Transitions – Changes

Here in Greece, the cradle of Western Civilization, we are learning about thousands of years of history and looking at mystical ruins and ongoing archaeological excavations. There were so many transitions from one leader to the next, changes of whole cultures, the Byzantine Empire to the Ottoman Empire, and almost all of these changes, including those in recent history, transpired amidst ravaging war. But the Greek people are so welcoming and proud of their beautiful Greece and their historic culture; it is an extraordinary and fascinating place.

We are now facing transitions and changes of our own. While they certainly aren’t as important or momentous as those here in the history of Greece, they are weighty enough for us.

GG left yesterday after a wonderful and enjoyable visit. We were really happy to see her and share some travel experiences together. Now, she returns to Colorado and we return to our travels as five, not six, and sad to see her go. Eleven days went by so quickly.

Bigger changes lie in front of us as well. We are beginning to feel them more by the day. In the early part of our trip in South America, more than a few in the family questioned how they or we would survive the challenges of near constant travel for a whole year! Could Kelli last that long without her bed, or the kids without their friends, and for all of us, without our extended family? In the absence of daily routine, a comforting fixture especially for children, we at times struggled to find a footing in our new world. But, as with many of life’s challenges, we all rose to meet them and soon hit our stride. Now, some of us do not want the trip to end.

Today, our return to Durham looms large, and life as we left it at home is within sight. Thoughts about the end of our travels are creeping in, stronger and stronger by the day. Returning home means something different for each of us. For me, returning to RTI and a regular work schedule is coming soon. The kids will reunite with friends, who probably didn’t feel their absence in Durham as much as Ainsley, Jack and Eliot missed them. They will go back to school too. Ainsley will be a fourth year in the middle school, Jack will head to a new school and Eliot will be in third grade. Kelli heads back to the seemingly thankless and constant job of driving to school, packing lunches, and taking care of countless things in our day to day lives (although I am sure she will be happy to resume her daily jogs, something she has missed on the trip). No more figuring out where to go and what to see in what we’ve always thought of as exotic locations. No more daily meeting and interacting with people from new and interesting cultures. While we all look forward to these well-known and familiar routines, how will we adjust to the change in pace and stimulation?

At the beginning it felt as though we had the whole world and plenty of time ahead of us, which we did. Today, we know that we have only a few places to go and time is running out. We leave Athens tomorrow and go to the small town of Levidi on the Peloponnesian Peninsula where Nick, our neighbor back in Durham, grew up. He introduced us to his neighbor in Levidi who will take us there. We’re really excited to get to know a small Greek mountain village with around 300 people. From there we plan to take a ferry to Italy where we will stay with friends in Rome (who we met in Chiang Mai) before heading on to Switzerland for a visit with more friends and a possible stop in France in the middle. This is where my return timing to RTI begins to make things a bit fuzzy.

Now on to some recent travels and events as we did not bring the site up to date with our last week in Turkey before GG’s arrival. We spent one week in a small apartment in the town of Kas, a favorite spot of Murat and Leslie’s, on the south Mediterranean coast of Turkey. We too really liked it, especially because we arrived a few weeks before the hordes of tourists hit the streets so it was still sleepy. Everyone in town was busy preparing for the arrival of summer tourists and we were left to explore in a relaxed and quiet manner. We had our very best meal in Turkey there too: mountain lamb, ordered a day ahead, that fell off the bone much the same way that a really great Osso Buco does. We also hiked on part of the Lycian Way, which runs for more than 500 km along the Mediterranean Coast of Turkey. Now that would be a hike!

After GG joined us for three days in Selcuk (see her recent posting and pictures) to see the sights of Ephesus, we left Turkey via ferry for the Greek island of Samos. Yes, we got back on a ferry after our trying ferry experience in Thailand. This time the sun was shining and the seas were calm. GG even got to experience a small Turkish bus on the way to the ferry where people were packed in like sardines!

We have a lot to say about Samos, Hotel Atlantis where we stayed, and Dimitri and Gabi, the proprietors. We’ve said it before many times, but this one too will be a huge highlight of our travels. The island itself was overflowing with spring flowers popping up everywhere. The ground must have some magical formulation because nearly everything that touched it was green: olive trees, orange trees, grape vineyards, sycamore trees, etc, except for the flowers, bright red poppys, intense yellow broom, and various flowers in purples and pinks and whites. We hiked a number of days through the springtime growth to find beautiful, quaint mountain villages with unbeatable views and tasty Greek food only to finish the day swimming in the crystal clear and as cold as Balston Beach Aegean water. One day we hiked up a canyon that felt as though we were transported to a different place. Again, the water was crystal clear and a little cold, but still tolerable. That would have been our experience anyway on Samos, but staying with Dimitri and Gabi is what in the end made it really special. They welcomed us as though we were good friends returning from a long absence. They also welcomed our kids in a sincere and special way. Gabi took them all under her wing and soon they became part of her daily routine with all of her much loved animals. Each day they helped feed newborn orphaned kittens with bottles. They played with the two dogs, Diego and Lily. They helped find the 10 chickens when they escaped over the wall into a neighbors yard. They explored the greenhouse where Dimitri and Gabi grow Birds of Paradise and keep a horse, pony and rabbits. Mostly, they were able to feel completely relaxed and at home for the week. One night, Gabi and Dimitri graciously invited us and some other guests to dine with them. They prepared a rustic and absolutely delicious meal they called pitta, home-made, fried in their own olive oil, dough, layered with fresh goat cheese and a salad of tomatoes, basil, onion and feta. Eliot and Jack did all the rolling of the dough, and we all drank from the large bottles of Dimitri’s own vineyard-grown cabernet.

Another ferry, but as someone said to me, a nine hour ferry ride isn’t on a ferry, it’s on a ship! Yes, it was more of a ship, really just a stripped down cruise ship with airplane seats and a few snack bars. It was an easy and comfortable way to travel from Samos to Athens. The only bad part of the trip was when Eliot noticed that his Nintendo that he set down on our table wasn’t anywhere to be found. We unfortunately immediately turned our thoughts to a young boy who had been watching over the kids’ shoulders and continually walking through our seating area near the front of the boat. We alerted the crew to the problem and shortly after hearing from many of the nearby passengers in Greek about the boy (we couldn’t really understand what they said) they returned with Eliot’s prized item.

We’ll post about our few days in Athens soon. For now it’s off to Levidi.