The End

A day sail to Antiparos

And this concludes a year of living on Sifnos! 

As of a year ago we had landed on Sifnos laden with 10 suitcases of gear that would keep us supplied for our rambles through the region.  In only a few weeks time we return with the same 10 suitcases, this time a bit more beaten up for wear and tear, and filled with memories of extraordinary adventures.

Late Spring and our Sifnos summer have been full of enjoyable activity as we race to ‘experience it all’ before we leave Sifnos at the end of this week, not to see the island again until next summer.

"Faded Glory" in May, close up

April’s unbelievably brilliant greens gave way to a striking orange-pink presented by a pervasive bush that, now in July, looks almost dead.  Since I don’t know it’s rightful name I’ve applied the nickname “Faded Glory”.  May’s colorful show faded as June progressed and now we see the more familiar sandy browns mixed with deep greens. 

Everyone alerted us that May is the most pleasant month of the year.  Certainly we watched as spirits rose after the pressures of the Easter season.  Smiles were broader and steps lighter.  This is the time of great promise…for a good harvest to come…for a wealth-creating tourist season…soon to come.  The potters become most active in this month preparing the new inventory for tourist sales.  They need the sun and drier climate to effectively dry the clay before it is fired in the kilns.  In June everyone braces themself…the students to endure the month long national testing period…the business owners to receive the first onslaught of tourists.

Church at Chrysopigi bedecked for Saint's Day panagiri

Prepared for the panagiri

As tradition requires, the icon arrives by boat

Archbishop brings the icon ashore

This year Greece is faced with spirit-draining problems.  The first elections were a disaster and forced delays in critical political decisions.  All official business was paralyzed and many involved in such duties sat around shrugging shoulders and twiddling thumbs.  It didn’t help that Greece lost to Germany in the European (soccer) cup quarter-finals.  Gloom, gloom, gloom.  We had our own experiences that helped us to appreciate the depth and breadth of problems facing Greece.  Seeking a two-month extension to our visitors visas, we had a three month run-around with the local authorities trying to finding someone willing to claim ownership of the responsibility.  We were shuffled from the island of Sifnos, to the islands of Milos and Syros (all three related through the municipal organization).  We were shuffled from mayor’s office to police to port police to immigration.  Everyone agreed that it should be an easy case, yet we were not successful in finding an owning party.   

Rigorous hikes rewarded with pleasing views

Meanwhile, in pursuing a case of a foreign worker who had made sexual advances on Karoline, we came to understand the plight of the asylum seeker and Greece’s porous border problem.  Fortunately, we also came to greatly appreciate the skill and competence of the local police, as well as the general public vigilence in keeping the island safe for citizen and visitor alike.  It was explained that, upon hearing he was in trouble, the culprit had very likely pursued a traditional solution by slipping away on the first departing ferry, never to return to the island again.  It was an explanation for why it is rather easy to keep the island safe.  We are also grappling with the new national procedures being implemented to convert “illegal” properties into “legal” ones through an amnesty program.  We joined every other homeowner to comply, in good faith, with willingness to pass along the related fees.  However, we came to understand the extortionist level of the fees and the lack of assurance that, in the end result, our property would be any more ‘legal’ than it ever was.  We, like others, came to see the program as, in essence, a simple act on the part of the national government to generate revenues.  Through these experiences, we now come to appreciate the everyman’s resistance to paying any taxes in this country where one is left with the impression that one pays yet gets worse than nothing in return.  ‘Tis dis-spiriting.

Day sails to other islands

We sail; they motor; together it's fun

By the end of June Karoline wrapped up her 7^th grade year with Calvert and eased into vacation mode immediately after her piano contribution to the island’s youth music performance.  She played Mozart’s Ronda Alla Turca to an appreciative standing room only crowd.  In May, during the week before Pentecost, when the island celebrates it’s patron saint Chrysopigi, the children also organized an art exhibit in the island’s one theater.  This followed in early June with a youth performance of traditional dance, in traditional costume, at the athletic center. This week the children will perform a Greek tragedy at the amphitheater that overlooks Faros harbour.    I am impressed by the quality of the performances and the professionalism of the youth program’s organization.  

We paint new roadside marquee

These past months have found both Gerhard and me busy with completing modernization and business development projects for small businesses on the island.  The municipality has loosely sponsored all of this activity.  Gerhard is assisting a construction company with expanding its business into the Middle East, where the money is these days.  He also assisted with improvements on the business of a boutique hotel—whether as simple as plumbing and electrical repairs, or by making recommendations for better promotion through web marketing.   Karoline and I also helped the hotel with a small project to design and paint new signage directing car traffic to the hotel.  Meanwhile, I have been working with an icon painter, organic food purveyor, potter, and jewelry maker on various and sundry projects such as new product line merchandising, expanding business by creating an online distribution and marketing presence, structuring a cooperative to more effectively sell higher volumes, and promoting product through event marketing.    The book I have authored, (tinyurl.com/mkgbooks) is to help with the municipality’s efforts to promote the island as a repeat vacation destination for English speakers.  We hope we leave behind a Sifnos that is better off for having hosted us. 

Schools out!  Guests join our fun.