ATHENS, Greece — Woke up in the middle of the night wondering where I was.

For about a second or two, I thought I was still in Madrid.

Wrong.

No, then Malta.

Wrong again.

Then it finally dawned on me that I am now here in the land of Zeus, officially on holiday with the family for Christmas, but still pounding the beat.

Can’t help it.

Left Manila on the night of the 19th and stayed for two nights in Spain.

Arrived in Madrid in the afternoon of the 20th.

Early morning of 21st, we flew out of Barajas International for Valletta, the capital of Malta, a two-hour and 25 minute flight.

Spent the night there before flying in here on the 23rd, still feeling the effects of the 20-hour travel from the Philippines and the  seven-hour time difference between Madrid and Manila.

So, here I am at 3 in the morning of Christmas Day filing this column so the guys at the office can get the job done early and be with their families as soon as the pages go to bed.

As for me, will be spending a few more days here before heading back to Malta and then finally to Madrid for the final leg of this trip.

Again, am I on vacation?

Nah, I am not.

From time to time, I still get to glance at the electronic copies of the sports pages and likewise send out stories for publication.

Done this very same thing during the year before the pandemic for a different paper during my stops in Krakow and Berlin.

And just last year, also got to file stories from Dresden and Prague and even in Rome, Naples, Paris and Lisbon and Pamplona the previous years.

Call me a fool sometimes for mixing leisure travel with work.

It is what it is.

As they say, when you love your work, it doesn’t feel like it.

“Γεια σου” (Yia sou)!