Ioannis, Georgia & Christos
It’s funny, or should I say thematic for the sake of putting these stories together that I would call out the difference between an Airbnb in any other country versus Greece. The hosts are so hospitable. It is as if you are a relative traveling from far to see them. Ioannis, Georgia and Christo were no different. On Airbnb, the rental looked as if Ioannis was running the show, but he wasn’t it was Georgia. As the famous saying in My Big Fat Greek Wedding Goes “The man is the head, but the woman is the neck. And she can turn the head any way she wants.” That is exactly how this house operated, and I picked it up with the first meeting, at the port, as they greeted me with their car in the sweltering heat to take my luggage up the hill to the beautiful apartment of theirs, I was staying in. I arrived earlier than the apartment was ready; but I needed to get done some work. They locked most of my stuff away in a storage room they had and frantically called their son Christo. They were calling him to find where the best place was for me to go that has good wi-fi so I can work. Who does that? Greeks, that’s who. God bless this kid. So gracious- at his parents’ beckon call. Christo was home for the summer. He is currently studying in Thessaloniki to become a mechanical engineer. Within seconds Christo appeared to not only tell me where I was going to go; but also walk me there. This is where I learned more about Christo. I say all this as it is novel, but its not. I can’t count the amount of people my parents have hosted over the years in our home. Some our closest family and friends, other friends of friends, others acquaintances and some more or less strangers. My parents give them a bedroom, a bathroom and cook for them. It’s Four Seasons Hospitality but better, it’s free and full of love. And that’s the energy I received from stay to stay. I received the same type of energy I would receive if I met my mom on the street.
Serifos was the first island of this trip that I was going to by myself. I have traveled most of my career, mostly by myself to foreign places for weeks at a time, yet I never felt alone. Perhaps because I was working, and although it didn’t feel that way in the moment, I did have another purpose. I just didn’t realize it. This time around, I was traveling for me: on my time, with no purpose (other than to be happy in my happy place), with no schedule, with no one to answer to. I didn’t realize how lonely that can be. But in Greece, and probably more so as a solo (not so young) woman traveler, people take a vested interest in ‘Where are you from? Why are you here? Why are you by yourself?’ After a few of these interactions after the loneliness began to sink in, I realized I haven’t been alone. The care I felt from complete strangers I met was palpable. They cared: my Airbnb hosts, the monks at the monastery, the waiter, the shop owner.
Fast forward to Christmas 2023: Ioannis sent me a holiday message. I rest my case.
