While places we see are stunning and mostly picture book perfect and beyond, I’d still say it’s the people who make or break it. On our way home from Delphi’s Oracle, we became friends with this bunch of Dominicans who we’ve now got a date with for when we will have crossed the big pond. In the meantime, we spent a beautiful afternoon in Eratini with them, with homemade South American rice dishes and salsa session on the beach.

A week later, just as we start to lament the lack of other kids boats in this area, a netted boat (means either dogs or kids) docks onto our pontoon in Meganisi. Their kids screaming is like music to our ears. It takes less than two minutes to get chatting, less than twenty to share a coffee and less than an hour in the beach taverna to convince them to stay the night. They came as strangers and left as friends and we look forward to more shared family fun together next summer.

Then fishing through my archives, I come across these festival pics with old friends from Australia in Oxford and am so grateful for all the wonderful people in our lives. I am also so glad to observe how my little ones grow up with an open heart. Age, race, nationality, language – all those typical pigeon wholes don’t exist in their little peaceful world. Sometimes I think as a mother you are just given the opportunity to guide a little soul for a while, until they learn to fly by themselves. It’s exhausting at times, but also one of the most angel-like things that can happen to you in this world, I believe.