Arrival To Skopelos

Arriving in Skopelos by Speed Cat (a high-speed catamaran ferry), the long awaited adventure to find my father's family - my family - was actually under way. "This is really happening", Stefan's eyes colorfully screamed out. Since we knew we would be taking this trip, we had already picked our destinations based on where his different family members had lived in Greece. However, until a few weeks ago, we had no idea as to who was still around or where they live now. We also didn't know if they would even want to see us.



In the ferry, our dad revisited his old memories and talked about his anitcipation of seeing Alexandra again after 45 years. After he was sent to live in Pensacola, Florida to live with his Aunt and Uncle, Despina and Mikali (Mike) Tsoukalas (Callas), he went from being the youngest of 8 to an only child. And he left behind his loving parents and yia-yia (grandma) to live with two strangers in a strange land. A few years afterward, Alexandra, Mike's niece, came to live with them in Florida. She was 13, older than Stefanos, and had grown up on Skopelos Island, but came to go to high school in America. For my dad, she was not only an older sibling to look up to, but also a connection to Greece, and a friend to get through the hard times with. She stayed for four years, and then returned to Skopelos to marry her boyfriend and work as an English teacher. When she left, she broke my dad's heart - it was the second time in his young life that he lost his family. At first, they wrote letters, but as so often happens, after a few years they lost touch.



Whether or not we saw anyone, my dad wanted to go visit the island where his adopted father grew up, and where all of the stories he had heard over the years took place. Before going, my mom emailed a dozen hotels on the island and said: "Do you have any rooms, how much are they, and by the way, we are looking for my husband's sister, Alexandra Tsoukalas. Do you know her?". Fourteen said no, and one said "yes, she's my mother!". We were invited to stay with them as family, but although this is customary in Greece, we were still uncertain as to how we would be received.