Full Circle (or Spiral?)

It was 2007 when this blog was started. Back then there were no children (though Irini was getting ready to make her appearance). There were no stories. But there were dreams and there was the recognition that the title - Our Ithaka - represented the journey of our lives. It was about the journey being the destination. About the shared stories and growth would provide the spice that makes life's recipe that much more delicious. Back then Ithaka was a concept. Now, this summer, we've come full circle.

We finally made it to Ithaka, the island who's name was emblazoned on Cavafy's peom and after which this blog is named. Not that the name itself defines us, but it was "a moment" in our lives to get off a boat on an island that has been figuratively (until now) connected to our story. And what an island (like the story) it is!  We found it a perfect match for our style. Small enough. Calm enough. Beautiful enough. Green enough. Off-the-beaten-track enough. But not too much. And with people worth spending time with, friendly and talkative as if they haven't been jaded by the masses of people like us walking into their space for months on end. 

The island treated us so well - from Takas, our favorite "Beach Manager" to climbing the stone remains of Odyssey's Palace to chatting away with a young Cuban woman still learning Greek but working away in Kioni, to watching sunrise over Vathi bay it was as varied as it was food for the soul. Or our room, nestled along the side of Vathi's inner bay with the view to boats dancing in the slow moving water. The island spoke to us in the soft stories it tells. Part history and part present, it brought us a sense of being that was the perfect antidote for a long year. It was so nice, in fact, that daddy considered for one fleeting moment that perhaps adding one final blog post about it and bringing things "full circle" between that post in 2007 and our present journey. But as pappou says, it's also about spirals, not circles, and this one brought us to a place that simply was a moment on an ever expanding journey. There is no end but rather stops. And this was one. And a beautiful one at that.