Hospitality Abounds on the Island of Crete

It’s been almost half a century since I graduated from high school (Why does that sound so much longer than 50 years?) and when I get together with high school friends it still seems like we have the same camaraderie as we did at our high school in Japan.

Kat and Hal are friends who reconnected after high school and got married 17 years ago.  They live a life most people dream of–working and living in Europe with no human dependents…however, there is a feline and a canine dependent who followed them to Sicily for three years, back to the states for two years, and now to Crete.  Kabuki is an 11.5 year old gray muzzled senior girl who had an operation for liver cancer before she flew to Crete.  She wasn’t given long to live, but she doesn’t know it and made the trip from Washington state to Crete like the pro traveler she is. She’s getting arthritic, but steep stairs–no problem.

Finally, I was able to get in some true doggie “fixes” as Kabuki is very affectionate.  Miss my Labs!

Skitz the cat is 13.5 years old.  Scratch her head, but beware her back side.  She leisurely spends her days going from outside to an inside comfy place.   

Kat and Hal have been in Crete since November, but only in their rental house two months.  The house sits at the end of a narrow one lane road with never ending views of Chania and the Mediterranean.  Outside there is a pool (soon to be filled), porches, and a stone grilling and baking area.  Along the side of the house is olive wood for burning in the indoor fireplace and the outdoor fire pit.

Getting the sadly neglected house ready to move into was a test of patience and perseverance.  Ten o’clock electrician appointments mean maybe ten, maybe twelve, maybe tomorrow. Fixing the remote control gate–four visits maybe five–but everyone is so nice and laid-back Kat says. Who could get upset?

We’re the first visitors from “out of” Crete, but Kat and Hal are veteran entertainers with unflappable energy.  We were pampered and spoiled and we loved every minute of our time in Crete!  More on Crete in my next posts.

Hospitality is present when something happens for you. It is absent when something happens to you. Those two simple prepositions – for and to – express it all. Danny Meyer