Lesvos,Greece
Travelling alone heightens elements of the surreal. Part of that can be attributed to my desire to not plan anything. A week ago I landed on Lesvos, one of the larger Greek islands, close to Turkey. It's landscape and weather are not too different from East San Diego, arid semi desert and very mediterranean. I landed in Mytlini, a bustleing little port town and waited for 6 hours to catch the one bus to Skala Essrou, the birthplace of Sappho and beach resort hang out for vacationing lesbians. I had been forewarned that the season was over so it came as no surprise that when I arrived, the entire town was boarded up. It was like walking around a war zone with empty buildings and cafe balconies on the beach whose shell only remained because the wood had been removed for the winter. I went to "Sappho's" (the lesbian hotel) and it was closed. Mind you, there were still a few pensiones, two cafes, a shop and an internet place operating. So to say it was a ghost town is not completely accurate. I found a nice place to stay with a woman who had 9 sheep in her front yard.
That night I sat on the beach and watched someone swim out to sea. It must have been around 7pm at night as the sun went down. The next morning I woke up to the sounds of migrating birds, thousands were everywhere. As I walked to the village of Essrou, I noticed a woman blowing kisses to someone in a window. I couldn't tell who it was initially, but as I walked close I could see it was a woman!!! My first lesbian sighting (a real lesbian on the island of Lesvos!). I walked along the road to Essrou and went into a small roadside shop where an artist sold painted rocks. I bought one as it was quite beautiful and she was super cool. She mentioned that there was a protest last week on Lesvos against the local mayor who wanted to build a coal burning power plant on top of the hills next to the energy generating windmills. Much of Lesvos (like many of the islands) use some form of renewable energy, be it solar or wind. Across from her shop was another artist who worked with iron, making sculptures out of old car parts (he had a dozen Olympic figures in the front yard made out of gas tanks and carborators...a tribute to the Athens Games!!!). I continued walking past the small farms dotted with burros, chickens, olive trees and grapes.
I made it to Essrou and had a coffee and wrote. I made my way into a little gift shop, and in it was the woman in the window. She was buying a lantern (I assumed for the girl blowing kisses to her). I left and thought that was a funny coincidence, but then she reappared and said hello. She was from Thessolinki and indeed buying a lantern for her girlfriend Victoria who is Austrian. Her name was Elani and she told me there are about 20 women who live in Skala Esserou full time, many of whom are German, Austrian or Dutch. She invited me for a swim in the ocean and so later that day we met up. It was quite amazing to swim in the Aegean's warm clear waters. You could open your eyes and see the white sand at your feet. The shores are lined with fish and most people spend their days there fishing, swimming or laying in the sun. It's a good life.
Elani had been there two years and enjoyed the simplicity of life. Her English wasn't so good, but I appreciated her warmth and willingness to communicate. She said the locals of Skala were friendly towards her and the other women, though it's taken a few years for the homophobia to subside. I guess Skala had been dropped by some of the major British tour companies because of the naked lesbians lying on its beaches ("lack of family atmoshphere"), hence the reason for the many boarded and closed businesses. Still, I enjoyed Skala a lot as it seemed very real, and the few people who were there were kind and easy going. That said, I have had many moments of what I have come to call "apparition sightings". Thanks to my friend Carolyne's performance piece in Tabor, I now notice simple moments of beauty where I may have not before. Those moments are hard to describe, but they can be as simple as the moon over a roof, or a cat sleeping on a rock, or an old woman praying with her rosaries as she walks to town, or a man selling freshly caught fish out of the back of his truck. They appear and leave. I want to take pictures of them,but realize it would ruin the beauty. So instead I just watch them and appreciate.
I'm looking for those moments actively now.
Next stop, Bankok.
That night I sat on the beach and watched someone swim out to sea. It must have been around 7pm at night as the sun went down. The next morning I woke up to the sounds of migrating birds, thousands were everywhere. As I walked to the village of Essrou, I noticed a woman blowing kisses to someone in a window. I couldn't tell who it was initially, but as I walked close I could see it was a woman!!! My first lesbian sighting (a real lesbian on the island of Lesvos!). I walked along the road to Essrou and went into a small roadside shop where an artist sold painted rocks. I bought one as it was quite beautiful and she was super cool. She mentioned that there was a protest last week on Lesvos against the local mayor who wanted to build a coal burning power plant on top of the hills next to the energy generating windmills. Much of Lesvos (like many of the islands) use some form of renewable energy, be it solar or wind. Across from her shop was another artist who worked with iron, making sculptures out of old car parts (he had a dozen Olympic figures in the front yard made out of gas tanks and carborators...a tribute to the Athens Games!!!). I continued walking past the small farms dotted with burros, chickens, olive trees and grapes.
I made it to Essrou and had a coffee and wrote. I made my way into a little gift shop, and in it was the woman in the window. She was buying a lantern (I assumed for the girl blowing kisses to her). I left and thought that was a funny coincidence, but then she reappared and said hello. She was from Thessolinki and indeed buying a lantern for her girlfriend Victoria who is Austrian. Her name was Elani and she told me there are about 20 women who live in Skala Esserou full time, many of whom are German, Austrian or Dutch. She invited me for a swim in the ocean and so later that day we met up. It was quite amazing to swim in the Aegean's warm clear waters. You could open your eyes and see the white sand at your feet. The shores are lined with fish and most people spend their days there fishing, swimming or laying in the sun. It's a good life.
Elani had been there two years and enjoyed the simplicity of life. Her English wasn't so good, but I appreciated her warmth and willingness to communicate. She said the locals of Skala were friendly towards her and the other women, though it's taken a few years for the homophobia to subside. I guess Skala had been dropped by some of the major British tour companies because of the naked lesbians lying on its beaches ("lack of family atmoshphere"), hence the reason for the many boarded and closed businesses. Still, I enjoyed Skala a lot as it seemed very real, and the few people who were there were kind and easy going. That said, I have had many moments of what I have come to call "apparition sightings". Thanks to my friend Carolyne's performance piece in Tabor, I now notice simple moments of beauty where I may have not before. Those moments are hard to describe, but they can be as simple as the moon over a roof, or a cat sleeping on a rock, or an old woman praying with her rosaries as she walks to town, or a man selling freshly caught fish out of the back of his truck. They appear and leave. I want to take pictures of them,but realize it would ruin the beauty. So instead I just watch them and appreciate.
I'm looking for those moments actively now.
Next stop, Bankok.
posted by Mr. Sophie at 1:09 AM
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