Itisallgreek2me

Although I first visited Greece in 1973, it was in 1981 whilst travelling on an Around the World ticket, that I first came to Kastelli. I arrived by ferry very early in the morning from Gythio in the Peloponneses, found a room to rent then walked to the beach. Unbeknown to me, on the way I was noticed by Costas. We met later in the day… 5 days on and I had moved in with him and his mother Anna. Bear in mind, this was not common back in those days. At the time, our neighbours on one side were arranging the marriage of their daughter. In the house on the other side lived a retired fisherman with his wife, their home was without electricity and still had dirt floors. Sadly, Costas passed away in 1996 aged 39. I had left long ago, however, the extended family will always consider me to be one of them and when in Greece, I always make a point of visiting.

Today on my walk around the town, I stopped by the historical Holy Metropolis of Kissamos & Selinon Church of the Transfiguration of Jesus & Saint Spyridon. A lovely woman by the name of Mika was there busy preparing the church for a wedding this afternoon but she still found time to converse with me and explain much of the history of the church. Mika remembered that Costas had a foreign girlfriend, however, she would not have recognized her as me.

Back in the 1980’s our house consisted of two rooms down and two rooms upstairs. After Costas passed, Anna’s son Yani, together with his wife Katina and their family moved in with Anna and quite major alterations were carried out to the family home. Tragically, Yani passed away in 2001 aged 58. Katina and their eldest Vasilis continue to live here with Katina taking wonderful care of Anna.

I lost count long ago of how many in the extended family, however, I do know in the old days we were 22. At the age of 98, Anna’s mind is still sharp and if she was not having her siesta right now, she would be able to tell me exactly how many grandchildren, great grandchildren and great great grandchildren there are.

I know I’m running the risk of repeating myself, however, let me say once again how blessed and privileged I am to be considered one of this family.

This entry was posted on Friday, May 3rd, 2019 at 3:44 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.