By John P. Nordin
What makes for a vacation that you return from fulfilled, refreshed? The words ‘silence’ and ‘simplicity’ probably do not initially come to mind. But Astypalaia provides a place to experience the restorative virtues of each.
Silence. Our world is filled with noise, so much so, that we can be surprised or even uneasy when it stops. Noise from cars, our aircraft, buzzing from equipment, background music, and more. A Greek island can be noisy, but it can also be nearly silent. Go for a walk in the afternoon, it’s almost a siesta, and give your ears time to decompress.
The removal of background noise lets you hear things you don’t notice otherwise: birds, the clang of a bell from a goat, wash flapping on a line, a distant ferry boat, children calling to each other, the wind itself. Or go to a quiet beach (like the one shown here, at Saint Konstantinos on the southern part of the island) and sit on the pebble beach, bury your feet in the warm pebbles listen to the waves gently coming in and fall into their rhythm, a pattern, but one never exactly repeating itself.
Adjusting to hearing only purposeful sound you can appreciate other rhythms you encounter. A visit from the youth of the Musical School of Rhodes drew listeners into an engaging tempo.
Likewise, simplicity, the removal of unnecessary complexity, also opens up experiences. Consider food. Much of the Mediterranean cuisine (and it’s all around you in Astypalaia) is based on meals with just a few ingredients, but ingredients prepared fresh and unprocessed, exposing you to their natural flavors. This restaurant, with no walls and a dirt floor: very simple. But couple the healthy food with that view and you have simple luxury.
As there is less noise, so there is less busy work. We’re told to ‘slow down and smell the flowers’, and there certainly are many spectacular flower settings to admire on this island.
But slow down, really slow down and you might start noticing interesting details, like this water spout.
How often do we really notice the richness of a sunrise or sunset or take time to absorbe the immensity of the ocean?
The combination of silence and simplicity brings a luxury like no other. It can lead you to hearing your own deep desires and how to live richly on less, how to live with less stress. It can be a physical and mental refresh that leads to a spiritual deepening.
I put these feelings together in this poem.
ASTYPALAIA
The Chora on the hill
spreads round the old fort,
whitewashed houses ring the summit,
and the sea rings the hill.
Blue!
Light blue of the sky
fading lighter as it drops to the sea,
not Homer’s wine-dark or gray
but a thousand floating shades of blue.
Islets break the horizon
shimmering,
their warm internal light
haloed on the sky.
Gentle wind surrounds,
warm sun soaking skin
crunch of small stones under the hiker’s foot
spiritual quiet of the midday rest.
A blue icon of fate,
gaze at the azure nothingness
into which one day
we must all pass
with faith
that what lies beyond
has been foretold by
those brief, perfect, moments
here.
Photo Credit: John P. Nordin
