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[at-l] Back from Greece...

Hi guys, I'm back! Still lurking for now, and probably won't be at
Damascus, though if I do it will be a last-minute appearance. Just thought
I'd pop in and mention that the trails on Corfu -- which my sister Sal had
assumed are as rugged as the AT, and had her scared -- are downright mean.
We went on one short trek that was like the Knife Edge except you're
looking down at the sea over a thousand feet below you on either side. Now
that I've assured her the AT isn't at all like she assumed, she may well do
it with me. We'll see. The biggest eye-opener, and the one I'm sure you
thru-hikers already knew, is with the Greek culture: how happy people can
be having so much less. Less is indeed more. By comparison, our culture is
wasteful and decadent. They don't have recycling programs there: it happens
out of necessity. Perhaps the fact that their culture had its heyday
centuries ago means they learned something from it? "Greek Time" is
measured in afternoons and evenings, not hours, and siesta is a way of
life. I found it amazingly refreshing...just wondering how long this
stress-free feeling will last. Since I didn't visit as a sightseer as much
as I lived with both my sisters during the month there, I had much more
opportunity for cultural assimilation. Call me assimiliated. :) It's nice
when your personal philosophies dovetail with someone's reality.

Cheers, Sandy
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