Well THAT Was an Experience… Shiiiyuuuuuuut.

I’m back sweet things, and so excited to be online again. But That Was One Long Month.

No electricity. No clean water. No communication- via WiFi, cellphone or smoke signal. No real toilet. A host who was at best unpredictable in his mood. No way off the pirate island… not even by vote. Only by boat. I definitely almost died falling out my treehouse – cut up my hand and foot, and washing blood out of your hair because you’ve gashed your head open is never fun. Along with the spider bites, wasp stings and knife wounds, the days we ran out of food and/or water, and that time I was in the country illegally, I feel I can officially say…

I AM BADASS. BOOYAH!

But it’s enough now.

I’m on a boat… I’m on a boat…

The last month has been a crazy whirl of ups and downs. I had fantastic experiences with beautiful people, made so many new friends and watched far too many Australians get absolutely bugger-faced wasted. I lived with very little, and I laughed a lot. I was also very lonely, and had to learn how to look to myself for comfort in times of need. I learnt a lot about me, pirate or not. Sometimes friends came to visit and sometimes I felt I was going crazy. I got cabin fever and a real fever, neither of which lasted once I got back to the real world.  I danced for hours with abandon and drank a little too much a few too many times. I watched the stars from both the shower in a tree and my bed in a tree. Goats woke me up each morning, and some nights I felt ghosts in my head. All in all it was interesting.

Would I do it again? No.

Do I regret it?

I don’t think so.

The experience itself is something I am confused about. As you will have already heard, it was a little bit of a bi-polar place. The highs were so high I thought I might burst with happiness and never leave my slice of heaven; there were fantastic adventures and beautiful views. Beautiful people. The lows were so low I could think of nothing else but going home or sleeping until it was all over and I was gone from that cursed place; there was heart-wrenching pain and awful arguments. Awful people. But wow, did I LEARN.

Morning Light in the Pirate Bar

Being alone so often in my Pirate Bar (my interactions were very limited by language, sometimes other complications) forced me to talk to myself. To see myself, my actions and reactions to certain situations. To analyse them. And then to realise that I was responsible for my experience there. That I needed to use every opportunity and ability within my control to engineer a situation where I could be happy, because I was the only one who was going to. And I was the only one who should. I spent a lot of time thinking – while everyone chatted away in Turkish (mine is coming along nicely, thankyouverymuch) I was off exploring the corners of my mind. I found out they don’t exist – it’s just an ever changing, ever growing  expanse of emotion and knowledge; of thoughts and opinions under constant influence and in a permanent state of flux. It’s an interesting and frightening place to spend so much time – your own mind.

I had a lot of fun. I had a lot of un-fun.

The upcoming posts will reflect that, though I’m pretty darn-tootingly certain the chuckles will outweigh the tears, or the introspection – I don’t want to bore you reader dear. Suffice to say, this month took a lot out of me – fortunately it also allowed me to take a lot back.

I’m in Rhodes, Greece, at the moment – I head off to Crete in a few days to start my new volunteering project. I have clean water, a real bed, electricity and WiFi. I have alone time without being lonely. It’s kinda great. Expect to be inundated with tales of adventure, mayhem and mischief. I have stories from Olympos, from my birthday, from boat tours, passport problems and swimming with turtles. Also, don’t let me forget to tell you about how I was propositioned for a threesome on my first night in Rhodes, because THAT is a funny story.

I have a lot of writing to do, and a lot of island to see, so I’ll be off now. Keep safe my blogosphere friends, and if you can, live in a Pirate Bar- I know you all wanna be badass too.

One of the Great Days…