November 25th 2021

“I’m going on vacation in Italy. Alone. I am taking the ferry next Thursday” was the announcement I made to my family about a week ago. After finishing my summer job, being surrounded daily by hundreds of tourists with happy faces, flip-flops, suitcases, and the scent of sunscreen lingering in the air, it’s finally my turn! In my case, though, flip-flops have been replaced by boots, suitcases by a simple backpack, and the sunscreen aroma by the smell of humidity. However, travelling is all about emotions, right? Who cares about the fact that instead of June, July or August my summer break will take place in November? Right now, the only thing that matters is my need to experience again that amazing feeling of escape, which is always present when I travel. And following the anticipation of this feeling and prioritizing the “journey” rather than the “destination,” I decided to go to the neighboring country by ferry – which I generally despise and never prefer.

And that’s how I found myself on a Thursday night at the port of Igoumenitsa, drinking pomegranate juice at the bakery/coffee shop “Fournos sto limani”, having to wait until 23:59 to board the ship. Having already spent 2 hours at the bakery, around 22:30, I started walking towards the port for international departures. After walking for about 10 minutes between the dozens of parked trucks, avoiding a dog barking threateningly at passersby and shivering from the strong wind, I reached the ticket booth and got my ticket: Gate 8, SUPERFAST I, seat 18.

Alekos- a local bus driver shuttling passengers from the ticket booths to the ship’s docks- drove me to gate 8. I was the only one who chose to take the bus, perhaps because all the other passengers were truck drivers and thus boarded the ship with their own vehicles.

“Okay, maybe the situation has been a bit scary so far and I stood out like a sore thumb, but now that I’m boarding the ship, the atmosphere will change,” I thought. Moments from my childhood came in my mind, when from the age of 3 -with my favorite teddy-bear in hand- we used to travel with my family to Italy by ferry.

I remember how huge the ship lounge seemed to me and how fun it was that the restaurant operated as a buffet: I wanted to be the one carrying the tray and placing the food! I also remember the arguments with my brother about who would sit on the upper bunk in the cabin, the slot machine – freely available in the corridors back then – and the feeling of waking up in the morning having Italy as a morning view through the cabin window.  Everything felt like a fairytale!

Now I sit on the airplane-style seats, as the cabin is expensive, and I have to consider how I will spend the salary from my first job. I’ve chosen to sit next to the door, close to the lounge reception, since I don’t feel that comfortable being the only woman within the sixty-year-old men I have as fellow passengers. I have to watch my belongings, even while I sleep. It’s cold, it smells damp, and oh! In this whole scene, add as a soundtrack the snores of my sleeping co-travelers.

It’s passed midnight and I have to admit that the boat trip to Italy isn’t exactly what I had in mind, nor is it what I remember from my childhood. Right now, although I’m sleepy, I’m writing this text in my phone notes to capture my current thoughts and feelings. I know that in 7 hours from now, I’ll be in Bari and the feelings I have now will be altered by my excitement and the beauty of Italy. And yet, even this experience, not being what I expected, is beautiful and significant. Maybe the discomfort I feel at this moment is breaking out of the infamous comfort zone? Maybe if I had booked a cabin or chosen the airplane, the whole experience would have been the same old story again? Perhaps!”

To be continued,

Fedra Mour