Karen had not gone straight back to Copenhagen at all, but instead had spent another month in Israel. When I was in Ein Geddi, she was in Eilath. By now she had her own apartment in Copenhagen and invited me with lots of love. I could even come and live with her. A life full of love was smiling at me. I dizzied out of the post office where two bold little brats were begging for stamps. The world had suddenly become my friend again, had it not? It had never felt more natural to share. I tore the stamps from the envelope,
‘Bevah kesha (there you are). From Denmark.’
Gratitude conquering greed. I was going to Denmark, the sooner, the…right now.

My financial possessions could only be expressed in Israeli pounds and its pennies, agorats. This was no problem in Israel, only if you wanted to leave. In Tel-Aviv I met some Eilath people and they knew just what to do. We went to a not too snazzy hotel and buttonholed the first Americans that walked out. It was right on target. They would have to change money anyway and were only too happy to help me. And thus I changed my pounds at the official rate, which was almost double that of the black market.

The next day, in Haifa, I ran into Steve and we celebrated our farewell. More like a souvenir I had wrapped a tiny piece of hashish in plastic and rolled it inside a toothpaste tube. That evening I walked with Steve up the dock area to board.
At the entrance some shady characters were hanging around. They said I could buy a bottle off them for 10 pounds and next sell it tenfold to an Athens address provided. I figured: either you get caught, or it just contains water or you will still be taken for a ride in Athens and decided,
‘Thanks, but no thanks.’
Right after that I asked Steve,
‘So what is Spanish fly?’
(‘So what’s an aphrodisiac?’)
He also told me, without knowing about my little smuggle, that hiding places like tubes were the first where customs would look.

To be continued: 'Thalassa!'