This style of traveling is new to me. Every day we wake up and evaluate our itinerary – how are the winds? Our moods? Our whims? Which harbor has space for us? Then we go where the winds take us. Even before we left for Greece, we were juggling so many shifting variables, that we never truly nailed down where we would go and when. We’re only starting to get a hazy idea of what we’ll do after our boat trip, but it’s not a certain thing yet.

So when we arrived in the Poros harbor last night, I wasn’t entirely sure where we were. I didn’t know the history, the landmarks, the cuisine. But the arrival was stunning.

We got here around 2 PM – the hottest part of the day. So we relaxed for a few hours before venturing out to explore. The kids napped, Tim read, and I did a little sketching.

By the late afternoon, things had cooled off enough that the idea of walking through town and up and down the hills was just bearable. After a stop at the gelato shop, that is.

I was enchanted by the town. Labyrinthine steps—whitewashed walls—itsy shops tucked away in pedestrian alleys—overhanging fig and orange trees—vistas overlooking other towns and ports. We wandered for a while and finally arrived a the landmark clock tower at the top of the town.

Afterward we wandered back down the hill and through a few souvenir shops. By that point, we were starved and slightly cranky. Our skipper had made a reservation for us at Gia Mas, so we meandered our way there and found a table along the waterfront. It was one of the most amazing restaurants I’ve ever enjoyed—worth signing up for TripAdvisor to extol its virtues.

We walked back to the boat, listened to a chapter of Odysseus, and turned in for the night. I think I could get used to this…

I’m not a total convert to this driftless style of traveling. I miss knowing and musing about the history and culture of the place before we arrive. I miss the context that’s only visible when you’ve taken some time to learn before you arrive.

But for this week, and this trip, I wouldn’t change a thing.

*** I wrote this a few days ago, but we ran out of batteries before I got a chance to publish it….