My walk changes drastically after the port going towards Livadia. Finally, a boardwalk and the chance to stop zig-zagging and walk a straight line.
This sidewalk often is populated by fishermen sitting on the ground mending their nets. Mending is something I’ve often blogged about both for environmental and aesthetic reasons (see HERE). But these men aren’t being trendy when they mend. They do it simply because you aren’t going to catch any fish if you have a hole in your net.
Maybe the fishermen feed these ducks some of their catch as the ducks are always there. So many tourists have photographed them that their images exists all over the world!
I’ve been told that many of the fishermen are Egyptian. If they aren’t mending their nets, they can be seen hanging laundry or eating a meal on their boats. So often I’ve felt like taking their foto but don’t because it seems kind of rude.
I love the Parian hills cluttered with sugar cube houses.
At the port there are also boats that go to Krios Beach as well as boats that go to Antiparos. Antiparos is Paros’ “little sister” and is about a 20 minute boat ride away. Tom Hanks has a summer home there but Antiparos is better known for its cave (with Lord Byron’s signature) and for the archeological site of Despotiko where alot of digs have been going on in recent years.
Paros’ wealth in the past was due to its marble quarries because the marble was considered to be of such good quality. That’s why the Louvre’s Nike of Samotrace was made from Parian marble. In Parikia there’s an archeological museum with alot of interesting artifacts. My favorite is the gorgon.
But you don’t even have to go to the museum to enjoy Parian antiquities. Just further up the road next to the super market is the Ancient Cemetary “active” from the 8th cen. to the 2nd cen. A.D. There are a number of marble sarcophagi visible from the sidewalk.
The Past
My mantra for today comes from Manu Chao’s “Bongo Bongo” and it’s: I’m so happy there’s nobody in my place instead of me. No explanation needed.
The fourth day of my daily walks to Krios and my body is beginning to feel it in both a good way and a bad way. It would probably be a good idea to do some warm-up exercises but I’ve convinced myself that I don’t have the time.
This little church in Parikia is right at the port. Next to where the trees are is a little farmer’s market (I have already written about it HERE). Parian farmers come here to sell their produce as well as cheese and homemade wine and souma. I buy there as often as possible because the produce is local.
I enjoy it when women with flowered dresses and large buttocks walk in front of me. The flowers sway back and forth and it looks like a walking garden.
Todays’s mantra comes from Carlos Vives’ “Fruta Fresca“. It’s about a man who kisses a woman and then feels the taste of fruit on his lips. This taste won’t go away so the man prays and prays but the memory stays. The man is going crazy and ends up saying “Si si si!” (yes, yes, yes!). Now I know why they invented fruit flavoured lip gloss!
Si, si si. Om. Si, si si.
“Yes” is an affirmation and today much is written about the power of affirmations. Self-help books are full of theories about them. Amulets and talismans are often used as physical reminders of these affirmations. So another project on my already overdosed To Do list is to make a talisman from plastic debris found on the beach. What do you think Irini Gonou?
Walking is also about inter-relating with your surroundings. Driving, instead, reduces your visuals to little more than a blur (even though blurs can be beautiful like Arthur Dove’s painting “Fields of Grain as Seen from A Train Window”). Focusing on the road, you concentrate on where you’re going and not where you are. Walking, instead, gives you the possibility to observe the world around you. Walking gives you details.
Arthur Dove‘s “Fields of Grain as Seen from A Train Window”
While still in town, I inter-relate with others. For example, the taverna owners on the waterfront. We have never passed by the Glass Café or Ta Kimata (The Waves) without the owners greeting us. When you encounter someone you know even if just superficially, it’s always an exchange: Ti kanis? Kala, kai essi? (How are you? Fine, and you?) As simple as these phrases are, they are very important as they protect us from being indifferent to the presence of our fellow beings. They are not formalities in as much as they are reminders that we share our space with others and must do so with respect.
At the port there’s another kind of inter-relating that underlines the need to be more aware of demographics. Boat passengers coming and going invade communal spaces making deambulation difficult. There is much competition for Some Room of One’s Own and not everyone is polite about it. Instead of walking a straight line, I’m forced to adapt my motion around the presence of others thus zig-zag in and out of the masses armed with trolleys and knapsacks. People are no longer persons but obstacles.
In the last 100 years, the world population has quadrupled and not enough people take this reality into consideration. The rise in demographics is not just about elbow room—it’s about food, water and natural resources in general.
So with so many people on this planet, how is it possible to be lonely?
Today’s mantra comes from Neil Diamond’s “I Am I Said”… “I am I said, to no one there and no one heard at all not even the chair.” Neil Diamond wrote this song while fighting depression resulting in much time spent in therapy. A common technique in gestalt therapy is to have the patient face an empty chair and talk to it perhaps imagining someone in the chair who is willing to listen.
“I am” is an affirmation of existence. In the Old Testament, God gave his name as “I am that I am” which brings to mind the mantra “So Ham” which translates as “I am that”.
“So Ham” is a mantra based on deep breathing and produces a humming effect. Humming increases the production of nitric oxide causing more oxygen in your blood—your body’s cells need oxygen in the blood to function properly.
I am, I am, I am.
Even if you are alone, you will not be lonely if you’ve made friends with yourself.
related links: Arthur Dove‘s death in 1946 and life’s work were strongly overshadowed by the advent of Abstract Expressionism + “I Am… I Said” lyrics + The 12 Instant Benefits of Humming Daily
My walk to and from Krios Beach takes about 2 1/2 hrs including time for a quick swim once there. But some of that time is needed just to get out of Parikia:
Mouragio’s Taverna where we often eat
Agios Konstantinos Church, Kastro
the windmill at the port used as a tourist info center
Coming or Going? Port of Paros
Going! Port of Paros
Paros, port…high speed coming in
bus station, Port of Paros
Today’s mantra comes from “Summertime” sung by Janis Joplin. George Gershwin began composing this song in 1933 after being highly moved by black spiritual music of the south. “Summertime” was sung as a lullaby in “Porgy and Bess“, an opera set in a 1912 North Carolina fishing village where whites had a better life than blacks.
Well, I certainly can’t complain (even tho’ I often do) about anything especially in comparison to many other people on this planet. So the mantra is: Living is easy. And recognizing my good fortune is part of the Aesthetics of Appreciaton: If you’re lucky and don’t know it, it’s like not being lucky at all. So to keep your luck alive, recognize it.
My walk changes drastically after the port going towards Livadia. Finally, a boardwalk and the chance to stop zig-zagging and walk a straight line.
The Narrative Within 