Woke up a bit late today after my very late night/early morning. Two beers left me feeling a tad seedy but that’s the price you pay for failing to be a consistent drinker! That being said I still managed to do my exercises before I made my way down to the cafe for lunch.
As I left I ran into Maria who informed me that the power was out. It doesn’t really affect me that much, as long as my phone is charged all is well with the world. Getting to the cafe though I was told that there were only certain things I could order due to the island wide power outage. Fortunately I wanted an omelette & a coffee which they could prepare using gas.
This is becoming my daily view & the weather today was sensational. The sea is like a millpond & so ridiculously clear you can see the individual fish swimming around close to the shore. I sat alone at the table, reading & enjoying the quiet. All the Turks have departed & there are very few people around again, although most of the businesses are open which gives me a better variety of food & coffee options.
After my lunch I took a little wander into the village & stopped in at a lovely little gift shop. I could go mad here, the array of jewellery & nick-nicks is vast & some of the things are lovely. I managed to contain myself & popped instead into the church at the bottom of the hill, the one with all the old frescos. I felt like a moment of quiet reflection was in order but there was a Greek woman in there yakking on her phone so it wasn’t very peaceful! I’m also not sure it’s that relaxing having all the faces looking down on me.
More medatitive & peaceful for me, my church if you like, is nature & I am loving all the beautiful houses with their wild gardens & array of colourful pots. The bees are very busy gathering pollen & everywhere I look nature is putting on a show. Check this out! Never seen such a fancy dahlia (?) before.
I decided after a further meander that today was the day I would dip my toes in the water. There were a few people on the beach & even a couple swimming. It was gloriously warm & still, so I kicked off my Birkies & headed down to the water. It was absolutely beautiful, crystal clear & surprisingly warmer than anticipated. It wasn’t that easy to walk in the sand though so I didn’t go all the way along the beach.
The water is so clear that you can see right to the bottom quite a long way out. There are lots of fish & like the other day I could see their sides flashing in the sunlight as they foraged amongst the rocks for food. It was bliss sitting in the sun & listening to the waves gently lapping the shore. The beach is comprised of micro pieces of broken shell, so it’s kind of like shale but super fine & as the waves ebbed it sounded like a rain stick being gently tipped end to end.
I did a lovely meditation whilst I the rain stick was playing over & over. It was one of the easiest meditations I’ve ever fallen into. Thoughts just melted away & I was completely caught in the moment. As I was coming back to the reality of my surroundings I found a new character & thus an opening for my book. From stillness comes clarity 🕉️
With much excitement & my mind formulating the nuances of the new character I collected my shoes & came home to start writing. I’m not going to make it sound easy & as if the words just flowed out of me…but it was easier than expected & I actually feel hopeful that I might be able to create something that works. I managed to get about 1000 words down so that’s a fine start.
Maria popped in to say hi & let me know that they anticipate we will all go together to their other house sometime this week for a couple of nights. It’s closer to Mitilene & we are going to do some touring around & visiting sights. This will be great because there is still so much here that I haven’t seen.
Dinner tonight was down at the port in Molyvos & it was a beautiful night, like something from a postcard. The sunset was stunning, the water was still & full of fish, the cats were all in attendance & as the fishermen came into port I got to watch them rolling in their nets. This is the stuff dreams are made of for me, fishing boats, wharfs & cats!
Could this be the most beautiful place in the world?
I couldn’t help but go & check out the catch when one of the boats came in. I wondered where all the cats had suddenly disappeared to & there they were! So funny to see them all waiting eagerly for scraps. The fishermen were throwing the odd titbit onto the wharf for them & it was on for young & old, tabby, ginger & everything in between!
Dinner done & cats fed I headed home to bed. Another late night, lucky I’m on holiday!