Autumn Neighbourhood

 

Green, green, my world is green

Green is my world when rains begin to fall

Not my best friend and not my walking partner. This one's stares with disdain watching my every step and dismisses me as a harmless nobody. He's always on a wall somewhere, a rock or a high place, surveying his domain 

Green green grass of home

 

We live hidden amongst the olive trees 

Our house is front row and to the right 

 Summer is over but the Bay below had 6 yachts anchored off shore

Orfeas, our Neighbourhood watch dog

These old farmhouses have fallen deeper into ruin.  I see the difference since last October. Doors falling off, roof tiles disappearing. 

60 years ago they were  homes of families who eked out a living with their sheep, goats, olive and almond trees.  Families with children who got education, walking kilometres to school in all weather, and then moved away to a very different life in the city. 

They're all tiny

Looks like one room, maybe 2, outside loo

For families with 5 or 6 children 

2 stories

The animals underneath maybe with large vats of the year's olive oil,  clay storage  jars for the salted pork, wine barrels, firewood, bales of straw, bunches of dried oregano, bags of wheat

Son of Sasquatch woz here

And wearing shoes

Another old homestead. This one is being renovated 

Poppi/y Day

 11th November

Remembrance Day in the Commonwealth, that group of countries that once formed the British Empire. Those in the Armed Forces who died in the line of duty are honoured with a 2 minute silence and a bugle call, the 'Last Post' 

WW1 officially ended on the 11th hour of the 11 day of the 11th month of 1918. 

The day of remembrance was named Armistice Day and later Remembrance Day.   My mother was born on Armistice Day. I shall be lighting a candle for her at the little chapel down the road

Ceremonies take place at the 11th hour in the Commonwealth countries, Britain, Canada, South Africa, NZ, Australia, Barbados, Belize, Bermuda, India, Kenya, Nigeria, and quite a few more, to mark the ending of hostilities on the Western Front.  The hope was that WW1 would be the war to end all wars and Armistice day would remind us of the millions of lives lost. 

But peace is precarious. Armistice Day now reminds us of the cost of that war, the sacrifice of so many

 

My handcrafted Poppies

The red Flanders Poppy 

The symbol of Remembrance Day

They Did It

 They did it. Of course they did

 

Changed into Crocs

A bit of comfort for aching feet

Just a wee bit stiff and sore

So happy!! 

They're well looked after all along the route. Toilets, first aid and water every 2.5 KMs

Energy drinks and bananas too

As they approached the stadium their Mum gave us the countdown 

11kms to go

5

2

1

And a big Sniff sniff from their proud Grand-Mama

Now they're off home to stuff themselves with pizza. Boy do they deserve it!! 

Their record,  'just over' 3 hours

5.28 hours to be exact. Not bad for their first marathon.

With music.  

Marathon Divas

My 2 granddaughters and  24,998 other runners will be taking part in the 43rd Authentic Athens Marathon tomorrow.  The event starts today, Saturday, with another 60,000 taking part in extra events

10 kilometres 

5 kilometres 

1,500 metres

Kids run 1,200 metres

Special Olympics run 1,200 metres

University Night Fun Run

Poppi and Nels on their way to the official sign-in 

With 25,000 runners from all over the world it's difficult to get a place in the event.  They've been booked in for months 

Cost 75 euros for EU citizens

Making their mark

The famous, to us, Bitouni Sisters

The run starts near the burial mound of those fallen at the Battle of Marathon 490 BC and ends in Central Athens at the Panathenaic Stadium 1896

Start

Ye gods and little fishes 

What a crush

Finish

They've got 8 hours to finish the run.  The record is 2 hrs 10 mins 34 secs, run by a Kenyan Edwin Kiprop Kiptoo in 2023.

Nels and Poppi will probably, possibly, finish in under 3 hours

Weather prediction

 Warm and dry around 17oC

Their mother, brother, cousins and friends will be waiting at the finish line to cheer, scream, hug, jump with joy

And take photos

True Blue

 

Catamaran sailing to Athens

These signs are everywhere along the waterfront pointing the way to local businesses and sites of interest

You can dine in the sunshine or if it's wet or cold then inside the protective nylon

The actual inside of the taverna is so small you'll find only the kitchen, storeroom and loos. At the most there might be a couple of tables. All the seating is outside summer and winter, though in midwinter, off season, most tavernas close down

Beware the Hare

Hareface (Lagokefalo) were this year's danger in our seas.

Silver-cheeked toad fish

Known around here as 'hareface' 

    Ugly damn thing isn't it

Has strong neurotoxins and it's bite causes a very nasty wound.  There is a bounty out now, 2 euros a fish.  They have appeared around Poros and have been caught by local fishermen.  They are not edible. 

Their numbers are increasing rapidly.  It's a number one predator and is causing harm to the fishing industry.  They eat large numbers of squid, octopus and cuttlefish

This jellyfish, medusa in greek, is known in english as the purple jellyfish, surprise.  It's sting can be quite painful but not dangerous

It's numbers are increasing and we have been warned

The brown jellyfish on the other hand is completely harmless

You can pick it up without painful consequences

I remember years ago the waters around here were full of these.  I haven't seen one in years.  The same with seahorses.  Our girls when small would sometimes find these curious creatures floating near shore and capture them.  I made them put them back but we did keep one which dried out and is probably in a jar in someone's house still.  

There were sea cucumbers, starfish and sponges too. All gone

Then there's the Lionfish

Lion fish

At least this one is edible.  However,

though their poison is rarely fatal to adult humans it May cause paralysis, vomiting, diahhrea, swelling of the tongue, heart failure, convulsions.............and death

With warming seas they migrated through the Suez canal and  are now increasing in huge numbers in the Aegean

So, how come they're edible.  It's their spines that are lethal.  The solution to stop their invasion is to eat them, so we are told.  

The spines are cut off with a kitchen knife and then they are filleted.  That's as far as I read.  There's a campaign in Crete to include them in gourmet menus.  I'd eat them, if they were served nicely on a platter with a seafood sauce, but no way I'd ever chance my life cutting off their spines with a kitchen knife

Stinging seaweed

In the bay below us there is a seaweed called 'kokotsoni' attached to rocks.  Wikipedia says seaweed doesn't sting.  This one sure does.  I stumbled one day slipping and sliding as I entered the sea, fell over and sat straight down on a rock full of these.  Hell it hurt!!   It's a wonder I didn't go into shock.  Even with a special cream the sting took hours to calm down and I was in pain for at least a week.  

When there was a canteen down there the boys cleared this stuff away from the beach.  I often wonder when I swim there now if it has come back again.  It looks like friendly old seaweed waving with the tide.  It aint!!!

Mosquitoes carrying the West Nile Virus

These mozzies became a big problem around Greece this year even in the Attika area which broadly includes us. They cause fever and rash and can be deadly.  We had lots of warnings on TV news shows.  Fortunately they seem not to have reached Poros, this summer. But we have been warned

Basking shark called  'sapounas' or in greek or a dog fish 

A slow moving filter feeder, harmless to humans. Spotted now and again around here

Another nasty looking creature but this one is harmless.  If you know what you're looking at that's fine but for most people a shark is a shark.  Sharks bite and they're nasty.  I'm not going to swim up and ask it's name. 

Athens Trip No 2

 Our day in Athens

All's well that ends well

It was drizzling early this morning but held off while we boarded the 'Aero 4' on Poros and disembarked in Piraeus.  The seas were calm and the Catamaran half empty.

One of the taxis at the port, waiting for tourists, took pity on us and drove us right from the gangway of the Catamaran to the entrance of the hospital. He charged us 5 euros extra, for the harbour pickup.  Worth every euro.

We spent 5 hours at the hospital getting Ks tests done and 2 more hours sitting in the warm comfortable hospital waiting room drinking coffee till it was time to return to the harbour. 

Many hours but K got all his checkups completed while I finished reading a book and then used their strong Wifi to do a few online crosswords and catch-up on emails

It's the Onasieo Cardiology Hospital. Built many years ago by the great Aristotle Onassis and gifted to the Greek people.  

All Ks scans and tests here are covered by his Navy insurance. First results look good so his shoulder surgery can go ahead as planned with the Cardiologists approval.

We had a bit of a wait but no complaints. Staff were helpful and  friendly.  The doctor that did K's scan completed his 12 month military service at the Naval Base on Poros.   He remembered K, a Commander still on active duty back then, and the fresh raisin bread that came hot out of the Base's ovens every morning.  All the family remembers those raisin loaves.  The baker back then was a civilian who baked outstanding bread. 

Unlike the turkey and cheese sandwich, on 'wholemeal' bread, we bought at the hospital canteen.

 Can you believe this list of ingredients.  All in Greek naturally and I'm not translating.  It starts off with 'flour', ends with  'trace of nuts' with another '50' things inbetween.

The return was uneventful. As we climbed down off the gangway there was our daughter Elli welcoming us back with open arms.  Her happy smiley face warmed the cockles of my heart.

 

After a natter and a catch-up we found out car, parked nearby in the early morn, and went home via the souvlaki shop. What better ending than a few skewers of pork,  greasy chips and a glass of wine

Our guardian angel was looking after us

Thanks