The Detours of Life

Sailing among the 6000 Greek islands is something I have always wanted to do. I am not sure why because I can become nauseous. Nevertheless, the sun, the wind; the miracle of light, sky, and water did not disappoint.

Our sailing trip was delayed due to torrential rains in Western Greece. Paul and Ann, our hosts and captains, took shelter at marinas along the western coast while I participated in a meeting for the ERASMUS grant that I am evaluating. The grant trains Jordanian physicians about teaching medical students, using adult learning styles instead of lecture. Reed and I experienced the same storm in Patra and were glad we packed raincoats and umbrellas. Luckily, a great bakery was easy walking distance from the Airbnb studio apartment we rented. (Love that baklava and spinach pie!)

Due to the rain, we delayed our sail by spending a day in Epidavros, the ancient Greek city along the Peloponnesian coast (southern Greece) famous for the sanctuary of the Asklepios, the god of medicine. The site has a well-preserved theater with perfect acoustics and other ruins. It was a healing center that attracted sick from across the Mediterranean for miraculous cures from 1500 BC to 500 AD—ancient Greek and Roman times. Asklepios carried a staff with a snake (the caduceus). He is the son of Apollo, and his daughters are Hygenia and Panacea. The roots of our medical terminology were continually interesting. It was a wonderful place to spend my 70th birthday accompanied by my younger sister, Irene, also a physician. The city has a sunken city that we snorkeled over the next day—walls, floors, and 15 amphora, large storage vessels used to store oil and grain.

Several days later, when the storm moved on, Reed headed back home and Irene and I  boarded the sailboat. On day two, after a spectacular snorkel where we found an octopus hiding along the rocky coast of a small island, we hit a rock. Yes, you read that correctly! (Thankfully, I was not driving.) Due to worries about damage to the keel, we motored to a marina where a diver could investigate the damage. The diagnosis included cracks. Since no water was entering the bilge, we safely journeyed to a marina where the boat could be pulled out.

Change of plans: Paul and Ann know Greece well and they suggested Irene and I explore Parga. We hired a car (It is hire, not rent.) and Irene did a masterful job of negotiating the narrow and steep roads and the drivers who make blind passes up the hills in our stick shift. In Parga we found beach, snorkeling, a spacious hotel room with a balcony, a medieval castle, an ancient monastery bell tower, as well as the confluence of rivers that were the entrance to the ancient Greek underworld, the domain of Hades.

We booked a kayak adventure on the river Acheron. Since it was the end of the season, we had the guide to ourselves and enjoyed the birds and the nutria families, a muskrat-like mammal who borrowed along the bank. Two brothers, now in their late 20s, started the business four years earlier inspired by the stories about the Greek myths their mother told them as children. As we paddled, Dimitri talked about Persephone, Odysseus and Hercules, all of whom made trips to Hades.  

The canceled flight home was the final detour of our Greek adventure. During our unexpected extra day, Irene suggested we see Athens via segway, something I would never have done on my own. For three hours we rolled and maneuvered through Athens: viewing the hill with Acropolis and Parthenon from a high-point where early Greek men climbed up to vote, the Olympic stadium, the national garden, and other ancient and modern sites.

The detours of the trip reminded me of the famous line in John Lennon’s song, “Beautiful Boy”: Life is what happens when you are making other plans. However, AI informed me that the original author was journalist Allan Saunders, who wrote it in a 1957 issue of Reader's Digest.

May you enjoy the detours that make up your months and years as well as the good ideas that are recycled.