I took a walk this afternoon. I decided to go in the direction of a nearby town that Pamela told me about. Since GPS and Google Maps don’t work on most of Crete (and I don’t have a map), I decided to wing it, based on what I could patch together online. I walked and walked. I saw a lot of olive trees.
I walked and walked some more, and saw some animals.
Then, I got to the end of a road and realized I couldn’t go any further, so I turned around and continued walking, taking a different turn, when I got the chance. I saw a lot more olive trees.
I walked and walked, up, up, up the mountain. I had a great view (of more olive trees), but I never reached my destination. I had been gone so long at this point (I had only planned a couple of hours for a break from work), that even though the view was nice (you can see the island is turning yellow as the wildflowers bloom), it was time to turn around.
And then, the most amazing thing happened. As I was walking up this mountain, I passed a golden lab, lounging on the side of the road, at the end of a driveway. I assumed that was his home, he grunt/barked at me as I walked by, and I said “Oh, it’s fine.” (I have no idea why. I may have been reassuring myself.) And, I walked on. He continued to soak in the sunshine.
Well, when I walked down the hill, as soon as I passed him, he got up and began to follow me. (Insert very nervous Kristen totally trying to act calm, cool, and collected.) Then, he began to walk right beside me. Then, as cars passed, and I moved, he moved with me — as though we were in sync. THEN, we passed a house that had three dogs behind the wall, all of whom started barking like crazy when they saw me (exactly as they had done when I went up the hill). “My” lab grunt/barked once and they all — yes, that’s right all three of the other dogs — stopped barking. What????
What on earth was happening? I began to think about what would happen if he walked all the way home with me. I should give him some food. I’m a vegetarian, he’s not going to want what I’ve got. (Although, I bet he would like the olives.)
As it turned out, once we reached my street, he turned off and disappeared in another direction. Seriously, what is happening? Had the word spread from the other dog pack that I was visiting, and he just wanted to make sure I got home okay? Are the Greeks so nice that even the dogs are welcoming and hospitable? I am seriously amazed. I am not a dog person, but I am totally in love with this dog. He seriously had me thinking I might want to get a dog (don’t get excited – it’s not happening). But, this was my first puppy love and I’ll remember him fondly forever.
