I've thought a lot about what to say and write about Greece. A trip to Santorini and Crete, a last minute affair, a suggestion made by my boy as we travelled on a train home, me absent of emotion and him constant with support. It was a compromise to a rough time, a time in which we both personally suffered and our relationship was barraged.

When I wrote the post in my head as we went, it was humorous, peppy, and full of light. Now that I sit here in front of the open MT screen the post isn't so humorous or peppy, but the light, she is everywhere. This post may not be to the sarcastic standard because I look back on our week there with a sense of wonder-only one other time in my life was I not ready to go home yet (the ever-lovely New Zealand.) It's not as though I wanted to live my life on Santorini because I don't-it's a fantastic picturesque island with incredible people-but I was so incredibly content and relaxed there. Although this was Angus' first trip to Greece, I had been to Santorini 4 years ago. Suffice to say it's this trip that will pave my memory now.

So this may not be my usual blow-by-blow account, instead I give you pictures.

We flew to Santorini from Gatwick, then took a high speed ferry to Crete. We hired a car there and for the next two days went to Matala, to Agia Nicholas, and up and down barely charted side roads, roads with no names and through little villages largely untouched by tourists, where Greek Orthodox priests sat drinking coffee and young village boys would smile and wave at the car. This was unexplored Crete, the untourist Crete, the Crete that you would want to know.

All I had ever known of Crete before came out of my archaeology courses and a Nancy Drew novel I barely remembered. The real Crete was vast and beautiful. The people were extraordinary. One case-one evening in a restaurant Angus and I dined, while a Swedish group sat at another table. Their children were running around being terrors (as Swedish children can be-before sending hate mail, please note I am not saying that all Swedish children are difficult) and at one point Angus and I finally got fed up and asked the parents in our rusty Swedish) to please, could they possibly have them be a bit quieter? The Swedes complied and the man at the next table-a man who kept staring at us and had an impressive scar on his face-smiled at us. The waiters then proceeded to ply us with a carafe of wine on the house and free dessert, as it turns out the scarred man was the manager and was grateful for our intervention.

Little things. Chefs would drag you into their kitchens, where their mothers were cooking, to suggest authentic meals "not on the menu". We would take them up on it. People smiled, people wave, and in general you get the feeling that Crete is one of the last remaining pockets of friendliness.

We had views.

Really amazing views, simple but dramatic.

We got stuck in severe Crete traffic jams.

I travelled with the cutest man on the island.

He travelled with a chick who just couldn't stop smiling.

We had each other.

From Crete we took the ferry back to Santorini (and this time, I was seasick. Always a pleasant part of the holiday, really.) We stayed in the main town of Fira, which is renowned for its beauty.

But we decided to not spend all our days in Fira, so we hired a quad bike to tour the whole island.

We saw the black volcano beaches. As the English team touched the ball in the World Cup, we were worlds away seeing a spiralling lighthouse, a beacon warning of the sharp Santorini cliffs. We spent our time on little village roads, my arms wrapped around his waist, the wind exhiliarating.

And of course, there were the Greek churches. Greece has incredible churches, most of them tiny like this one on Crete:

And some of them are the model blue-domed white Greek churches, stunning beauties that just appear on the horizon and make one more inclined to find God, after all.

The churches were everywhere, even within sight of each other.

We toured the little town of Oia (pronounced EE-ya), a quiet gem with a slower pace but filled with view of the ocean and filled with bourganvillea and geraniums that have been growing for many years.

They have lots of artsy tpe of shops (like where I bought the little red dress) and Angus bought me a gorgeous ring.

Whenever possible, I dipped my feet into the Aegean Sea.

I marevelled in the traditional world of Santorini, like this mule driver.

And above all, the one thing that Santorini is infamous for is incredible sunsets. It didn't deliver one until the last evening, but when it did, it was worth it.

We would sit outside on the balcony and watch the sun go down every night, a bottle of wine at our fingertips.

But above all, we just couldn't keep our hands off each other. We had action every day (sometimes twice a day), and one evening we had that kind of making love that you don't get to have very often, but when you have it the intensity is overwhelming. We were always holding hands, taking pictures of each other, and now when I look back to those days on Santorini, it's with the memory of me grinning wildly on the back of a quad bike, my body pressed behind my boy's, my mind far from the modern world.

I am still relaxed and happy.

I am back to myself.

Expect posting to now go back to normal, because I once was lost but now am found again. It happens for me. I just need to get back to the basics sometimes to remember what happened to me.

-H.

PS-more pics to be uploaded to my Flickr account, there on the sidebar.

PPS-the interview went well I think. I may not get the job but (and this is no sour grapes here) I'm pretty fucking proud of myself for even trying. It's proof to me that I am ready to get out of a bad situation and it took guts to even apply. I should hopefully hear something today.

Posted by: Everydaystranger at 07:18 AM | Comments (13) | Add Comment
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1 Beautiful! It makes me want to visit there, too... I'm glad you had a really good time.

Posted by: Hannah at June 16, 2006 08:48 AM (5w+E2)

2 Out of curiousity, how much vacation time do you get at your job? It seems like you've been away quite a bit this year. Or do you get comp time, too?

Posted by: Z. Hendirez at June 16, 2006 11:34 AM (ceOV5)

3 We're going to Greece and Turkey in the Fall and I want to go right now - your pictures are making me so jealous! Do either of you speak Greek? I've been wondering how much Greek I really need.

Posted by: mac at June 16, 2006 11:37 AM (sn7/3)

4 Zippy-we get 6 weeks of paid holiday per year. We also didn't use up all of our holiday time last year, and I get something called TOIL (time off in lieu). The 16 hour days I was working for a while come into play there.

Posted by: Helen at June 16, 2006 12:15 PM (d0SN9)

5 omg that one little church is so cute! after i saw your pictures, i told my fiance that we're adding Greece to our list of places to visit someday. ps. good luck with the job!

Posted by: geeky at June 16, 2006 12:30 PM (ziVl9)

6 Six weeks? Nifty! Glad you had fun!

Posted by: Z. Hendirez at June 16, 2006 08:32 PM (otB//)

7 The pics are really lovely.I can see your happiness.I know how you feel when you say that you were without emotion,and your boy was full of energy and positiveness.But the photos show the love and joy thats in your heart.Im so glad that NZ was so good for you.Please come back to Aotearoa(the land of the long white cloud)..maybe you could get work here and spend the rest of your days in absouulte bliss Oh of course you cant leave Britain cos of your boys kids,but pls visit again and come to the nth island this time and I'll show you around.

Posted by: butterflies at June 17, 2006 04:50 AM (3cbV8)

8 Coming by way of a link on Irina's blog. Fabulous pictures. Wonderful sunset.

Posted by: greek shadow at June 18, 2006 01:36 AM (zcYGZ)

9 Cool piccys, glad you had such a good time and were able to relax.

Posted by: amanda at June 19, 2006 12:24 AM (cqrWD)

10 I spent an amazing 10 days in Greece some years back - and you just brought all the memories back to my mind, and spirit. Thanks for sharing your amazing trip.

Posted by: Elizabeth at June 19, 2006 12:51 AM (37Uxa)

11 Beauty! Though as a Californian, those houses on the cliffs make me ever so nervous...

Posted by: B. Durbin at June 20, 2006 02:27 AM (tie24)

12 The photos are fabulous! I love the one of you under the red-blooming tree and in the red dress!

Posted by: kenju at June 20, 2006 04:03 AM (2+7OT)

13 Great photos!

Posted by: Paul at June 21, 2006 05:20 PM (vbP6L)

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