A Girl’s Greek Odyssey

In A Greek Girl’s Odyssey, Nicki Collins Geigert tells the story of her adventures in Greece along with her niece Savannah. The book follows their trek from Athens to Crete, with many stops along the way at historical sights and islands.

Geigert and her niece begin their journey in Marcopoulo, a town in East Attica, where she recounts their agenda as well as the sights visited. This formatting continues for the entirety of the book, as Geigert tells stories from every travel destination. Although I enjoyed the first-person narration, I found the subtitle “Join Savannah on her Adventures” misleading. Her niece Savannah, although mentioned constantly throughout the book, never gave a first-person narration of her thoughts or opinions of the places visited. There were many pictures of Savannah but I felt I was experiencing Greece through Geigert’s eyes, not Savannah’s.

This narration includes a lot of history of the sights visited which I appreciated being unfamiliar with many of the stops along the way. Examples of these sights include the Greek temples of Artemis, Poseidon, Zeus, and the Palamidi Fortress of Argolis. Upon reaching these places, she recalled the people who had lived and died there, reflecting on their past lives. I especially found the conveying of Epidarus, an ancient theater, very interesting as Geigert explained how its construction affected the acoustics of the area. She also focuses heavily on the Christian apostle Paul throughout her book, noting where he preached and journeyed in Greece.

The majority of this story was told in the exceptional amount of stunning pictures Geigert took. Although some of these pictures were low quality, I especially found the ones of the Mystras area breathtaking. I was enthralled with the eye-popping colors of Old Town Chania with its entire city in hues of pinks, reds, blues, and yellows. The turquoise blue water was crystal clear and sparkling from the pictures of Balos beach, Gramvousa, and Elafonisi island.

I enjoyed traveling with Geigert and Savannah through Greece, however, I found the overall narration to be more personal than necessary. I wish Geigert had spoken more of the food they ate, the quality of the places they stayed at, the activities they engaged in, and their recommendations of what they would go back to visit in Greece. Rather, much detail instead was on inessential commentary. For example, although I thought the incident about Geigert’s husband John sleeping on the beach humorous, I found these intimate recounts lessened the sophistication of the book. I also found the many personal selfies and yoga pose pictures gave the book the feel of a scrapbook for cherished friends than a travel diary for the general reader.