Day Twelve -- The Reason for the Trip

After Bryan died and I had picked up his ashes, I had a conversation with my sons about what we should do with them. When my grandmother died we hired a boat out of  Long Beach to take us out and spread them at sea. It was a beautiful experience. I knew how much Bryan loved Santorini and enjoyed staring out at the caldera. I also thought of how many times Bryan shared his hope that our entire family would go there together. I suggested to Brett and Matt that we travel to Greece together and take Bryan's ashes with us. I could hire a boat to take us out in the caldera and spread his ashes there. I did some reading online. People made it sound easy. I studied the TSA requirements for traveling with ashes. I figured I could get the right paperwork together. My family began to make plans for the trip and then I called the Greek Consulate in Los Angeles. The woman I talked to let me know I was an arrogant American to think I should be allowed to do that if my husband was not Greek. So I did more reading and learned that the Greek Orthodox do not believe in cremation. In fact, if what I read is accurate, Greece just built their first crematorium in October 2016. The country is running out of space to bury people and the Greek Orthodox Church decided not to block the building of a crematorium. There was part of me that was deeply disappointed. I would love to leave Bryan's remains in his favorite place. There was also part of me that knew that carrying his ashes all over Greece would be an emotional experience and I was relieved not to bring them with me.  Instead I brought a small heart shaped piece of glass.  Someone gave it to me for Valentine's Day and Bryan used it to show his love for me.  I would find the heart on my pillow or next to my sink in the bathroom or on the vanity where I dry my hair in the morning.  It was one of Bryan's many wordless ways of conveying his love for me.  We began to collect heart-shaped stones and so his message in stones grew. After he died I took all the heart-shaped stones and placed them around the dish of stones we had picked up together. I brought with me that original heart instead of his ashes. It was hard to let go of it but I very much needed to leave something of Bryan in Santorini. 

 

The day began with difficulty for me.  I was overwhelmed with emotion but trying, unsuccessfully, not to let it show.  I have such a good family and they put up with me. Matt and Jane walked from Imerovigli to Fira and had lunch. Brett and I walked the same direction just to the point where we could see the steps down from Fira to the old port.  Then we walked back and found some lunch at a restaurant overlooking the caldera. We picked the restaurant because we could smell their fresh baked bread.  Brendon stayed back at our hotel in Imerovigli.

 

At 3 p.m. we were at the square above our hotel, where we picked up our transfer to Vlychada port. I hired a 5 hour sunset cruise. We picked it because it would be a private excursion for our family and because it was a beautiful wooden sailboat. Captain George met us at the dock with a story of being a bit discombobulated due to a ship that had sunk there that morning and they all had to pitch in to get it out of the way.  I should have known then that Captain George would be full of entertaining stories.

 

The day couldn't have been more beautiful or perfect. While Captain George piloted the boat to Red Beach, his deck hand Michael brought us plates of food.  We munched on honey dew melons, cheese, cucumbers, tomatoes, cheese and, of course, olives.  

 

At Red Beach, Captain George anchored us at the other end of the cove, far away from the other boats. Brett, Matt and Jane wanted to swim in the Mediterranean. George was willing to let them but he predicted they would last 30 seconds after they hit the cold water.  

 

They jumped in, swam to a shallow part of the cove and way exceeded his prediction.

 

Back in the boat, we headed past the white cliffs...

 

Past the lighthouse...

 

To the "hot springs".  This is actually the center of the volcano that exploded here around 1628 B.C.  The island was blown into several islands and the center collapsed. The volcano still exists sending heat up from its core. Matt, Brett and I jumped into the water and swam towards the sulfur smelling water. It was wonderfully warm...in places. Back on the boat, George and Michael grilled us tomato fritters and fish. It was a delicious meal in a beautiful place.  We kept commenting on what a beautiful experience this was.

 

We headed back to Vlychada with the promise of a sunset on the way. I got out the heart shaped glass I had brought. We shared stories of Bryan and his love for us. I can't begin to describe how much we miss him. The day would have had even more laughter and love if he had been here. I threw the heart into the sea and we watched the sun set in a very reflective mood.

 

It was such a bittersweet day and it was filled with so many slices of heaven that I will cherish this day for the rest of my life. Family is so precious that I want to savor every moment.