It has only been two short years since I have been to Greece, but I still remember it like it was yesterday. Now, more than ever, as I write this to the sound of the rain pattering against the window, do I wish that I could hop on a plane and head right back. Why has it taken me so long to write this post and share these photos you ask? Well, because a) I needed to savour the moment a bit more, and b) I wanted to get the words juuuust right.
Throughout our visit, most of the time was spent riding with our lovely friends from their favourite tourist (and not-so-touristy) spot to the next. We spent so much time in fact that my sister dubbed us, "The Backseat Buds". The name encompasses the frequent napping, question asking, and photo snapping that characterizes the backseat driver experience. And I learned that as much as I would like to drive, I prefer the liberty that comes with being a passenger (preferably not in the backseat) as you roll through your given landscape and watch as it swirls into one big blur as you cruise on by. And that's how from a distance we saw our next destination perched up the mountain, and a single thought passed through my mind. Just three words: Castles are cool. When we eventually got the top, I was able to add two more: Fallen castles are even cooler. This was quickly followed by: Man, are we high up!
If you don't mind being the (albeit tasty) egg or the ant in either of these scenarios, or you're Superman and need extremely concentrated levels of sunshine to survive, here's another good reason to go later in the day. The sunset sets the whole place aglow and suddenly the abandoned fortress comes back to life. With the light heat from above and below, it feels like you're walking on sunlight. In the sunlight, you forget that the Palimidi Fortress is, in fact, an abandoned prison, as it becomes a sort of time-travelling prism that absorbs sunlight and reflects the history, wonder and awe of the ancient world all around you.
Wild fruit, fresh breezes, and forgotten homes are what we saw and felt. But as we walked through the not-so-forgotten-fortress it seemed to cast a small spell on us we wound up the fortress, where we entered homes, climb stairs, stepped over cannon balls and saw forgotten weapons (and the damage that the enemies' left behind). Finally, we arrived and quickly entered the itsy-bitsy teeny-weeny cavern-like of a prison cell that Kolokotronis (more on him here) was forced to call home. My last words were "Remember me!" as I turned on my phone's flashlight and crawled into his old abode.
We left the fortress eyes twinkling, feet a little sore, tummies rumbling (we had had a long day at the beach) and with our hearts and minds full and ready for the next adventure.
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