For me, summer means carefree, fun, rides, but most of all adventure. I am very lucky because all my summers in Greece were very adventurous.
My dad, or Survivor Man, as I called him when I was little, made sure that every summer he took us to a different corner of our homeland and I can say that in less than a decade I managed to get a good taste of its rare and unique beauty that I keep inside me like a treasure.
Every now and then, when I get the nostalgia of being abroad and I am enchanted by the moon, I «unlock» the chest of my soul and retrieve one by one the diamonds of my memories.
Swimming in the river Voidomatis, evening walks in Parga, feasts in taverns in Zakynthos. Beautiful, carefree moments under the Mediterranean sun, full of music that blends with the voices of the people, creating an electric atmosphere that has no comparison.
One of my most vivid memories of summer in Greece, is when I was 9 years old and we were on holiday in Kythera. It was in the middle of July and it was very hot, I remember. As soon as we woke up we went down to the beach.
Excited for me, with my mask and snorkel to explore the bottom... horror of horrors. So we arrive, and I dive straight into the deep blue water, with «Survivor Man» at my side - probably afraid I'd drown - swimming towards the shore.
The water was a real treat. And that magical silence beneath its surface that makes you feel like the absolute master of the deep. I thought I was in an aquatic paradise.
I remember how ecstatic I was watching and admiring the seaweed and the small colourful fishes I was seeing, until suddenly, out of the corner of my eye, I noticed something approaching towards me.
I turn my head and what I saw still seems like a dream. A huge caretta-caretta turtle was moving - it seemed to me at the time - coming dangerously close to me. She was lush and much larger than the cloth imitations of her that adorned my bed and than anything I knew. After all, it's true that they don't teach you everything at school...
I'm freezing. God, I think, what do I do now? I really thought he was going to eat me. I look at her, she looks at me, and at the crucial moment I close my eyes tightly so I don't see the «end» I was sure was coming.
A few moments passed without anything fatal happening. I open my eyes and realize that the huge caret passes underneath me and continues its carefree wanderings.
I look in the direction of «Survivor Man» and realize that he was still swimming next to me, clueless.
Suddenly, as if electrocuted, I realize what has happened and start swimming as fast as I can, slamming my hands and feet into the water in a frenzy, heading for the safety of land, screaming: «HE'S GONNA EAT ME!».
I come running out in a panic and start to tell my mother and my 5 year old sister who was looking at me with her eyes wide as if I had told her I had seen a UFO. My father, upset, comes out of the water and asks me what happened.
I told him the story from the beginning in gruesome detail, but he didn't seem to believe a word I said. «You must have seen a bag of something, you little hearts,» he says, smiling reassuringly, winking at my mother meaningfully.
Annoyed, I wished the turtle would get out and come and eat them, just to confirm my testimony. «Bags have no eyes, no arms and legs,» I threw up and sat on my towel in a fit of nerves.
I vowed to punish them with my silence for the rest of the day while I was lying under the hot July sun wondering where on earth the endangered caretta-caretta - as the teacher had clearly told us - was found on the beach in Kythera. And not only did it ruin my swim, but no one believed me.
And since my family didn't believe me - apart from my sister who doesn't get it - let alone my friends.
«Look at that. To meet frame by frame and not be able to tell anyone,» I thought.
My sad contemplation is suddenly interrupted by unfamiliar male voices. I look up and see two divers coming out of the water, discussing what they had just seen: a turtle, caretta caretta...
Automatically, I turn around and look - and to be more precise, «stare» with my eyes - at «Survivor Man». He, he said nothing. He held out his hand and said in a somewhat apologetic tone, «come on, sweetheart, let's go back in the water and see if we can catch her swimming around here.».
Excited and above all justified, I grabbed his hand and cried out: «yes, let's go on a sea adventure».
