Day after day the island’s residents enjoy a peaceful existence, their routine rarely interrupted, the calming sea a backdrop of a life well lived.

Here, in the shadows of the looming windmills and the final tinges of red across the horizon, we commemorate not some special occasion, but the simple act of being. And in the clamor and joy and downright absurdity of the celebration, we are one.

As the clouds part above the mountainside, the stones of an age long past seem to shimmer with pride. And for a moment, in the gentle wind of the Peloponnese, time stands still.

One can only imagine spacecraft drifting across the cerulean, their plumes of smoke trailing past the ozone layer, that which was found on Earth leaving its home.

Perhaps the most striking thing about the cave, more so than the towering ceilings, is the dead silence throughout the chamber. On the surface, one may hear buzzing cicadas and chirping birds, or even in their absence, the wind blowing past their ears. None of that is present here; in the space between other visitors there is a piercing silence. You are fully immersed in a realm where sound is absent.

Early in the morning, the stands serve as a breath of fresh air. From the highest seats nearly the entire track is visible, an asphalt ouroboros which will serve as the proving ground for those who dare to push the limits of human engineering.