under another sun

Last day in Kokkari, out early and for a long slow Greek breakfast. Then back to the rooms to pick up our cases and chat with the owner and her husband, and another couple we got chatting to. Long journey home, the plane from 'Lonely Planet' airlines actually a second hand Aurelia Boeing from Lithuania, staffed by rather curt young men. Feeling a bit twitchy about flying. Take off from Samos airport fairly horrid, as we sped down the short runway, made it over the sea, within seconds the plane hit a very low air pocket and sank and lurched starboard before recovering. Then to Lemnos, where we all had to disembark as the plane was refuelled, and one of our fellow travellers locked himself in the toilet cubicle.  Up again into high cloud. A curt 'turbulence, please do up your seat belts' as we started bucking and plunging. I was exceedingly twitchy, a state improved by in and tonic. The second part of the flight fine, but it was good to be home, despite the fact that th...

Below, Kokkari harbour wall at dusk, the beach in late afternoon, the corner between beach and harbour where we stayed, our apartment in the building on the left top floor, a perfectly placed bench, a narrow backstreet, moonrise, and some of the tavernas on the water.

Below a shot taken from our balcony of the sun diamonding the sea; the view from the sun bed; goat shelter; graffiti in Samos Town, the square in Kokkari, a Kokkari street, Lorraine in Kokkari.

I barely wrote while I was in Samos, other than a few scribbles in my notebook. Lorraine and I had the first complete break together for a couple of years, and the little tiny town of Kokkari, west of Samos Town formerly known as Vassey, had us relaxed in hours. Our apartment overlooked a little harbour, with one white arm shielding a dozen and half little boats. Beyond this was a rocky shore, then a mountainous ridge from where the sun and moon rose. In the mornings, we set up a yellow parasol and ate breakfast, usually yoghurt, peaches, figs and nectarines, plus local kind of biscotti that was a delicious hybrid of a rock cake and a fruit scone. In the morning, the low sun made the sea sparkle. Twenty yards round the corner was a long stony, quickly-shelving beach with intensely turquoise and azure water. The sea here was usually choppy with white horses and a strong and welcome breeze. Lorraine and I spent many days under beach parasols, reading, listening to music, and in Lor...