The Small Island Man

I am the small island man! How lucky am I not only to have discovered Sifnos but to have found a way to make a permanent way of life here.

To book a two-week holiday and to have had a single morning as perfect as mine would make that holiday a worthwhile investment. But I, get to live here! I have to pinch myself every day, to check I am not dreaming.

This morning Hazel and I ventured up to Apollonia. We had to check for the post at the post office, stop by the butcher, and as habit dictates, stop for a chocolate croissant and coffee which we share with Ronnie, aka The Schnoodle in the little square outside the Veggeraki bakery. Such excursions always take a long time. It was necessary to stop and pass the time of day with a dozen or so friends. Of course, we spoke with the butch, the baker, and our carpenter had to stand in for the candlestick maker. But then there were the many other island friends too and a new friend was made too (we managed to pick up some of his Greek and English conversation and found his Greek enunciation easier to follow than some). To live on Sifnos is to move amongst friends. Relationships, friendships are an island-wide spiders web that connects us all together. Nothing can happen to one person that is not communicated through conversations vibrating through the web that connects us all together. 

There is quirky humour in Greek island life These three scooters parked right under the "No Scooter Parking" sign - a certain irreverence. But then all three scooters have the ignition keys left in the locks. Trust trumps everything. Though in the summertime they would have got tickets!

  

Being mid-November we did not want to let the blue skies and sun go by without making the most of it so we decided a walk to explore Katopetali was in order.

Ronnie was delighted, as always, and never misses a  chance to catalog the location of island lizards, cats, goats, and so on.

Sifnos island beauty! I find it almost impossible to write about it. Where to begin in explaining how this island stimulates my senses. I sometimes fear I may simply die of too much beauty. For me, this island is an everyday overdose of the sublime, it is ridiculous or at least ridiculous to reach for superlatives that are condemned to fall short of the mark.

Just a short walk from the main Kamares Apollonia road and we are on one of the island's many walking trails. 

At every turn, there is a breathtaking view.

Even the rocks sparkle in the sunshine and show an amazing variety of colours and formations 

This handsome chap came to say good morning

I love Sifnos when the tourists come. But, I have to confess to loving Sifnos a little bit more when they leave. Even when the weather gets cooler there is a quietness that reveals more island magic. For the life of me, I cannot understand why so many people fail to remain here over the winter especially when they have the means to.

i mean it's November... and look!

So the camera on my phone cannot do justice to the colour intensity of these flowers. It saturates and loses detail on the screen. It's as if even my 'phone says, "Na, that cannot be real!"