Hellenic Honeymoon

The day after the wedding we were on a plane, because there’s nothing like testing a newly minted marriage like a 15 hour plane journey… which turned into a 22 hour journey thanks to a missed connection and a quick re-routing through Amsterdam to arrive in Athens at 2am on Saturday. I thought all that travel would knock me out enough to then cleverly circumvent the jet lag but I was very, very wrong.

The next day, our last flight got us to Lindos and we trudged past the whitewashed buildings-very aware that we’d appreciate the beauty around us after a long sleep- dragging our suitcases until we found our airbnb and collapsed. Throughout the honeymoon, my day would often begin at 2am-4am with staring at the beautiful cedar ceiling or glaring resentfully at my peacefully sleeping husband. Eventually, I would drop off and we’d be up around noon- so the plan of getting out and about before the heat of the never really panned out.

And the heat was unreal.

Our flat was beautifully air-conditioned, but the second we stepped across the threshold to the outside world, the heat would smack you in the face and sap all energy as the unceasing scream of the cicadas protested the heat; we had no choice but to have a beautiful and relaxing two weeks - alas.

Our first evening in, we wandered the serpentine passages of the town we found a restaurant that had a rooftop terrance from which we could admire the acropolis (we later learned that it was almost impossible not to eat on a rooftop while here). The proud temple and fortress has lorded over Lindos since the 4th century BC and had originally been dedicated to Athena, the goddess of war and wisdom. Greeks, Romans, Byzantines, and crusaders had all stood atop that hill and looked over their subjects, and their subjects would have looked up with worship and respect.

Our days a top the Lindos acropolis were my favourite, even more than the one in Athens. After a short donkey ride up the hill, we entered through the medieval gatehouse into the ruined courtyard, and then up to the Greek sanctuary. From the high stone walls we could see the gleaming white town on one side, and on the other the shining cerulean sea stretched into infinity. While now it was flat and serene, the immense emptiness still demanded reverence. Poseidon would be deadly if angered.

The actual temple of Athena was quite small and on the very edge of the blue expanse of sea and sky. The lonely columns stood proud and tall, and looked almost new despite being a remnant of a world long-gone. We wandered around them and the surrounding buildings almost alone, as the late hour meant most of the other travellers would be searching for a rooftop dinner by now. I got to feel like a Greek goddess as my lovely husband took photos of me, and then patiently read while I skittered around the ancient architecture with my camera. We stayed until the columns’ shadows had stretched across the silent city and the sun had sank into the sea.

In the heat of the day, we would normally wander down to one of the beaches, settle under a beach umbrella, and split our day between reading and taking a dip in the Aegean. I’ve been working through the Terry Pratchett Discworld series and Tom has been brushing up on his Greek mythology. The crystal clear water was so refreshing and then the warm Mediterranean sun would dry you off in an instant. On the fancier beach, you could order food and drink to our lounge chairs! We were very much at risk of being spoiled.

For a day trip, we went to the medieval city of Rhodes.

Greek museums are 80% broken pottery. It’s all very lovely pottery, but after the first three halls of it, you get the idea. We had a quick walk through the main museum, and then kept exploring the stone streets and hundreds of market stalls. Rhodes was certainly more lively than Lindos, with sellers hawking everything from jewellery, leather sandals, Greek icons, mini Greek statues, artwork, and everything else. Walking in the footsteps of the Knights Hospitallers, we wandered the streets and greeted all the kitties napping on the streets and stone walls. We found a church with some gorgeous icons of St. George, Tom’s favourite saint, and I bought a small statue of Nike for my bookcase back home.

Back in Lindos, we decided that we were responsible/ foolish enough to take our lives into our hands and rent out a speedboat. The Jon Richardson comedy routine came to mind and was quoted persistently. The call of the void was deafening; knowing that you could drive the boat straight into the horizon for ages, until you were surrounded on all sides with blue above, beyond and below. Jumping off the side of the boat, we felt embraced by the sea, which became a worryingly strong hug when getting back into the boat developed into bit of a struggle.

Our lazy days in Lindos largely merged together sun, sand, surf and the love of my life. After the chaos of the wedding and the travel, this time spent together was so precious.

The last two days of our honeymoon were spent in Athens, which seemed so much noisier and modern compared to the peaceful, rustic repose of Lindos. We went on a walking mythology tour of the city, where I got to be teacher’s pet with my knowledge of the myths. The Acropolis was like an anthill, teaming with people, and we heard the story of the challenge between Athena and Poseidon to claim the naming of the city. It was good to brush up on the stories before I teach them next year. We also walked through the Roman forum, the Greek agora, Zeus’ temple and the temple of Hephaestus. We finished our trip at the Acropolis Museum, looking all the statues that have been recovered from the citadel, and I had to gag Tom when we got the Elgin marble exhibit.

A lovely end to the holiday, and a lovely beginning to our life together.