The wind beats against my face in the back of the Beamer as we speed to the train station to catch our transit to the airport. We're not in a rush, its just the way you drive here. The villages are like video games with grannies crossing, children running and cars stopping randomly for their own reasons. No one gets in a fuss, the key is to just pay attention.
These last few days I have been saturated in paradise. On Thursday I walked to the church with some of Maria's family friends, teenaged twin sisters Despina & Vaso, who approached me after my swim, as I lay in my beach lounger. They were eager to practice their English. They receive lessons and have dreams of moving to LA and meeting famous movie stars. I realized just how much of the world I have seen when they asked me about my travels. They have only been outside of Greece to Italy and their eyes glisten at the sound of Edmonton.
At the church we took photos, swam and explored. We followed a meandering path along the cliffside to a private beach (which unfortunately remained undiscovered by our party... but the walk was great). Back at the church cliffside, the girls showed me how to safely peal off a sea urchin. We also stumbled upon an octopus in the shallow waters... it totally freaked the s*** out me because it was completely camouflaged underwater, its eight arms enabling it to travel swiftly and smoothly along the pebble floor.
Yesterday Maria and I drove east along the coast to Metehio and caught a boat to the island of Hyrda. It was super touristy with overpriced shops and restaurants but we managed to indulge in some pretty sweet cliff side dining and swimming. After a nap, we had a BBQ with a bunch of people I met over the course if my week long visit.
Goodbye Greece! Your drunken sunshine will undoubtedly lure me back in the very near future ;)