BOSTON – I kindly ask for the understanding and forgiveness of our dear readers in advance for the personal nature of this writing, which is nothing more than a heartfelt expression of love for one’s homeland filled with memories and experiences – or, if you prefer, yet another fulfillment of the unquenchable nostalgia that nestles deep within my heart for my birthplace, Lesvos, whose form glistens like a transparent leaf in the blue waters of the Aegean.

I returned there physically during the early days of August, although mentally I am there every day. This time, along with my wife Angeliki, our daughter Eleni, her husband Andrew, and our little Theodorakis were with us. For Andrew and Theodorakis, it was their first visit to Lesvos, which they came to love dearly.

The visit – or rather the pilgrimage – began in our village, Moria, where I first opened my tearful eyes to the wonder and enigma of life, which I have been trying to interpret ever since… and still remains elusive, perhaps because life is a real mystery that cannot be described or defined by words and concepts but is a quest for the reason and meaning of existence.

Moria was once the star of the island, just five kilometers from the capital, Mytilene, adorned with the golden hair of olive groves. Unfortunately, the tidal wave of illegal and clandestine migration from Turkey wounded it deeply… A few years ago, it hosted as many as twenty-three thousand migrants, with all the consequences such a situation entails. Today, it is said there are about two thousand. That’s something serious – but I won’t dwell further…

My beloved first cousin, Aglaitsa Margelou, had meticulously organized the ‘pilgrimage’ to Moria, which began at the Church of Saint Basil. It was there, as a small child, that I first learned ‘the things of God’ and ‘the teachings of the Greek Genos’ from the blessed priest of Moria, the late Father Vasileios Mpamias, who now rests in the churchyard. I stood by his grave, saw his photograph, and relived all those beautiful years, his advice, and teachings that marked my life. The late Father Vasileios was self-taught but had an incredible theological education, which cannot be acquired in schools or through books but only through faith as a lived relationship with God, the source of wisdom and knowledge.

The second stop was our family home, which now belongs to my sister Vasiliki. We met in Mytilene, and we reminisced about many things. Upon seeing our old home, tears began to flow uncontrollably from my eyes. Our good friend and my elementary school classmate, Aglaia Georgakopoulou (Trakeli), who lives in New York with her family and happened to be visiting our village, was showing my wife Angeliki the room and the window on the second floor where I used to sit and read.

Our next stop was my aunt Katina Kalmoukos. Despite her advanced age, she has remarkable clarity and memory, recalling everything.

Panagiotis Kahelos’ pastry shop remains a focal point for the people of Moria today, just as it was when we were children under the ownership of his late father, Georgios Kahelos, who made homemade ice cream. A small group of us from Moria’s primary school gathered there and reminisced about the old days. Among them was our good friend Argyris Koukladas, who has been living in New York for many years and was vacationing in the village.

Next, we visited the resting place of our loved ones, the cemetery of Saint George, where my beloved parents, my uncle and aunt, and many other respected and cherished individuals are buried – some of whom were still alive during my last visit to Moria but have since passed away. Life is truly strange! Our time at the Saint George cemetery was a difficult moment.

Walking down the main street of the marketplace, every step brought an encounter and greeting from fellow villagers. I remember them all and love them, and they returned that affection and appreciation so warmly and spontaneously. Good, simple, genuine people, true to themselves, preserving the kindness and nobility of Lesvos.

In the days that followed, we made our pilgrimages: the Monastery of Saints Raphael, Nicholas, and Irene in Karyes of Thermi; the Taxiarchis of Mantamados with his unparalleled and unique form; the Panagia of Agiasos, a work of the Evangelist Luke; and the sacred and uncorrupted relic of the Holy New Martyr Theodore of Byzantium, enshrined in the Metropolitan Church of Saint Athanasios in Mytilene. We also visited the Marketplace of Mytilene with its shop windows and aromas, and, of course, the beaches of Petra and Molyvos, Charamida, and others, with their crystal-clear waters of the Aegean, fresh fish, and the famous sardines of Kalloni.