
I am sitting in the living room of the apartment I rented in Athens, specifically in Kolonaki. It is my last full day in Greece, the radio is on playing a fantastic eclectic mix of music that has me grooving and singing along with. I drift off to the gratitude of this past 2.5 weeks and how much I love this visit and country. Travel to me is ALL about the people you meet, relationships you build and experience/lessons. I really had no expectations I just wanted to be present and explore a new country. I feel that learning how local people live would be a good experience for me and would get much more out of the visit.




I have never been to Greece; I honestly didn’t even realize how many islands there are. I chose one just because I saw a few friends post recent visits there. I found a farm stay that looked like a good way to experience this country. Mykonos apparently is known for its partying, which I had no idea about and no desire to partake in. The farm was over an hour walk or 30 min bus ride (10 min walk and 20 min ride). I went into the town twice on my days off. The buildings are whitewashed and blue doors and shutters, the ground is white stones and whitewash. Narrow walking streets lined with shops and placed to eat and drink. When the tourist season is over, the town turns into a ghost town and most everything shuts down.


The island itself is very dry and aired, brown sage brush looking plants everywhere. (They ended up being wild lavender, wild oregano, wild artichoke and more) The black top narrow road winds thru the island. There used to be massive oaks on this island, and it was bountiful and green. The oaks got chopped down to make boats and houses and cleared to grow grain long ago. The terrain is steep, the land where I was comes down from the tops of the steep hills to a skinny coastal road that winds thru the different beaches and coves, then below that the property and beyond that a most magnificent Aegean Sea surrounding your view 180 degrees. Blues so bright they look like they have been photoshopped.



The farm is broken down to a garden area with different beds with bamboo wind breaks, terraces each surrounded by these dry rock walls. Each of these rocks had to be put in place. Above the terraces is the chicken run and water well. Below that is the house, a traditional house, whitewashed “sugar cube” looking architecture, many levels and in this case turned into separate living quarters.








In the guest quarters there are 3 beds in a room upstairs that has one bed that gets the most magnificent sun rise from bed. I got that bed. Downstairs a private bedroom our bathroom, then the kitchen area. Outside we have an outdoor cooking area and dining area. Down the hill you find 4 stalls with shower and toilets Keep going down and you will find the gate to the beach stairs.






I was only there a short time since my time was coming to an end in Europe.





I learned some lessons. When you’re on an island, you must use whatever organic material you can for your compost. Sea grass, the leaves from the few trees, driftwood, chicken poop, wild cow poop, the veggie scraps you don’t give the chickens etc. Collecting items means you have to clean it, I spent several days sorting thru the sea grass and driftwood mix to pull out the micro plastics and plastics that are now living in our bodies of water and washing ashore with the tides. It was an intense couple days doing this, the amount of plastic that you can see and the ones that you need tweezers to pull out of the sand, the Styrofoam that’s broken to itty bitty pieces, the plastic bags that turn in to this tiny pieces of this soft plastic and cigarettes filters, like fiberglass.







I also learned how precious the resource water is. I believe it is more precious than gold. Skipping a shower so you can water the garden or be forced to buy water to fill your well. Awaiting the annual rains to come and feed your garden and allow your seeds to grow into food. The patience it takes to transform the land back into an oasis and living as sustainably as you can on that land.





The others, when I arrived I was the 4th person in the group, there was a young pastry chef Anna, Kevin a kid on a gap year before he enters medical school, whose parents happen to be from the same town as I was from and Rueth, a woman from Israeli who does therapeutic gardening with Autistic kids that have been abandoned or turned over to the facility she worked for. And who would be there for almost all my stay as the others would depart before I. Rueth showed me how to walk into town, and where the secluded cove is to lay out. With Rueth I would let my guard down and learn to be comfortable in my own skin, to lay out on the beach nude and to even snorkel in the buff. Those of you who know me, know I am pretty shy and modest about public nudity but I have to tell you, this was the most freeing 2 weeks I have had in that regard, spending 2 hours at the beach each day naked, the sun shining down on my white skin felt so good. On my last 2 days Rueth was gone but I stayed in the routine and went alone and even snorkeled in the cove.






The hosts; an incredible couple with so much love to give. There was a family style meal around 3, all of us would eat together, home cooked amazing yummy meals. We would all have great conversations and the meal would take up to 2 hours to enjoy, all seated outside in the beautiful end of summer weather with the sound of the wind and waves crashing behind us. Kostas was the designer and heart of the garden and he had very specific ways to do things and would share that with us as we did the chores around the property. Jo and I seemed to very likeminded in many of the conversations we had and was exactly the type of person I would choose to surround myself by. The 2 of them are amazing hosts. By the time I left it felt like mom was sending me off, Jo dropped me at the ferry port with a packed lunch with 2 yummy cucumber, tomatoes, cheese sandwiches she made for me. She hugged and kissed me with such motherly energy that I truly felt like a teen again heading off to the mainland. I cat think of not returning “home” to them one day again.











My ferry ride was over 5 hours, I was able to grab a window seat at a table with 4 chairs. A man named Alfredo from Sonora Mexico approached and asked if he could join me, he spoke to me in Spanish and thankfully I know enough and was able to answer him in Spanish and it was a conversation that you would think I was fluent, could not have been more perfect. We had fantastic conversation for 5 hours all about his businesses, government payola in Mexico, his love life and travels, we spoke in English and occasionally in Spanish. He was great company and the time flew. We cheek kissed and went our separate ways upon arrival. 5 hours of our time shared in excellent style.
My final 3 days here, my friend that was here previously had met a woman who drove a taxi. Mary made Athens for me, not only did I get picked up and whisked to my apartment without issue or stress, but she also picked up my friend at the airport to bring her to the apartment again no stress way to be greeted in a new country after a long flight. Mary took us around town the next day, yesterday, and we had a fantastic time. Mary has the energy of a cousin you haven’t seen in a while and they are so happy to see you, I was greeted with hugs and kisses and often Mary would make physical contact, which I think we all need more of. It was like we had known each other for so long. Mary was like a bottle of happiness, during the day I learned that the Acropolis is the area and the Parthenon is the building, that it was built 2500 years ago. Mary made sure we had cameras out when needed and explained things to us about changing of the guard and different historical facts around town. She took us to an amazing bakery to get the sweets and learning how much I liked street art, she drove us thru the streets to find rows and rows of buildings covered in street art. I have included her contact info in this blog and I know absolutely without a doubt when I come back to Greece and Athens, she will be the first person I see.


















The food here, the weather, the people, the sea, everything about my visit to Greece was so much more than I could have every imagined. I love each one of these people I wrote about, they felt like family from the moment we met. This country felt like home, I can imagine living on one of the many islands and growing food and enjoying the blue waters. There is so much more to see here, I am already thinking about my return next year. Not just to see more of Greece but to be welcomed back with open arms of Jo, Kostas and Mary! Thank you !