For the Love of Marti. . .

Corks popped and Prosecco toasts were made last Saturday night to celebrate one of the most significant accomplishments to have happened in the decade that we've lived in this slice of the Greek Peloponnese.  

Toasting the Marti's Fund milestone

We were celebrating a milestone for Marti's Fund, the volunteer-operated cat spay and neuter program in the Mani. A few weeks ago the program topped 1,000 cats whose lives have been made better since its inception a few short years ago.  That is such a significant accomplishment and has touched so many in this adopted expat home of ours. 

The 1,000th sterilization took place in late March 2026

The story of Marti's Fund is one of love: a love lost, a love found, and love shared in a small village in rural Greece. 

Love isn't a simple four-letter word in Greece. It isn't even a single word. The Greeks have more than five words they use when describing it. There's agape, an unconditional love, eros, a passionate love, philia the love of friendships, storge is familial love, that of affection and shared goodwill, and pragma, a practical, mature love often found in committed marriages. All have played a part in Marti's Fund. . .

Love Lost ~ the creation of Marti's Fund

Marti and Chuck Barlett in Dooley's Dog House store

Americans Chuck and Marti Bartlett moved to the Agios Nikolaos community in 2016 from Kirkland, Washington, a suburb of Seattle. There they had owned and operated Dooley's Dog House pet store and were tireless volunteers with regional animal welfare groups. 

We've been friends with them for nearly two decades, having met at Kirkland's The Grape Choice wine bar. The wine bar, besides being the local 'gathering place' much like television's 'Cheers', also served as host of numerous animal welfare fund raisers organized by the Bartlett's. A quirk of fate brought us all to the Mani, but that is a story for another time. 

Marti at Pantazi Beach cat shelter

Needless to say, they quickly became involved in animal welfare efforts here: rescuing dogs, adopting animals, feeding strays and working fund-raising events with MIAO (Mani International Animal Organization) the umbrella organization for a number of animal rescue efforts, now including Marti's Fund. 

Marti's unexpected passing in January 2020, rocked our Greek village; its reverberations were felt back in Kirkland. Within days of her passing, the Grape Choice 'family of friends' had organized a Go Fund Me in her memory. Donations were shared by that area's Cat Coalition and MIAO here. The funds for MIAO were earmarked for the spaying and neutering of cats.

Village street cats helped by Marti's Fund

'Our goal was healthy cats and limiting the cat population. Adoption wasn't and isn't our goal, it is to make life better for the cats,' Chuck says of the effort's intent.

With the blessings of MIAO, and a supportive team of local veterinarians, Chuck got the spay and neuter efforts underway. Pretty much a one-man, word-of-mouth effort in the beginning, he coordinated scheduling clinic appointments and payments. Sometimes he even helped capture unwilling cats. 

 'It gave me a purpose in life, when life wasn't very good for me', he says, of the Fund's early years. 

A Community's Love ~

Fundraising is key to helping the animals

The following year with the original memorial funds depleted, MIAO and Marti's Fund were at cross-roads. The program had become immensely popular. Residents were bringing in feral cats from villages far and near. Cat owners who couldn't afford the surgery's cost were also signing up.

Marti's Fund does not charge for any cat spayed or neutered through the program.  Those who are able, donate towards the cost of the surgery. In a few cases, the cost is paid in full to the fund.  The majority are done free of charge. That meant a call for financial help had to go out. 

And the communities responded.

Jean and I offer slices of cake for 3 euros

Fundraisers were and continue to be organized. Volunteers were recruited to work the fund-raisers. Artists and crafts people donated work to be sold at auctions and/or fairs.  Cakes by the dozen have been baked, sliced and offered for a 3-euro donation at countless gatherings. 

Village restaurant owners in Stoupa, Agios Nikolaos, Pantazi Beach and Thalames have hosted events. Businesses in the villages have donated auction items, in the form of goods and services.  Retail outlets - grocery stores, tavernas, the local nursery, and tavernas - have donation cans at checkout counters. 

Community support is strong - Marti's Fundraiser table

Nowadays MIAO and Pantazi Beach cat rescue and Marti's Fund are coordinating rescue and fund-raising efforts. The veterinarian team increased the number of weekly surgeries. Some cats were taken to Kalamata, our big city an hour's drive north of us to have surgeries there when the numbers were too great to handle locally.

And remember that The Grape Choice in Kirkland?  They have continued to host fund-raisers for Marti's Fund, having hosted three such annual fund-raisers in recent years. 

Love Found - and the future of Marti's Fund

Serendipity perhaps? Caroline Boris

Serendipity is described as finding fortunate things without looking for them. Such was the case with a serendipitous encounter at a Greek taverna between Chuck and Caroline Boris, an avid animal lover and regular visitor to this area from London.

Let's just say that encounter adds a new chapter to the story of Marti's Fund.  Caroline has been a committed supporter of Marti's Fund and in honoring her memory since that chance encounter.

Grape Choice Kirkland fundraiser

In July the two will be married. 

Instead of wedding presents, they are asking guests to donate to Marti's Fund.

Epilogue: 

Marti's Fund at work

Marti's Fund had its beginning with one man who chose to honor the memory of his wife, by creating a fund to pay for spaying and neutering homeless cats in the area. It was started as and continues to be a labor of love and remembrance.  Recently some of the administrative and fundraising workload has been shared by a Greek Canadian volunteer, Marisa Robins. 

I emphasize volunteer throughout this story because all of the animal rescue efforts - MIAO, Marti's Fund, Pantazi Beach Cats, Stoupa Cats and others -- are operated by volunteers, both Greek and expat. 

Chuck and Marisa thank the community member who had cat 1,000

While we celebrated the first thousand cats whose lives have been made better by this work, there are more than another thousand out there in need of help. There are currently more cats on the list for services than there are funds to pay for them. So, while organizers are committed, the key to the program's continuation is funding. 

 I can attest to the number of 3-euro slices of cake it takes to pay for a single surgery. We know the people involved and can assure you that all the money goes directly to the cats - this is truly a volunteer effort, an effort of love.

In closing I am giving you a chance to be a part of this story of love surrounding this grass-roots effort.  You can donate by using this link to Marti's Fund. 

I normally don't ask you to share my writing. But I am asking this time.  Please share this post or at least retell the story to others. You might just tell it to someone who needs to hear a Greek love story. . .or who wants to help some cats!

As always, thanks for your time. Wishes for safe travels to you and yours~

The Pontiki and Other Expat Mysteries

 Solving mysteries sometimes seems a way of life in the expat world.  

Sherlock Holmes - street art Alicante, Spain

We've had a series of them lately but the one that had us stumped the longest, was finally solved after five hours of investigation by three detectives, aka, technicians.

The Stone House on the Hill from the olive grove

Our Stone House on the Hill in the Greek Peloponnese has been the perfect setting for mysteries, particularly this year. Not the cloak-and-dagger type but more the everyday who-or-what dunnit-types that require the investigative skills of plumbers, carpenters, electricians and technology gurus. 

The Lemon Tree Patio on a dark and stormy day

Our dark and stormy winter provided a perfect backdrop for -- perhaps in retrospect, it could even have been an accomplice in -- the string of mysteries that have been solved in recent weeks. 

Sunshine and blooms welcomed us to Monte Carlo

Those of you following our travel tales on Substack know that in late February we took off on a ten-day escapade through the Italian and French Rivieras. The trip's purpose was three-fold: celebrating The Scout's birthday, taking a break from what seems the longest, storm-ridden winter in Mani history, and taking advantage of a favorite Trusted Housesitter's willingness to extend his stay in our area to care of our elderly Princess Cat.

 

While we were gone, the mysteries accumulated as rapidly as our collection of Agatha Christie's books and included: Some random interior and exterior lights not working - around here you don't know if it is one inter-related problem or two separate problems. Then the internet shorted out without rhyme nor reason as to why. However, if it was unplugged for a time, then reconnected, it would work for a few days and poof. . . quit again. 

Fireplace is not just for atmosphere

The Mother of all Mysteries though was why the furnace quit working. Anyone who's lived in, stayed in or visited a stone home during a wet, cold winter knows just how cold and damp the interior can be - especially when the heat goes off.  Thankfully, our sitter got by with the electric wall heaters and fireplace, and he worked around the other malfunctions.

Mystery of the Darkened Stairway continues. . .

Unraveling the mysteries began the day after we returned. The first investigator on the scene was Roland, a tall English-speaking German electrician, who's been in the area some 20 years. He came close to solving the case of the malfunctioning lights, but not quite.  Some clue has eluded him and he's still working the case of the darkened exterior stairway. He's assured us he'll be back when he can solve it. 

George, the local Greek Wi-Fi guru is an answer man with a booming voice and hearty laugh. He was also stumped by the circumstances of our faulty internet. It worked in both stormy and calm weather, until it didn't. There was no pattern of clues that could tie it directly to the weather nor the operating system itself. His investigation was thwarted by another storm that hit the same day he came to the house. The wind and rain were so strong it was too dangerous to put up a ladder, let alone climb it to the roof to check the antennae and its SIM card. While he didn't identify the culprit, he was able to do some computerized investigations and adjustments and get us up and running again.   

The boiler/furnace in its below ground dungeon

The mystery that had required the most detective work was the furnace, or oil burner, as they call them here. Basically, it is a heating system that burns oil to heat water that will run through radiators in the house to heat it. By whatever name, ours is a fancy, new-fangled thing we installed a year ago. Perhaps, too new-fangled, we snarled to each other, after the first investigators/technicians left. 

This team, an English-speaking Greek duo from Kalamata, who've been our go-to guys for years, spent two hours in the dungeon-like space where it sits at the side of the house trying to figure out the problem. Despite their handbooks and a variety of tools, they tried and failed to find answers.

Their parting words were, "You must call the installer, He will need to reprogram the system."  

The furnace dungeon and evaporation, not smoke, from it

We summoned Spiros, the Greek-speaking technician who'd installed our space-age, computerized furnace. He arrived at 8:30 on a Saturday morning. As the hours passed, we'd hear an occasional sputtering as the ignition sparked and then silence. Sputtering and silence for hours. We offered him the installation manual, an encyclopedia-sized guide he'd used for getting the thing programmed when he installed it. 

He declined it, smiling and assuring us it was a 'mikro provlema' (little problem). It may have been small, but it certainly had him stumped.  

Just before noon, with the help of Google Translate, he pronounced the mystery was solved and the furnace fixed!  

The pontiki, a mouse, did it!

 The little critter had chewed a little wire in half. Once that part was replaced, it started right up! 

The Pontiki Did It

We now have Dimitri, our neighborhood carpenter, figuring out the mystery of how to enclose the angled, uneven opening to the dungeon to prevent further pontiki provlemas!.

Mysteries are Mental Stimulation

When we socialize with fellow expats there is usually a point in our conversations in which we come to the agreement that there will be no need for Sudoku or other mind-stimulation games, no memory exercises nor frontal lobe stimulation necessary as we continue to age in our expat world.  There will always be a mystery lurking just around the corner, presenting us a mental exercise in not only how to solve it but how to find the right detective to work the case with us. 

Thanks for being with us again for another look into our expat life.  And a salute to those of you who continue to read this blog, TravelnWrite, as well as Travelnwrite on Substack, (also a free subscription). I've noticed that when you sign up for a free subscription, Substack likes to promote an upgrade to paid subscription, but I am not charging a fee for my writing. Just knowing that you are spending time reading what I've written is enough spending to my way of thinking!  Safe travels to you and yours~

When Paradise. . .isn't

 I am the guilty one.  I've led you to believe we live in a continual paradise. 

Cypress silhouettes, the sea and sunset. . .paradise. . .

I'm the one who so often writes about the wonders of this adopted Greek life - those glorious sunsets, the sweeping views of the sea and mountains, of our picturesque fishing village, and the charming taverns where we sip morning coffee or evening wine. 

 Days of bliss, I've led you to believe. 

A toast to sunset at Pantazi Beach - a blissful time of day

Much of the time, the days do pass blissfully, both at our Stone House on the Hill and in our rural Peloponnese community. But the reality is that sometimes even our adopted paradise . . .isn't!  

Victims from my Mediterranean garden hauled away - others burned

I'm guilty of not telling you how storms destroy that Mediterranean garden I've rhapsodized about growing. I haven't told you about the frustrations that come with internet and power outages and water shortages, that can leave us in the dark for hours and without water sometimes for days. Nor have I mentioned unrepaired roads with potholes so large they can crack the sturdiest of a vehicle's shock absorbers.  

Expats and locals could fill a book with tales of dealing with bureaucracy and of resorting to a 'do it yourself' solution when those dealings fall on deaf ears.   

Do it yourself road repair - a neighborhood effort

But then, where is the romance and glamour of expat living in those kinds of tales? It is more fun to write, and probably more fun to read about, those paradisiacal moments that we do have here. 

Every once in a while, though, we go through a spell that makes me think I should tell you about the other times. January was one of those spells. . . those times when paradise simply, isn't!  

The Morning After - not in Paradise

Yucca trunk remains after the storm

Two weeks ago, Mother Nature held us hostage in our Stone House on the Hill for the better part of two days and nights while the wind howled and shrieked around us and horizontal sheets of rain attacked structures and plants. Every so often there'd be a loud crash or bang outside. A window shutter slammed closed after the force of the wind ripped its clamp from the wall.  We had to wait for a break in the wind to even step outside to close the door shutters before they, too, ripped loose from the wall. 

We'd prepared for a storm- the Greek emergency alerts had given warning prior to its arrival - but not for a storm of the magnitude that hit. 

Pantazi Beach Bar this week

We've come to expect a strong storm or two and the cleanup it requires each winter. The kind in which churning ocean waves hurtle stones and sand from the beaches onto the roads and parking lots. There's always plenty of cleanup after a winter storm. But our most recent storm was merciless and left our village looking somewhat like a war zone. 

While not as bad as the storm that had just swept through Malta and Sicily, we had wind gusts of 106 km/hr, (65 mph).  The sustained winds were estimated to be about half that. Large established trees were pulled from the ground as easily as we pluck out a weed. Cliffs and hillsides gave way to small avalanches and dips in roads and parking lots became lakes.

My Mediterranean garden - not my happy place right now

Six yucca tree trunks snapped in our yard, one of which took down my clothesline. Lemons and oranges were stripped from their branches. We lost a large branch out of an olive tree, snapped as easily as a matchstick. Leaves were stripped from bushes, plants and trees. Large ceramic pots had been upended, many broken.

Most of these were damaged and ended up in the compost bin

Similar damage was reported throughout the villages in our area. Fourteen olive trees were uprooted in our friend's olive grove just south of us. There were no injuries to humans - for that we all are thankful.

Several friends were without power and/or water during the storm. We were among the lucky ones who had heat, lights and water to weather it.  We didn't lose water until a few days after the storm ended. Our 2,000-liter water tank ran dry as there was no municipal water coming to our house.

The Search for Water 

Water lines serving our area 

Municipal water is supplied via a haphazard system of small PVC pipes that sometimes lay on top of the ground. They wind down steep hillsides and through gorges, sometimes along remote hiking paths and other times at the side of roadways.

Sunday afternoon a neighbor joined us to hike into the hills and find the source of our problem. We finally found it near our home at the side of the road we travel to get to our home. A toppled Cyprus tree had caused an avalanche when its roots were ripped from the ground, burying the water pipe serving our neighborhood. 

We hired workers to unearth the pipe that afternoon. The municipality needed to reconnect the pipes.

Exit Paradise - Enter One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. . .

The tree that took out the water lines

Monday morning bright and early we were at the Municipality's water department, reporting our problem to one of two - both English-speaking -- clerks..

Much to our surprise, the visit was quick and efficient.  We made the report, we provided photos of the damaged pipe needing repair and of the area it was in, we dropped a pin on the exact location on a Google Map so the plumber wouldn't have to spend time searching for it. 

We were told that the municipal plumbers had a lot of calls to make so we offered to hire a private plumber. No, we were told, it would have to be prepared by the municipality.

No the repairs hadn't been made - we sent this photo

Next morning we received an email saying the plumber had made the repair and asking if we had water. 

No, we didn't have water. And no repairs had been made.

These two pipes still need to be connected, we wrote

We took photos showing water still flowing out of an unattached pipe and of the two disconnected hoses.  We sent them to City Hall. 

Next morning we called the nice human who spoke English.  Yes, he said, he'd seen the two photos we sent (the two appearing above).

Then he told us in English that the plumber had repaired the pipe and that we should check our meter because it might be leaking. . .

It wasn't paradise - was it  a remake of the movie, 'One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest'?

We've got water again at our house!

That was when we hired a plumber. He came out and in less than a half hour made the repair pictured above, restoring water to our house.  

More Expat Tales

Our stormy weather continues as we await spring in the Peloponnese.  It is a good reminder for us to enjoy those good days when they finally return.  We appreciate the time you've read this tale of sometimes Paradise Lost, expat version.

And among the speakers are. . .

The Scout and I will be speaking about our expat life during a 'Greece Online Workshop' February 19th, sponsored by the Live and Invest Overseas organization.  Practical advice will be provided by a number of professionals including a Greek attorney and a real estate representative.  

I know a number of you are considering expat life in Greece and you may find this event to be of interest.  For a complete rundown of the details, click the link above.  

And a big Thanks to those who've subscribed to receive my Substack articles (Jackie Humphries Smith) as well as continuing to read my occasional postings here!  Until the next time, safe travels to you all ~

Living Differently. . .expat style

As I walked across the two-lane highway leaving The Scout shopping at the garden store while I popped into the blood lab to make an appointment, I was reminded - again - of how differently these two boomer-aged Americans live in rural Greece.

Our view of the Taygetos Mountains - rural Peloponnese

I mean how often do you just pop into a blood lab to make an appointment in the U.S.? Or 'pop in' anywhere for that matter to conduct business? Or would you walk across a main north-south highway for any reason?

Home for the last eight years: Peloponnese, Greece

Living in Greece's southwestern Peloponnese for the last eight years, you'd think we'd be taking this expat lifestyle - a rather laid-back and unhurried one - for granted by now.  Far from it!  We still regularly marvel at how it differs from the one we lived in the Seattle suburbs of the U.S. Pacific Northwest.

Long time readers know that one of the drivers of our move was to 'live differently'. We were tired of the growing anonymity of suburban daily life. We'd become patient numbers and birthdates in medical facilities; we pumped our own gas at stations and checked ourselves out at grocery stores - we missed the 'humanness' of interactions of daily life. We'd sat for too many hours on congested freeways that linked us to our work and our friends.

Our village, Agios Nikolaos. Photo credit

Our decision to live differently in Greece came after several vacations here. We liked the climate, the people, the culture and the lifestyle. There wasn't any long, drawn-out retirement plan involved in the decision. Basically, we were like so many other recent newcomers to the area known as the Mani: we liked the 'village vibe' and we wanted more of it. 

Living walking distance from the fishing village, Agios Nikolaos, overlooking the Messinian Gulf, and surrounded by olive groves, certainly provides a great backdrop for a different way of life. I've picked a few snippets from the last couple of weeks to illustrate some of the everyday differences:

In the Moment Living

The village blood lab

Let's begin with the blood lab. I just decided after months of procrastination, that I should get my cholesterol checked. We don't have all those annual senior citizen wellness screenings like the US; instead, the onus is on the individual to keep track of your health.    

I could have had it tested on the spot, but I hadn't fasted the required 12 hours beforehand, I duly 'fasted' and returned the next morning. At check-in there was no requirement to show government issued ID nor to repeatedly tell them my birthdate as is required at our health care provider in the States. 

Reception area Falireas Medical Laboratory in Stoupa

However, noting that two years had passed since my last visit, they suggested I have a full blood screen. And I can assure you that it wasn't for the purpose of making extra money as the full screen, which I opted to have, cost only 35 euros/$41US. I had missed their October special, a blood osteoporosis test for 25 euros, regularly 91 euros, or I'd have had it done as well.

Falireas Medical Lab in Stoupa

An hour and a half after the blood draw I received the results via email. Had anything been seriously amiss, it would have been noted on the report, and I would have then made a call to our village doctor for an appointment and likely she would have seen me that same day.

Slow Lane Living

I hang clothes and The Scout stacks wood - living differently!

The blood test illustrates both the speed and ease of accessing health care, but it also shows my developing relaxed approach to life. Things for which I would have once sought immediate solutions for or answers to, just don't get done.

Take my clothesline. It was almost brand new, having just been strung in January. Out of the blue it snapped last Saturday afternoon, dumping several pieces of clothing into the flowerbed. By the time it broke, the hardware store was closed for the weekend. (Many retail stores still close on Sunday in Greece.) 

Come Monday morning we learned they didn't have clothes lines and they recommended the supermarket down the main road a few kilometers. 

'I am not doing laundry for a couple days, no need to make a special trip,' I heard myself telling The Scout, despite the fact we are less than two weeks from departing for a trip and I will need to wash and dry some clothes between now and then and rain is in the forecast. However. I'm adapting to the Greek approach to such problems: it will get done when it gets done, fixed when it gets fixed.

Traffic outside Seattle, Washington

While on the topic of the slow lane, I must again, sing the praises of traffic in this world compared to that of the big city.  They say a picture speaks a thousand words, so note the Seattle traffic we encountered on our annual visit back to the States and the contrasting slow down we had going to dinner in a nearby village last weekend.  Bet you can guess which we prefer.

On the road to Platsa - traffic jam

New Challenges ~ New Solutions

We've not yet adapted to the free roaming wild animals that like to do damage to our grove, garden and property.  Wild boars have taken aim at the groves, while kunaves (think marmot-like animals) have hit the gardens. Jackals are attacking cats and dogs throughout the valley. The only solution longtime Greek locals have offered us is to buy a gun and take aim -- trust me, we haven't yet shifted our lifestyle that far yet.

We've developed arm muscles with the digging we've done to repair damage. Yet, sometimes the critters throw us a curve that requires some new solutions:

New skills - new solutions!

After finding piles of insulation under HiHo Silver, our trusty RAV, we realized it was being harvested from the thick pad affixed to the underside of the hood over the engine, a pad that serves for heat and noise reduction.  To replace the pad replaced would be the simplest solution but also is a costly one at 250 euro/$300US. and we know it would soon be harvested as well.  

As they say. necessity is the mother of invention, and we turned to our trusty roll of high heat duct tape to repair the damage at least temporarily. These aren't skills he learned in law school nor I in journalism classes but there is a certain feeling of satisfaction when completing the challenge!

It's Not for Everyone

 

Night out in the village. . .a quiet night out in the village

Rural village life isn't for everyone. Neither is expat life. Or living and trying to function in another culture.  We've had many tell us they couldn't live with the uncertainty of water shortages and power outages. They wouldn't have the patience to deal with all the comes with living differently. Others visit and count the days until they can embark on an expat adventure of their own here.

Lastly, writing differently . . .

More Greek tales (and tails) coming soon!

I've been out of the 'blogosphere' for a while as I am trying to teach myself some new skills in the world of online writing and publishing. I knew the time had come when in September, we who use Google Blogger as the writing and publishing platform, learned in a roundabout way that Google had divested itself of that division. Another company had taken it over. Yet another company had taken over the domain rights (that means, in my case, TravelnWrite).  I quickly took steps to purchase the rights to TravelnWrite.com, but I am a bit uncertain about the future of blogging in general.

The shift in Blogger came at the same time many of you were saying you wanted more tales of expat life and our vagabonding adventures.

So, as part of my new learning curve I posted my first article last week on Substack, another popular online writing/publishing platform.   There I am writing as Jackie Humphries Smith.  Subscriptions (signing up to receive the articles in your inbox, just like here) are free.  I will continue to write on both platforms in the foreseeable future about our travels and expat life in Greece, but the articles will differ.   

Take a minute, click on my name and check out my first article there.  

I hope to see your name among the subscribers there as well as here. And if you are one whom already subscribed, many, many thanks to you! And I promise you all I won't overfill your inbox!

As always, thanks for your time - both in reading TravelnWrite and for checking out my Substack writing as well!

In the Blink of an Eye

 'We've got all the time in the world!' was The Scout's mantra after we closed the door to our workaday world; now, nearly half a lifetime ago. Travel beckoned. So many places to explore and we had years ahead of us in which we could accomplish the task. 

Yes, we had all the time in the world.

All the time in the world

Yet, in the blink of an eye, the stack of filled travel journals has grown; the years and decades filled with travel adventures have flown.  I can't recall the last time he used that phrase.

Living on Borrowed Time

Sunset clouds Manson, Washington

Our activities while in the States included The Scout's high school reunion. It was there that I heard him remark, 'We are all living on borrowed time, aren't we?' His comment was in response to the news that, yet another longtime friend had passed. Within the span of a few weeks this summer, we've quite suddenly lost three good friends. Each was a well-traveled, active 70-something, seemingly healthy person who had suffered a fatal heart attack.  

Sunset in the Mani, Greek Peloponnese

Living on borrowed time. Is that the new mantra? I actually spent a few sleepless nights pondering that thought and others: Were we too old to travel? Had we become too old for our expat way of life?  How old are we anyway??  

So, what is 'borrowed time' anyway?  Its definition is 'to exist or function longer than the expected; death or failure has been postponed not prevented.'  

Are we living on it? Statistically speaking, The Scout wasn't that far off base.  

In 2025 the average life expectancy in the United States is 79.4 years, up 0.18% from last year.  Males come in lower at 75.8 years and females, slightly better at 81.1 years. We are both in our 70's.

Our Greek village, Agios Nikolaos, Peloponnese

I then checked life expectancy in Greece, hoping this Mediterranean diet and lifestyle might give us an edge. And it does. . .a bit! The average life expectancy back in 2023 (the latest data I could find) was 81.5 years.  Men fared better at 81.9 years and women at 85.2 years.

The Third Phase/Third Act

The 70-somethings in Cambodia

As you might have surmised by now, none of that was very uplifting. So, I took a more philosophical look at where we are; a place some refer to as the Third Phase of Life. It is defined as the time between leaving the working life and before advanced old age. It is a time for pursuing hobbies, traveling and spending time with friends and family.  Now, that was a bit better way of looking at it. 

Then I found an article that completely pulled me out of the blue funk my research had put me in:

70-something American expats in Greece

In Psychology Today I found this age referred to as the Third Act in the Theatre of Life. With fewer life minutes in front of us than behind, it is a time of intentional and joyful living. A time of gratitude, joy and acceptance. Insights deepen. It's a time filled with opportunities to thrive and flourish.

And the article concluded, 'It is where the richness of the life story lies.'  

How about that as a counter to 'borrowed time'?!

In the Blink of an Eye

In the blink of an eye, we've reached an age where we don't have all the time in the world anymore.  With fewer days ahead, we'd better be making the most of them.

Ready. Set. Pack and Go.

We'd been planning to step up the travel anyway after obtaining our Greek residency permits last July. We've outfitted ourselves with new - tiny - backpacks that comply with some of the low-cost European airlines' (Ryan Air and Easy Jet) carryon requirements. We'll be using those airlines and backpacks once our Kalamata airport reopens for the 2026 travel season. There's a lot of Europe still to be explored. 

Alaska Airlines goes international with new livery

We rejoiced at the recent announcements from our old favorite US regional airline, Alaska Airlines, that it is going international in 2026 with direct flights between Seattle and Rome and Seattle and London.  We will have new options for returning to the States. . . hopefully for a few more years yet!

Oceania's 'Indian Ocean Opus' is coming up 

We've given ourselves permission to splurge a bit on travel if it means getting to places we might otherwise never see. And we did just that on a cruise that will take us from Cape Town, South Africa to Singapore.  We will spend the month of December on board the Oceania Sirena visiting ports of call that we've only dreamed of:  Reunion Island, the Maldives, Sri Lanka, among them. 

I'll add that with a nod to 'borrowed time', we are this time buying travel insurance for the cruise. . .a sure sign that our travel mantra has changed.

Dame Patricia Routledge

It's taken some time to write this one and while I've been drafting and rewriting, it happened that a beloved English actress and singer, Dame Patricia Routledge, passed away at age 96. In an interview she gave at age 95 she recounted that many things she'd tackled in her later years, learning a foreign language, pursuing painting and other such endeavors among them.

And in the blink of an eye, she nailed it when she said, 'Growing older isn't a final act - it can be life's most exquisite chapter if you allow yourself to bloom once more.'

With that, I will close for this time around and as always thanks for the time you spent with us today. Happy and safe travels to you and yours.