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The clear turquoise waters around Greece's Poros island usually buoy the spirits of 63-year old resident Nadia, but yesterday she could do little but weep as she contemplated her troubled country's future.
"I voted 'No'," she said after casting her ballot in Greece's bailout referendum.
"But we don't know what deal we're voting for because there's no longer a deal on the table."
The referendum was officially a "Yes" or "No" vote on a bailout offer from creditors, but a "Yes" could bring down the government of Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, while European leaders say a "No" could force a chaotic exit from the euro.
But, as many have remarked, the question posed by the government referred to a deal to extend a previous bailout that ended on Tuesday after talks between Tsipras and the creditors collapsed.
"We vote 'No' but we're afraid. But when we vote 'Yes' we're afraid, too. On both sides we're afraid," Nadia said, summing up a current of confusion and fear running through Greece. "I've cried all day," she added, wiping her eyes as she left the polling station.
Martin Schulz, the head of the European Parliament, tried to ease concerns in Greece, saying Europe would not "desert" them regardless of the outcome of the referendum.
In the short term, Europe could give "emergency bridging loans to Greece so that public service can be maintained and needy people get the money they need to survive", he said.
Nevertheless, he was scathing of Tsipras' government in an interview with Germany's Welt am Sonntag newspaper, saying it had led Greece into a "dead end".
As the prime minister voted in Athens he said he was confident of a 'No' that, he has argued, would force concessions from the creditors to give Greeks less austerity and more "dignity".
"No one can ignore the will of the people to live, to live with determination, to take its destiny into its own hands," he said.
Not everyone agreed. "You call this dignity, to stand in line at teller machines for a few euros?" asked pensioner Yannis Kontis. "I voted 'Yes' so we can stay with Europe."
Angry and exhausted after five years of pension cuts, falling living standards and rising taxes, Greeks now face closed banks, rationed ATM withdrawals and the prospect of the country literally running out of cash.
Pensioners besieging banks to claim their retirement benefits, only to leave empty-handed and in tears, have become a symbol of the nation's dramatic fall over the past decade.
After voting in Athens, Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis was confronted on the street.
"Come with me to see the crowds of people waiting at Alpha Bank," one man said. In reply, Varoufakis repeated a pledge to resign if the 'Yes' vote wins.
Whatever the outcome, French Economy Minister Emmanuel Macron said there must be more talks. "We must, starting tomorrow, respond with political discussions to create a framework," he said.
Today, all eyes will be on the European Central Bank, which will review its emergency liquidity line that is keeping Greek banks afloat.
Agence France-Presse, Reuters


Greeks fear for the future … whatever the result of the bailout referendum

Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras votes at a polling station in Athens, saying a 'No' would give Greeks dignity. But some pensioners, angry at being unable to get money, were not so sure. Photos: Reuters

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Europe vows not to 'desert' Athens as voters choose whether to accept terms of a bailout offer


The referendum was officially a "Yes" or "No" vote on a bailout offer from creditors, but a "Yes" could bring down the government of Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, while European leaders say a "No" could force a chaotic exit from the euro.


Greeks fear for the future … whatever the result of the bailout referendum

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Europe vows not to 'desert' Athens as voters choose whether to accept terms of a bailout offer

Europe vows not to 'desert' Athens as voters choose whether to accept terms of a bailout offer