To sleep, perchance to Symi dream
Photos of a Symi sunrise from the roof, as that’s as far as I travelled yesterday before preparing this post for today. I had one of those night’s sleep where you close your eyes, at around 10.30 and suddenly it’s 3.00, and you’re wide awake, though you know you want to stay in bed. I got up and got on with it. I’ve been doing this a lot recently, waking up with my mind already an hour ahead and wondering what I’m doing lazing around in five hours’ sleep and why am I not at the desk yet? Ah well, at least I got to see the Blue Star come in at 5.00, a reminder that I will be on that boat in September, coming back from Athens and arriving in Symi at 4.55 in the morning. Eek!
I probably shan’t sleep on the boat at all, but I’ve booked a cabin anyway. It’s useful for the private bathroom and TV as well as the potential to sleep. I like the ferry trip from here to there and back again, particularly the coming back from Athens part because you set off in the afternoon, so you have some sun and scenery. Mind you, it’s high-rise apartments and docks for the first part of the journey. The islands come later, but you don’t call in anywhere until some time during the night when you’re trying to sleep but when the movement of the boat sends you sliding from one end of the bunk to the other amid shuddering and announcements from outside. The same applies when going the other way. You leave Symi in the evening, so you do get to see various island through the night if you stay up, and the quieter part of the journey happens the next morning.
I’ve never been able to sleep on moving objects like trains, planes and ferries. Coming back from Australia a few years ago, I managed three hours in 24, something of a record, but that then turned into six hours in 48 – I lost count of the hours as the clock was all over the place. Maybe someone can work it out: left Sydney at 18.00 on one day and arrived in London at 6.00 (the day before? Can’t remember). After a trip to Paddington station and back, hung around the airport until the flight to Athens at 21.00 that evening; hung around Athens airport until the morning flight at 7.30 the next day, and managed to stay awake until 16.00 that afternoon. During the trip, I slept for three hours somewhere over the southern hemisphere and grabbed a couple on the London to Athens leg, so you can add three hours there, making six in what felt like three days. Anyway… As you can see, sleep deprivation has me rambling, and I’ve yet to do the shopping, housework, writing, editing, singing ‘lesson’, play reading and breakfast. Yawn.
