Chasing Ideals

Hello all. I have not forgotten my duties. The last few days since I have left the chaos and bushy eyebrows of Albania have been slightly less interesting. I am awaiting the arrival of my chums from Poland before beginning any major exploration. It is amazing to think that within days I will stand beneath the Acropolis and attempt to imagine life in another of the ancient cities of the West. At the moment I am parked down the coast a little ways from Thessaloniki at a campground on the beach. The afternoon weather here is still glorious and I took a dip in the Mediterranean and was suprised that all of my necessary appendages did not shrivel up. The water is still quite marvelous, rivalling San Diego's warmest in the summer. I had been told that Thessaloniki was not to be missed and when I remember who told me that I may strangle them. Thessaloniki from all appearances is a concrete jungle and an impossible place to park unless you wish to risk life and limb and double park anywhere and everywhere like the locals. The only draw I could see were bars and shops. There is nothing wrong with those things but hardly make venturing there worthwhile since those are the necessaries of any modern city.

I had the pleasure last evening of meeting up with an English chap who has been coming to the campground I'm staying at for years. He was in the past the producer of nature films for English television and now works on them independantly. I was fascinated not only with what he knew of animals but also of the myriad of places his profession has brought him to. The man has explored areas where no foreigners had set foot. I really admire meeting someone who has such passion and who has made that passion his life. He has encountered many obstacles but has continued to do what he loves to do and has gotten to see so much of the world in the process. I have met so many people in this life who's passion in their youth was neglected because the quest for the dollar overshadowed it. People who are convinced that they could not make money doing what they love to do so they give it up. What a tragedy that is? How different the world would look if even a decent percentage of us focused our lives on the passions God created us with and fought through the obstacles? T'would be a much richer place of that I am convinced. I understand that such idealism may not be possible in this moment but each of us should be striving toward it. It was a great encouragement for me to meet such a person at this time.