Le fin

So it would appear I have been a tad remiss in posting to the blog. I will readily admit that, while it started off as a bit of fun (the blog), it has become a touch of a chore. I would like to say that I have been so busy that getting time has been a problem. And there is unbelievably an element of that. I would also like to claim writer’s block, but that would seem to be a bit grand when in fact I generally just couldn’t be arsed to get the old laptop out.

After I last posted, Joanna and I celebrated our silver wedding anniversary on the 18^th July. Some would see the 1,881 miles separating us at that point as somewhat of an impediment, but I felt as close as ever to her, lying on the beach and contemplating our years together. Not so sure about Joanna’s view here, slaving away with the NHS in damp Belfast. However, I did get a friend to deliver flowers and a card! Not wanting to appear too flippant, we will have a full family do when Maeve comes home from America.

So the sailing continued slowly – for 3 or 4 days there we couldn’t get out because of the high winds (I hadn’t thought the after-effects of that Mexican meal I had would last that long). Anyway the trusty Markus felt that it would be dangerous to go out, not only due to the winds, but there were also waves about 2 to 3 metres high. However, Friday the 20^th was my last day in Naxos, so  despite the weather still being on the cusp of “dangerous”, we ventured out. Spent a couple of hours sailing (please read as “hanging on for dear life”) with Markus, another spell out with Sascha (who himself is a trained catamaran instructor) and a final goodbye-trip out with both Sascha and Sophia. Exhilarating stuff in the higher winds, riding the crest of a large wave for hundreds of yards and hanging off the side of the boat.

On top of this, the last few days on Naxos provided the opportunity for a few lovely meals out in the town with meine kleine Deutchlanders (which they reliably informed me that the way I pronounced this translated directly as “my little sausages”)!

So early Saturday morning saw me on the ferry off to Paros – only an hour and a half away. I had no room organised here, so I subjected myself to the scrum of guys on the quay offering accommodation as we disembarked. Wanted to stay in a town called Naoussa, and got this organised handily enough. Paid €40 a night for the room but I reckon if I were of the bargaining kind I could have got this considerably cheaper. They reckon the tourists are down about 50% on last year.

Anyway the choice of Naoussa was a great one. Typical meandering little Greek alleys, all blue and white, with a huge array of non-tacky shops, bakeries, coffee-shops,  ice-cream parlours, small bars all leading down to the harbour where the restaurants were situated. Great fish – which was fine by me.

Octupuses (seemingly octopi is an incorrect plural here – always good to learn one useful fact in a day) drying outside one of the local eateries on Naoussa. 

Took a wee boat off to the other side of the bay for Saturday afternoon. The boats go hourly and well worth it to get to the better small beaches.

On the Sunday I made the expedition to a nearby island – Antiparos. This was a great wee trip – 2 rickety bus journeys, a boat across to the island, followed by a further bus trip which circumnavigated the island, allowing me to pick the most attractive stopping point. Loads of lovely spots on this very quiet island, so the trip was again worth it.

And that was my last full day. No need to bore you with details of the ferry back to Athens and flight home (apart from the fact that the woman beside me on the flight offered me a piece of Kitkat  - and I realised this was the first piece of chocolate/sweet I had had in over 3 weeks – unbelievable for those that know of my proclivity for such things).

So, on a serious note – what did I take from “The Odyssey”?

·       I did learn that while I can suffer my own company, I would in future prefer to travel with others.  I’m definitely glad I did the trip alone, as it was something I always had in the back of my mind – but now I’ve done it and got it out of my system.

·       I learnt that simple iPhone apps are straight-forward to create – the process is relatively easy to follow. However, anything of consequence would take considerably more work/investigation.

·       I learnt that I miss my family if separated for too long.

·       Too much time for thinking can be a dangerous thing, but I handled it!

·       Germans can be extremely nice – this was probably the most shocking discovery.

·       And I certainly learnt that the journey itself can be more important than the destination – and sure that’s the whole point of an odyssey!

So it ends!

Auf Wiedersehen und gute nacht