Category: Travel

We had our first reasonably temperate day. (Sub 85 fahrenheit?) Went for a stroll among the olive groves. Walked from Apollonia to Kastro. Met a lovely Swedish woman who went to school at Linfield in McMinville, Oregon–where S lived for a time.

Met an old Greek man with produce (and a v. big stick) on our way to Kastro. In our limited mode of communication, he was able to tell us that he was a retired teacher of mathematics; that he didn’t like our president; that he didn’t like the way Europe was kowtowing to America; and the way to the beach. As for us, he understood (I think) architecture but no words we could think of related to libraries.

It’s night-time now. We’re going to go here some music at The Old Pirate Bar. (Pictures of the pirate soon to follow…)

It’s hot here.

I think i’m off for a nap.

Mykonos = crazy party island.

My brain is definitely moving like molasses in this heat… (Is there anything that slows down more the hotter it gets?)

We leave tomorrow morning early for the island of Sifnos. Don’t know why, but I got a bee in my bonnet about going there. Apparently, it’s pretty tiny. But I think we need a few days of no-travel. If we like it, we may end our vacation there.

We’re going to go get some more corn tonight. Yum!

We’re also doing laundry.

We met some friendly Canadians who were on their way to Santorini. We heartily recommended Captain Markos’ Taverna. I think they might go there.

Uploading photos is tricky at these sporadic internet cafe stops. Maybe I’ll do the rest of them when I get home.

I think my brain is so full of seeing new things and new people all the time that I’m having trouble recollecting stuff. Need time to ruminate on our many adventures!

{Blearily drinking coffee in a nice little internet cafe…)

We made it to the island of Paros yesterday.

Hung out at the beach all day, on Naxos, the day before that. Nice beach, but the scene was getting a little old, so we packed up and took the 45 minute ferry over to Paros.

Yesterday, got back to my home town mode of transport as we took a bus to the tiny (but unpronounceable) (dirty little) beach community of Noussa–I heard this pronounced at least four different ways.

The unfortunate thing about Paros is that you have to take a bus or a boat to any decent beaches around here. If it’s not too much, we may rent a scooter today.

Tomorrow, I think it’s off to Sifnos (a smaller island) with the hopes of getting out of the tourist trap, somewhat.

Oh yeah, and Sarah had pizza for the first time in five years! (We’ve discovered that she’s not allergic to dairy products made from sheep/goat’s milk!) Feta pizza!

Strolled along the beach tonight at sunset. The water’s so very very warm.

Poked around in the Kastro–the castle fortifications at the center of town–and S bought lots of little souvenirs. I bought a tiny metal owl for myself. I’d ruminate on the mythological whatzits of it, but my mind is full of sun.

And sand.

We’re finally in Athens.

 The Acropolis (?) is just up the street from our hotel. We just had breakfast.

 As William Gibson said, in PATTERN RECOGNITION, jet-lag is like leaving your soul behind, slowly following on a tether. You only feel normal when your soul catches up to you… My soul is probably somewhere over the Mediterranean right now…

Well, after a day of tramping around some of my old haunts, we’re off to Greece in a few hours.

Yesterday, we went to the British Library, the British Museum and Hyde Park (among others). After 12 hours of traipsing about, we were pretty tired.

Well, we made it… hot, sweaty and tired.

But we’re in London.