Last Army Days

After the “small ropes” (look previous post), the time came for me to leave Mitilini and go to Kastoria, a city near the Greek borders with Albania. I wasn’t expecting this third transfer, but it was a welcomed one. Anywhere was better than Mitilini. Imagine if I had stayed there, during the summer. Yeah, right, it’s an island and it is beautiful there, but the camp, man, the camp is bringing you to your limits!

Once I arrived with the bus to Kastoria, I was astonished by its natural beauty: Trees, trees everywhere, the great lake in the middle, beautiful buildings and quiet streets. If you haven’t visited the city yet, do it ASAP.

My new unit was not far from down town, only 3 minutes away with a taxi. As is the city, the camp was quiet and the facilities better than Mitilini, although not perfect. But in my eyes, it was like Hilton! To my surprise, I met people and friends from both Serres and Mitilini, who have also been transferred there! That helped my adapt very quickly, well, apart from the fact that someone stole one of my two digital cameras, but after 2 days, I’ve learned that I was to be sent to a guarding post, 15 minutes from the borders, as a second-in-command.

It was very, very far from the city, but at least it was near a small village. I may not go out to Kastoria, but I get to sleep more and spent my remaining weeks more quietly and without stress… Well, apart from inspections and visits from superiors, but even those don’t happen that often.

It was very quiet and idyllic there. There were 5-6 soldiers with me, all of them nice guys, but still, not all characters fit together. But you try to cope with the situation and be patient.

The “facility”, a former folklore center, is pretty nice equipped, with spacious rooms, a huge “entertainment room” with TV, DVD, an old pc, even an old coin-up arcade! We get to cook on our own, but with materials brought to us from the camp.

During my time there, I had the experience of knowing lots of people, in- and outside the Army, I got to know a battalion of Marines, who came by for training and I witnessed devastating fires, wiping out entire mountains clear from their trees. Horrible, really horrible…

With this and that, I didn’t realize how quickly the time has passed. During my time in Mytilini, time was passing due to the fact that everyday was a training day. In Kastoria, almost every day was about sleeping, relaxing, eating, talking and the hardest part was to choose which DVD we were about to watch.

And then came a glorious day, a bright day, a day of freedom and change. August the 7^th.

When I finally fullfilled my obligations to mother Greece and I returned to my previous life as a citizen. I must admit to have felt a bit sad about leaving the whole siuation behind. As hard as it was, you only keep the good memories in the end, memories that I still look upon and smile.