Robert Brault once said

“Life is like sailing. You can use any wind to go in any direction”.

It’s easy to start analyzing it, taking each word and looking for the deeper meaning of it. However, in this post I want to use it quite literally.

The entire world has been through (and still is going through) some very challenging times. With the pandemic still going strong we are all trying to find our paces after the lockdown on each country. In Greece, we pretty much didn’t waste any time running to our endless beaches since summer is here. With the summertime being this hot it’s very hard not to rush to the sea.

Quarantine really impacted me too. Although, I should say I found valuable time to really do some things for myself – even though I was working from home – I would be lying if I said I wasn’t grateful for the freedom.

After the quarantine, I believe, we truly appreciated certain people in our lives and the ability to get out of our house whenever we please.

I took the trip to the beach, though, a step further.

Excited as we were about the end of the lockdown I decided to follow a fellow group of people into the uknown (yes, a Frozen 2 refference because I am that person). We decided to rent a boat for a day and roam the salty streets of the Argo-Saronic Gulf. It was a ride I would never forget.

It’s wasn’t just the fact I had never been on such a boat ride before. My friends and I mosty choose to ride by car to places and not by boat, so I was unfamilliar with the entire process. The feeling of being in the middle of the sea can be both liberating and terrifying. Imagine all the eye can see is endless blue. Obviously, you feel blessed to be part of such an adventure, but you can’t ignore the rapid heart beating and the idea in your head that you can be stuck in the middle of the sea forever. That didn’t happen of course.

To be honest, in the middle of the sea among the waves that really challenged my fear, patience, courage, and every strong emotion I am capable of, I had the time between seconds to evaluate life. You see, there are so many beautiful places in this world, places we haven’t had the chance to see yet. Places that deserve our attention. In Greece we are blessed with such places, it’s one of the basic reasons why everybody should visit Greece at least once in their lives.

We visiting Agkistri, Aigina, Perdika which are destinations very close to Athens. They are little islands 2-3 hours away from Athens, perfect for a day trip. For the locals, such as myself, it’s a very nice and fullfilling getaway.

Personally, I love the sea because it calms me down and makes me feel like even for a few moments things are going to be alright. Maybe not now, but eventually will be. I had the chance to dive into deeper waters than usual, which is something I rarely do. Not because I don’t know how to swim, but because I like it when I am safely touching the ground in the sea. It makes me feel a lot more secure, especially when I am in unfamilliar waters.

Sailing through the sea is one of the best feelings and a good idea for quick vacations. The breeze, the blue, the places you get to sea and the sun that even though it’s burning hot feels very good during summer. It’s a vacation idea that you and your company are going to like. I know I did.

We sailed until we reached Perdika, we ate sea food and drank ouzo which went great with the food. Now, I may not have a photo of the table with everything we ate, but trust me it was glorious. I deeply recommend when visiting a greek island to try the seafood, it’s almost always well taken care of and fresh. It’s definetely worth it. Also, in the end they treated us with delicious dessert that concluded a lovely meal.

The boat ride back was what really freaked me out. I am generally a very calm person, but during the ride back I felt like screaming a bit. You see, we had to fight the waves with the boat, which translates to us having to go up and down the waves through the sea and let’s just say I honestly felt like the boat was going to flip and I was going to be stranded in the middle of the ocean. Yes, I do watch a lot of movies and am deeply affected of them.

In conclusion, it was an experience I would never forget. It taught me how great it is to meet new people, how interesting it is to face your fears and how important it is to come in touch with your mind. We all seem to fail to remember that we also need a few moments to breath and appreciate the beauties around us.

To everyone who doesn’t know what to do this summer: opt for a nice calming boat ride.

Thanks for reading!

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