As I continue with my travels, the simplicity of moments gives me a greater degree of wealth than it did before. This is surprising to me because in many regards I have learned to live for the little things. I could be just as grateful for a cup of coffee as I could for a gift. James (my boyfriend) said it best when he was visiting Greece. He said and I paraphrase, “Traveling makes you realize, why would I spend my money on anything else?”. Watching him travel to Europe for the first time and gain this glimmer in his eyes was a really special thing to watch. I felt really special to have been a motivating factor for him to push himself out of his comfort zone. Traveling alongside my boyfriend brought a whole new degree of presence for me. I could not think of any other place I would have wanted to be in those moments except right alongside him. 

Traveling has in no way become dull for me along this trip, but just something I am a bit more familiar with. Watching James’ wheels turn at the architecture, the food, the views, and the dynamics here encouraged me to witness it all again with fresh eyes. I believe in general it is an important challenge as a human being to push yourself to always experience life with new eyes. To do your best to not bring the past forward as you could miss what lessons and magic the present has for you. Much easier said than done but I appreciate the people in my life who remind me of this. This is one thing I always feel is an innate wisdom kids always have. The level of innocence they experience every day for the new day. It is a wonderful reminder to let there be a bit more starlight in your eyes as each day goes by in front of you. 

We spent most of our time on Naxos during his visit besides our quick stay on Santorini. Naxos felt more genuine and full of real people. I always feel strange when I visit places where you can tell the culture has just been ruined and overpowered by tourism. Naxos did not feel as such. As someone traveling to experience culture and not to entertain tourism, being in those places makes it hard to get a real taste of life. I have not done the best job on this trip connecting too deeply with locals because language barriers and exhaustion make it hard. A gentlewoman in particular at Golden Beach, a cafe, made it more than easy to do so. James and I went there most of our days for Freddo cappuccino, breakfast, and this particular orange kitty who provided the entertainment. 

We went to this secluded cove my friend who had visited prior told me about. We were the only ones there all day. Places like that make you feel like time doesn’t exist and you may perhaps be the only people in the world. Because for some moments you are in fact the only people in that particular world for that particular time. I wish to invest in more moments like this with people I love, as they are what make the world have meaning. I feel so lucky to have had those moments in Naxos with James, it’s a rare thing to be able to be in a relationship that can navigate international travel and grow stronger through it. 

This trip is helping me learn to understand my ability to create the life I want. Helping me make traveling and everyday curiosity more of a priority. It is helping me understand the power of messing up or not knowing, as this trip has had many of both. It is helping me connect beyond language and to ground myself more in humanhood and what it looks like across the pond. I have become very much present with my immersion into these cultures that I have not had too much time to write about, but going to try and make it more of a priority!