July 20, 2019
None of us could sleep last night. First, my nerves were frayed because of the earthquake and the aftershocks. I was still a bit upended at bedtime, even though I was exhausted and all I wanted to do was sleep. I think I fell asleep, but restlessly, and by 3 am I was up. And Aaron was up, so were the boys. We still have not fully made the jump to Greek time. And when we tell locals this, they are always shocked and say, “but it’s been 3 days”, which doesn’t make us feel any better. My alarm went off at 5 am, I was reading my book. Aaron’s alarm went off at 5:03 am (he hates setting it on the hour). Our taxi was coming for us at 6 to take us to Rafina, the port where we were to catch our ferry.
Since we were all up before the alarms, it was a snap getting ready and out the door. Our taxi driver was very nice, I sat in the front and had to use my air brakes many times, Greek drivers are insane. Also, every Greek citizen smokes cigarettes. I think it is required by law. It’s shocking to me, I feel like Americans are prudes in so many ways in comparison. We don’t smoke, we wear helmets. So boring.
We got to the ferry early, (thanks to Aaron, one of his few anxieties in life is being early for flights and ferries), and we got great, cozy seats of the ferry, inside, which was ideal because everyone outside was smoking iike a chimney. Thankfully, smoking was not allowed inside. I love ferries. So relaxing and easy. We had a couch and a table. Espresso drinks. Strange pastries, one filled with a hot dog (they call it a sausage, but it’s absolutely a hot dog) and one stuffed with ham and cheese. I had my own special needs snacks that we bought in the health food stores in Athens. Tiny stores. Health food is not the phenomenon that it is in Portland. Leaving the Portland bubble can be shocking sometimes. Not all people do things the way we expect things to be done. Very interesting.
Such a relaxing ferry ride. I started a new book, which so far is very good. It’s called Southernmost. I finished the other book this morning. It was a pretty terrible book with super hot sex scenes. Perfect book for vacation, (or anytime, super hot sex scenes are my fav). The ferry took 2 hours, we got off on our island, Andros. Stopped at the grocery store, (not a health food store, not even a little), but it seemed like the one everyone shops at, so when in Greece, I nailed it. We got lots of food that I can eat (phew). Then to our house. Which is lovely and interesting and has a great view. The neighbors feed the stray cats, I wonder if they TNR, but probably not. The cats are so skinny. Cats are everywhere in Athens, and I guess here, as well.
We unpacked, had some lunch and we all took naps, totally soaking in the very sweet and mellow vibe here. Such a huge contrast to the intensity of Athens. Aaron woke me up after two hours (I’d like to be able to sleep tonight). When he woke me up it took me an uncomfortably long time to figure out where I was. I could not place myself in the world. I recognized Aaron, and the room was familiar and for 1 15th of a second, I was a little freaked out that I had no idea where I was. Only Lavi did not nap. I think both boys are asleep now, hopefully we will all sleep past 3 am.
The sunset was stunning. We saw an owl. A small one. Owls are a symbol of Athens, of Athena the goddess.
Miss you. Sending you lots of love,
Love,
Eden