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Published: August 20th 2014
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Molymos, Lesvos, Greece
18
th August 2014
“
My soul is from elsewhere, I'm sure of that, and I intend to end up there.” Rumi
It's my daughters 25
th birthday. I stuffed up our Skype appointment with my miscalculation about the time difference between Australia and Greece. So it goes. At least I know that my parcel from Konya reached her in time. And through email today I read that she likes it a lot.
Molymos is beautiful. The Aegean Sea is gorgeous. Swimming is fantastic. Greek yoghurt is to die for. And …. it's fig season. This means that figs are freely available wherever you walk, ripening before your eyes asking to be plucked and consumed. Yesterday after yet another wonderful fresh fig and yoghurt breakfast, I feasted on more fresh figs on my walk home from the beach. When is too much just too much?
Inhabited since the Bronze Age, Molyvos (
aka Mythamna) was a very important city in antiquity. A UNESCO protected village, its historic stone and wood houses are embedded in the cliff-face and crowned by a medieval (Genoese) fortress and enriched by Roman ruins.
Lesvos is just 1.5 hours by ferry from Turkey (Ayvalik).
I stay in a spacious and comfortable room. Down the hall are friends from Australia who I have come to meet here. I was met at Mitilini off the
ferrybot from Turkey, transported to this village, and they include me in their daily routine.
And yet.......
I float around the village watching my mind and observing the life. I am a stranger here, which is not anything surprising, but I somehow feel a disconnect with the similarities with my own culture. The village is full of European and Greek tourists. They are focused on their holiday experience and I don't sense any willingness or need from them to communicate or engage. The locals are friendly but I lack the language to connect with them. I would need a lot of time. And they do seem very focused on the summer rush of business (and so they should.. they have just 4 months a year to make a decent living).
I had hoped to somehow re-discover the Greece I knew 32 years ago when, with a girlfriend, we rented a traditional house on the outskirts of the
village on the island of Ios in the Cyclades for 6 weeks. But here on Lesvos, it seems this option is not to be found. Everything is a resort, boutique villa, studio or hotel.
Somehow the culture is too familiar. This is Europe. And the prices for everything are again a notch up from Turkey – about double. Business is also conducted in western style..... products are largely all packaged, shops are pristine and ordered, prices are fixed. I find myself longing to get back to Turkey, with its more exotic culture and chaos. Perhaps my narcissism is calling me to a place where I feel more interesting (and interested). Where I can find a simple
cay evi to sit in and get automatic attention from the locals....'where are you from?; Turkey good?' It's all illusion I know. Perhaps I feel more in control in more foreign contexts..... that I can somehow call the shots (or that the shots will be heard and noticed).
Meanwhile I am making the best of what feels like a respite from 'hard' travel (not that my travelling style is particularly hard). Swimming several times a day and feeling my style and fitness
return as I glide through the clear blue water is a blessing. My Australian friends (who treat me to shared meals with them) come here every year. They have close local friends who also include me in local social events.
I reflect on how lucky I am to have the options I do. On a whim I can simple take the
ferrybot back to Turkey and waste my time wandering there for another 3 weeks before my flight to India. Wonderful.
But first, I must eat a few more fresh ripe sweet figs.
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D MJ Binkley
Dave and Merry Jo Binkley
Endless Beauty
Greece was one of my childhood dream trips. When I finally got there I assumed I would be disappointed but I was not. It is like living in a postcard. I've only been to 55 countries but Greece still remains....one ....of my favorites. The people, the food, the beauty, ah. The wines are good, the olives are amazing, well....all the food. The bluest waters. Ok, I'd better call the airport and book a trip. MJ