A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum

I . . . well, I . . . [hands clasped behind me, stubbing big toe into the ground] . . . I lost another camera. In my purse, along with my Treo 650 PDA/cell phone.

I left my purse (but not my eyeglasses nor wallet, thank goodness) at a bus station in Kamari on the island of Santorini in Greece. We took the bus to Fira, then took a taxi down to the port at Athenios, where we were to catch a ferry for Athens at 5 p.m (then catch a plane to Rome the afternoon of the next day).

At 3:50 p.m., I realized my purse was missing and we ran to the Port Authority police. There, a very dedicated young officer and his friend, through numerous very serious phone calls in Greek, miraculously found out that a couple had gone to the police in Kamari with my purse. These Samaritans then got onto the bus for Fira with the understanding that they would take my purse to the Fira police. The Fira police, once they had the purse, would call the Port Authority, and have it delivered to them. By 4:45 p.m. we had not heard back from the Fira police, and we agreed we had to get on the ferry to Athens. The officer and his friend consulted each other for a few minutes, made more serious phone calls, then said that if they get the purse that night, they could have it delivered to my hotel in Athens by 10 a.m. the next morning. The officer even gave me his personal cell phone number. Fabulous. Except that by the next morning, the Fira police still hadn't heard anything about the purse. So the officer promised if he got it he would have it shipped to our home in California. They were so helpful that I have no doubt that if he gets it he will send it to me. I'm just not holding my breath.

So that's why the following posts, up to Rome (where I am now and have bought yet another camera), contain no pictures from my camera. My angst over the hundreds of pictures from Europe knows no bounds. I couldn't make a turn on a trail in the Swiss Alps without taking another picture, and the pictures of my nephew Antoine are proof positive that he is the most adorable young man (of four years) in Paris. If by any chance the camera gets shipped home, I'll repost with pictures. Until then, you'll have to use your imagination.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Update!

A lovely couple (he a retired pastor) found my purse at the bus stop in Kamari. They took it to the bus company, thinking I might return for it, but the bus company would not take it. So they took it to Fira, but the bus company there wouldn't take it either and the police department was some distance away. The couple found my mother's contact info (under Mom and Mel) in my PDA address book, and seeing that my mom and stepdad live very close to them in Washington, they took my purse home and contacted Mom. All four had a lovely lunch together yesterday, and my mom now has my purse, which she is shipping to me. Happy ending. Yay for the kindness of strangers. And moms and stepdads.