Eventually we stayed 10 nights at Dias and we loved it. It took me 9 days to get out of the camping, so imagine my surprise when we walked to a nearby taverna the night before we left. I was staring at the olive trees, as if i never saw one before. Martijn had been out twice, once to the super market and once to pick up cash, so his enthusiasm for seeing civilization again was limited.
It was a bit emotional to leave for a number of reasons. First of all: the kids loved it. Alex got the ‘Buddha reputation’ and you could hear a lot of sounds from him, but crying was not one of them. Gioia was making new friends every day and, not aware of the social norms (of being discrete for instance), you could find her constantly at people’s tables, caravans etc.
We had become permanent residents and had a good view of the camping happenings. Daily fights because people would reserve spots and would find other people staying at these spots once they arrived. A snake and the panic before it was exterminated. A baby dog that was found and was adopted temporarily by our neighboors. The enthusiasm when a permanent ‘parent’ was found for the puppy. Birthday celebrations. And then..the lunar eclipse. Oh-my-god! We put the kids to bed and stayed by the fire till 02:30.
Then, it was very nice with the guys. We were synchronized only at the closure of the day, but enjoyed it a lot every time we were together. Giannis and Philippos came too, it has been a while since we last met. Anthi and her boyfriend joined too, we soon became quite a group. Gioia and Stratis love each other and the running-laughing-role playing reached infinity levels every time they met. So nice to see them together! Elena and Alex interacted a bit less, but we know what they don’t: they will be best buddies.
And then…Manolis! Uncle Manolis came by with 2 friends the night before we left, he caught us by surprise! He met Alex for the first time and squeezed his beloved niece.
And finally it was emotional because Vathi marked the most southern spot of our trip. For me, leaving Dias meant the start of heading north, which in turn meant we started the way back. 5 more days in Greece and then the boat again. How is it to sleep in our house in Amsterdam again? What does it feel like to see the kids so short during the day and not all day long? How is it to not be with t-shirts and flip flops? I know people will say its warm in NL, but will it still be warm in two weeks? And how does it feel to not jump in the most amazing sea on the planet every day? I don’t remember anymore.
Two weeks left. We have limited time for the way back, so little room for fuckups. *Big laughter again*. Let’s see.