I dream of here and there, here and now

Exhausted, travel dusted, exalted, with eyes that see roads less travelled, faces not yet spoken to and a myriad of opportunities to fearlessly say yes to, that is how Holly, my fellow adventurer, and I stumbled into Santorini Port sometime after sunset.

Bleary eyed enough to mistake concrete blocks for comfy beds; we snuggled down while we waited for the ferry to sail us back to Mainland Greece from Santorini. If you’ve never been, imagine sheer cliff-faces stretching out from a steep narrow road that relentlessly zigzags its way to the flat cliff top towering above you; concrete and volcanic rock pooling at the bottom, forming the arrival/departure platform of this magical place. In the dark you can’t see the lights of the city above; all you’ve got is the glow of the few shops clinging close to the rock face, the sound of the ocean, the salt and rock fragrance of the Mediterranean and the warm night.

Surrounded by the bubbling energy of fellow travellers, we assumed sleep would be a pleasant idea, but when you’re tired enough for concrete blocks to look snugly, the bellowing of a ferries approach, the rowdy exodus of waiting passengers, even the final horns sounding their goodbyes, are so much background noise to us sleeping beauties.

The blankness of sleep...

And then, the silence has intruded on my slumber. My eyes pop open, my body is instantly flooded with adrenalin as I glanced around the darkened port grounds ‘Holly’ I whispered... ‘Holly!’ I hiss, voice rising with insistence and growing panic.
I watched as her body assesses our situation just as mine had, eyes snapping open at the dramatic change of environment, the quiet emptiness of our surroundings.

Thus brief panic...

We stampede towards those small modules of civilisation, electric lights a beacon in the night. One late night cafe attendant tells us the last ferry for the evening is the one we missed. Panic dissolves as easily as having no choice but to wait for the new day, the opening of a travel agent. We soothe ourselves, Holly and I, as we harmonise, meditate and downward facing dog our way toward dawn, revelling in our lost place in the universe, our bond of friendship, our love of travel, as strengthened as our resolve.