There is a speck near the center of the photo above : a couple embracing in the caldera of a volcano.
The island of Nisyros was formed when the Olympian Gods went to war against the Titans. Poseidon, god of the sea, set his sights on defeating the Titan Polybotes and pursued him as he fled across the Aegean.
Poseidon caught up with Polybotes near Kos and broke off a piece of the island (near Cape Chelone) with his trident, hurling it at the giant. This piece of land pinned Polybotes beneath it and sometimes he still hisses and groans and lets off steam, which explains all those sulphurous gasses and the volcano.
There is something about the ancient myths’ explanation of the world which I find very comforting. I could sleep like a baby on the bosom of the Avenger Zeus.
Nisyros’ beaches are black rock and sand, and the water looks like rich chocolate liqueur.
When I drove to the caldera, a native New Yorker named Vasili waved me over with instructions on where to park (“Park it over here, sweetheart, and show me that smile again.”) and doled out advice on how to avoid falling into the hissing holes.
If you visit, try to catch Vasili when he isn’t busy and share an ice tea with him. He loves to chat and he’ll tell you all about his trip to Graceland and why the Colonel was responsible for Elvis’ death. (“I loved Elvis like a brother.”)
I was in the entrails of Polybotes right before closing time. All alone in the middle of the ancient volcano without another tourist in sight, the notes of a mournful bouzouka began to reverberate around me, echoing for miles.
Torn between remaining there enraptured for hours, or seeking out the source of those magical notes, I made my way slowly back up the white powder slopes to find the most unlikely bouzouka player of all: a young man dressed in rastafarian colors, blond ringlets falling down his back. He gave me a sheepish grin. How could someone so young elicit such mournful notes and understand what they mean?
He understands me when I say “Beautiful”, and thanks me.
I didn’t realize how much I loved taking photos of people in the caldera with my tilt-shift lens until I had already left Nisyros. I considered going back for more but decided to leave it for next summer. For the next 11 months at least, I want to hold on to my musical memory of the caldera.
and then they saw my camera…
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