to Grizokampos

Kandouni beach...by cliffside

Young and Old

Something I’ve always noticed in rural Greece: the young and the old commune in a natural, friendly, and spirited way. I have spent a lot of evenings with 20-something Greeks, both young men and women, who genuinely enjoy each other’s company…and that of their elders. It is not something I’ve experienced back in the States, where there is a rigid ageism (in addition to sexism, homophobia, the list goes on) that defines that squeamish culture. 

Methoni Castle at sunset

Dharma junkie

Fruits of our labors

At the “Rock on the Pier” in Finikounda, everyone—all ages—were dancing in the streets. Literally.

The Super Wealthy (and the rest of us)

Modern Greece has a long history of attracting the super wealthy from around the world.

Last year we gazed out to sea, from the comfort of our beach umbrellas, at Jeff Bezos’s $400 million yacht—and a massive security detail that consisted of a small fleet of support ships, several with helicopters—which was anchored in the outer harbor. Pop star Beyonce was his guest. But they didn’t step foot in the village.

A few days ago, the Yacht Tracker app identified another vessel anchored near Marathi beach, where I had kayaked just a few weeks earlier. It is owned by the emir of Qatar and was also worth around a half billion dollars.

Then there are the (merely) very rich, in lesser yachts that would rival (or likely exceed) anything you might ever see in Miami or Bar Harbor. 

Lahanada church

Our daughters’ friend, Christos, who is the son of a local fisherman, is now co-skippering a 40-foot support ship, with four 500-horsepower engines. It can cruise at 80 knots and is able to resupply these larger vessels that are plying the Ionian and Aegean Seas—so the locals don’t have to come to shore deal with the likes of us serfs.

 

A foot with seven toes?

Running to/from the unknown

Meanwhile, we are immensely proud of our little Styrofoam kickboard that is “docked” under our double bed.