Friends and others often ask me, "Why Greece?"  They cannot understand how anybody can be so passionate about a place.  I believe that those who love Greece have been born with a particular gene, which 'kicks in' the instant you set foot on Greek soil for the first time!  Seriously!

Notwithstanding, though, a way to explain it can probably best be expressed in the words that I came across in the introduction to a book, which I happened upon whilst browsing in a bookshop at Athens airport.  I'm sure the writer won't mind my repeating them here.  It goes . . . .

" Visitors to Greece don't always have it easy.   First there's the trip there, on roads that seem to consist more of potholes than of asphalt, on board a tiny ferry lurching over and back between two islands in the Aegean, or on a propellor plane, the sound of which does not really inspire confidence.  And then there's the heat, the smog over Athens and the bare landscape - yet Greece is still a dream destination, a longing that never really lets you go.  It is the realm of saga, myth and legend.  Almost every stone exudes history and speaks of gods, warriors or philosophers.  Greece is a stronghold of art and architecture, where sculptures and buildings not only keep Antiquity alive, but are ideals of beauty and harmony, now as then.  It is the land of light, a light that imbues everything with that very particular splendour.  In Greece things radiate as if their light came from within.  The light of Greece is full of spirit; such light helped man to to see clearly." . . . *

So, there it is . . .

But, moving away from the lofty sounding words of the quote, those of us who love Greece, love it for its people.  Particularly in the islands and the remote rural areas, the Greeks are unfailingly friendly and welcoming.  They display a generosity of spirit that I have come across nowhere else.  And I have a deep admiration for their sense of family.

Then, of course, there is the blindingly obvious.  The glorious beaches, lapped by that sparkling turquoise water.  The picturesque pine-clad mountains.  And . . . the eating experience is second to none.  Never mind that the cuisine itself is fantastic, but you just have to admit that the taverna owners know how to choose a location!

Oh . . and by the way . . .I have travelled on pot-holed roads, sailed the Aegean in lurching ferries and flown in propellor planes which sounded pretty dodgy . . . and I haved loved it!  It's what I love about Greece.  Travelling around is such an integral part of the whole adventure.  I have travelled on the dodgiest of buses where the whole experience has been pure theatre!

The quote says . . " And then there is the heat"   Well . . .what about the heat?   I love the heat, the relentless sunshine, the seamless blue skies.  Who wouldn't!  If you go to Greece that's what you expect. Would you rather be there, or in a place ( like the UK?) where you "see the sun in the sky as often as you see a diamond in a pig's *rse!" [Flaubert]

So, there you have it!  I would like to dream the dream of life as best I can, and when I am in Greece I seem to do just that!

[* Quoted verbatim from Greece Style  [Ed. Angelika Taschen]  ISBN 3-8228-4018-1]