The sound of invisible crickets fills the air.
As we prepared to set off on our voyage, I thought back to our first overseas adventure.
I was five, and he rented us a room in the beachside home of an old Spanish couple.
Stephen Dorff and Elle Fanning in Sofia Coppola’sSomewhere.
It was a perfect first holiday.
On deck, the cava is flowing and guests are acclimatizing to the heat and waves.
It turns out shes also the granddaughter of the ships founder.
Photo: Alexandra Pereira
The voyage were on is a family affair, in many senses.
Never had my dad and I imagined adventuring up close and personal with a Greek yachting dynasty.
These days, I dont really think of my dad as an extrovert.
Photo: Alexandra Pereira
Everyone is asked to introduce themselves at the inaugural captains dinner.
My dad is the last to receive the microphone, and I can tell hes nervous.
My names Gordon, he says.
Photo: Courtesy of Variety Cruises
I love reptiles, beer, and tattoos.
I remember that I used to be the shy one out of my and my dad.
Now the roles have reversed.
Photo: Courtesy of Variety Cruises
questions, our ethnic ambiguousness also sparks some new ones: You must be Greek!
; Where do you get your shades from?
; What do you identify as?
Photo: Alexandra Pereira
Hes never been back to his birth city, and Ive never been to India.
We dont know where were going, but we know it wont be boring.
Filippos assures us each island will be unexpected and off the beaten path.
Photo: Alexandra Pereira
Little tender boats will take us ashore each day whenever were docked.
She is animated when explaining the spiritual energy that courses through its many villages, from Volax to Pyrgos.
Once a center of worship for Poseidon, Tinos is a mystical land of rumored fallen stars.
Decked in double denim, he sings from his gums with glee, delighted.
Surrounding him is the throng of long-limbed, bronze goddesses.
The older teenager is readingMoby Dickon the sun deck most mornings.
Studious and doting with her familybasically the opposite of me when her age.
Every morning, a chiseled Greek model leads yoga and meditation.
I found it really difficult to hold my breath for five seconds, he mutters afterwards.
Plates are smashed, circles form, and Everyones dancing: first to traditional songs, then to Abba.
An old Greek lady in leggings does somersaults over the smashed plates.
Aging mahogany men toss their canes aside and slut drop.
The music changes again and the Egyptian crew dances theshaabi.
Psara is our final port of call, where bees hum loudly as they pollinate their beloved thyme.
In 1824, Psaras population was almost entirely massacred by Ottoman troops.
Its the last day of our adventures and these distant civilisations and bottomless seas have made us headily nostalgic.
My dad is thinking out loud, which I know means he feels at home.
His eye wanders across the landscapes, and he turns to talking about the originalStar Trekseries.
Very positive for mankind, he says, quietly.
Clearly, we are both a little forlorn at the trip coming to its end.
Out here in the heart of the Mediterranean, we somehow found ourselves closer than ever.
We disembark with rapturous hangovers, ogling the superyachts at the portand begin planning a winter getaway.
