Day 6 and journey home

Today was a special day. 100 small things still had to be done. From administrative tasks, setting up the computer, to smaller manual tasks, distributing last materials, shooting video scenes, to planning trips for the next year, everything was there. The basic motto was simple – everything has to be done. So once again we all pulled together our strength and stepped on the gas as a team. Sometimes it felt like we were dancing at seven weddings at the same time. Despite a heavy rainstorm we made it. Quite tired but satisfied, we went back to the accommodation to prepare for the upcoming final evening. So a warm shower was very welcome after the cold shower from above.

Fresh and awake, we met at the restaurant around 20:00 to enjoy a last delicious dinner. All the people who had been in contact with us during the week were invited to this dinner. The first guests arrived about 20 minutes late. There were so many people that we had to arrange tables. It was a colourful hustle and bustle of people from the local council, from the organising committee of Skyros, people from the different associations and also affected people. In the morning we put together a presentation of pictures and films about the whole week. In the evening, we showed these to our guests and reported on our experiences. It was an absolutely successful farewell dinner. A bit wistfully we said goodbye to our hearty guests. It is great to get so much support and appreciation from the people of the island. We are definitely looking forward to next year.

Back at the accommodation, we wrapped up all the gifts from the islanders and played “Werwolf” for a few hours in the group lounge. There were only a few hours of sleep left before it was time to say goodbye to the island.

At 6:30 am we were picked up by the car and driven to the airport of Skyros. It is located in the military restricted area a little outside. This airport is so small that four employees do everything themselves. From the security check, to the check-in, to the boarding process, to the luggage transport, everything is done by them. So we flew to Athens on a small plane.

There we used our stopover to evaluate our journey before finally heading back to Switzerland. Tired but satisfied, we landed back in Zurich.

We can look back on an eventful, busy and emotional week with super teamwork and many great experiences.

Highlight Pascal

My highlight of today was the joy in all the faces of the invited people at the closing dinner. Although it is also a farewell, one looks back with satisfaction and happiness on the very successful past week. The smiles on the faces are the sign that our activities on the island are welcomed, appreciated and have left a lasting impression.

Highlight Nico

My highlight today actually started on Monday. I was busy around Pano’s house, splitting firewood for him, among other things. At the beginning he didn’t really know what was happening to him and was very reserved towards us. On the second day he was already noticeably more open and started to talk to us. We also invited him to the closing dinner, but thought it would be too much for him with so many other people. We thought it would be too much for him, but he actually came and was very happy to see us all. I still almost have tears in my eyes when I think of the way he was beaming at the closing dinner. It showed me once again why I/we do what we do.