Kina-Hora

The kids get ten weeks of summer break. Emily and I split those into two, five-week blocks. Having not yet spent our first summer on Patmos when working out the arrangement, I guessed that second half of the summer would be better for the kids. Visitors begin to increase in the second-half of July and peak in August – Patmos’ very busy month. I reasoned a larger pool of international vacationers would mean more kids their age who spoke proficient to native English, thereby increasing their social options. Also, events sometimes take place in that timeframe like the annual Patmos Film Festival.

After the first summer, I realized I probably made the wrong call. Only in the tension of the ongoing divorce, Emily wasn’t willing to make a swap with me on paper, and preferred to just leave it to a case-by-case basis where we could trade our halves of the summer if that worked for her. Luckily, we’ve done just that two out of the past four summers.

I learned that in a “residence” scenario, for my kids, less is more. Less crowded beaches, fewer people on Boat Day trips, restaurants without reservations, fewer people on the “streets” is more pleasant. Sennen and Ailyn have been more reluctant to connect with either local or visiting kids than I thought and quite happy in one another’s company. Adding a friend to the mix – this year Ethan, perhaps another year a friend of Ailyn’s – seems to create a duality of both being more socially comfortable within their little pod, but also braver to interact with local kids. And local kids are easier to identify and talk to when they aren’t in a sea of visitors.

Then there’s the minor, but not insignificant advantage of avoiding the stress of Sennen trying to escape. The past two years, Sennen has refused to board the ferry on the day of departure. Last year, he threatened to swim to the small island off Agriolivadi to hide there until after the ferry left – then make his way to the northernmost part of the island we call “Goat Country” – because there are really just goats there – where he would steal two goats, one for milk, one for meat – which would sustain him until people stopped searching. Then, Sennen could just go back to the house and let himself in the kitchen side-door using the hidden key. He didn’t account for how he would then live life in Skala on his own and not encounter problems.

Sennen’s desperation to remain on Patmos seemed a cocktail of loving Patmos and not wanting to return to school, which was imminent once we stepped on that ferry. In our current scenario, he still has half the summer in front of him including many things to which he’s looking forward.

There are also a few minor disadvantages. Arriving and needing to get the house back in my order, getting groceries, dealing with any needed repairs or tweaks is harder with kids in tow. I like having the kids show up to a more polished situation. Having a little time to myself never hurts either. If I’m going to spend half the summer without the kids either way, there is something to be said about having taken a moment between the busy end-of-the-school-year time and going to get them from Los Angeles that is helpful. I’m more rested and have done some yoga before taking on the busy second-half of summer with them.

Still, overall, the first-half sojourn with the kids is the better choice. Sennen in particular values the calmer streets and opportunities to talk with locals who become too busy to spend much time with during August. We all get a better chance to catch-up and connect – and like me, Sennen really values that. Ailyn seems more adaptable, but this first half of summer also feels very comfortable walking town on her own to do errands or shop.

“You aren’t cruise people are you?” Sennen asked a very nice, young couple on the boat yesterday – as if whether he continued to associate with them hinged on their answer.

They weren’t, so happy conversation continued. When the couple asked why he asked, Sennen – backed-up by Ailyn – did his impression of how lower-end cruise passengers act and gave all the reasons they diminish the vibe of Skala. This cruise passenger issue becomes worse in August.

All of this to say, this summer feels as if it has gone especially well because it was well-timed.

In fact, today only one small cruise ship is in port and the island feels especially relaxed. While it would have been a good day for the beach, it was also a good day to go up to Hora with easy parking and no throngs of tourists flowing in and out of the monastery. Neither Sennen nor Ailyn have much love for Hora – the much older, original town of Patmos situation on the highest peak with the fortified Monastery of St John the The Theologian.

Why not love this 12th century built, pedestrian-only UNESCO World Heritage site of a town with it’s pretty narrow labyrinthine paths?

Because it’s eerily quiet.

Hora has a year-round population of slightly more than 600 and receives only 20 percent of Patmos’ overnight visitors. It does contain a number of summer homes, but even with that, it’s a small town.

Yet, today we saw about eight human beings in total and all of them worked in the scant few businesses we passed. I know 600 is a small town, but shouldn’t SOMEONE be going somewhere? Maybe a couple of friends or family members having a conversation as they go from here to there?

The whitewashed old houses and mansions surrounded by bougainvillea, lit by the summer sun over backdrops of the Aegean could feel quaint, pretty, even vibrant. Somehow, it just doesn’t. And it creeps out the kids.

Originally Sennen didn’t want to go to Hora at all this year and Ailyn was all too happy to go along with it. Only yesterday, pulling into town  on the day boat, Sennen and I both had the thought that perhaps Ethan should see it. It turned a non-beach day into something still useful and valuable. If nothing else, Ethan can say he want to Patmos and saw the most historically, culturally renown parts of the island.

That said, one can never fully tell with thirteen-year-olds, but I don’t think Hora made much impression. Ethan liked the windy, narrow paths among the white houses, but it was quiet, old and he had no real context to appreciate it, given he didn’t even know about the split in the Roman Empire before or that Greek Orthodox existed. He seemed less creeped out by Hora than either Sennen or Ailyn and as is typical for him, Ethan appreciated the views.

Stopping at Proton Supermarket on the way back from the parking lot to our house to buy a few items including Coca-Cola so the kids can see how it takes rust of nails was far more exciting to them. This is part of the “why you don’t put this stuff in your body” campaign I’ve begun which worked seamlessly with the “contractor who is leaving nails all over the eastern edge of the parking lot” situation.

Ailyn also finally painted! It’s a departure from the prior themes of Patmos life such as gelato, cats and the Greek flag. This time she went more abstract with carefully laid out dots of her favorite pastel colors. I’m thrilled to have another Ailyn original to help further our home’s development.

Sennen also accomplished one of his goals – baking banana bread to share with some of our friends here – part of his “American cooking” series. I thought it came out very well. The kids are more critical that it doesn’t taste exactly like home – which should be expected given a different environment, oven and ingredients. We have room to adjust if our target is to be exactly like home – but from the perspective of someone who has never had warm banana bread, Sennen produced a real winner – though I have a feeling he’ll be spending some time analyzing what to try differently next time….

All in all, while not our most active day, today was also productive. In-town days are also an important part of the Patmos experience. Some things – like art and baking – come with slower, lazier days.

And they are essential.