I am a rock
Today I said goodbye to Tilos, an enchanting island between Kos and Rhodes. On Rhodes I found the time to reflect.
First, there is the house, almost at the top of the hill of the big village. I have an amazing view on the hills and part of the village. Upwards - yes, still upwards - I can take the path to Skafi Beach, a wild and rocky path that goes up and down, ultimately ending downhill on the beach. I am blessed with a perfect creative spot inside and a lovely, silly cat: Zorro. He is 12 years old and doesn't go out anymore. So when I write, build websites or eat I am inside, with Zorro. We cuddle a lot, and he seems to have a true fascination for backpacks.
For the rest I am mostly outside. There I watch the seven stray cats, learn Greek, ponder and most of all: read. I found one of the books of Jen Barclay - Falling in Honey - and am absoluty hooked. She writes in a witty, vivid and sometimes poetic style I really love. And I do core training - pushups, burpees, lunges, planking, jumping etc. - outside to stay fit. Afterwards I always put on a music list of Rocky, that movie with a bit too many sequels. It fits with this island full of rocks.
Apart from that, I mostly spend my time swimming, walking or running. I love to go down to Eristos, a beach where I can find peace in the sound of the waves, the rocky sand. Mostly alone, sometimes with Jen. When alone, I would just walk up there, take a swim en walk back. A lovely two to three hours when I would just be outside, moving in nature.
I did a lot of hikes with Jen, and we became friends on the way. We would then just find a dot on the map and walk there. The most beautiful walk was when we went to Livadia, in the beginning of January. There's a glimmer of the sun in the sea, as we walk on a coastal footpath. The footpath turns into a big road, that ascends quite a bit. A gravel path takes us to more inhabited areas: I see a mountain in the distance. Then Thea crosses our path. She changes the surroundings: I see a mountain in the distance. First Thea crossed our path. Thea is Dutch and lives on the island from time to time. After talking so much Greek and English it feels a bit quirky to switch to Dutch, but it's a nice change. She was just heading home and we continue upwards. The path becomes rockier, smaller and steeper. At one point Jen asks if my sneakers would manage. "The more I do it, the better I adapt", I say. This actually makes sense: you tend to adapt to an environment when you are there for a longer period of time. Jen for instance hardly has any trouble with rocks, bushes or other obstacles. We have profound talks about nature, the power of silence, crossing borders and where we find inspiration. We keep climbing, the views are breathtaking!
Then the paths broadens. A bushy and rocky hillside appears. Behind it lies Gera, an abandoned village. On a mountain! You can still see the shape of the houses, even the paths are somewhat visible. It's quite extraordinary. Then we head back, when I just ponder for a while to look at the sea and all the hills that surrounds us. Truly captivating! It seems to be a good moment as well: Lisa seems very hungry and devours the whole stock of dog treats. We sit down on the mountain and listen. We only hear the waves of the sea in the distance. No wind, silence. An enchanting moment of tranquility. I feel so incredibly lucky to be here!
Down in Livadia twilight sinks in. We head towards the car, when Jen hears something move in the sea. We gaze and a small face appears on the surface. "It's Lisa!", I shout. But Lisa is running around the coastal path, so I can't be here. We look again. "It's a seal!", Lisa says surprised. And it really is. The seal dives into the sea and catches a fish. A few moments later a villager stops to behold it as well. For minutes we just gaze, full of wonder. Jen tries to make a picture, but the seal is too far away. "It looks more like the Monster of Loch Ness", I joke. But it was so mesmering, like whole day was more than incredible.
It gets even more magical, when the theatre performance kicks in. I just translated my website into English and set the intention to perform my children's performance in English one time. Jen sees this and suggests to play it for the children of Tilos. Later she would say it was a bit of a joke, because there would only be 12 days to translate the scenario and to rehearse the play. It seemed impossible, but I love a challenge. So I said yes wholeheartely and started translating the same day.
We want it to take place at the terrace of Mike's coffee, in Megalo Chorio. It's the perfect spot. The next day Jen and I go there to convince him. We don't need to, he immediately responds with "Yes, lets do it!" I am over the moon and start translating and rehearsing. In the meantime I design the poster to English, while Jen translates it into Greek. Christine and Walter give me some paper to print the posters. Mike puts one of the posters in the bus; most of the children on Tilos take that bus. I run to Livadia to stick posters, as the story seems to be already widespread across Tilos. Everything seems to connect almost effortlessly, and I enjoy the journey towards the play.
On the 1st of February I perform the play to quite some people of Tilos. Most of them are children. It's a day I will never forget. It felt like a big leap I wanted to take for a long time. And it was so beautiful to see the children enjoy the play and give something back to the people of Tilos.
After performing the play, it's almost time to leave the island. I'm slowly saying goodbye to the house, Zorro and Tilos, as Jen and me find time to fit in one last walk on the island. We meet just before Agios Antonios. I am full of energy, Jen takes it a bit more slowly. We take a dirt road and slowly walk up the hill. Lisa gets off the leash and the dirt road becomes becomes a hilly grassland, filled with bushes and plants. Sometimes an formation of rocks block the path. But then we - mostly Jen - find small passages, covered with rugged vegetation. A beautiful mix of walking, jumping, playing and keeping track of Lisa, who doesn't need a path. She just runs around, wherever her nose takes her. A rabbit hops down in front of our eyes! Except for Lisa's - a keen rabbit chaser - who is sniffing down the rabbit trail 50 yards away. We call her, but she doesn't even blink. She continues to snoop around the trail, while the rabbit jumps futher into the fields. Bye, bye, rabbit!
We move futher into the hills, while vividly talking about editing, writing and publishing. Jen tells me she is helping an upcoming writer who walked the whole path of the Danube with a friend, a river that flows from Germany to Ukraïne. The whole story itself intrigues me: I love it when someone just decides to do something crazy and then is bold enough to write a book about it. Yes, it has common ground with my life path.
It's around 5 o'clock and we attempt to make our way back home. But where is Lisa? We scan the area. No sign. She must be up in the hill, chasing that one rabbit. Suddenly I see I tail waving behind a tree. Well, more like a gold dot in the hills. It's pretty far, so we first raise our voices: "Lisa, Lisaaaaa!". Our voices echo off the hill and we call out some more Lisa's just for fun. Nothing happens. We walk towards her, increasing our pace. Jen almost trips over a loose wire in the middle of nature, while my sneakers have some trouble to take the rocky paths. We finally find her, still seaching for something. She gets back on a leash, while we take the same path down, looking for a way to get on the main road. We stumble upon some wire mesh, which is to well assembled to break or even bend. We take the same path - yes, again - uphill. For a moment I look at the view. Bush, rocks and trees gradually go up in various colors, with a hill in the distance. It's beautiful. Dusk sets in, when a soldier walks by to build the suspense. Still a dirt road, but Jen knows we are almost there. Ready to get back home. And Lisa? She is safely on a leash. For now.
Finally there is Skafi Beach. I go there a lot to take walks. The rocky path, going up and down, the views on the hills, the goats, the sheeps give me a sense of playfullness and make me humble and grateful at the same time. I take in the beautiful view on the hill of the sea and am quiet for a while. It becomes my source of inspiration. Skafi seems to just serve me with new ideas, and the variety of rocks there is amazing. I notice that on a last walk to the beach, where I find a little red rock between all the various rocks. Although there are many different rocks, there I no rock that looks alike. It becomes my lucky rock! Well, rock. It's probably something from the sea, but it feels like a rock. And I am so incredible happy with it. Sometimes I just hold it up and imagine it is 'my precious' or 'the sword of a thousand truths'. On the hill I find a formation of rocks. It's almost like a family. I sit down and gaze at it. I feel like the Simon & Garfunkel song: I am a rock, I am an island. Except for my mood, which in the song has a bit of a lonely setting. It's quite the opposite: I am in a wave of amazement and a state of pure bliss. Thank you so much, Tilos!
Day of departure. It's early in Livadia. I get a breakfast at Special, a bakery near the port. I take a glimpse of the sea and the clouds, that look daunting. Some sparrows gather to pick the last pieces of my bread. Such a beautiful last view. I say goodbye, when the rain kicks in. Luckily Mike from the coffee shop will also take the boat. He hints me to get in his car. It starts to pour, when the boat docks. One final act of compassion from a heartfelt man who helped me so much. This island is full of those people. I will surely miss the island and it's cohesive community. Until next time!
