Diafani diary 4. Diafani’s only public clockface is on the church tower. Two sides were visible from our hotel window, both told different times and both had been stopped for three years to my knowledge. But then who goes to a Greek island to clockwatch?
Yes, but… You leave Diafani by ferry which arrives at 5.35 on a Saturday evening. That’s what the ferry company’s website says and that’s what the printed schedule – which I picked up on the incoming ferry – says. Except that it doesn’t. Diafanians shrug and say “about seven”. Demanding greater certainty, I am recommended by Tony of La Gorgona restaurant, to keep an eye on the southern headland. “When the ferry shows there you’ll know it’s coming.”
Greek time. Nikos’s boat leaves for a trip to the island of Saria at 10 am. “Is that 10 am Greek time Nikos?” I ask. And Nikos roars with laughter but fails to confirm or deny.
Dr Blagojević’s husband, Dr Miodrag Vujošević (Misa for short), is an economist and spatial/environmental planner, and we chat as we pass on the street. In response to my “Greek time” he cites “Greek calendar” which, alas, I am never able to follow up with him. But it makes sense. Change of seasons means more on Diafani than the flow of hours. Many people leave the village during its unrewarding winter for work on Rhodes or in Baltimore, Md.
That's why when I tell someone I’ve knocked a couple of minutes off my best swim time down to Venanda beach they’re much more interested that I did it wearing an orange tee-shirt (“He swims in his clothes”). To protect my shoulders from sunburn, if you must know.
Yes, but… You leave Diafani by ferry which arrives at 5.35 on a Saturday evening. That’s what the ferry company’s website says and that’s what the printed schedule – which I picked up on the incoming ferry – says. Except that it doesn’t. Diafanians shrug and say “about seven”. Demanding greater certainty, I am recommended by Tony of La Gorgona restaurant, to keep an eye on the southern headland. “When the ferry shows there you’ll know it’s coming.”
Greek time. Nikos’s boat leaves for a trip to the island of Saria at 10 am. “Is that 10 am Greek time Nikos?” I ask. And Nikos roars with laughter but fails to confirm or deny.
Dr Blagojević’s husband, Dr Miodrag Vujošević (Misa for short), is an economist and spatial/environmental planner, and we chat as we pass on the street. In response to my “Greek time” he cites “Greek calendar” which, alas, I am never able to follow up with him. But it makes sense. Change of seasons means more on Diafani than the flow of hours. Many people leave the village during its unrewarding winter for work on Rhodes or in Baltimore, Md.
That's why when I tell someone I’ve knocked a couple of minutes off my best swim time down to Venanda beach they’re much more interested that I did it wearing an orange tee-shirt (“He swims in his clothes”). To protect my shoulders from sunburn, if you must know.
