It's been a splendid, splendid month.

Our journey is going better than I'd dared to hope. We're now exactly half-way through, and I'm like a little butterfly, sucking up all the scented sweetness.

Yes, it's hot sometimes. Sleep is sometimes in short supply. Rucksacks can feel heavy.

And it's a full-time job. If you're not actually doing something, you're reading about it, or you're managing stuff for the next stage. There's very little time for anything else.

But I'm loving it. It's the first time I've done this kind of journey, and I'm loving it.

Purple memories from a purple month:









Themes are starting to emerge:

-- Romans
-- Ottomans
-- Differing Christian traditions
-- Refugees
-- Conflicting narratives, the most striking to date involving Greece and Turkey

Such a lot to learn...







We've been amazingly fortunate so far. But it's very possible that we've done the easier section of the trip. In the next few weeks, we're likely to have more question marks over transport and borders, and more communication issues.

Never mind... Just keep travelling...


And you know what's funny? We missed Ithaca...

Purple Tern's byline is drawn from a beautiful poem by Constantine Cavafy, called Ithaca:

"As you set out for Ithaca, hope the way is long, full of reversals, full of knowledge.... Keep Ithaca always in your mind. Arriving there is what has been ordained for you. But do not hurry the journey at all..."

Well, in the great snorefest that was the Bari-Patras ferry trip, I sailed right past Ithaca without realizing it.

I'm not sure of the symbolism here, but I'm going to interpret this failure as a sign that we're not ready for Ithaca yet:

"[D]o not hurry the journey at all. Better if it lasts many years, and you dock an old man on the island, rich with all that youve gained on the way, not expecting Ithaca to give you wealth. Ithaca gave you the beautiful journey. Without her you would not have set out. She has nothing more to give you."