It's Hot in Greece

-  I'm so glad our visitors had their holiday before the highs of the heatwave hit.  It's way hotter than usual for early June.  Yesterday the whole country was a furnace.  Around 39oC on Poros and the low, at 3am was 29o. 44o elsewhere. We spent a lot of the day inside with the aircon turned on but went out onto the balcony in the evening as the sun went down.  We have a TV set up out there and got ready to watch the final of Greek Masterchef.  Around 10pm there was a hot breeze which seemed to suck out my energy.  I felt sick and went inside to the bedroom, turned on the aircon again and lay listening to my favourite Youtube channels till I felt better.  Which I did.  I didn't miss much on Masterchef.  The standards are so high now, all professional cooks, and either could have won.  One did.  Naturally.  I googled in the morning.  That's Masterchef over for another year.  

Olympics here we come.

Today, Thursday  is slightly cooler.  Less hot perhaps would be a better description.  The sky is covered, once again, with a dust cloud from the Sahara and is blocking the sun.

- Midsummer 

Midsummer in Greece is Monday 24th June.  It coincides, naturallly, with a church festival, the Fiesta of  Orthodox Saint, Saint John the Baptist.

It's the longest day of the year, Summer Solstice.  That mystifies me.  How can it be midsummer when summer is yet to come.  We might think it's hot now but July and August are 2 months of hot, hot and even hotter. 

- Pumpkins 

Pumpkins are growing and spreading their greenery out over the dry baked soil.  Most of them have come up by themselves, sprouting in potplants and the wheelbarrow.  I should have thinned them out but I didn't.  It's survival of the fittest around here.

St Luke -

11 June was the Fiesta of St Luke the doctor.  He was Russian, born in the Crimea.  There is a Russian church with onion dome near us dedicated to him.  I have been with K a couple of times to light a candle.  My daughter's m-in-law is a great believer in him and often recounts his miracles.  He's a recent saint, died in 1961.  And that's all I know about him.  The m-in-law often reminds me of saints days and holds this one in high regard.

Summer is full of Saints days and fiestas.  It was the time of the year when crops had been gathered and threshed and there wasn't much work in the fields.  Time to celebrate.

- More of the missing.  

An American, 59,  has been missing on the island of Amorgos, in the Cyclades, since Tuesday.  He went on a walk like Dr Mosley and hasn't been since.  News says he had 2 telephones with him but he's not answering.

Meanwhile on the island of Samos a Dutch tourist, aged 74, has been missing since Sunday.  He went off on a walk too.

There are huge search operations for them, naturally, on both islands.

Going off for a hike on a Greek island is not a sensible thing to do in the summer unless you're prepared for high temperatures and difficult terrain.  Walk to the supermarket for a 6 pack, walk to the beach, with friends.  Even then, take water, a hat, let people know where you're going and when you'll be back. 

- Next years visit

I had a long conversation this morning with my brother and wife about next year's travels. 

We have aussie visitors at the beginning of September, a short 2 day visit, and then nothing till 2025.  So far. 

Older brother (one of them ) doesn't want a pig on the spit.  Well, he may well do, but he has other plans.  We will be travelling up north together to Meteora and the monasteries perched impossibly on the top of high peaks overlooking the town of Kalabaka.  And then we will move on to visit Delphi, the navel of the world according to ancient Greeks.  

Delphi

Meteora

I've never been to Meteora so will be looking forward to that.  We'll be coming back to Poros for a few days.  Plenty of time for K to feed them mousaka, stuffed tomatoes, octopus and ouzo.  And lots of kalamari from Sophia's taverna.  

To finish off

a delightful photo

I think

of my younger brother and myself

More to come soon on visitors antics....