Who I am & how I decided to travel and send letters
Hi, I’m George -and writing the About me section is probably the toughest thing I did for this website.
I didn’t know where to start from, what to include, and how to avoid writing a CV. This has always been a problem: I have written books, among them a 500-pages novel, and still, I’d rather write another novel instead of writing my bio note. I’ve always been questioning the purpose of moving the spotlight from the writing to the writer. On the other hand, I do understand that the reader has the right to know. So here it comes: the About me section will be fragmented, descriptive, and slightly anecdotal.
Who I am
I was born in Athens, Greece, in 1980. In January 2010, I moved to Berlin, Germany. I still spend a good part of the year there, but lately, I save the summers for Greece.
I’ve been a traveler for as long as I can remember myself. I was five years old when I first started staring at a globe. It was an illuminated sphere, all countries and places shining at night. For several years I would plan distant journeys, daydreaming that I was some variation of Jules Verne. I started traveling solo when I was 18, and I’m used to traveling alone. Well, I’m still not sure if everything was about the journey; I suspect it was all about escaping.
I’ve been a writer since the early stages of my adult life. At 19, I discovered two books: The Stranger, by Albert Camus and The Songlines, by Bruce Chatwin. Shortly afterward, I started writing too, and those two books are a steady companion for almost two decades now.
Before starting this website, I have visited almost thirty countries. I have written travelogues about every single place, most of them exclusively in Greek. My most extended travelogue was about the Faroe Islands: it’s almost 50 pages long.
I love trains, planes, and hotels; I’m not that fond of cars. Twice a week, I go to the cinema, even when I am traveling. I never miss the chance to watch a football game at the stadium. I cycle every day, no matter where I am. Smoking occasionally is a habit that I don’t want to get rid of. I am addicted to orange juice.
I always carry a pen and a camera with me.
How I decided to travel and send letters
It all started in the Mediterranean. August by the sea, a slight breeze. We were sitting speechless in front of the waves. Barbara was there, thoughtful; she seemed to be dealing with some significant world problems, as I often say. On the other side, I once again had itchy feet: I wanted to travel, I needed a lengthy escape from my daily life. I couldn’t stand going to the supermarket anymore, sleeping under the same roof, dealing with the same things over and over again.
Something felt totally wrong. I was tired, demotivated, disgusted by the industry I’ve been working for several years. I have written four books, several short stories, and many travelogues while shooting thousands of photos. And yet, everything seemed wrong.
“Why don’t you just leave for some time?” she asked. “You could travel a bit, go to the places that you’ve always wanted to visit.”
“Just like that? Take my bag, a pen, and paper, and go away?”
“Yes, just like that, there is no other way. You either want to escape, or you don’t.”
“Will you join me?” I asked back, even though I knew the answer.
This was the biggest problem of all. Barbara couldn’t leave. She had a daily life, regular working hours, a home to take care of. There was only one way out of this standstill: to travel alone for an indefinite amount of time. As it turned out, this was not a deal-breaker.
On the contrary, by the end of the night, we have sorted out an arrangement: I could start traveling straight ahead on one condition. Barbara wanted to know everything about my journeys. It was not enough for her to listen to some general descriptions or some recommendations about the places. She wanted to feel as if she was there.
All I had to do now was to find out how I could narrate my stories to her.
The first letter
The night before my first departure, I tried to call Barbara. But I couldn’t reach her on the phone. I thought of sending her a short message, but as I kept on writing, the message became a long one and, inevitably, turned into a letter. The concept that I’ve been searching for in my journeys appeared right in front of me. And just like that, the very first letter was written.
After that night, I started writing her letters from every place I visited, and that’s how the Letters to Barbara blog was born. Besides, I would continuously write in my travel journal; I’d make lists about the best things to do in each place, I’d shoot photos and nostalgic polaroids. I thought (and still think) that this is the optimal way to cover a destination. Each one of us represents a population, and if a couple of people enjoy following my journeys, then this website has fulfilled its purpose.
All that said, this blog is dedicated to less ordinary places, travel stories, photo-reports, and occasional stops by the sea.
Dear reader, welcome aboard.