Idyllic Greece

Created by doina. Last modified on 2003-03-09 15:03:58
Contributors: Jez Searle, s/y Sea Hawk
Countries: Greece

And so I find myself in the Hellenic Empire. Sitting aboard my yacht in Rhodos, enjoying the pale sunshine of early spring in the eastern meditteranean. It is so beautiful to be almost beyond description, at least by me. The quayside to which the boat is moored was once the outer wall of a castle built in the 14th century. Odd to imagine the thoughts of the solidiers marching up and down; who had perhaps heard the rumours of a New World found across the watery horizon by some maverick sailor called Cristophe Colon (or Columbus to you and me). Along this quayside are three working condition windmills which the people of those times used to mill the flour and grain. Do you think they ate sub sandwhiches whilst dreaming of cities of gold? I hope so!

Across the little bay lies the major part of the fortified city. It is in near perfect condition and for the most part original and not restored. Huge hand hewn sand coloured blocks neatly fitted together to form palaces, barracks, churches and stores. These buildings remain whilst the ideology of their architects has long faded from relevance. Cafes, boutiques and family homes now crowd every inch, forming a buzzing vibrant meeting place for locals and the new army of touristas alike. I can't imagine future generations finding the same pleasure in our present military installations, nor visiting them during holidays but who knows!

All of this is placed against a backdrop of mystical culture and Gods who once walked the earth. A tourist brochure offers trips "to the birth place of Apollo". Say that again? Birth place of someone who never existed.....! Or perhaps he did, along with Helen of Troy, Zeus, Posidon and all the other I grew up reading about - I admit I"m hooked on these classics - It's easy to slip into believing it all, the atmosphere is so enchanting, a heady mix of lost cultures and modern romantic escapism. Add a couple of glasses of Ouzo (original Pernod) or a bottle of Retsina wine and I swear you can catch glimpses in the shadows of Aphrodite or Pandorra and her magic box...............

So that's my life now for a week or so, wandering west between eastbound low pressure systems, ducking into little harbours to take shelter (and beer!) at night. After that it's a four hundred mile trip across to Sicily. Shouldn't be too much of a problem, after all the ancient Greeks did it in rowing boats, then on arrival ran up the beach and started fighting for possession of Syracusa......

Jez Searle, s/y Sea Hawk