Leaving Greece is like leaving an old friend. We've been here five weeks this round and a total of seven weeks in the course of the summer. There are so many things one can say about Greece. Greece is patient...Greece is kind....Greece is gentle....
Mainly, Greece is comfortable. Being here has been so ridiculously easy. The level of English is amazingly high, the transportation infrastructure is great and easy to use. People are friendly. No wonder it's such a popular vacation destination. Greeks are chilled out, they know food and they know how to have fun. Add in sun, beaches, some ancient history and natural wonders - it's ready-made vacation in a can.
I wish I could say I learned something profound. I wish I could say Greece changed my life. In and of itself, it didn't. The time here, the experience of living this life and having these adventures does - immeasurably. But I'm not sailing out of Greece a changed person, with new revelations and a new perspective on life the way I have from some countries.
Greece isn't life altering, it's life affirming. No one makes a movie about going to Greece for the summer that doesn't end happily. There are reasons for that. Greece is the feel good country of the year.
When we arrived in Rhodes in what seems like ages ago, it was a shocking shift from Turkey. All the rough edges of Turkey were absent in Rhodes, we new instantly we had arrived in civilization of the nicest kind. Things worked, they were clean and it was all so easy....
A lot of beaches, towns, motor scooter rides and tzatziki later, I can say happily that Greece is no different from our first impressions.
We have seen tremendous beauty, easy days, pleasant people and lots of water. We have visited with friends from home and we've made a few along the way. Greece has made us feel welcome and left us with unfinished business - The Patmos Pact.
Greece has also been the place where Emily and I came into our travel groove - developing our style for how we do things and work together while on the road. Everyone has his or her way of traveling. Emily and I developed a smooth, easy, well-functioning "our way" somewhere between Rhodes and Crete. It may have even cemented in the moments when we ran after a bus in Hania, Crete. "If you want this, you're gonna' have to run!"
It's hard to imagine not waking up in Greece. What will we do when we have to do things and be places on time?! What will happen when we visit places where there are things to see and not just places we spend our days?! And most importantly, who will unexpectedly hand us fresh fruit from the garden and homemade baked goods over the wall of our balcony?!
Today we leave our Aegean paradise and head through bustling and ancient feeling Istanbul to backtrack...to LA and Cannes. Back to buses, trains, taxis, and driving the freeways. If anyone pulls up on the road and asks us if we want to go with them on a night ride up to the top of the hill, instead of jumping in and enjoying the adventure - we will run and call the cops.
Within 24 hours, I expect the world will feel different - and new and very different adventures will present themselves.
Greece, thank you for your hospitality.
Mainly, Greece is comfortable. Being here has been so ridiculously easy. The level of English is amazingly high, the transportation infrastructure is great and easy to use. People are friendly. No wonder it's such a popular vacation destination. Greeks are chilled out, they know food and they know how to have fun. Add in sun, beaches, some ancient history and natural wonders - it's ready-made vacation in a can.
I wish I could say I learned something profound. I wish I could say Greece changed my life. In and of itself, it didn't. The time here, the experience of living this life and having these adventures does - immeasurably. But I'm not sailing out of Greece a changed person, with new revelations and a new perspective on life the way I have from some countries.
Greece isn't life altering, it's life affirming. No one makes a movie about going to Greece for the summer that doesn't end happily. There are reasons for that. Greece is the feel good country of the year.
When we arrived in Rhodes in what seems like ages ago, it was a shocking shift from Turkey. All the rough edges of Turkey were absent in Rhodes, we new instantly we had arrived in civilization of the nicest kind. Things worked, they were clean and it was all so easy....
A lot of beaches, towns, motor scooter rides and tzatziki later, I can say happily that Greece is no different from our first impressions.
We have seen tremendous beauty, easy days, pleasant people and lots of water. We have visited with friends from home and we've made a few along the way. Greece has made us feel welcome and left us with unfinished business - The Patmos Pact.
Greece has also been the place where Emily and I came into our travel groove - developing our style for how we do things and work together while on the road. Everyone has his or her way of traveling. Emily and I developed a smooth, easy, well-functioning "our way" somewhere between Rhodes and Crete. It may have even cemented in the moments when we ran after a bus in Hania, Crete. "If you want this, you're gonna' have to run!"
It's hard to imagine not waking up in Greece. What will we do when we have to do things and be places on time?! What will happen when we visit places where there are things to see and not just places we spend our days?! And most importantly, who will unexpectedly hand us fresh fruit from the garden and homemade baked goods over the wall of our balcony?!
Today we leave our Aegean paradise and head through bustling and ancient feeling Istanbul to backtrack...to LA and Cannes. Back to buses, trains, taxis, and driving the freeways. If anyone pulls up on the road and asks us if we want to go with them on a night ride up to the top of the hill, instead of jumping in and enjoying the adventure - we will run and call the cops.
Within 24 hours, I expect the world will feel different - and new and very different adventures will present themselves.
Greece, thank you for your hospitality.
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