Reflections in Mallorca.

Hello friends and family!

I know it has been a few weeks since my last update but rest assured I am alive and well. I arrived in Spain on October 4 and found myself launched into a mixture of activity and some much needed down time. I have been doing a work stay through the website WorkAway and have been staying at a small Finca on Mallorca, one of the Baleric Island of Spain. The owner here, Sarah, operates a guest house through AirBnB and is one of the funniest most delightful people I have met on my trip. She is exuberant, has a deep love of animals (shown by her "family" here on the farm) and a fabulous sense of humor. She is originally from Northern England and has been in Spain for 15 years, and has been taking wonderful care of me and even teaching me a little Spanish! Though I have not been the best student :). 

Mostly my days here are filled with animal care, gardening, lots of coffee, and when the sun is out sunshine and swimming. I have been doing some cooking again in her amazing kitchen which has brought me lots of joy and even made a birthday cake for a guest. On my days off I usually walk to the little town of Algaida with my fellow WorkAwayer Renee (from Holland) or we take the bus to another part of the island to explore. I have had the privilege to gather sea salt here as well as taste some sea fennel we foraged ourselves. 

This time in Spain has given me a much needed chance to reflect and recover from my bounding around the continent as well as to connect with people in a place that I otherwise would likely never have come. This morning as I sit outside drinking my coffee with only 10 days left in my trip I have been thinking of the things I've learned while I have been here. Both about myself and about the world around me. The list is long and gave me a hand cramp while writing it but the most striking thing that stood out to me was that I finally feel like an adult. This came as a surprise to me. For so long I have thought of myself as a "youth," maybe part of that is societies fault for labeling my generation as lazy, self entitled youngsters but I think a part of me still really thought of myself as... Not a child, but not quite a real person yet. Now, I don't feel that way anymore. I don't think this trip has made that change, only let me realize that at some point it happened. 

Now, I don't think of this as a bad thing. I think the transition from young person to adult is often seen as something to be mourned. The loss of childhood innocence. The adoption of adulthood and all the worries and problems that are now yours to address. The weight of the world and all that. I'm not saying I don't have those things, but they don't run my life. I still see the world with fresh eyes, I am still driven by the desire to learn new things all the time, I still can kick back and have fun. Adulthood to me means being able to see and understand the things around you. To be able to appreciate the world for all its beauty and its foibles. I see people differently than I used to, I see myself differently. I see things on a bigger scale now, I see the forest and the trees. Maybe this is just the hopeful wanderings of my mind but I really do think that my perspective has changed. And I think it's for the better. 

After I leave Mallorca on the 30th I will head to Barcelona for a few days of fun before heading back home. I feel bitter sweet about it as I knew I would. Can't wait to get home, can't imagine leaving. 

And now for some cute animal pictures after all that heavy stuff!

All my love,

Alex

Coco the cat. 

Blue Eyes, who at night sleeps curled in a ball behind my knees. 

Clifford keeping warm. 

Bootsie, who is forever sticking her tongue out. 

Nala, who "helps" me clean stalls in the morning. 

Jetjet, he is the wiggliest, sweetest baby you would ever want to meet. 

La Minga, the princess

Me and Bootsie Boo

Away to Spain

Another airport, another cache of amazing memories to sort through and process. It has been a week since I arrived in Athens but again I can't quite well believe that so little time has passed and I have managed to do so much.

I arrived late last Saturday, it was dark already but I was so thrilled to walk out of my gate at the airport and see my Mom and Mark waiting there to greet me. We got a cab to the hotel, not willing to tackle the metro late at night when we were all so travel weary, dropped our things and immediately went in search of food - a theme we maintained throughout the trip :-). And oh the food we ate... I've had Greek food and it was always delicious but this was a whole new experience. The break and the meat and the cheese and the tomatoes. And the potatoes! And the fish! The souvlaki and kebabs and tzatziki and the olives (yes those of you that know my eating habits, I ate olives, with enthusiasm). And the desserts! The fill and honey and nuts, we had cakes and cookies and pastries and gelato. Lastly, but most importantly, there was the coffee. I don't think I had ever had Greek coffee before and ohhhhh my, game changed, Greek coffees all day every day. They also make these amazing cappuccino freddos here which I had never had. They are strong coffee (usually with some sugar) iced and topped with the densest most amazing foam you have ever seen. The milk foam is cold and you mix it in with the coffee and drink it and realize what you have been missing your entire life is this experience. Hot weather and cold coffee and foamy milk goodness. I don't know how I will go on without this joy in my life, I suppose I will just have to bring it back with me. I watched carefully how it was made and I will need some new equipment but believe you me I will master the art of cappuccino freddo. 

Mom and Mark and I spent a day in Athens and then drove out to Nafplio. We actually ended up staying in a small village called Drepanos outside of Nafplio which was sweet and tiny. I did all the driving and wow, what an experience. I faired pretty well but I didn't drive in Athens and I'm sure it would've given me an ulcer if I had tried. Rules of the road are more like suggestions of the road here. But they all seem to manage. Our first day in Drepanos we walked down to the beach and about two houses down from where we were staying a big dog adopted us. There are tons of stray dogs and cats in Greece and after a few days we kind of guessed that she wasn't completely a stray but she was definitely an outdoor dog that had all the freedom she could want. She walked us all the way down to the beach, saying hello to people we passed and teasing other dogs that were locked up. Then at the beach she left us and we said goodbye. We spent a few hours down there, walked and had a coffee (of course) and when we finally headed home (dark by now) out she came from behind a bush to escort us home! She was very sweet and greeted us every day. 

Nafplio was beautiful, it used to be the capital city of Greece and its beauty has been preserved wonderfully. Tiny alleyways wind around houses and villas, stairways that seem to go nowhere but up curve around and dump you on main roads. There are cacti and vines and palm trees and flowers and fruit trees everywhere and ancient ruins up on top of the hill. We could have stayed there for days I think just wandering those streets. 

Back in Drepanos we discovered a local butcher who also had a small restaurant. Family run business and all the kids and friends and family were there every night. Very warm and welcoming people and the food was amazing. When Mom and Mark finally had to go on to Berlin I went back to Athens with the. And saw them off at the airport, I was sad to see them go but so happy to have been able to spend time with them, and eat everything in sight with them X-D

I spent the last two days (well one and a half, I spent half of Friday lost and wandering in the suburbs of Athens, my own fault!) with my Aunt Patsy here in Athens. She is a wonderful woman who I think is actually a second cousin, so warm and welcoming. We went downtown together and I bought some trinkets and we had coffee, then she took me to see my Papu's (grandfathers) sister who is 92 (!!!) and doing great. She doesn't speak English but when she realized who I was she leapt us from her seat (92 remember, leapt) and gave me a great big hug and lots of kisses. She was so sweet and I got to meet her daughter and granddaughter (my 2nd and 3rd cousins? Who knows) also who were again, so warm and sweet and happy to see me. I am so pleased that I was able to make The Greek Connection and I can't wait to come back and see them again, and meet more of my family who live on the island!

And now I am on my way to Palma de Majorca to finally stay for a few weeks and do some gardening and animal care. I will be glad to set down some semi permanent roots for a short time and collect my bearings again. All this travel has been spectacular but dizzying also. 

See Facebook and Instagram for photos, can't be bothered to put them up in 3 different places on airport internet. But here are my two favorites:

Αγαπώ

Alex