(Athens, Greece)

“And you may find yourself, in another part of the world…and you may ask yourself, well…how did I get here?” (Once in a Lifetime – Talking Heads)

So, here we are in Greece. And how we got here is a strange story.

I was supposed to be playing in a lawn bowling competition in Cyprus. And then…war intervened. Due to the outbreak of hostilities in the Middle East, a bunch of flights to Cyprus and points beyond were cancelled. As a result, the competition was cancelled too. And this is as far as I got, after a brief stopover in Switzerland.

As much as I like to plan, I am also an advocate for serendipitous travel. My 2014 trip to Ireland was essentially random, and it worked out very well. So, now I’ve got another chance to put that into practice.

I must admit that I like to leave the random elements a little more focused. In 2014, at least I knew that I was going to Ireland in advance of my departure. This time around, I didn’t know where I was going to end up, or for how long. I was packed for a certain climate at a certain time of year. Even now, I don’t know for sure how this is all going to play out. All I know is when I need to catch my flight back home.

The main thing is that we are safe, and on holiday…even though it is not the holiday we had envisioned. One factor in our favour is that it is not high season in this part of Europe. Accommodation, that most basic need, should be available.

This post is necessarily short. I have a lot of work to do. One thing is certain: this series of posts should be just as surprising for me as it is for the readers!