Tuesday, October 5, 2010

October 3rd

On Sunday, October 3rd, my mother would have been 85 years of age. I thought of her in the morning while my sisters, on the other side of the globe, were taking part in a "Walk for the Cure of Breast Cancer". My mother and sister were both diagnosed with breast cancer. Bravo to everyone involved in this fundraising event!

Around noon we travelled south on the island to visit the gravesite of Molly MacKenzie, an old friend, who lived on this island for many years. She died earlier this year in Athens and her body was returned to the island for burial. Several sites at the cemetery were unmarked so we drove back into Kolofana to ask Sophie, the cafe owner to show us which one was Molly's. Sophie can be seen these days wildly waving from her cafe at passing cars, hoping to entice them into her cafe for meals. This behaviour is not at all typical of Greeks. I suspected that Sophie was a little off balance so I was not convinced that she would lead us to the right site. We left a beautiful heart shaped rock from the beach at Agia Anna at the gravesite that Sophie indicated was Molly's.

Happy days with Jehane, Irini & Molly at Kolofana.

When we returned to Chora, I showed Maria a photo of the site and she assured me that it was the wrong one! Maria had made the funeral arrangements and attended the ceremonial burial. We'll return again to move the stone and place a plant on the correct site but we won't be stopping to say hello to Sophie!!

The island is emptying. We shared a delicious farewell dinner last night for Riikka, Demetres and Sandra who left this morning. Kallyroi made stuffed tomatoes & peppers flavoured with freshly chopped mint and a tasty fava. Riikka helped me to throw together another cabbage salad with a yogurt & honey dressing. Yummh!!


Sandra displayed her paintings before packing them up for return to Athens. 
Her work is wildly colourful, evoking the beat of Africa . 

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