Of Nuns and Thieves

Dyan and Zoe’s visit was relatively short but packed with lots of activities and sojourns to nearby sites. Jonathan and Lucia had an opportunity to offer sister/cousin a small taste of rural southern Messinia—with a visit to the Old Calendarist nunnery in Koroni, the beach in Tsapi, the Neokastro in Pylos, and a night out at friends’ house in a small village away from the sea.

While the girls climbed the stairs to the old Venetian bastion in Koroni (in which the nunnery is safely located from pirates of old and the official church’s persecution of “heretics”), Jonathan managed to check another important item off his to-do list: obtaining the certified deed to the property. Now it seems even more real to him, a document dripping with stamps, signatures, and other signs of offialdom.

The nuns, as usual, were gracious hosts. As the four set off late—the sun’s strength by noon is truly inspiring —their swim at the isolated cove of Tapsi was a welcome opportunity.

There is thievery the world over and Greece is no exception. The oft-heard expression πεινανε οι ανθροποι (“the people are hungry”), born of the crisis that is in its sixth year, does little to justify a host of petty crime, a relatively new phenomenon in Greece, a country that once prided itslef (and may still be) as among the safest countries in Europe. Most Greeks blame Albanian gangs, or Bulgarian thieves, or clever gypsies—but the truth is likely more murky. Greeks steal too, of course, but the local people are by and large generous, kind, helpful, and full of so many positive life-sustaining qualities. Every culture has it’s bad apples and malcontents, however, so the theory of “the Other” is taken with a grain of salt.

Jonathan and Lucia parked their car at Mavrovouni, the big beach in Finikounda, out in the open and at the water’s edge, within view. After an hour’s swim they returned to the car to see that it had been entered forceably from the driver’s door (the key hole had been forced with a knife). Lucia noticed right away that her brand new i-pod and her brother’s loaner camera, which were covered with clothes in the back seat, had been stolen. Even Jonathan’s shorts were missing, as were Lucia’s clothes.

The two have no small quantity of Cretan blood, Sphakioti blood no less, and a wave of vindictiveness and revenge coursed through them. Death by knifing and strangulation seem liked the sensible and honorable solution. Alas, such theft has become more frequent in recent years and the Greek police are ill-prepared (some say utterly unwilling) to stem the tide of petty criminality.

Nevertheless, Jonathan and Lucia presented themselves at the Pylos police station, where a very nice officer prepared a report, asking numerous relevant questions in Greek, such as: what is your mother’s first name? What is your religious affiliation? The two travelers are utterly confident that such vital, crucial, and pertinent information will result in the speedy apprehension of these thieves. Or maybe not. They shall see.

The police garrison notwihstanding, father and daughter have hatched a bold plan to catch the thieves (any thieves!), while remaing safe and whole. It takes a village to catch a thief—and with a growing shared concern for such incidents, something good may come of it. If nothing else a hard lesson was learned: travel light, and travel cheap. Because  yiayia’s (grandmonther’s) admonition, <<οποιος φυλαει τα ρουχα, εχει τα μισα>>—which means “he who watches over his/her clothes, ends up with half of them--rings true. They have half their clothes! (Who needs clothes anyway, especially on the beach.) Somewhere in this or another nearby village, a young man is wearing girl’s undergarments, and it is a photograph worth capturing for this  blog. Please keep checking in!

On a happier note, the stone wall that was commissioned on Monday was completed earlier today. It is truly a work of art and helps define the property, as does the planting of citrus trees and ornamentals. The blank slate of the property is filling slowly and methodically. With another month of hard work, their little spitaki in Greece will be a welcoming retreat for friends and family--and a place to ponder on those cold and snowy Maine nights.

Jonathan spent the second half of the day on the beach and floating in the ocean, where the warming water is clear to depths of 40 feet. Tonight Greece plays Costa Rica in the final 16 of the World Cup Football Championship. The village will be noisy to say the least.