Never Go Back.

That's what they say, never go back to a place where you have been happy.

This is the third time I have visited Garenin, twice before, in 1998 and 1999, to stay in the hostel run by the Gatliff Trust, (affiliated to the Youth Hostel Movement), where I slept (even in the same bunk) under the thatched roof in mixed dormitories in a converted Black House, and loved every detail. More of the ruined buildings were under reconstruction, to provide accommodation and a conference centre, but the ambience was so peaceful.

This time, however, we had an admission fee to pay for the privilege of wandering round the site, still under expansion with more restoration; we peeped into the hostel block to find everything very modern and somehow soulless. Only the stony beach in the bay seemed unaltered.

I sha'n't go back again.