‘Yassu,’ one of the fishermen called as Alexander approached.
‘Yassu,’ he replied.
‘Ti kanis?’ another asked.
Alexander just smiled because he didn’t know what ‘ti kanis’ meant.
The same man beckoned him over and offered him his pouch of tobacco. Alexander graciously accepted and sat on a wooden fish crate rolling his first Greek cigarette. There were half a dozen men within hearing distance all repairing or folding nets and all of them seemed to want to talk with Alexander.
‘English?’ one of the younger men asked.
‘No, Holland,’ Alexander replied.
‘Speak English?’ the same man attempted.
‘Yes I do.’
‘Where you from?’
‘Holland,’ he repeated.
‘Hollandia,’ another offered.
‘Yes, yes,’ answered Alexander excited that his message had got through.
‘Word is neh,’ the first man told him.
Neh means no not yes, Alexander thought to himself.
‘Manolis,’ the fisherman said, ‘name Manolis,’ pointing to his chest. ‘You name?’
‘I am Alexander.’
‘Roh … Alexander Great,’ Manolis said with respect, and all the men including Alexander laughed.
‘Me Polychroni,’ another stated offering his hand.
Alexander shook the man’s hand and one by one met the others, Michaeli, Thanassi and a couple he couldn’t quite get his tongue around.
‘You holiday?’ Thanassi asked.
‘Yes holiday,’ he replied.
‘Good. Tinos, plenty psarades, fish, plenty Ouzo.’
Again they laughed.
Finishing his cigarette, Alexander got up and gestured a farewell. ‘Yassu,’ he offered, his second word of Greek.
‘Yassu,’ the men called, as Alexander smiled and walked off, marvelling at the quaint Greek fishing boats tied to the side of the wharf and gobsmacked by the clarity of the water everywhere he looked. The waters of his homeland were not clear like the waters before him now that was for sure.
On his first day on the island, he simply wanted to wander around town and see what he could find. It didn’t take long for him to come across a truly stunning building, the Panagia Evangelistria, the church of the Megalohari (Great Grace) where, in 1822, an icon was discovered by a nun after having been directed to it by the Blessed Virgin Mary herself who visited the nun in a dream. The icon was purported to have had miraculous powers and thus the church was built soon after. Alexander marvelled at the ornate exterior, so different to any church he’d ever seen before, and upon entering the church was blown away by the spiritual atmosphere. Chandeliers hung from the high ceilings and a thousand candles burned brightly, gently flickering with the continual opening and closing of the many doors.
He wasn’t a holy person, but he knelt down anyway and was immediately cloaked in that feeling he’d experienced moments before with the old woman, a feeling he could only call contentment, but it was something more, something much more.
After a few moments of quiet contemplation he left and meandered further, through streets of houses whiter than any white he’d ever seen. Holland is such a grey and colourless place compared to this, he thought.
It didn’t take long for him to reach the outskirts of the town.
The impressive jagged mountain of Exobourgo stood proud before him beckoning to be climbed. The track was bordered by stone terracing which had been constructed centuries before. A labyrinth of these paths criss-crossed the island, used by island folk to transport their produce by donkey as they had done for many centuries and still do today.
Alexander climbed for half an hour to the very top and before him lay the entire island and many others off into the distance. He noticed then that someone had been following him and was about to arrive.
‘Yassu,’ Alexander called after a few short moments.
‘Yassu,’ the man replied. ‘Ti kanis?’
Alexander gestured that he didn’t understand.
‘It means “How are you?” in my language. People will ask you all the time.’
‘Yes I’ve wondered.’
The man stopped beside Alexander and took a few deep breaths.
‘If you are good, you answer kala, perhaps even kala efharisto.’
‘Which is …’
‘It means good, kala good, efharisto thank you. You try.’
‘Kalar efhaistro,’ Alexander replied awkwardly.
‘Ah is almost right. Try kala ef-ha-risto.’
‘Kala efharisto.’
‘Kala, my friend, is good. You speak good Greek. How long have you been in Greece?’
‘This is my first day. I arrived in Athens this morning early. Then I caught the first ship. It was coming here, so Tinos was my choice.’
‘Good place Tinos, very good island, poly kala, very good.’
‘Poly kala,’ attempted Alexander, pleasing his new friend.
‘Pose leni? What is your name?’
‘I am Alexander.’
‘Oh poly kala, Alexander the Great,’ the man replied, quite impressed.
‘And your name?’
‘I am Polychroni.’
‘I met another Polychroni today.’
‘Means many years … poly is many or very, chronia is years. So my name is many years. I am old man,’ he said laughing.
Alexander thought him to be in his forties, not old at all.
‘Tell me Polychroni, what islands are these?’
‘Oh you see so many. In front of us here is Paros and to the left, Naxos. Beyond Paros is Ios and the furthest is Santorini … is a clear day so can see very far, but because they are in line, you can’t tell where one starts and the other finishes, katalaven? You understand?’
‘Katalaven,’ Alexander replied. He most definitely did understand.
‘Hey
