Annie and Scott invited us to fly to Greece with an assortment of their family and friends. We have spent the first week with Annie’s mom, Madeline, and with Annie’s type A step-father, Dino. Dino is a retired cardiac surgeon and Madeline is a retired investment councilor. Dino has been adding rooms and more to a house on the island of Spetses and has been eager for mobs of visitors. In total, we are 14!
It has been very hot this week with afternoon temperatures hovering in the mid nineties. We have thrived thanks to Dino’s air conditioning, rooftop gazebo, new swimming pool and the nearby beaches of clear water and occasional marine creature.
This week has been an opportunity for us to hang out with Madeline and Dino in a way that has not been possible on their short annual visits to Seattle to visit with Scott and Annie and their kids Liam and Cora. Add to that Annie’s brother, Peter, his daughter Roya and four friends of these three teenagers and we have a very lovely house full.
The house is a short walk through narrow streets to everything one needs: coffee shops, tavernas, museums, beaches and more. In this heat, we have to keep moving through the motor bikes to the shady side of the street. No cars are permitted other than a smattering of taxis. This island is a summer destination for wealthy Athenians. It is not on the cruise ship circuit.
Greece has such histories that we have known, have forgotten, and have never known. One of the never-knowns is that of Laskarina Bouboulina of Spetses. This woman was wealthy and took it upon herself to lead troops that eventually succeeded in expelling the Turks ending their 400 year ruling over Greece. She constructed a fighting ship far larger than trading ships that were allowed by the Turks and then she commanded that ship in multiple battles! The first woman in history to assert such leadership. The Russians (Catherine the Great) made her an honorary admiral. The Spetses Bouboulina museum, filled with artifacts, is in her elegant, fort-like home near the port.
