Flashback, Part 4: Greece

... and then there was Greece. Our return from Colombia found us all tired and jet-lagged. It took a few days to get over the physical toll of flying half way around the world and back, but luckily the days were good to us in Greece. Laurence, who had picked up an illness of some sort in the Andes, found himself feeling better again in the dry, warm Mediterranean weather.

Aleko and the Scan Clan arrived, in bits and pieces and on different itineraries. They came and went (to Milos and back) and came and went again (to Sweden) and, in there somewhere, we saw them, spent time with them and enjoyed the family days our summers have come to signify. The only one missing was Erika (Sammy's girlfriend) who was unable to pop down to Greece this time around. We spent a good deal of time with our friends Stelio and Maria (who now have a baby daughter of their own - Mikaela was born in March), Ralph and Anne (and Maria, of course) and some time also with Peter and Vasil and Sophia as well. Of course, there was always time in there to find some visiting opportunities with Stefan and Vicky too.

We managed just one day at the beach, where Irini was introduced to the Agean Sea at the foot of the temple of Posseidon in Sounio. The day was perfect, as they so often are in Greek summers, the sun was out in full force, with a shy cool breeze from the south. The seaside taverna was the perfect spot to eat some tzatziki and kalamari and enjoy the sea's deep blue and the sun's soft glare on the marble columns in the distance.

The end of (our) summer came as fast as the beginning had. On a day much like any other, the time arrived for us to depart, and off we went. Slowly accending above the Greek isles, across southern Turkey, over Syria and beyond, the darkness slowly found us and the towns below turned into small congregations of glittering dots. The desert turned black and the stars found their way to my window seat as we flew through the night. We found the sun on the other side of the world again as we flew over that (dreaded for Laurence) Bay of Bengal, along with all its bumps and turbulence, though Irini slept soundly as she had on all the flights before.

The 28th of July (after flying close to 35,000 kilometers) found us in KL again... and on to year number seven for Laurence and Natalia. Time does fly.