… with love to Santorini after experiencing thousands of earthquakes over the last 10 days.
Following a “Shirley Valentine” fantasy of needing to get away far enough that I was mostly unreachable, 10 days in Santorini presented itself in a serendipitous lunch with a friend. Booked all online with help & follow-up from one of the staff at The Loucas Hotel, flew overnight to Athens with two friends who were meeting a boat to sail around the islands for 10 days while I went on to Santorini. Checking into the hotel in Fira, I asked to meet the employee who had been so helpful as I had brought him/her (their name was ambiguous) a gift basket as thanks. A woman walked out of the back office, laughed out loud, and speaking perfect English said “oh, my God, that’s from A Southern Season!” She saw my speechless surprise and added “I’m from Carrboro, but I’ve been here for about 10 years.” She had come with a boyfriend and loved it so much she never left.
Off-season felt like the place was almost all mine. For 10 magical days I roamed, blissful in my aloneness. Couples felt sorry for me, I could see it in their faces as they whispered and speculated, some even invited me to join them. I never did. I rode a Vespa, crashed a wedding, sterny scolded by a Greek Orthodox priest for crossing my legs in a church, dined alone, ate tomatoes & feta for breakfast, stuffed calamari where ever I could find it, drank Ouzo and Assyrtiko at every opportunity, sunned on the black sands of Kamari Beach, made friends with cats & dogs in Oia, ended every day with a piece of baklava, and let the two waiters at the hotel fawn and make do over their mysterious woman traveling alone. AND loving it!
Spent a full day in a lounge chair (reading and napping (and drinking Ginger Ale) to recover from food poisoning ) on an outcropping off the caldera that felt like I was suspended in the air. NOT planned, but necessary forcing me to stop, look, and listen – to stay in the moment. I lay there – read a few pages, stared at the view, read, stared, read, stared – letting everything around heal me, even the music coming from the open doors above. One piece was so beautiful that I asked the waiter “Who was that? It captured every feeling I’m having right now?” “Oh, this? This Giánnis.” Before he half-bowed and left. Yanni? Really? I hid my snicker, having never been a fan, but somehow it was perfect, an instant recall of listening to Pavarotti when I was in Italy. It fits. It’s theirs. It’s all part of it. And now all that’s mine.
dpm 2/10/25
BBC News: More quakes hit Santorini and surrounding islands
http://More quakes hit Santorini and surrounding islands
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