Launching the boat in the nearby harbour off Dimitris’ workshop is tricky, as it is shallow and littered with rocks, and I actually have to get used to the moving “ground” again. After a few manoeuvres, I gain confidence in the engines, in the ArgoFram (and in myself). And I speed off. But only as far as Plomari, at the southern tip of the island. A sort of initiation…
At the harbour in Plomari, I meet Patelis, who is chatting with his colleagues. He looks like a modern pirate, and in fact he spent many years abroad before returning to his hometown in his old age. But this place has another surprise in store for me: suddenly, horses, some of them ridden, are being driven through the alleys and across the main square near the harbour! What’s going on?
This is the start of a kind of horse festival, which culminates in a magnificent spectacle on the outskirts of the village in the evening: dressage and even dance performances on and with magnificently decorated horses (and riders), individually and in groups, delight hundreds of spectators – and I seem to be the only tourist. Once again, chance has made me part of a local event taking place today!
I enjoy it quietly. Afterwards, I stroll back through the dark alleys to the centre and feel my wanderlust and thirst for discovery tingling inside me. Tomorrow, the journey continues!