It’s wonderful. Quieter than usual, but very pleasant. There are people here, mainly French, Italians and Greeks from the mainland, so there is some life and the mood isn’t awkward - it’s really really enjoyable and pretty much like it’s always been… Restaurants, cafes and shops are open, there’s a nice buzz, lots of bougainvilleas to admire, kitties sleeping in shadows...
And everyone who is here is so happy to be here. The place can get quite hectic and unfriendly in high season, but this year everyone - locals and visitors - are so relaxed and content.
Service staff have to wear face nappies but everything else is pretty normal, the
old normal. My neighbour says that corona and the whole hysteria has taken everyone’s focus off the bigger issues, like Turkey’s constant provocations. In his words “Corona will go away again, Turkey will remain …”
The house is still standing, but the garden is a bit of a mess. The fig tree is fine, though, with
lots of figs. I’m looking forward to eating them all in September when they are ripe. Eating figs off the tree when they are still warm from the sun is probably my second favourite pastime ever. Oh, and because there are fewer tourists we actually have enough water for once! We don’t need to water the plants with Evian this year!
I haven’t had a proper cry yet but got close last night. I couldn’t sleep and sat outside on the terrace at four in the morning, and from the distance I could hear people sing and laugh and the clinking of glasses… the beautiful sound of people enjoying life almost brought me to tears (of joy).
Agreed that Greek airport staff are very agreeable. They’re never out to boss you around or make life more miserable, they are just helpful and friendly. And handsome.