Crossing the Country

 Another long trek, this time cross country  to the West coast and down to the Gulf of Korinth, just a few hours from home. 

Leaving Meteora and it's Monasteries we wound up into the mountains again. It was so green, small villages with unusual names (Cherry Village, Dark hole, Madonna) cascading down hillsides, memorials to Nazi atrocities, chestnut trees and Norfolk pines. Those 2 trees are a sure sign of high elevation. 

We stopped at a roadside Cafe for cappuccino and toasted sandwiches. 

At 700 metres the temperature was decidingly chilly.  We went inside and sat near the stove. There was a pot boiling on the top. Paul lifted the lid and was disappointed to find boiling water. No savoury rooster or rabbit, goat or wild boar simmering away for lunch. 

Up there we saw big quarries, gaping holes gouged out of the hillside and convoys of lorries carrying what looked like iron ore. 

We stopped at a roadside shrine and I jumped out to take a photo. Of course. 

The door was open so K and I lit a candle for safe roads. 

Quite an elaborate little shrine

There were roadside stalls selling fruit, honey and preserves. Paul bought red delicious apples. 

K decided to buy some tomatoes........ until he found out the price. They were from Crete of all places, at the other end of the country. And the old man was selling them for 3 euros a kilo, twice the price of tomatoes on Poros.  

K put them back and told him curtly what he thought of them. 

Later we joined the national road and scooted straight through to the coast. 

The roads up here are engineering feats. 

There were viaducts spanning deep gorges and tunnel after tunnel after tunnel. The longest was 5.5 Ks long

Once on the West Coast we diverted to a secondary road through ravines covered in greenery and rivers full of trout. 

There are trout farms for miles and roadside stalls now sold fresh trout displayed in large tanks or smoked and packaged.

My 3 brothers are avid trout fishermen from an early age, wandering for hours along the banks of the Waiari river or trolling from small boats on the Rotorua Lakes. Good memories for Paul

After  a 6 hour journey we finally arrived in the seaside town of Nafpaktos. 

It was packed with lines of cars.  The good weather, and Thursday holiday making for a long weekend, had obviously brought out hundreds of visitors. 

We found our hotel, up a narrow cobbled side street ending in a steep slope.  The driver was not amused. Especially when he saw how many steps he had to climb to reach the reception and more to reach his room. 

He phoned the owner and told him to come down and carry the bags up or he'd go somewhere else. 

And 'lo, it was done'. 

Meteora

 We stayed in a hotel underneath the towering rock pillars in the town of Kalabaka. 

Lately we've had some long trips. 4 or 5 hours, or more. You can imagine how glad we are to find our hotel. Always hoping the GPS will guide us to the door and we'll find somewhere to park. All of this without the driver getting overly agitated. 

So far so good. 

The first night here was Ks choice. Souvlaki, pites, tzatziki, with that oh-so-popular Greek salad.  The salads here were cheaper than Delphi 7.50 - 8 euros compared to 13 and 11 euros. Raki for the boy followed by a jug of wine. We were walking back! 

The next day we found the Monasteries without too much trouble. 

It was a case of 'follow that bus'. 

There were endless lines of huge buses, pullmans they're called here, disgorging tourists from all over the world. Crowds entering, crowds leaving and groups inside gumming up the works while they listened to their guide's spiel. 

We three 

Me in the middle with a weird grin

Looking up at one of the Monasteries from the road below, can't remember which. 

There are 6 monasteries open to the public. 

We only visited one, St Stephens, which had easy access. Only a slight slope, no steps. 

Probably why it was so popular. The rest have endless steps going up and up. Mostly carved out of the rock. 

One has a cable car but it is only to transport supplies. 

Looking down to the town below

K waiting for his traditional evening meal under the spectacular sandstone pillars

May 1st is the equivalent of Labour Day. A holiday for everyone but those in the tourist industry.  Greeks love to get out in the countryside, make wreaths from wild flowers and....... visit monasteries it seemed. 

My contribution was a bit of greenery and some purple something-or-other to stick under the windscreen wipers. 

Thanks P and K

For another wonderful day

On The Road Again

 Willie Nelson..

 🎵🎶  Goin' places that I've never been

See'ng things that I might never see again 🎶🎵

Another long road trip. This time to the Monasteries of Meteora, perched on the top of steep rock formations.

A breakfast of champions

I can't describe how wonderful it is to be travelling with my brother and sister....in law

We talked about times long gone, childhood memories. Family. So many things in common. Music. Food. Recollections of our former lives 

A long drive through the fertile central Plains of Thessaly. Acres of solar panels, rice fields, the usual olive groves

To these amazing rock formations

But more of that tomorrow

Ancient Ruins

 Ancient Delphi....

Where Oracle Pythia sat and under the influence of volcanic vapours gave enigmatic answers to questions  from Alexander the Great, Socrates, the King of Sparta, the Greeks who fought the Trojan war. 

Roman ruins

The 'actual' omfalos or tummy button

Greeks considered Delphi the centre of the world, the omfalos

Ancient theatre

Temple ruins

Polyganic walls

Made from odd shaped stones fitted closely together

With nubs

Pointed out by Paul and Karen

What are nubs? 

These things sticking out from stone blocks

They are found all over the world, on walls in ancient Peru, Japan, Malta and Egypt. No-one is yet sure what their use was

We stayed in the village of Delphi, walking distance to the ruins. There were the usual lines of tourist buses but we got there before the main crowds arrived.  It's a huge area and we didn't go right to the top to see the stadium. There were steps going up and up and up. A guard with a whistle stood watching all the visitors, blowing her whistle at those who dared touch the ancient rocks. 

The whole area is spectacular surrounded by sheer mountain walls, high above acres of olive groves and the harbour below. 

Taverna with a view

After all the exertion of scrambling over ruins we needed a good traditional Greek meal.

Rabbit with onions, giant beans, sardines and a Greek salad.

We judge each taverna by the price of a traditional Greek salad. The first night the Greek salad cost 13 euros and it was not traditional. It had chunks of hard rusk, Greek croutons?  The taverna was full of tourists and attentive, scurrying waiters. Also they had run out of Ks favourite greens and herb pie. We won't be going back there. 

The following night the taverna had salad in a large bowl, no rusks, 9 euros. A more traditional Greek experience.

We did a tour of the tourist shops. Every where they asked where we came from . Australia, NZ via Poros.

The owner of one shop knew Poros well and mentioned a name. A name I knew well. She turned out to be a cousin of one of our sons in law. 

As the saying goes

'It's a small world'.

Next day we were off again, further north, to Meteora , with it's 'Monasteries in the air'.

The Road Trip Begins

 My dear brother (one of the 3) and his wife have just arrived in Poros from Perth. I can't remember how many times they have visited.  All my family love the island and come here year after year. It used to be just brothers and wives but now it's nephews and nieces, members of the extended family and many friends.   It always amazes me how much they enjoy their stay and it gives me so much pleasure when I see them walking down the gang plank of the Catamaran!! 

This time we are taking Paul and Karen up north to ancient Delphi, the naval of the world, and the site where the oracle Pythia announced her cryptic answers to the ancient's queries. 

From Delphi we go onto Meteora with it's Monasteries 'in the air' 

Paul in his Hellenic Navy cap ready to set off on our road trip 

Paul's cap brought us lots of chat about Greece, brothers in law, and Australia. Every Greek has some family member in Australia, and these Australians have relatives on a Greek island

We travelled along the top of the Peloponese and crossed over this magnificent bridge, Rio Antirio, to the rest of mainland Greece 

Octopus and grilled, fileted sardines

After a wee 'adventure' we found a taverna off the main road. One where locals were eating, and drinking,  and enjoyed a very good lunch. 

Here we are, the table groaning as usual with traditional Greek food

K and I on the left, P and K on the right

The view at lunch

Not bad is it. 

The village of Delphi is way up in the mountains and this is our view looking down to the sea. 

Happy couple 

Cocktail time

We were also celebrating our 46th Wedding Anniversary

Thank you Paul And Karen for making it a wonderful day

And thank you K for driving all the way

It was a 5 hour journey

Much more tomorrow 😊😊

There are ancient ruins to visit

Almost Summer

 

Coffee time at 'Utopia' 

Or this that the brand of coffee

The weather is ok for sitting outside though there is rather a nippy breeze 

We are still in long sleeves and jackets. The foreigners in short sleeves.

The garden shop is doing a brisk trade as everyone clears their winter gardens and stocks up for summer planting

The view this morning

Preparing for the Luxury Boat Show.

Soon there'll be a line up of floating palaces

Once Upon a Time

 Hard to believe our backyard was once a summer paradise 

The sight today

Old iron posts

Piles of broken paving stones

And yet.. 

13 years ago

There was even a small lawn. 

And a lawn mower. 

It lasted one summer. Maybe 2.

The lawn dried up

The lawn mower was sold

The old paving stones piled up

A load of old iron couldn't be resisted. 

ANZAC

ANZAC Day

Remembrance Day in New Zealand

And

Australia

They rose with courage in a world at war

Today we rise in peace, remembering them

From the trenches to today's parades we honour the brave. 

Lifted from Instagram

Thanks

My father's cap and medals 

In a display case on our wall

He served in the Fleet Air Arm of the Royal Navy.

Captained this Motor Vessel which spent time working with the Greek Navy searching the islands as the Germans retreated .

His brother Frank Creasy served in the NZ Army and was killed in the Battle of Monte Casino. He is buried in the Commonwealth Cemetary at  Cassino in Italy.

My mother's brother George Perry also served in the NZ Army.  He was captured in Northern Greece when the Germans invaded and spent the rest of the war working on a farm in Austria growing food for the German Army.

We remember 

Family Feast Fotos

 
A photo is worth a thousand words. So they say

These baking dishes are huge

The lamb was lowered into them and dismembered 

Kyriakos

Son in law

Same pose, same photo every year.

Son in law Yiannis

There's always dancing

Yiannis cutting the last of the offal off the spit 

Just beginning

Family fun

Father daughter greeting

The male of the house cuts the Easter loaf 

All the family was present

George and Boem

Elli and Junior