In Greece ~ Six Years Later. . .

 Mid-December six years ago . .

Village and harbor from Notary's Office

The tiny cubicle overlooking the village of Agios Nikolaos had once served as a living room in the apartment-turned-Notary's Office.  Those of us gathered within it on that bright, but brisk, December afternoon, gave little mind to the view we had from it of the village and its harbor.

Notary's office in tall building in the distance

We sat shoulder-to-shoulder: the sellers, the buyers, the attorney representing us, the realtor representing all of us. We focused on another attorney only a few feet in front of us who, standing like a sentry,  was shouting out (to be sure we heard it) an English translation of a contract being read aloud in Greek by another attorney seated at a nearby desk.  There was no room for the Notary (here, considered a quasi-government official who oversees such legal transactions) so she supervised from the doorway.

We'd wanted another adventure, a 'final fling' before we got too old, and this was it, I told myself, as I looked about and thought how foreign - and absurd - everything felt at that moment.

Buyers, sellers, attorney and realtor in the taverna

When finally the reading was completed and the signatures of sellers and buyers, initials of buyers, official government stamps and more stamps and Notary signatures were in place on multiple pages of the document, it was time for the money to be paid (done by check and cash back then - no new fangled things like wire transfers).  

We'd bought a house in Greece!

Just like that we'd bought a home in Greece.  It was time for those gathered to move next door for a drink at the taverna. 

'We'll give it five years,' we'd said at the time, leaving ourselves wiggle room to close this new chapter and return to the rather predictable and routine (and, if truth be told, sometimes boring) life we had left behind in the United States.

Six years later. . . 

The Stone House on the Hill

I write this in my den overlooking the upper garden at our small stone house, The Stone House on the Hill. This spitaki, small house, became our full-time residence three year's after we purchased it. Had someone told us on that mid-December day as the purchase formalities were taking place, that we'd be selling our home of 30-years in a Seattle suburb and moving our citified selves some 8,000 miles away to a rural area of the Greek Peloponnese, we'd have laughed.

Messinian Gulf from the Mani

Our decision to buy a home in the Mani, in Greece was not done as result of a lifelong plan to live here in our retirement. It wasn't prompted by unhappiness with the country's politics where we lived. We weren't seeking to escape anything. We didn't spend years looking for the right place.  It just happened. I compare it to finding that one soulmate and partner with whom you want to spend your life:

It simply felt right. And it still does.  

Agios Nikolaos - our village

Moving to a foreign country isn't for everyone. But those who have done it - whether for an extended stay or even those who divide their lives between two countries -- understand that little niggle that makes people like us want to stretch their comfort zones by immersing themselves in a different culture and country. 

Road Repair one of The Scout's new skills

Now stretching that comfort zone has been, I will admit, difficult and downright frustrating at times.  Turning off  'life's remote control' and having to participate with your whole head, heart and soul to get even the most simple of tasks accomplished, to make yourself understood without a command of the language or to understand the events occurring around you is wearing.

The thrill of tasting our home grown olive oil 

On the flip side, each time you realize you have expanded your comfort zone a bit further it is most satisfying, sometimes downright exhilarating. 'It worked!' or 'It is done!' have never been said with as much enthusiasm as we say those phrases here. 

As most expats would agree, you can't help but be changed by the experience - hopefully for the better. There are things about the lifestyle that could drive you nuts, yet, its quirks are what make life interesting. An adventure. And that's exactly what we wanted.

Six Years Later - The Chapter Continues

The Stone House on the Hill

We know that someday, that nebulous date lurking somewhere down the road, this chapter will need to come to a close as all chapters do.  While we often say we came here to grow olives instead of old, we recognize that one does not escape aging by moving somewhere new. 

Our entry stairs - who needs a Stairmaster?

There will come a time our charming Stone House on the Hill with its comforting olive grove and drop-dead territorial views and massive amount of stairs will be too much for old hearts, knees and legs.  These days we've modified our original agreement to that of,  'we hope we have another five years' here'.  

A toast to adventures 

If we don't, we will still agree that our 'last big adventure' didn't disappoint. Sometimes, though, we have started speculating that, 'maybe there is a new adventure left in us yet?' You don't suppose there might be another chapter just waiting to be written do you?

Thanks for the time you spent with us today and to the many of you who have been with us since this adventure began, our thanks for your continued interest and support.  You have been a special part of our journey!   Our best wishes to you and yours ~ stay safe and healthy!

Linking soon with:

Through My Lens
Travel Tuesday
Our World Tuesday
My Corner of the World Wednesday
Wordless Wednesday

 

 

 

We Live in the Land of Legends

'We live in the land of legends', is how I began the article recently published in The Mediterranean Lifestyle magazine. 

My article in The Mediterranean Lifestyle magazine 

It was my first published article in more than a year as I've become a bit relaxed about freelance writing since moving to Greece three years ago as a full-time expat. It is easy to get distracted from writing when busy learning how to live in a new culture, a new world. By last summer I'd decided it was time to get off my duff and start writing again. 

Discovering the Peloponnese - our new home

So a few months ago when I had 'pitched'  (freelancer slang for 'sending a query to')  the editors of this magazine, I had suggested a travel article focusing on the blending the archaeology and mythology in the Peloponnese. I wanted to take the armchair traveler on a trip through this vast peninsula that resembles an open hand stretching into the Mediterranean.    

The Peloponnese a Land of Legends

The editors liked my idea and I was given a deadline. I had 1,200 words in which to tell my story (that is about two sheets of  'letter-sized paper', or 'A4' on this side of the Atlantic, single spaced).

Because dozens of archaeological sites dot the countryside, I chose four  that could be reached within a two hour's drive from our home. 

The Mani - our slice of the Peloponnese

None of the four are not as hyped in the mass tourism world as are the likes of Olympia, Delphi and Epidaurus, but  you might be surprised at how well-known they are to those travelers who like to get  off the beaten path. 

Because this Greek peninsula we chose for our expat home is teeming with archaeological and other historical sites, I figured that such an article would be a slam-dunk.  What I hadn't - at that time given much thought to -- was that I would not only be taking the reader to the sites but back in time, way back in time, and my sources of information would be both fact and fiction. Now that is a whole new discomfort zone for someone used to talking to people with first-hand knowledge of a place.  

Homer, credited with writing The Iliad and The Odyssey, wasn't going to be available for interviews for this story! Nor could I talk with Helen of Troy or old King Nestor, both among the many of whom he wrote and both key to two of the sites I wrote about. 

Throne room Nestor's Palace - Messinias 

It was writing about one of the sites on TravelnWrite that gave rise to the idea for the magazine article. The dilemma I had with writing the blog post was amplified when I tackled the article: trying to write about a place when both fact and fiction play such intricate roles in its history. 'Nestor's Palace' is a good  example. That legendary old King Nestor, according to Homer, is thought to have occupied a palace on the westernmost point of the Peloponnese. 

Work continues at Nestor's Palace - Messinias

Yet, when visiting the archaeological site on the westernmost point of the Peloponnese, -- it is clearly very real, but Nestor is a legend. . .or was he? You can't help wondering if there was a Nestor or someone upon whom Nestor is based? And if not, who lived in that palace? The line between real and imagined blurs. 

Now not that I was questioning my 'source', but one day I found myself on the trail of Homer himself.  As any good reporter would do, I wanted to know a bit more about the guy on whom I was relying for the basis of information. Well, then the plot thickened!  Was there a Homer as I had always believed or were the writings of Homer a compilation of oral tales, handed down through the ages that had simply finally been written down by some man, possibly named Homer. 

Socrates was right!

Or was Homer given the credit and it was actually the work of several people written at different times?  (There are some sources that claim that possibility.) And if they were oral tales passed down through the ages, could they have begun as facts or were they fiction, I wondered. I was beginning to feel like Sheherazade must have when spinning her tales in One Thousand and One Nights. 

As an English major, I hate to admit I had not only never read the writings of Pausanias, I hadn't even heard of the guy until we moved to the Peloponnese. If you visit archaeological sites here you will often find signs and brochures about the place with information credited to him.  But as I wrote the article I found myself relying on him a lot, but then so do historians so I figured I was in good company.

Pausanias was the source of much of what we know

I certainly hadn't read his 'Guide to Greece' which he had researched and wrote in the 2nd century A.D.  But I 'know' the guy's writings now - as he became another valuable 'source'! 

Pausanias

Pausanias was a recorder of facts, he took what he saw and tried to merge the facts of what he was seeing with the stories he had been told about the place. His travels over a period of 20 years resulted in a 10 volume 'Guide to Greece'.

His volume 2, a copy of which we own now,  focuses on our area of Greece. In fact he was here! Right down at the harbor where the village now called Agios Dimitrios sits at the foot of the hill on which we live.  He had written about the islet  -- the one I wrote about here a few weeks ago -- the one where Helen of Troy and her brothers were born.  

Pefnos Islet Agios Dimitrios Mani Messinias

He referenced Pephnos, as the town of Agios Dimitrios was called back then with an islet of the same name. He referenced bronze statues that had been built there in honor of Helen's brothers the Dioscuri, Castor and Pollux.  Today the islet's name is Pefnos.

Pausanias is also credited with providing historians and archaeologists with valuable information about Ancient Messene, another of the sites I featured in the article.

Old roads through history - Peloponnese Greece

In the end it wasn't the slam-dunk I had thought it would be. It taunted the journalist in me and teased my imagination. It made me want to see more sites and know more about the layers of history on which we live in this land of legends. Here is the link to the article. I hope it sparks your imagination  as well:  Land of Legends.

Greek pomegranates - the season is here

And for those of you who are taken with all things Mediterranean, I recommend you sign up to receive this quarterly e-magazine, published in Palma de Mallorca, Spain, as the subscription is free.  This last edition had fabulous articles on everything from pomegranates to olive oil soap. The recipes will make your mouth water. To access the winter edition, click this link: The Mediterranean Lifestyle magazine.

Again, thanks so much for the time you spend with us. We hope this post provides a little armchair travel for you while we wait for the world to return to normal.  Stay safe and well! 

Linking sometime soon with:

 Mosaic Monday

Through My Lens
Travel Tuesday
Our World Tuesday
My Corner of the World Wednesday
Wordless Wednesday

Greek Garbage Bins and Other Simple pleasures

 You know you are seeing travel differently when the community garbage bins beckon as a destination.

Messinian Bay from our deck

Last week, as we two expats sat under a cloudless Mediterranean blue sky on the deck of our Stone House on the Hill in the Greek Peloponnese, I exclaimed that we 'got to' - not 'had to' - take our garbage to the community bins that day. I announced it with the type of enthusiasm, I used to have when talking about a cruise or trip to a favorite destination. 

It doesn't take much these days to count as 'a trip' away from home. We are getting a refresher course in simple pleasures as we experience this country's second COVID lockdown of 2020.

Destination: the community garbage bins

Taking a short jaunt to the garbage dumpster was just what I needed -- a serving of travel, even if in an amuse-bouche sized portion.

On the road home - Pantazi Beach

Our weather has blessedly remained sunny and warm so we rolled down the windows and let the breeze ruffle our hair as we drove along the beach road that would take us to the dumpsters. We picked up to-go cappuccinos and spent a few minutes in the village parking lot watching the waves before heading home. Simple pleasures.

A NOVEMBER TO REMEMBER

The village in lockdown is rather forlorn

Only a few weeks ago, as November approached, I wrote of us being 'betwixt and between' in making decisions about returning to the States or for that matter, of traveling anywhere. We didn't have long to ponder as by the first weekend in November Greece was in full lockdown mode again. We aren't going anywhere for awhile!

The lockdown came swiftly and decisively. It was announced at noon on a Thursday and went into effect at 6 a.m. two days later. 

You may remember that last spring I was calling Greece 'the poster child of COVID prevention'.  Well, no longer can I brag about our adopted country. A steady increase in cases with a marked spike in October has nearly brought the Greek health system to its knees. Instead of springtime's 20 -30 cases per day, autumn's numbers had reached 2,000 - 3,000 cases per day.  ICU beds that numbered 300 countrywide in the spring have increased to more than 1,200 but the occupancy rate of those increased beds is now at 90%. Some areas have no more capacity and patients have been airlifted to other struggling hospitals.   

Sparsely populated Messinias prefecture - agricultural lands 

While the epicenters of the cases are our major metropolitan areas, Thessaloniki and Athens, increasing numbers of cases are being reported throughout the country. . .even in our sparsely-populated rural prefecture (county) of Messinias.  

The Scout waiting for dinner to go

Originally a three-week lockdown, it has been extended to four with hints it may continue on after the new end date, December 7.  Most of the populace, thankfully, seems in support of the lockdown and the only political debate brought up by the opposition party was whether it should have been imposed sooner.

ONE MORE TIME. . .

Even chatting with friends, masks are required

We've been required to wear masks inside businesses since spring and outside as well for the last few months. The numbers of shoppers allowed in retail stores when they reopened last spring were limited. Small shops allowed only two shoppers at a time and larger stores had security officers admitting people, monitoring numbers and keeping shoppers out as occupancy limits were hit. Restaurants served smaller numbers of diners - and at distanced outside tables.

It wasn't like 'before' our spring lockdown but it was definitely a time of simple pleasures: dining out, shopping, freedom to go where we wanted within Greece. We savored those pleasures of the summer and early fall. We suspected they might not last.

Our current lockdown came with a curfew as well.  If you are out after 9 p.m. you had better be headed to or from work (and have documents to prove it), be seeking medical care or walking your dog near your home.

Our retail stores considered non-essential (including hardware stores, despite being in the middle of olive harvest) are closed.  Super markets, grocery stores, pharmacies and gas stations are open, as they were in the spring lockdown.  

Prohibited goods during lockdown

One major change this time around impacts the supermarkets and their customers. Like supermarkets everywhere, these stores sell more than groceries. So as not to give them a sales advantage over the small retail shops that are closed, supermarkets are unable to sell items like computers and electronic equipment, clothing, books and cookware. It is a commendable act, until something breaks or rips or needs to be replaced.

A fellow blogger, Juergen Klein, who writes 'dare2go' blog  has been unable to return to his home in Australia this year. as result of COVID response by that country. He and his wife are in Greece. He recently noted  that having not planned to winter in Greece, he needed winter pajamas because the nights do get cold here. He found them at a supermarket but was unable to buy them until the lockdown is over. Again, the fair trade effort is great until you as a customer in serious need of an item.

Takeout dinner - my favorite!

The majority of restaurants, bars and tavernas are closed in our nearby villages - a handful are open limited hours, providing takeout coffees and food. There has been no inside seating allowed for months. Outside seating is now forbidden as well. We aren't allowed sit while waiting for take out food. Going out 'to' dinner has become going out 'for' dinner. It is still one of life's simple pleasure to be sure!

Hiking is an approved exercise

We are allowed out to exercise and can have up to three persons in a group when doing so.  Hiking and walking are simple, but most welcome, pleasures! 

PERMISSION PLEASE

Permission for movement granted

As in the spring, we must text the government for permission to leave our homes for any of six allowed destinations/reasons and face hefty fines if caught out and about without permission in hand. Fines are also levied for not wearing face masks.  Those not able to text are allowed to print out government forms, fill them out prior to each trip and carry them with them. Fines per violation are now double that of the spring at 300 euros ($359US per violation). Retail store owners found in violation of lockdown guidelines can be arrested. . .some have been according to Greek newspapers.

HOPE AHEAD

Wine, moon in a parking lot: simple pleasures

The Greek media report that the government has purchased 25 million doses of Pfizer's Covid vaccine. The country's population is about 10.4 million, so it sounds as though there will be plenty to go around.  Especially after reading the report of a survey done last week in which one of every three Greeks surveyed said they wouldn't get the vaccination although the government is providing it free of charge to all citizens.

Immunizations will begin late December or after the first of the year.  Fingers crossed that there will be enough available locally for those of us 'vulnerable age group' expats to also get the necessary doses . . .

Parking lot sea wall- a simple pleasure destination

We hope that where ever you are reading this that you and your loved ones continue to be safe and well and that you are also enjoying simple pleasures.  Add a comment or drop a note and let us know how you are handling COVID in your part of the world. 

As always, thanks for the time you spent with us ~ we will see you next week when we will do a bit of time travel back to ancient Greece. . .at a place within a few hours drive of our home here. 

Linking soon with:

Mosaic Monday
Through My Lens
Travel Tuesday
Our World Tuesday
My Corner of the World Wednesday
Wordless Wednesday

Greece ~ Sailing In the Pirates' Wake

 Ahoy, Mateys! Permission to come aboard is granted. . . 

We are sailing off on a trip through history; a trip that follows a section of rugged coastline near our home in the Mani region of the Greek Peloponnese on waters once plied by pirates.

Setting off in the pirates wake - Greek Peloponnese

That's right. Pirates! Move over Johnnie Depp and Jack Sparrow - the Caribbean has nothing on the Mediterranean when it comes to pirates. . .aside from a blockbuster movie, maybe!   While you've probably heard much about Greece's ancient cities and civilizations and philosophers, I bet many of you haven't thought of pirates as a part of the country's history.

Messinian Bay- Greek Peloponnese

Frankly, neither had we until we moved here and started hearing local pirate lore. In all fairness -- as many tale-tellers note -- there was a rather vague dividing line between "free" trade and piracy in these parts.  A young Greek friend of ours once said with a laugh, "They teach about my ancestors in school saying they were heroes, but they were pirates!"

Areas of the Mani remain dry and barren to this day

The emergence of pirates in the Mani is said to have been in the 1600's. Many attribute the Mani's harsh unforgiving landscape, infertile soil and dry - drought-like - conditions for sending settlers, who couldn't make a living on land to the sea to seek their fortunes. 

Just the word 'pirate' brings to mind a high seas adventurer and is often used interchangeably with corsairs, privateers and buccaneers. However, each of those monikers has a slightly different definition. Take these two for example:

Remains of an ancient harbor

Pirates were raiders who acted autonomously - their aim was for their own benefit. The word comes from the Greek verb 'peiromai' meaning to endeavor. 

Corsairs operated on behalf of his sponsor and that sponsor could have been a nation or a member of an aristrocratic elite. It comes from the Latin words: curro - 'to run' and cursus for 'course'.

The Mani was a particularly good, strategic position for piracy because it is located between the eastern and western Mediterranean. Its coastline in many areas is rocky, sheer cliffs. 

Map credit - Maniguides.info

While there were many pirates who sailed the sea, here they also perfected a  pretty clever type of piracy, a land piracy. The story goes that in the region of Thyrides, -- meaning 'windows' as the many caves in the sheer cliffs there were called --  land pirates in the caves kept watch for passing ships. They would extinguish lighthouse lights, then put lights on the rocky shoreline or attach them to goat bells so the ships would run aground.  Then they would loot them and take the humans on board as hostages. That area is today known as  the area of Cavo Grosso near present-day Gerolimenas. 

Bay at Gerelimenos once a pirate stronghold

That stretch of coastline from Cape Tainaro north along the western coast (left side on the map below) was said to be feared by sailors through the ages. Travel guides in the 18th century urged ships to keep a safe distance from shore when traveling past the Mani.

Pirate s from Cape Tainaro up the western coast

The coastal village of Oitylo, was called by foreign travelers, the 'Grand Algiers' as result of excessive piracy and the slave trade that took place there. The pirates took hostages and either used them as ship rowers, demanded ransom for their release if they had ties to wealth or sold them as slaves.

Oitylo village overlooks this bay

"Piracy from land and the slave trade that was taking place in Oitylo reminded of Algiers, the major slave trade center of North Africa," write authors of the book, 'Piracy in the Mediterranean, The Mani Pirates.'  

Such a label it had that Jules Verne in his 1884 adventure novel set in the Greek Peloponnese during its War of Independence, The Archipelago on Fire even mentions 'Grand Algiers'.

Mani coastline - Peloponnese

No one can say for sure how much piracy took place in our area but names of local pirates continue to be passed down through the generations - they are remembered as both villains and heroes as many of them fought in the Greek War of Independence.

Today the bays near Oitylo and Gerelimenos are popular tourist destinations and draw thousands of visitors to the Mani.  The days of piracy are long gone.  But vivid reminders of those days still remain as one sails along in the pirates' wake.

Caves near our home in the Mani

On our recent adventure with Captain Antonis (that I wrote about a few weeks ago, Fishing Tradition and Tourism) we got a great view of the caves near our home where locals tell us that villagers once hid from pirates. 

Another fortress on the sheer cliffs

A bit further down the coast as we exclaimed about what appeared to be a fortress built into the sheer wall on the coastline, the captain simply replied, 'It was a time of pirates.'

Well, me hearties (that is friends, in pirate lingo) thus ends our tale for today.  We are always thankful for your time and send wishes for continued health in this time of pandemic and continued lockdowns and curtailments.  

Those wanting more information on Mani history and piracy should read the book mentioned above as well as Mani sections in Desolation Road and Zorbas websites.

We'll be back soon with more tales of travel and expat adventures ~ hope we'll see you then!

Linking soon with:

Mosaic Monday
Through My Lens
Travel Tuesday
Our World Tuesday
My Corner of the World Wednesday
Wordless Wednesday

A Greek Autumn ~ Betwixt and Between

Autumn and its unhurried months of September and October have led us to November in our slice of the Greek Peloponnese.  It is a time of betwixt and between those scorching summer days and those chilly winter days when we are bombarded by strong winds and heavy rain. 

Gythio on an autumn Sunday

It has been a gorgeous time of year with gardens coming back to life, roses, lantana and geraniums in bloom, and olive harvest filling the air with the scent of fresh-pressed oil. The drought-stricken hillsides have gone from shades of brown and tan to lush variations of green created by the first of the season's rain. Sunsets have closed out our days with a blaze of autumn gold and orange.

Autumn sunset from the Stone House on the Hill

Until this year we'd never experienced an entire autumn in Greece. As long time readers know we usually return to our American home in Washington State for a few weeks this time of year. There, we also have that best of betwixt and between as we've missed the summer's heat and enjoy the autumn colors, the apple and grape harvest before winter's blustery cold, snowy weather arrives.

Apples in Manson, Washington - our other home

We can thank this year's COVID pandemic for providing these two expats the opportunity to experience the full spectrum of this lovely season here. With travel restrictions, pandemic precautions, testing, isolation, paperwork and the like, frankly taking a trip anywhere sounds almost overwhelming.

Yet, even though we are thoroughly enjoying our Greek world, it has been a bit unsettling to know we have a home in the States that we may not see until. . .well, until . . .well, we just don't know, when.  We find ourselves somewhat betwixt and between our worlds for lack of a better description.

Messinias Bay in September

As columnist Emma Brockes wrote of the expat experience in time of pandemic last week in The Guardian newspaper, 'It is one thing to stay away when you can't be bothered to travel, and another when the option is removed.' She continued, " 'We'll go home in the spring,' we say, as if anything is likely to change.' "

In our case, we'd planned to spend month of August back in the States -- that was a decision made long before the word COVID-19 became an everyday word. After COVID arrived we talked of September and then October and then of  November. . .

Oh, for those days of travel. . .

There are flights between this side of the pond and the States. It is just that the shifting sands of this pesky pandemic seem to be in a constant state of movement these days.  So a traveler doesn't know what the rules might be from one day to the next or one country to the next. And it is impossible right now to fly to the States from Greece without transiting another country on this side of the pond. In the last few days France and the United Kingdom have locked down their countries, Germany is in partial lockdown. Greece is in a partial lockdown beginning tomorrow, Nov. 3rd.

Originally our hesitation about returning to the States was whether Greece would allow us back in upon our return. Currently American tourists aren't yet welcome in Greece because that country's COVID- numbers have been too high. Two exceptions are if you are a Greek national returning from America or are a permanent resident here. 

Would we be allowed back in Greece?

Our attorney here tells us that we are permanent residents by virtue of that little government issued residency permit card we carry with us.

However,as we have waffled in making a decision to go or stay in Greece, this adopted country of ours -- the once poster child for COVID prevention -- has had its numbers of cases skyrocket.  Not so very long ago, the daily cases averaged 20 - 25 and this weekend we hit 2,000 cases in a single day. Cases continue to be at 1,500 or above.  The number of intubated patients are nearing 200 in this country that early-on reported having 300 ICU beds available.

The 2020 travel look

As I was writing this post a headline flashed across my screen that two areas of Greece have gone into total lockdown - residents in those two place are being required to text the government before leaving their homes.  Our region isn't there . . .yet. We suspect it is coming.

The next COVID wave seems to have arrived. Tomorrow we return to wearing facemasks indoors and out throughout the country. Hotels and hairdressers remain open for now. So tomorrow -- instead of flying to Seattle -- we head out to get hair cuts and then spend a couple nights at a hotel within our Messinias region.  Who knows? That might be the the last outing for us during this betwixt and between time.

February day in Manson - where our US roots are planted

So now we talk of a return to the States, perhaps, in February. 

                                                                                       ~~~~

Thanks to the many of you who wrote to ask whether the recent earthquake that struck the Greek island of Samos and Izmir, Turkey impacted us.  Another headline just flashed across my screen while writing this saying two more earthquakes had hit the country today -- we have been blessed to have missed them all.  Thank you for checking on us.

Wild cyclamen carpet the groves in autumn

As we watched the live report on Saturday of 40 rescue workers trying to extract a woman from her home, now a concrete mass of rubble as result of the earthquake, we decided that being betwixt and between as we are, really isn't such a dilemma after all. Our homes are standing and we are well.

Where ever you are we hope that you and yours continue to be well and safe.  Hope you'll return next week when we will have more Greek expat travel tales for you! 

Linking soon with:

Mosaic Monday
Through My Lens
Travel Tuesday
Our World Tuesday
My Corner of the World Wednesday
Wordless Wednesday