I know consuming a lot of salt is not good for my health. But I just couldn't help it - it was everywhere around me and it attacked from all angles.

I was submerged in the bright turquoise waters of the Ionian Sea, trying to stabilize my position and shoot something or someone already while trying not to sink... for too long.

The most physically demanding short photo session I remember doing. I can swim. In general. And since my home Black Sea is not so salty, I would have fared pretty well in denser waters. But not while photographing. I can also frame photos fine enough. In general. But not while swimming. The two together made for a lot of traffic going in and out of my mouth and nostrils.

Proper diving equipment? Maybe it would have helped. But I like to improvise and lick salt until my eyes, throat and lips burn.

Alright, let me rewind a little.

It started as a one-day 27-Euro cruise from Corfu island and back. On a boat with no places left to sit, unless you hung out with the birds on the railing. At first it seemed so crowded that we supposed there was a mistake, another boat would come since obviously they wouldn't allow so many passengers on board for safety reasons. Just the assumption of a sea rabbit. Which should be the opposite of a seasoned sea wolf. I mean I knew nothing. But there were many others who audibly disapproved and mumbled about the great injustice done to them.

Until the experienced captain told the tourists to just shut up... in a way. Maybe not as rudely as I convey it but with no compromise. Which I hailed in my mind. I was happy seeing local people in Greece not bowing too low to tourists and insisting on their own. That's the way to do it. I did not find it arrogant though many might have.

It turned out, after we set sail, so to speak, that we could all find our places to sit comfortably enough. After we accepted that the direct Sun rays would be unavoidable for the rest of the day.

Paxos, the larger of the two islands, came first and we glanced the west shores of it, looking upon high cliffs towering maybe sixty or so meters above our heads. I couldn't encompass the whole of the view with the lenses I had taken with me so I concentrated on taking some details in.

Those wouldn't be high quality images, anyway, since it was noon and we were moving fast, rocking a bit on the waves.

Other ships sailed near us so we almost constantly had them for scale.

A few caves came next, big enough to fit the ships in although one by one. The smell of burn fuel heavy under the low ceilings. The scenery quite suitable for cinema productions. Probably a lot have been made there.

About that time the guide on the boat told us on the speakers about Paxos being included in some world top twenties of islands.

We reached the south side and passed near a famous natural arch - a landmark that was not easilly discerned from our location, though. So it was not well separated from the background cliff.

The north side of Antipaxos came into view and the strait between both shores full of yachts.

And that was the place I started my great Greek salty diet.

Guess who was the last to go back on board when the time came and the sailors decided to put a little bit more pressure on a poor photographer's soul by sounding the horn. Getting back on a ship from the water surface is something that needs a bit of exercise before achieving grace. Like mounting a horse. I would know - I have no grace in both cases.

Anyway. We saw no horses that day. There were dolphins, though, and I was very happy about it because it was the first time my girlfriend saw free dolphins. I suppose she was happy, too.

Same image, different crops:

Soon after that chance meeting we closed in on port Gaios, capital town of the island. To land. And freedo-o-o-om!

I mean I had two hours to go on a photo rampage through narrow streets and busy squares.

And fun I had, but time to board again did come, exactly two hours after docking.

It was getting late in the afternoon and the Sun was not so hot anymore. Breeze was in the air, the waves were bigger than before, but only slightly. It was easier to see the colors of that sea far away from home and from the one sea I had become so familiar with.

South Corfu's shore soon appeared on the horizon. To call it a day.

Would you let me rewind further back?

If not, have a good night and thanks for staying with me so far!

Otherwise...

I will share with you what 'Paxos and Antipaxos' mean to me and a special somebody. It has become a mantra I use as a joke. Because it sounds as something I would say when I am sick of thinking, of responsibility and I just want some peace. Oddly enough, Pax or something like that might just mean Peace in Latin. But this is not the reason.

The phrase was born as a joke on the night we were planning our trip to Corfu and we were considering the extra offers, our budget, time schedule, etc. I might have been kind of against that extra voyage initially. And I muttered the words as a parody of a resignation in the dark of our bedroom.

To repeat it to this day when an occasion would arise.

The End.

...

Who is happy about eventually agreeing that the cruise would be worth it no matter what?

Yours,

Manol