Encounters

I'm packing my things to leave Lilliput. It was nice. But since the fridge is empty - and because I want to go hunting for a pair of nice flat shoes - I'm going into town and grab a little something to eat. I love Corfu town, I realize that once again ♥️

With my things (do I suddenly have more luggage?) and a Radler in my hand, I roll to the bus and with it to the airport.

The man at the counter notices: 'You've been on the island for a long time, you've become nicely tanned ..'?! 🥴😂 He apologizes that only the small car I ordered is available and I couldn't be happier...

A small Nissan Micra.

I'm going to Gouiva, about 20 minutes away, and I'm excited that I can drive on a slightly wider road here in Corfu for the first time. And even at 70 km/h🙏🏽.

The hotel - it's a classic hotel, not a guesthouse or an Airbnb - looks wonderful, the beach is right outside the door (http://www.booking.com/Share-YGSiBa).

I take a shower and head out again, with 2 big Radler in my hand and just under 2.5 hours in my luggage, I go to Tomo's place. We briefly met in Corfu this morning and now we want to chat a little bit in the park before I pick up Karo and Laura. Done, and I learn so much. Not only about his life as a worker on a yacht, but also about his origin and a country I've never really thought about - New Zealand.

He's actually a real Maori and tells me, among other things, what all the tattoos mean. I learn that they are more than just body adornments, but have a depth that revolves around family affiliation, origin, and spirituality.

For example, you can see a river drawn, which refers to a river where the own family lives.

Since he can pass for 'anything possible' himself, we also talk about how others perceive us.

I tell him that I have already been mistaken for Spaniards, Greeks, etc. here and he tells me that he is also mistaken for Spaniards, Mexicans, Arabs, etc. But never for a New Zealander... probably because many people don't have the Maori on their radar.

The topic of concepts becomes interesting for me again in the evening.

Tomo asks how often I have traveled alone - and is amazed that this is my first time for 4 days. I tell him that it was strange the first half of the day, and it's constantly getting better and that I even ate alone.

He shares my feeling and vividly describes how he felt at first and that it got better and better, now it's completely normal.

And then I tell him that I want to go to Nice (planned alone, executed together) and he says, 'Mate, this is my favorite city in all of Europe'.

What a coincidence. He starts raving about it and giving me tips, so if I hear that, I can look forward to Nice. Speaking of mate... yes, you can hear the New Zealand English very strongly, I like it. And mate and aye come up so often 😂

I have to go to the airport. But not without 2 cold wines and chips that Tomo gives me, so I can have a nice evening with the girls.

That's very nice of him.

And anyway - I have met some really nice people, felt very comfortable on this short solo trip, was able to get a lot of inspiration, and have been able to laugh a lot. But this was by far the funniest and most inspiring interlude to date.

The airport is full at 8.30 p.m., really full. Laura and Karo arrive on different planes, but within a period of 30 minutes.

Everything is running smoothly. I only meet Laura today, she's very nice and open-minded. It's half past 10 before we check in and go eat.

We toast to the next 5 days.

And there's a lady sitting next to us with her husband. She looks over at us several times. Eventually, she comes over and whispers something in my ear. Spanish. I don't understand a word, then she says it in English. I am touched (she finds me very attractive and I remind her of Cleopatra). It turns out that Laura speaks Spanish.

The woman is from Argentina (but also speaks German) and Karo wakes up. Because she has already been there and loves Argentina so much.

So much for the topic of concepts... she thinks that because of how I look, I can speak Spanish. But it's Laura who speaks it and I don't have any knowledge of Argentina either 😂