St Fanourios and the Gifts to Self

My book Falling in Honey is, in some ways, about losing things. It’s about losing people you know to cancer; about losing relationships you thought were your future.

But on the flipside, it’s about how these things encouraged me to grasp life by its curly goatish horns. The universe was waving a big banner that said: ‘What are you waiting for?’

To give myself new, happy plans for my future, I came up with the Gifts to Self.

One thing guaranteed to make me happy was a Greek island. The combination of sun, sea and stunning landscapes always hit the spot. I wanted a month on a Greek island.

Work also had to change, to stop dominating my life. I did the figures and decided I could live on a four-day week for a while.

The third gift was making sure I didn’t fall in love again for a good while, so my heart couldn’t be broken anytime soon.

It was all possible; I did it, and the sky didn’t fall.

So I cooked up a plan: to move to Tilos.

It didn’t go smoothly.

But I now believed I had the power to make my life better. And two years later I came to live on a Greek island. I spend loads of time outdoors, walking with my dog and swimming in the sea.

This morning, around seven-thirty, from across the valley I heard the beautiful, soft, haunting sound of the priest’s voice singing a service. I checked my diary, which being a Greek diary handily lists the many saints’ days. Of course, the wondrous St Fanourios! Fanourios the Revealer, who helps you find what you’ve been looking for. It’s been a day for thanking him.

 Lisa the pup, unfortunately, didn’t find what she was looking for this morning: her boyfriend, who had been on Eristos beach all summer and had taken the big boat back to Athens last night, which meant it was safe to take her to the kantina again. She kept looking towards where he should be, willing him to appear. 'He loves me, I know he'll come any minute now, I can smell him...' The poor angel. We all tried to console her – how to tell her he would have stayed and waited forever if he could?

But I've found two other things that I was looking for: a new house with my very own office (fingers crossed); and an energetic and social exercise class for the winter (still smiling from my very first zumba class tonight!).

My gifts to self could have been anything. What are yours - what are you looking for?

Here's the tiny church of St Fanourios in the old town of Rhodes, and nearby...

 

A Romantic Dinner for Two

I don't think there's any better way to end the day than right here, at Elpida restaurant, in Ayios Andonis. We had left the car at Ayios Andonis and walked to Plaka in late afternoon, and since it was busy on the beach (busy! Plaka! it must be August...) we walked to the rocks at the far end, and lay there watching the snorkellers. Then we walked back and all I could think of was the food at Elpida. So we stopped in.  

At the moment the sun started to go down, the other couples in the restaurant moved as one to the waterside edge of the restaurant to take photographs. 

Food arrived just in time for me to take my first bite of fried calamari with tzatziki as the sun slid down behind the mountain... Nothing says 'Greek island' like this, eh?

I'd been thinking on the walk back, one of the things I love about Tilos is that it feels a little unfinished, like a continual work in progress; not packaged and prettified, but raw and elemental. And hardly anywhere in the world could you watch such a spectacular sunset from a place so beautifully informal, with a handwritten menu (where the words do

n't quite fit on the line...).

Surrounded only by beach and a couple of other houses, it's the most romantic spot for a dinner for two...

And nothing says love like giving your partner your last piece of calamari.  

Thanks to Lisa the pup for a delightful evening!

Heat, Heat and More Heat

It was appropriate - as well as being a little bit amazing - that Falling in Honey got a 5-star review in the Top 5 Books in Heat magazine this month. Because August in Tilos means heat (especially inside a kantina). 

But in case that wasn't enough in the way of a heat challenge, our eight-month-old resident comedy canine, Lisa, is also 'in heat'. 

That's right, our little girl is growing up, and she's rather popular, especially with the young pup currently staying on Eristos beach right next door to the kantina. He leaps up when he sees our dusty-red car, and looks at me with sad, accusing eyes when he sees Lisa's not in it.

Because I can't take her to Eristos, Lisa has become almost nocturnal, sleeping all the hot day, and waking up ready to play as soon as the sun starts going down. I think she's sneaking off to party at Mikro Horio all night while I'm asleep. So I've had to take her for her walks in the early evening, to beaches with few people and no dogs. Easy enough to find in Tilos anytime of the year - except August.

'Why don't you take her to Lethra?' asked Stelios one day. And what a great call. I hadn't been for ages, and had forgotten what a stunningly beautiful half-hour walk it is; I can let Lisa off the lead as there are goat-gates to stop her getting onto the road, and the beach rarely has more than a few people on it.

 

 

Another great walk is all the way around Livadia bay...


... to the little beach just before Faros for a swim as the sun goes down behind the hills opposite...

... or continuing around to the little harbour... 

... and then up the hill to Stefanakis Villas, which get the last of the evening light. What a place to stay, with views across the bay at sunset! And totally peaceful, even in the height of summer...

If we haven't been tempted to stop for a drink somewhere in Livadia afterwards, we drive back across the island and catch the sun again before it goes down over Ayios Andonis... 

Stefanakis Villas are the property of Stelios Stefanakis, who valiantly handles the comings and goings of ferries, ensuring we find a seat when we've forgotten to book ahead, and taking delivery of packages. For info on getting to Tilos, as well as the villas: http://tilos-travel.com/