Silver lining

But I have to say, the niceness of the Greeks always warms the cockles of my heart. Yesterday I experienced this 3 notable times. In the morning, a man left his business to point me towards my hotel. Later, wandering in the port and trying to figure out the best way to get to Patra, and thus to Ithaki, a cafeteria owner explained the easiest way (metro, then bus, then finally ferry) and drew me a map! As I left he shouted after me, "And give my Ithaka a kiss for me!" People really love that goat-strewn rock. (I do too.) And then later at a nearby Arabian mini-mart, getting some provisions, I had a conversation with a guy who worked for Exxon in Corpus Christi for 2 years, and has seen a couple other parts of the country (I think some islands in Washington State, and maybe New York), probably eager to use a little English again. And then the owner of the mini mart gave me a package of dates, "a gift from the shop!" They're from Tunisia and they are delish.