Sunday, June 30, 2013

A Swedish armada killing ignorance...

Change requires risk-taking. Nothing happens in an environment where everyone think and act the same. Speaking up is a virtue. I do not worry very much when I say that I come from a country where risk-taking is not a habit. Generalizations or not. Self sufficiency is easier to lean against. Always claiming you know better. And of course, we know better than any other country how Europe as a unit should be managed. It is easier to sit on the fence watching others take risks, like a  Finnish politician once I said in anger to s Swedish colleague. But, I am also happy that I have many friends at home who agree with me about these issues. So, there is hope...
Swedish charter operators do not take risks, when neighbor countries do. They sell the seats on the plane already sold, without any effort. Introducing something new seems to be out of the question and old arguments, like we have tried, is only being met by, you did not try in a very clever way!
This kind of primitive thinking, is a bit of being greedy, and justifying an incredible ignorance in marketing, sales and customer orientation. But even the most ignorant can enlighten his views!

Smiles in the alley!
So, if Muhammad does not come to the mountain, the mountain has to come to Muhammed! I was fortunate the other night, to meet a whole armada of Swedes, all family, from young to less young, open minded people, who had travelled a long way to catch a plane from Copenhagen and who had rented three cars and for two weeks covered major parts of the island, out of curiosity for the unknown, eating all kinds of Greek food, learning about traditions and an amazing culture and of course, being met by the hospitality here from Greeks. Every minute seemed to have been used to discover the island of islands. Making it most likely that Lesvos will see them again!
Thanks, folks, for waking up my adrenalin today!
*  
Pure joy!


Friday, June 28, 2013

In betting mood...

I cannot see the crowds and even less, hear their cheering,
or the sounds of betting machines and rolling coins.
They just popped up in the most obscure and unexpected place, the galopp boxes.
Far away from Ascot, but a part of a long equestrian tradition on Lesvos.
I am on the outlook for ancient ruins of a castle, but stop for a while, 
making it into one of the boxes, starting to imagine how it could be,
running down a dirt road...
*


Wednesday, June 26, 2013

The logic of chapels...

...there is no such logic, as far as I experience it.
I have stopped being surprised a long time ago.
They are just simply everywhere on this island and for many good reasons.
From the most unreachable of mountain tops to the depth of gorges,
there will always be at least one with it's own expression.
Along the coast and close to Nees Kidoniés, while searching for ruins of an ancient castle,
in a rather strange and rough no mans land of thistles, they simply popped up.
Light and piety for ever.
*











Monday, June 24, 2013

Necessity is the Mother of invention...

It is hot in Kalloní. It is very hot in Kalloní.
Having frappé with a friend in a local cafeníon.
Should have invited the man with the bike to have a moment of relief.
Fans are usually indoors, and simply moving the same air around.
No real refreshment in the heat and especially not outdoors.
On my cafeníon they are inventive. 
Adding some humidity helped.
And made the frappé taste even better.
*



Friday, June 21, 2013

No end to the ends of the world...

...and the more I travel around on the island of islands,
the more I understand that there is no limit to surprises.
In Limáni, not many things seem to have happened lately.
Stress is not a part of the vocabulary here. 
I feel like a surprise when visiting. 
There are mostly locals from other parts of the island, who come for lunch and a swim in weekends.
Peace here and far away from Palma.
*







Wednesday, June 19, 2013

Stones of mystery...

It is a long time since I stopped thinking that ruins (and there are plenty of them here on the island of islands, with a history many miles long!) were only piles of stone. It is living material that tells me stories of people who once were here. In the razor edge sharp light of the day, the very old turkish village of Κουκμήδου, talks of an area that once existed and bustling with life. It also wakes up a sadness of it´s death and disappearance and the smells from three bakeries are long gone. 
*  
Farmer's house watching over the past.







Sunday, June 16, 2013

A few kilometers away from hell...

My Greek friend DD, who comes from the island of Lesvos,
put this up in the morning and I am on Paradise island, 
a very short distance away from plain hell of violence, contempt and atrocity. 
I am in some sort of apathy, not being able to act in any practical way.
Being here in peace, to compare to the other side of the water, 
leaves my anger glowingly hot. 
A real dictator of the worst kind, is showing his ugly face,
under the manipulative headline of having been democratically elected.
It stinks when actions taken in the words of God and Democracy
are justifying brutality and power control 
and the killing of millions of innocent.
*



Friday, June 14, 2013

Intensity and expectation...


I have the kids running by in the aisle outside, every morning and afternoon,
down to the school and waiting classrooms. 
It is over for this year, the silence will be there, (except for the every day gossiping by neighbors)
 and kids send greetings and tears from parents and hugs and they took a chance 
to show us all spectators,
parts of their enthusiasm for togetherness and the love for vegetables and fruit. 












Tuesday, June 11, 2013

In scorching light...

An almost blinding day. Amazing scenes to visit, repeatedly returning to.
The light stays with me inside, long into the night.
And so the rest in shady Perivolís.
*





Sunday, June 9, 2013

Thank you, for that Greek generosity...

...Tímos Pétras. You, and many others here on the island, 
so often remind me of how important the small gestures are.
24 hour delivery service. Neatly packaged and just to pick up.
Just a phone call away.
*


Friday, June 7, 2013

Forever protected...



700 years of close watch, the Venetian way.
I look up this beloved castro every day and night.
It is like always wearing a cap on my head.
Living with it constantly, means easy to forget how it is inside looking out.
Angles of dramas, too often forgotten.
*

Nothing less but breathtaking.

Mushrooms below.

Soldiers in a row.

Olympic Stadium environment.

By land and by sea.

Fortress within the fortress.

Wednesday, June 5, 2013

Watching with amazement from Petrí...

Cool at night, the sounds of owls and herons,
incredible farewells to the light of the day,
shifting from minute to minute
are the views and the visit to the village of Petrí.
Easy to get affected here and just go with the flow of thoughts and emotions.
*

Young mind contemplating.


Tranquility approaching.

Last breath in the sky.
Ten minutes later.







Sunday, June 2, 2013

From loukoumades to Stefanos...

There are so many trips I like to take on Lesvos.
Innumerable varieties, really.
I move around a lot 
and very often I go back to 
where I have been before.
To Mantamados and Termís,
from sweets to silence.
And often bringing friends along.