We skip through the islands with Carlos and Felix like a smooth rock thrown against the glassy surface of still waters. Yet the water is not even close to being smooth. As we come in to Simi, windsurfers are skirting back and forth at speeds that are nothing short of amazing. These are islands that we have visited before. Some we remember more than others. Simi is the island with the castle built at the top of a high peak surrounded by white squared houses that from a distance look like sugar cubes holding up the castle that served as its protection for so many years. Now the castle is in ruin and the economic difficulties of Greece are no match to the stonewalls that once could repel her enemies. The young people grow up and move away to the more prosperous cities like Athens, leaving the old to click their canes through the narrow streets and settle into café chairs to contemplate their past glory. What is left behind is a small village with tasty restaurants and decaying windmills on the hill that no longer grind the village wheat into flour. What time cannot take away from this island are the beautiful beaches, clear sapphire water and deep bays that still protect the boats that come to visit the shops and eat at the restaurants.
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