Somehow, I just had the smoothest international travel experience I have ever had, after scores and scores for the past several decades….the Greece we see on the news is not the whole story. Life is going forward, people are living, struggle is real and tensions are high (there is a neo-Nazi party that now has a seat in Parliament) but, as is usually true, individuals are hearty and full of heart, riding this transforming wave as best they can. I actually feel a similar vibe in the air here to Atlanta or other US cities, with the added twist of the omnipresent Euro worker strike. In Athens last year this time, it was taxi drivers. This time it is hotel workers. Still, a collective and not anarchy…
On a more quiet and rural island, the heat of the sun is interminable. Its near 100+, but unlike Atlanta, its a dry heat. The natural world is buzzing and alive, but recent fires, set by shepherds to clear more land for their flocks, have destroyed centuries old evergreen trees, a rare species not to be recovered anytime soon. Again, the shortsighted gain undoes an ancient scheme, sound familiar?
My first contact with the sea revealed the continuous renewal of plastic deposit. Tomorrow, I will reconnect with the sea cave at Liakas, the subject of this project. I will swim in and see what changes a year has brought…