“There’s a knife up my butt! I have a knife in my crack!” is not something I expected to hear at the beach, but Ethan yelled it all the same. I’m not sure exactly how the table knife we bring in our cooler each day for peeling oranges made it into Ethan’s swim shorts, but somehow in wrestling with Sennen, it did. I suppose if you’re going to have a knife in your shorts, it’s the safest kind to have and no damage was done.
You know you’ve been on Patmos for awhile when your day at Kampos is just an “average” beach day. The kids wanted an “organized” (meaning with lounge chairs) sandy beach – which means Kampos or Agriolivadi. Ailyn wanted Kampos because we had been to Agrio five times and Kampos only twice. No one else was enthusiastic about Kampos – it’s certainly not my favorite – but Ailyn cared and she deserves to get her way sometimes.
There’s nothing that wasn’t great about Kampos – easy swimming, shallow for a long way out, beautiful, tons of seating, very comfortable lounge chairs. It was a good beach. Only, it didn’t wow anyone – not even Ailyn.
It didn’t help that the boys lost their volleyball at Petra two days ago – watching it drift out to sea, likely on Kalymnos by now. The shops where we would expect to find a new one are awaiting their shipments – leaving the boys a little less active than usual. Ethan was being protective about his elbows which have been acting up a little – causing him to avoid too much swim time. So, wrestling became more of a thing. Sennen was locked down by Ethan’s legs. Ethan was held down by Sennen’s body. Ethan was treated to a completely unprofessional chiropractic treatment. They slapped each other like The Three Stooges – only there were two of them. Between all of this and eating LOTS of fruit and snacks, the boys still had a good, albeit raucous time.
We’re hitting the inevitable and always sad Countdown To The End. We leave late Tuesday night (technically Wednesday morning) and the days remaining are becoming more tangible. Today’s discussions turned to mapping out which beaches and restaurants we will visit again.
Every year, I make a conscious effort to avoid the haze than settles on the final days of a Patmos sojourn. It’s kind of crazy because in another context, six days remaining in a place like Patmos would be abundance. If we were going to Hawaii for a week – as people often do – we would feel we had a lot left to enjoy. But somehow, a four or more week stint on Patmos only makes you greedy. I’ve experience it. Emily and I experienced it multiple times. It happened summer 2019 when we brought the kids and Matheus.
Patmos is a difficult thing to explain to someone. Before we came, Sennen jabbered on and on to Ethan about what he could expect. Ethan only understood when he arrived. Even someone who has been to other Greek islands doesn’t know what they’ll find on Patmos. It is distinct. So much so, I’m not going to even try to describe it here – because it’s a waste of time – plus if you’ve been reading this blog and you don’t have a sense of it by now, you’re unlikely to get it without coming. In fairness, one can use a LOT of words and not accomplish the mission.
That said, for someone who has spent some time on Patmos, there’s a sense that what lies beyond the dock isn’t better than what you have right here.
This is why for two years, Sennen has spent some amount of time refusing to get on the ferry. It causes the “Last Week Malaise.” The Countdown is hard to resist and very powerful.
So the crew is safeguarding their remaining time, prioritizing, checking to make sure no important item remains unchecked on the list. Which day will we eat at Ktima Petra again? Which beach should we go to on our last day? Can we go to Petra two more times?
A few important items have been addressed.
Tomorrow we will have a second Boat Day. Because it is has been unanimously voted the best day of Patmos, and now includes Ailyn again – I thought one more Boat Day worthwhile.
Last night we had the Annual Cheeseball Tasting in which we get fresh, hot Greek cheeseballs – or cheese croquettes as they are sometimes translated – from four local establishments and then taste and rate each one. It is a controversial topic with strong beliefs – but it changes sometimes from year-to-year both as restaurant menus change and the kids’ tastebuds evolve. Of course, this year we had Ethan in the mix to whom all of this was new and he had his own strong opinions.
The videos below do it the most justice, but the short summary is Pantelis’ cheeseballs won this year – and my favorites from Yiamas with the delicious spicy fig jam came in last. Ethan gave them a 1 out of 10 – nullifying my 10 of 10 rating.
What matters is we have our little traditions, our favorite places, the activities that complete the experience. If there is good to be found in this time coming to a close, it’s that it makes everything more precious.
For me personally, it also helps that while this time with the kids in Patmos is the most valuable to me, I still get another five weeks on Patmos. I can and will go back to Petra. And if I really want, I can get some cheeseballs from Yiamas without anyone putting them down.
Still, I feel about ending this time with the kids in July, much as Kurt Weil described in his September Song (known best by Ella Fitzgerald and Didi Bridgewater’s renditions) “Oh, the days dwindle down to a precious few September, November And these few precious days I’ll spend with you…”
