"Only turn the key to the first click – not the second. This is very important," Stefanos explained. It was his only slow sentence. The rest were given quicker and as rote as a flight attendant of 35 years might give the safety announcements on departure. I noted the seat unlocked from the ignition, not from a separate lock on the seat itself. The rest, I knew anyway.
I can't remember when exactly was the last time I rode a motorcycle or motorscooter. Probably Bali – maybe 2011. I'm pretty sure Emily wasn't cool with me riding one when we came back to Bali with kids. So, we'll say last motorcycle – 2011. Luckily, I logged in a lot of motorcycle time living in Taiwan and Bali. Other than the key to release the under-seat storage compartment being via the ignition, there has been no discernible change in the technology - nor of Patmos for that matter. Helmet on, mirrors adjusted – and this being a scooter, not a cycle there aren't even any gears or clutch involved. It's point-and-go. So I did. A quick twist of the throttle and just like that – I was off. It came back just like riding a bike.
First destination – the recycling bin about 100 meters down to get rid of the empty water bottle I had just chugged. Who wants to carry around an empty plastic water bottle? Besides, the New Marina recycling bins are my favorite on the island for their accessibility and lack of overuse. Small joys.
Getting the motorscooter was, as Thais say, same same but different. Recent changes in Greek law have made it so it's easier to rent cars to foreigners and harder to rent two-wheeled vehicles. My California drivers license will do for a car, but an International Drivers License with a scooter and/or motorcycle endorsement is required for a two-wheeled vehicle. As a result, the days of Stefanos pulling up with a motorscooter, taking my money and handing me the keys are over. I had to actually visit his office to which naturally he was kind enough to give me a ride.
Also as a result of the new laws, many of the motorscooter rental shops have begun shifting their fleets toward "quads" – aka ATVs because those are legitimate of what we consider a Class C drivers license. Unfortunately both for quad renters and island residents, they're slow, loud and not as easy to park as their two-wheeled cousins. They're also more dangerous than a car. Their only real advantage is being cheaper than a car rental. Personally, if faced with quad or car – I'd probably spring for the car for safety, convenience of carrying groceries and air conditioning.
Like Bali, Patmos – at least in the summer – is better suited for two-wheel vehicles. Small roads, limited parking, high fuel prices, streets that can't be accessed by car – the scooter solves it all. This is why you see 85 year-old locals riding them just as much as anyone else. Why not bicycles, you may ask? They're fine for town – but if you want to go to Patmos' many beaches and restaurants with views, it's some long, hard biking given the many hills. In fact, since I picked up the motorscooter home this morning, I haven't used it. Getting around town is easier on foot.
But Patmos life – if well lived – cannot be confined to Skala.
My current challenge is to refine my scooter parking. Where scooters are allowed to be ridden and parked isn't perfectly clear. I played it safe and parked by the nearby parking lot next to the park, where I kept the car. I have been paying attention since as to who parks their motor scooters where. My "street" if you will, is definitely a pedestrian zone. However, every pedestrian zone has its exceptions – for deliveries, for home and shop owners to move things and sometimes for parking motorscooters. But sometimes not. Who makes up and interprets the rules is unclear – perhaps even to Patmians themselves. They seem to be invisibly negotiated norms where certain tweaks to the rules are accommodated by the community based on perceived needs. Given my new and foreign status, I'm not taking great liberties at this point. Still, I think I found a spot around the corner where several people leave their motorscooters. I think I can get in on that – especially if I say "Yassos" and "Kalimera" a lot as I make eye contact with the people who see me and who I pass along the way.
Another joy of switching to a scooter is Stefanos. A cousin of Nichola, at whose apartment hotel we used stay and whom we have remained in touch for many years. In fact, Stefanos has his won small apartment hotel and scooter rental immediate adjacent to Nichola's property – but somehow this doesn't seem to be taken as competition between the cousins. Nichola refers his guests to Stefanos for scooters (how Emily and I came to know him) and the two cousins seem to be very close friends.
In the three minute car-ride from the port to his office in the Netia/New Marina area, Stefanos and I quickly caught up: my new house, his surprise new baby (11 years younger than his second child), my divorce, the kids, his business. It was a shockingly efficient and easy conversation for two people who see each other very occasionally and one of whom is speaking a second language. That said, if you ever were to skim through all the Patmos-related blog entries over the years, you might notice Stefanos is a regularly occurring, minor character. Chit chat at the ferry terminal, a quick conversation around town, etc. Stefanos and Nichola are of original Patmian family and as such, they seem to know everything and everyone. Dimitris and Christina who I rent cars from are part of their circle and there seems to be a sentiment that they are "the good guys" of Patmos – and they know who is naughty and who is nice. Neither Nichola nor Stefanos can walk or drive in a straight line without having to stop and say hi to someone – which can range from a hand waive to yelling "Hellas!" from the window of their slowing car to hugs and kisses in the streets. Stefanos is not only an extremely nice guy, but he's a good person to know and a useful resource.
After getting in last night at about 10:20 pm, walking to my house, setting down my stuff, making some calls, catching up on work emails, grabbing some gelato from Andreas' Italian gelato shop down the street and showering, I was ready to collapse into sleep on the sofa. I just couldn't bring myself to return to the hard, hard mattress of the master bedroom. I'm praying my new mattress arrives soon!
This morning was all about getting back to the business of the house. Manos the attorney informed me I can expect a high-speed internet installation today – or soon. In his never-ending struggles with the phone company – first over my legal status and then over a lack of hard wiring to the house, he decided to take matters into his own hands. Cosomote, the phone company, contracts their local service operations to a man named Karlovasi. Manos and Karlovasi have come to an understanding about what needs to happen and it will involve a wireless internet technology and the word "soon".
Moreover, Manos has been striking out with cleaning ladies who express interest and then never show up. However, he has found me an Egyptian carpenter and painter who works on the island who recently brought his wife and son to Patmos, where he has been working. Mohammad is interested in the bedroom furniture I want to get rid of – and he may be interested in other odd-jobs. I want to see if he might be able to refinish the interior doors and cabinets I have rather than me buy new ones. Better yet, Manos suspects his wife might be looking for some work and might be willing to clean. So there's hope on multiple fronts. Manos is so much more than an attorney and I SO appreciate him!
Like Manos, I have taken as many matters as I can into my own hands. I sought out Christina, the furniture lady who told me my furniture had arrived and was ready for delivery today if I wanted it. When I mentioned I hadn't yet removed the old furniture, she said her guys could help with that. Only it turned out only the mattresses for the kids'/second bedroom had arrived. She wanted to clear those out of their "warehouse" and asked if they could deliver them anyway – which was fine, and they did. The mattresses now sit in the kids' bedroom and I can at least tell Sennen and Ailyn with confidence that next year they will encounter MUCH better mattresses than they just had.
I chased down Dimitris of Grikos, the appliance repairman who said he'll come tomorrow with the new oven circuit board. It may solve my breaking kitchen circuit. If not, he'll need to replace the circuit board of the dishwasher as well. This morning I tried running Glisten Dishwasher Magic on the dishwasher to clean it up thoroughly. It took three sessions to make it through the cycle because of the kitchen circuit issue. I can't wait to check that one off the list.
I also went in search of a UV bug zapper. The one at home in Thousand Oaks works overtime killing off the seemingly endless bugs that make it into my Topanga Canyon-esque little house. The Patmos house could use one too – maybe even one inside and one for the porch. I went in search, beginning with the "large" hardware store of the Australian-Greek man who has the closest thing to Home Depot on the island. Appliances, tools, paint and more go from floor to high ceiling. I also knew that if he didn't have what I wanted, he would understand what I wanted and know where to find it. He did not, in fact, have it – but he did know where to find it and sent me to the small electrics shop next to the produce market where I bought one zapper and noted they have two more available should I need them.
The living room and kitchen table still remain mysteries to me. What do I do with these spaces? How should the place feel? And knowing how long things take to order and arrive, how long do I wait to make decisions?
The yard remains a conundrum as well. While brown after it was threshed last week, the lawn seems to be turning green – at least in patches – of its own accord. Could it be the underground well responsible? There are no sprinklers and I don't think anyone has been hosing it. The overgrowth was green before it was cut…. I'm not sure how this works. All the same, something has to be imagined for this large, open space. Does it stay open grass with flexible furnishings – allowing the kids a play area and soccer field? Does it get a gazebo and furniture? New trees? More gardens? I've received a few good suggestions. I suppose the first step is committing to a use-case.
The previous owner had lawn furniture, the built-in barbecue and the outdoor table and chairs on the porch to entertain the neighborhood kids and their parents. Because of the large front yard, Maria said she found her boys (who are Greek) brought the neighborhood kids over to play. She said she would step outside to sometimes crowds of kids. So she went with it and basically had a nightly barbecue with kids and neighbors rotating in and out. Sometimes everyone would disappear and her kids would be at the park or in other people's homes – and sometimes everyone was at hers. Tassos who works at the local gyro restaurant (not to be confused with Tassos the Butcher or Tassos who runs the rental car shop in the front of town), fondly remembers sunbathing on the lounge chairs laid out on the lawn with Maria's sons.
Maria told me eventually her home became a flop-house for the neighborhood kids. She had (as I currently have) a bunk bed and a twin for her three boys but also two extra mattresses the boys could throw down on the floor for friends. She said she never knew exactly how many kids she would find in her house when she came out of her bedroom in the morning – but that was fine with her. The summer was a time for letting go and allowing the boys freedom and fun.
Despite my American kids' bravery at reaching out to local kids and crossing cultural bridges, it seems a far-stretch to imagine neighborhood kids flopped out on the bedroom floor. Although we haven't made it to the teenage years…. Could the lawn be revived as a community space? Could keeping its use flexible in order to have outdoor movie nights and/or soccer games be the way to go? Will I ever get to the place where I too might be hosting friends while the kids play? It's a nice thought…. In the context of an Airbnb – which the house hopefully will be a good portion of the time – then maybe a gazebo or something more established and less prone to being "messed up" might make more sense? It feels like the fate of the front yard needs a crystal ball. Or if I build it, will they come? Which movie do I live out?
I'm not sure I'm ready to answer any of these questions. So maybe – thanks to my taxi driver yesterday – getting a good price on a television is a decent next step. I can order a TV without a compelling use-case.
And if I combine a TV and Internet – I can also connect the Amazon Firestick I brought from home and will have a premium setup (at least as far as Patmos goes) for my guests. In a bug-free home. With comfortable mattresses. And maybe a dishwasher and oven that work without tripping the circuit breaker. Small steps.
