Apr

Idyllic, Yet Never Idle

by Joyce McGreevy on April 3, 2017

The Chora, the original capital of Serifos inspires wanderlust to visit this tiny Greek island in the Cyclades. (Image © Joyce McGreevy)

Parts of the original Chora, the hilltop capital of Serifos, date back to 3 BCE.
© Joyce McGreevy

When Wanderlust Leads to Serifos

I’m on Serifos—and the side effects are wonderful. What sounds like a lyrical Big-Pharma trade name is actually a tiny Greek island, part of the Cyclades southeast of mainland Greece. Wanderlust has led me here. Around 225 of Greece’s 6,000 islands are inhabited. Their populations quadruple with tourists every summer.

But I’m traveling in January to the bafflement of friends. Why Serifos? Why now? One high-powered chum tells me, “Wait till summer, go to Hydra, Mykonos, or Santorini. There’s a fantastic party scene and I’ll introduce you to a TON of contacts.”

And there’s your answer, folks. Because I don’t want to do “the scene,” exchange business cards over cocktails, sign up for “kick-ass Pilates classes,” have my aura read, my spine realigned, or my roots touched up.

I want to just be.

A boat in the harbor at Serifos symbolizes the author's wanderlust to visit this tiny Greek island in the Cyclades. (Image © Joyce McGreevy)

Serifos in winter: I saw more traffic in the water than on the road.
© Joyce McGreevy

“The Journey Is the Thing”—Homer’s Odyssey

A crewman on the ferry at Serifos makes work into art on a tiny Greek island in the Cyclades. (Image © Joyce McGreevy)

Ferryside Theatre?
© Joyce McGreevy

I make the five-hour journey by ferry from Piraeus, Athens’ main port, to the Cyclades with laptop in tow. The plan is to divide my time between meeting deadlines and exploring the 30-mile square island.

As the ferry nudges the shore, crewmen stride the descending ramp, nimbly riding its metal edge to the pier and tossing the ropes. Inky night and the Aegean Sea surround us. The darkness is deep, the stars spectacular.

Christos, my host, is there to greet me. His family has traveled from Thessaloniki to make ready what will be my home for the next month.

The house is newly built but traditionally designed, gleaming white with blue trim. Inside, stone walls have been sculpted into counters, shelves, and bedside tables.

On a rain-swept winter’s night, this is heaven. As I unpack, there’s a knock at the door: Athina, Christos’ mother, brings supper on a tray. It’s a good omen when the namesake of the Goddess of Wisdom visits.

A house on the tiny Greek island of Serifos in the Cyclades evokes both wanderlust and a sense of home. (Image © Joyce McGreevy)

In tiny Serifos, Christos’ Seaview Modern needs no address, its road no name.
Mail sent to “American lady who talks to cats” would have reached me.
© Joyce McGreevy

Mythology and the Everyday Epic

I settle into pleasant routine, dividing my day between work, walks, and classes. The classes are online: Greek history, language, mythology. According to myth, wing-footed Perseus washed up on Serifos as a baby locked in a wooden chest. Years later, the island’s king sent him on a suicide mission to slay the Medusa. But Perseus returned, using Medusa’s head to turn the king—and Serifos—into stone.

As I gaze up at the commanding heights of stone peaks, the presence of Perseus and other immortals seems completely plausible. In this setting, it’s thrilling to read Homer’s Odyssey, as the hero’s longing for home plays tug-of-war with wanderlust. I read, then head off on rambles of my own.

Hikers on a stone path in Serifos understand the wanderlust to visit this tiny Greek island in the Cyclades. (Image © Joyce McGreevy)

Springtime in Serifos: a walk with Athina and Aleka.
© Joyce McGreevy

Oh, I see: On an island, everyday moments become epic:

Skirting seasonal ponds by navigating through neighbors’ gardens, a delightful workaround
Savoring the only sound at night, the whispering of the sea
Witnessing the gradual approach of spring, like a ship on the horizon, as tender grasses and wildflowers re-emerge and trees become “birdful” again.

A garden on the tiny Greek island of Serifos in the Cyclades invites those with wanderlust to wander through. (Image © Joyce McGreevy)

On Serifos, a rain-blocked road is an opportunity, not an obstacle.
© Joyce McGreevy

Low-tech in Paradise

When Homer’s Odyssey takes our hero to Scheria, he finds a magical land with self-steering ships and self-harvesting crops, yet women still do laundry by hand. On Serifos in the off-season, I have superfast wifi, but my washing machine is a bucket. When I ask a local what time the town’s laundromat opens, she replies Aprílios—“April.”

Christos offers to have someone do my laundry, but neither I nor my minimalist wardrobe warrant the fuss. Better to take a leaf from the Scherian women. Hanging laundry outside becomes my favorite ritual, a meditation on the elements—sea, sky, sun, and the mineral richness that speckles this green and rocky earth.

Laundry on a patio in Serifos, a tiny Greek island in the Cyclades, evokes the simple pleasures that come from wanderlust. (Image © Joyce McGreevy)

You won’t find this at a laundromat.
© Joyce McGreevy

No Stereotypes on Serifos

The winter population of Serifos hovers around 1,200, excluding small herds of friendly cats. The people are friendly, too, infinitely patient with my child’s-level Greek. I study every evening before bed, letting the words percolate into my dreams. As Homer’s Odyssey says, “There is a time for many words, there is also a time for sleep.”

A leaping cat in Serifos, a tiny Greek island in the Cyclades, shows that wanderlust isn't limited to humans. (Image © Joyce McGreevy)

The colors of sea & sky, sand & stone are everywhere on Serifos.
© Joyce McGreevy

Sigá-sigá (“step by step”), says Christina, a local shopkeeper. She, Athina, and others help me gather a living glossary from this small, rich universe—words for sky and clouds, wildflowers and windmills, honey and olive oil. At one taverna, the staff is fluent in English yet take the time to coach me in Greek. The syllables taste as satisfying in the mouth as the exquisite roast chickpea soup with garlic and oregano.

A bowl of revithia, or chickpeas soup, in the tiny Greek island of Serifos in the Cyclades, is one of the rewards of wanderlust. (Image © Joyce McGreevy)

Revithia sto fourno, a traditional Greek soup made with roasted
chickpeas, oregano, lemon, olive oil—and magic.
© Joyce McGreevy

If this were a movie, Hollywood would reinvent the locals as a Colorful Cast of Loveable Eccentrics. But quaint stereotypes don’t match the reality. People of Serifos travel the world, access 24-hour news, work at a range of professions. Among these thoughtful and serious-minded people, the only oddball I know of is myself.

A well-stocked shop in Serifos shows that even a tiny Greek island in the Cyclades, can satisfy any appetite, including wanderlust. (Image © Joyce McGreevy)

Think you can’t find gluten-free or other speciality foods in
the hilltop village of a tiny island? Guess again.
© Joyce McGreevy

McGreevy’s Odyssey

One night there’s true misadventure. Whatever gods I’ve inadvertently offended exact revenge on my laptop. Suddenly, I’m not so complacent. Up against deadline, I have two choices:

travel all the way back to Athens, hastily book a room, sort out the laptop, invest in a second one for backup (the cost of doing business while traveling full time), and meet that deadline with minutes to spare; or
curse my fate. As Homer’s Odyssey says, “These mortals are so quick to blame the gods.”

I opt for the journey.

“To Long for the Sight of Home”—Homer’s Odyssey

A ferry pulling into Serifos, a tiny Greek island in the Cyclades, symbolizes the tug-of-war between wanderlust and love of home. (Image © Joyce McGreevy)

Back in port.
© Joyce McGreevy

When I return to the Cyclades, my sea legs are steady but my land legs not so much. Disembarking, I walk a few paces, then stumble. Immediately, arms reach out to lift me up. There are no strangers on Serifos, only neighbors.

Next morning, as I hang the laundry, the scent of wild rosemary and the thrum of hedgerow bees deliver a message to my senses—spring has landed! Soon it will be Kathari Deftera (“Clean Monday”), a day when children fly kites, bakeries offer unleavened lagana bread, and festivities mark the eve of Lent.

Lagana, a traditional bread found on many a tiny Greek island in the Cyclades, is tasty enough to inspire wanderlust. (Image © Joyce McGreevy)

Lagana bread: The name, which is also the origin of the
word lasagna, comes from a Greco-Roman pastry dough.
© Joyce McGreevy

Settling into work, I switch on the new laptop. The QWERTY keyboard includes a few Cyrillic letters. Since my software is set for American English, it makes no difference on a practical level, but on a heart level it means something that fills me with joy.

Then it hits me: wanderlust has led full circle. I feel at home on a tiny Greek island in the Cyclades. As Homer said, “Even a fool learns something once it hits him.” Dear Christos, I type, I’d like to stay on Serifos for another month.

A cat, Chora steps, and a weathered urn on Serifos, a tiny Greek island in the Cyclades, create the kind of tableau that inspires wanderlust. (Image © Joyce McGreevy)

Whether you’ve got nine lives or just one,
Serifos is a good place to be.
© Joyce McGreevy

Access superb online courses in Greek Mythology (University of Pennsylvania) here and
Ancient Greek History (Wesleyan University) here.

Comment on this post below, or inspire insight with your own OIC Moment here.

Joyce McGreevy 4 Comments

Art of Travel/Crossing Cultures/Greece

Mar

A Trunk Full of Travel Adventures

by Meredith Mullins on March 27, 2017

Elephants in procession for travel adventures in Rajasthan, India. (Image © Meredith Mullins.)

A regal procession in Rajasthan, India
© Meredith Mullins

The Elegance of Elephants

I have been thinking a lot about elephants lately. (That’s not often an opening line for a story about travel adventures, is it?)

In fact, I’ve been thinking about elephants for a long time—ever since Dumbo mustered the courage to fly, ever since Manfred the wooly mammoth survived the Ice Age, and ever since Horton heard his Who.

Elephants (and elephant characters) have enriched our lives for many years. They are evolved creatures worth studying and worth getting to know in an “up close and personal” way.

We can learn much from our elephant friends, especially where human/elephant contact is offered in a safe and healthy way for the elephants.

Elephants in Amboseli national park, an opportunity for travel adventures in the wild. (Image © Tatiana Morozova/iStock.)

Elephants in Amboseli National Park in Kenya
© Tatiana Morozova/iStock

Elephants in the News

Recent news events have again brought elephants into the headlines.

Last year, Ringling Brothers vowed to phase out their elephant acts due to animal rights issues. Then, this year, they announced the ultimate closing of the circus because of declining audience numbers due, in part, they said, to the removal of the elephant acts and to general concern for the treatment of the animals.

Elephant's foot tied to a metal chain suggesting dangers to elephants in captivity and to travel adventures in the wild. (Image © Tuomas Lehtinen/iStock.)

Elephant captivity can be brutally cruel.
© Tuomas Lehtinen/iStock

Also in the headlines of the moment is the danger to elephants from the ivory trade. China pledged to ban all domestic ivory trade by this end of this year, joining many nations in the environmental pledge to protect elephants from ivory poachers.

Illegal haul of elephant ivory, a danger to elephants and travel adventures in the wild. (Image © Stockbyte.)

The ivory trade is still a real threat to elephants in the wild.
© Stockbyte

These are solid steps toward protecting the threatened elephant population and treating elephants with the respect they deserve.

Elephant Enlightenment

My meetings with elephants over the past six months spanned the globe and the gamut of elephant life.

Elephants at the Amber Fort in Jaipur, India,, offering travel adventures for visiting tourists. (Image © Meredith Mullins.)

The elephant taxi stand at the Amber Fort in Jaipur, India
© Meredith Mullins

The first elephants to cross my recent path were in Jaipur, India. Almost every tourist visiting the Amber Fort (called Amer Fort locally) travels the steep path to the fort on a festively decorated elephant.

The four-legged, trunk-waving taxis plod slowly and purposefully up the hill, defining perfectly the meaning of the word “lumber.”

Elephants climbing the hill to the Amber Fort in Jaipur, India, offering travel adventures to visiting tourists. (Image © Meredith Mullins.)

Understanding the true meaning of “lumbering” as elephants climb the ancient path to the palace
© Meredith Mullins

This transportation is how the visitors of the 16^th and 17^th centuries most likely arrived at the palace. Now, it is the ultimate tourist experience. However, the treatment of these “domesticated” elephants is controversial . . . and worthy of scrutiny.

Oh, I see. Sometimes our “bucket-list” travel adventures need a deeper look at behind-the-scenes realities.

The marketing material claims each elephant makes only 5 trips a day—all in the morning—and takes only two people on the Howdah (the carriage on the elephant’s back).

The working conditions were different in the past, as the elephants worked all day in the scorching heat and carried many more people.

Elephant resting against a wall in Jaipur, India, offering travel adventures to tourists at the Amber Fort. (Image © Meredith Mullins.)

Resting . . . or hiding out? Either way, a well-deserved respite.
© Meredith Mullins

Although the conditions have improved over time, it still seems that the elephants are under stress.

Animal welfare advocates allege that these elephants often do not get adequate food and water, the uneven pavement on the road to the fort damages their feet, and their off-duty housing is often less than desirable and is certainly a far cry from jungle life.

Even to be prepared for their jobs transporting humans, they are made to be submissive via often brutal techniques called “crushing.” Their spirits are broken. And no one lives well with a broken spirit.

Seated elephant with painted trunk at a sanctuary for elephants in Jaipur, India, offering travel adventures for tourists. (Image © Meredith Mullins.)

Showing off some new trunk painting at the sanctuary
© Meredith Mullins

Seeking Sanctuary

A better way to interact with elephants is to visit some of the elephant villages or sanctuaries. I visited one of these in Jaipur, called Eleday.

At this particular sanctuary, you can get to know your elephant, feed her, wash her, and apply some decorative designs to her body, akin to temporary tattoos or inventive face painting.

Perhaps she feels as if it’s a day of pampering at the skin and nail salon (although it’s hard to tell how the elephants really feel about being painted).

Smiling Lauren Gezurian paints her elephant at Eleday in Jaipur, India, a sanctuary for elephants offering travel adventures for tourists. (Image © Meredith Mullins.)

Eleday visitor Lauren Gezurian and her elephant-for-a-day are bonding well
with some trunk painting.
© Meredith Mullins

What we do know is that the elephant’s skin is very sensitive, even though it’s at least an inch thick. She definitely knows she is being touched.

Feeding elephants at Eleday in Jaipur, India, travel adventures for tourists. (Image © Anne Hobbs.)

An elephant can eat up to 500 pounds of food a day.
The few bananas we fed them were vacuumed up in a flash.
© Anne Hobbs

The Relephant Facts

In these more ecologically oriented sanctuaries, I learned some interesting facts about the species. Here are ten of my favorite.

There are three surviving elephant species, all either threatened or endangered: the Asian elephant, the African savanna elephant, and the African forest elephant.

Elephants at a watering hole in Pinnewala, Sri Lanka, offering travel adventures in the wild. (Image © Nyira Gongo/iStock.)

Asian elephants gather at a watering hole in Pinnewala, Sri Lanka.
© Nyira Gongo/iStock

How do you tell the difference between Asian and African elephants? African savanna elephants have large ears shaped like the continent of Africa. African forest elephants have large oval ears. Asian elephants have smaller ears. Asian elephants have rounded backs and relatively smooth skin, while African elephants have a sway back and very wrinkled skin.

Elephants have more than 40,000 muscles in their trunks, making these massive noses very strong, sensitive, and flexible. It is said that an elephant can smell water from up to 12 miles away.

The strength of their trunks comes in handy to forage for food and to lift things up to around 750 pounds. Here, a mother lifts her baby, who was stuck in the mud.

If video does not display, watch it here.

They use their trunks for affectionate greetings also. They intertwine their trunks to say hello, like a handshake or a hug.

Elephants love food and water. They can eat from 300 to 500 pounds of food a day. (They are herbivores). They can also suck up 15 liters of water in a single sip with their trunk.
A moment of affection
© Nancy Haggarty/iStock
Elephants are intelligent, social animals. Multiple families live together in the herd. They have been shown to be emotionally complex, compassionate, and caring. They show clear empathy for the sick, dying, and dead.

Elephants can hear sound waves outside of our human hearing capabilities. They can detect sub-sonic rumblings through vibrations in the ground. They use their feet and their trunks to sense these messages, often from other elephants far away.

No Air Jordans for the elephant. They are the only mammal that can’t jump. Perhaps that’s because they are the largest land animals in the world, weighing up to 24,000 pounds.

Of course we can’t forget the elephant’s memory. We should all have such a gift.

Baby elephant as part of amazing travel adventures with elephants. (Image © Mahouts/iStock.)

A baby elephant can weigh 200–250 pounds when born . . . and has a fuzzy head only a mother (and the world!) could love.
© Mahouts/iStock

The Circus

After seeing elephants in the more natural settings of Asia and Africa, it is increasingly difficult to imagine their life in a circus.

However, the famous Cirque d’Hiver is one of my Paris passions and, this year, they featured elephants along with their traditional white horses.

Elephant taking a bow at the Cirque d'Hiver in Paris, France, showing elephants in performance and entertaining travel adventures. (Image © Meredith Mullins.)

Taking a bow at the Cirque d’Hiver in Paris
© Meredith Mullins

Even though this kind of entertainment brings smiles to the audience and a certain appreciation for the intelligence of the elephants, when you go behind the scenes, the “Oh, I see” moments can be painful.

It is especially difficult to know that circus elephants, no matter how well they are cared for, have been “broken” and perhaps live each performance in fear of the trainers that prompt them to do what is required.

Circus elephant sending acrobat into the air at the Cirque d'Hiver in France, offering travel adventures for tourists. (Image © Meredith Mullins.)

Elephant note to self: “If I just put a little more weight on the balance, I could send him into the stratosphere. But I won’t, because I’m a professional . . . and that guy in the fancy jacket has a whip.”
© Meredith Mullins

What We Know

What we do know is that elephants are intelligent, compassionate beings.

We know that they do not do well in captivity and that they are often treated cruelly at the expense of tourism and entertainment.

We know that they are a threatened species.

And we know that, if we want to continue with travel adventures of the elegant elephant kind—human/elephant interaction that does not compromise the elephant’s health and safety—we should do what we can to protect these amazing animals.

Two elephants, mother and baby, showing why travel adventures in the wild are rewarding. (Image © Mohamed Shahid Sulaiman/Hemera.)

Natural treasures are deserving of protection.
© Mohamed Shahid Sulaiman/Hemera

Comment on this post below, or inspire insight with your own OIC Moment here.

For more information about protection of elephants, visit the following links:

The Elephant Sanctuary

Wildlife SOS

Eleday

Meredith Mullins 2 Comments

Adventure Travel/Africa/France (Paris)/India

Mar

Travel Tips: Check in More, Carry on Less

by Joyce McGreevy on March 13, 2017

Lessons Learned from Traveling Full Time

Travel is packed with learning experiences, like when to check in and what to carry on. Here are a few travel tips and lessons learned from traveling full time.

Don’t get jet-lagged before the flight.

An in-flight view of Arizona inspires a writer’s travel tips about what not to carry on, like stress and too much luggage, lessons learned from traveling full time. (Image © Joyce McGreevy)

Does your travel checklist rival the Labors of Hercules? Racing from mall to mall, turning down invitations from loved ones, packing at 2 am for a 6 am flight—that’s no way to transition into travel.

Other countries have stores, too. Currently, I’m on a tiny Greek island located a day’s journey from anywhere. With a population of around 1,000, there are just a few shops in the island’s only town—and each is remarkably well stocked.

Leave it, don’t lug it.

A cat curled up in an open suitcase inspires travel tips about what not to check in or carry on when traveling full time. (Image © Joyce McGreevy)

If you wouldn’t wear x number of outfits in a month at home, don’t pack x-times-y-squared that number for a week abroad.

On one 3-month trip, I hiked in the mountains, swam in the sea, attended a wedding and went to a movie premiere. Everything I wore fit in one small suitcase—and there were still items I never needed.

Know your own essentials.

I always pack a favorite apron. The kitchen may be rented, the country as yet unknown, but the moment I put on my apron, I feel at home.

For me, travel includes cooking, chatting with greengrocers, and a local cooking lesson or culinary walk. It deepens my sense of home, wherever home happens to be.

A man selling figs in Kadikoy, Turkey inspires culinary travel tips and other lessons learned from traveling full time. (Image © Joyce McGreevy)

Never let complainers rain on your plane to Spain.

No matter when you travel, someone will say you shouldn’t. It’ll be too crowded, deserted, hot, cold, expensive, touristy, and so on.

About Barcelona I was told, “You’re going in winter? That’s totally the wrong time.”

“What time of year do you recommend?”

“Don’t know, never been there. But winter, yuck. I hear it rains all the time.”

Do pack your sense of humor.

It didn’t rain that winter, but that’s beside the point. One summer I had an unexpected layover in Reykjavik. With 10 hours before check in, I’d pre-arranged a private tour. Excitedly, I exited the airport.

A rain-obscured view of Iceland inspires travel tips about keeping one’s perspective and other lessons learned from traveling full time. (Image © Joyce McGreevy)

The wind shoved me back into the terminal like a wall of NFL linemen. I had two choices:

carry on, as in rant and rave at the weather gods.
carry on, as in do the limbo under the gale and go meet my driver.

I shocked Stefan by showing up and then spent the day absorbing insights while everything around us absorbed the rain.

Photo ops be damned. It was a marvelous day—and Iceland will still be there when I return.

Likewise, don’t be too quick to bypass places that others dismiss. It’s often just a matter of broadening your radius. Walk around, meet people who live there, and see for yourself.

A tower at Malmöhus Castle, Malmö, Sweden inspires travel tips about visiting underrated cities when traveling full time. (Image © Joyce McGreevy)

Don’t turn precaution into paranoia.

Yes, there are places where pickpockets and others of ill intent operate—it’s called Earth. Travelers anywhere should take sensible precautions. Just don’t believe everything you read online, including about your own community, or you’ll never leave the house.

Separate facts from urban legends of the “OMG my friend’s cousin’s dentist knows this tourist who got into a taxi and had a kidney stolen” variety.

Be for real.

Don’t be the person who keeps asking, “How much is this in real money?” or “What time is it really?” The money’s real and the time zone that matters most is the one you’re in.

Hikers above Royal National Park in New South Wales, Australia, inspire a writer’s travel tips about enjoying simple pleasures while traveling full time. (Image © Joyce McGreevy)

Try local foods and brands. At a sacred pageant in Italy, one dialogue shattered the hush:

Traveler 1: “Didn’t the drugstore have deodorant?”

Traveler 2: “Yeah, but not American deodorant.”

School yourself.

Consider a travel tip every schoolteacher knows: Build background. You’ll create rich context for your experiences.

Here in Greece, I’ve been taking classes in Greek history, language, and mythology. It’s about experiencing shivers of recognition, epiphanies about the culture, and the sheer joy of deepening my sense of place.

Saving up long-term for travel? Building background is a great way to stay motivated. Listen to Italian as you fold laundry. Find cross-cultural connections in your local museums. Follow a podcast like “Londonist.” Read Turkish novels, listen to Bulgarian music.

Glasgow's Kelvingrove Art Gallery inspires travel tips and other lessons learned while traveling full time. (Image © Joyce McGreevy)

Do take a second look.

Sinclair Lewis said that those who see one cathedral ten times have seen something, but those who spend half an hour in each of a hundred cathedrals have seen nothing at all. Revisiting places is revelatory. Go beyond “been there, done that” and take a closer look.

An ancient stone lion in Bodrum, Turkey inspires art-centric travel tips as a writer checks in about lessons learned from traveling full time. (Image © Joyce McGreevy)

A scene of feral cats posing like statues in Istanbul, Turkey inspire art-centric travel tips as a writer checks in about lessons learned from traveling full time. (Image © Joyce McGreevy)

There’s a world of places to explore—wherever we are. Take travel tips from the Slow Food movement: Don’t rush. Do savor.

Oh, I see: The most important lesson learned from traveling full time is that we’re all traveling full time. Eventually, our mortal passports won’t be eligible for renewal. Until then, check in more often, carry on less “baggage,” and be here for this journey of a lifetime.