Ithaki

Keep Ithaka always in your mind.

Arriving there is what you are destined for.

Bud do not hurry the journey at all.

Better if it lasts for years,

So you are old by the time you reach the island,

Wealthy with all you have gained on the way,

Not expecting Ithaka to make you rich.

--CP Cavafy, “Ithaka”

Ithaki is beautiful, and I am enjoying an afternoon alone.  From visiting Lefkas and Kefalonia last year, I knew that I loved this part of Greece, but Ithaka has enchanted me thoroughly.  It is so different from any of the other islands...calm, peaceful, very much like a different world.  It seems unspoilt, as if despite the tourists pouring in off of cruise ships, it has managed to maintain some sense of authenticity and character.  As it should be.

And EasyCruise is amazing - I will definitely be doing one of them again. Our cabin is nicer than many hotel rooms I have stayed in, and the price is so fantastic.  I just wish the guys had been able to come on this part of the trip as well, it would have been so much fun to have them here.  Sonia has wandered off on her own for the afternoon, so I have found solace in a small cafe with internet access, and am quite content.  I've filled half a Moleskine in the past three weeks, and will be trying to share as much of that writing as is possible once I get home.  I'm almost ready to leave - am tired of feeling uprooted.  I've been missing the friends a lot now that the boys are gone - as usual, I wish that Ashley or Kaitlin could be here to take it all in.

~RLM