Busy Few Days

 Tuesday we were at a funeral.  A beloved maiden aunt passed away at age 92.  All her nieces and nephews gathered on Galatas from one end of Greece to the other to say goodbye.  There were tears in the church, a slow 3k walk behind the hearse to the cemetery, and back, then coffee, liqueur, hugs and laughs at a café and a family meal to end the day. Cousins, friends and extended family in a warm togetherness

Life goes on

20th was Saint Lydia.... Or Poppi day. She and I share our name day.  Lydia is the nearest greek name to Linda. Tradition. She's named after her maternal Grandmother. That's Me

It was a busy day for me.  I made pastitsio (greek lasagna) and stuffed tomatoes for all the family. Delivered the food to them.

Later we had an appointment at a bank to sort out our cards. 

The bank is changing from Visa to Mastercard and we get sent new cards and don't know why. Got that sorted. Very helpful girls.

 Most of our banking is done online nowadays.  We still use cards for shopping, with pin numbers 

I do have the pins written down, somewhere. However,  I went to try a rarely used card in the ATM to see if it still worked, tried it, wrongly, 3 times and of course the machine ate my card

21st     

So early this morning I was down at the bank again.  Got my card back and the pin sorted in a few minutes. Easier when you know the bank employees.

 Daughter Elli is going to put all my cards on my phone. Sounds like a good idea as long as I don't lose my phone. I have it in a case on a long strap and wear it crossbody so I don't leave it anywhere.

Then we ran into the girls drinking a very early morning coffee before they both went off to work.  It is daughter Elli's name day.  Lots of hugs all around and 'Chronia Pollas' (that's Many returns, to you). It is also Ks name day and granddaughter Nels and Ks sister Dina

My Instagram 'cheers' to Nels and Poppi 

My present from the family

Isn't that bloody marvellous!

And so true

My superiority recognised at last

It changes colours at night

K in his happy place, surrounded by grandkids 

Thanks kids for such lovely gifts

Yesterday ended with the pick up of 7 x 20 litre boxes of wine from the vineyards of a vintner in nearby Nemea

3 boxes (60 litres) for us of white wine and another 4 of red wine for a friend

Tonight K will hold his name day dinner for friends. You don't invite.  They just turn up.  Most stay for a glass or 2 of wine and a plate of food, then move on to the next celebration. Half of Greece is celebrating today.

K is cooking, boiled lamb and pilafi, rice boiled in the lamb juices . His Greek friends will love it and smother everything in lemon juice

Meantime his phone is ringing every few minutes as friends, acquaintances and absent family call to wish him well

On Sunday we have the family dinner. Roast pork and potatoes 

Χρονιά πολλά... Many years

Nafplio

 A day out to the big city.  Nafplio.  For work alas and not play.  There's so much to see and do in Nafplio, ancient ruins, fascinating old town, car free alley-ways and squares, markets

  We, as usual, would be seeing only the inside of car places and tool stores.  At least this visit didn't include a hospital or doctor's office

Nice shiny car

We were going to Nafplio for our 2 year Warrant of Fitness certificate

The car was covered in red streaks from the last Saharan dust and rain storm.  I washed and cleaned it inside and out.  That red muck was everywhere and it needed a good soapy rub to get rid of it all.  Now we have a forecast of rain again.  Damn

First stop was to get new tyres for the car.  K had been humming and haaing about them, looking at prices around Poros, and putting off the final decision.  Now he had to get it done or fail the test.  We went to a recommended shop in Nafplio.  In 20 minutes they'd put on 4 new tyres, checked the spare and all for 60 euros less than Poros.  It cost 200 euros plus a 5 euro tip for the young lad that was helping.  

Next stop The car testing place

We passed!

Free coffee while we waited!  We had 2 cups each.  That saved us more than 10 euros at a café.  It's good coffee too.  Filter or espresso from a machine.  We had a cup of both

We sat outside and drank our coffee along with 3 other clients.  Greek.  There's a rubbish bin just behind the chairs.  They didn't use it.  Wind had blown a paper napkin and a plastic spoon on the ground, and they left paper cups and an ashtray of butts on the table. They just up and went.  I gathered our cups and picked up all their rubbish and put it in the bin

The norm around here

Then we went for petrol

K buys BP whenever he's in Nafplio.  A friend of his told him BP has the best quality.  It's slightly more expensive than Shell or Aegean but still cheaper than petrol on the island

Another reason to buy BP 

This happy smiling girl always cleans our windscreen and does an excellent job of it.  She didn't mind having her photo taken either

Then on to the supermarket.  The best part of the day, for me

LIDLS!

Look at all those refrigerated goodies .  That was only cheese and ham, yoghurt and butter

So much choice.  A true shopping therapy session, for me.  

After years shopping here, on and off, I know what I want and have a list which I follow.  There's a lot more I could buy but life is too expensive now.  I also have a list for the girls.  We all look up the specials online and go for the bargains

Our big supermarket on Poros would fit into one aisle here

Next stop, Ks favourite meat market.  This coming week we have 2 family name days and most importantly, it will be Ks name day.  He bought a few kilos of the finest pork

Last stop

'Trendy'

A souvlaki lunch

Half a grilled chicken, a huge pile of chips, tzatziki and drinks (alcohol free beer for the driver) for 25 euros.  There's enough leftover for lunch tomorrow.

A good thing about this shop is they're geared up for takeaways and provide a box and bag for leftovers at no extra cost

Back to Galatas, over on the car ferry, grocery delivery to the girls and home.  After unloading there was just enough time for a short siesta.  I needed it.  Outings are tiring these days.  Thank goodness it was cloudy.  Comfortable weather for getting things done.

Next day ...as I'm writing this it has just started to rain.  Another car wash on the horizon

'Sail Boats'

Poros May 2026

 East Med Multihull and Yacht Charter Show

'The show is for crewed charter yachts and provides an opportunity for industry professionals to view the yachts and take part in seminars, culinary competitions (?), networking events and evening celebrations'

The line of floating gin palaces tied up to the wharf went on for more than a kilometre. 

If you're a member of the unwashed masses you can wander down the red carpet and goggle

The ostentatious Catamarans have important looking crews, dressed in crisp blues and beiges with identity tags hanging their necks. All with fresh young faces, white toothy smiles and clipboards ready for earnest business discussions with genuine business men, and women. 

 However the Gin they drink with clients, on the discreetly covered decks with swanky bamboo chairs and fat plush cushions, is not bought locally 

I've heard a lot of complaints from locals.  A taverna owner who was in line behind me at the Supermarket remarked bitterly that it's all just for show and there's no benefit to local businesses

She wasn't the only one to complain.  The yachts were all fully stocked back at Piraeus.

Entertaining  clients takes place in comfort, on board, not at a little rustic island taverna with its hard rush-covered chairs. 

However... 

It does present Poros as a desirable destination for yachts.  Poros is plugged as a friendly Greek island, within easy reach of Athens and with all  amenities needed by visiting pleasure craft.

Poros is growing as a haven for yachting flotillas which come in for a few days to enjoy the  tavernas, exuberant nightlife, shop at the local supermarket and clog up the roads with quad bikes and buggies.

The boat show is an annual event and attracts more luxury companies every year.  

Many years ago, when it was a more intimate and friendly affair, we asked for, and got, a few yards of that red carpet at the end of the show. K, of course, knew all the council workers that were cleaning up afterwards. We were expecting family from downunder and literally laid down the red carpet to welcome them 'home' .

Rudi

     

Meet Rudi

 A gentle soul with a long term medical issue.

A couple of times a year Cecile (from Belgium) opens the Greek Sail's offices and helps to spread out an array of preloved treasures, books, clothes, doggy bits and pieces and lots of 'white elephants'.  The bazaar is to raise money for Rudi's medecine

These girls, Jan and Cecile (England and Belgium) put it all together and happily search out bargains for all of us

It's a fun couple of days, for me, long hours for them, especially as they're both working.  Greek Sails has started it's summer charters and Jan is working with a team of Danish vets who are sterilising a hundred or more cats and dogs from all around the area

Isis, our Belgian Goddess and Mother to Rudi

You can see how much Rudi loves his Mum

 

A genuine white elephant discovered in a previous bazaar

Now in my garden keeping company with gnomes and frogs, Jemima Puddleduck and Don Quixote riding on Rocinante

A rustic sign for a rustic loo 

I found some clothes and kitchen ware and a toolkit for K (thanks Jan) and  bargains for my girls.......lovely

We had visitors and local aliens from Sweden, one Danish couple on a yacht but recently residing in Tauranga (near my home town of Te Puke, New Zealand), Belgium

England, France, Holland, Australia, and even some from Greece 

Ancient Ruins Today

The Temple to Sea God Poseidon

or more correctly, the Sparse Remains thereof

Some of the area has been strimmed.    Long grass is a fire hazard and can also hide snakes

There's still work to do

Fortunately they'd cleared a few paths through the long grass.  The Council has a lot of work at this time of the year clearing roadsides and public land.  

Soon a Swedish Archeological team will arrive to work on the ruins. They spend a couple of weeks here every summer very slowly uncovering it's secrets. 

There's not much of interest. No columns, theatres or imposing statues, just a few stones, the remains of a wall, some marble steps, where around 520BC there was an impressive Temple, Healing Centre and Market Place

There weren't many wildflowers in the enclosure itself but across the road there were stretches of chamomile.  A lovely aromatic scent wafted up as I walked through it. 

There have been years when I've gathered bunches of it to dry and use to make chamomile tea.  None of us are crazy about it and it tends to languish in jars for a couple of years before I throw it out. K likes to drink chamomile tea when he's feeling ill. I buy tea bags

These Days

 We were startled this morning by 3 rifle shots nearby.  Sometimes our neighbours take pot shots at the wild goats, usually because they've managed to invade someone's vegetable patch. 

K phoned around, as he does, to see who the culprit was. And... It was an irresponsible neighbour showing off to his niece.  He's over 50 and she's not a child. They both should have known better. There were no goats involved. He was showing her how his shotgun worked. 

WTF

The May Day bouquet on the front gate is looking bedraggled. It's supposed to stay there till June 21 and then be burnt on a midsummer bonfire.  I don't think it will last that long.  And anyway midsummer bonfires are definitely not allowed.  It'll be going on the compost very soon.  It did the job, I followed tradition, kept my head high.  Enough

No more fires, inside or outside

The fire ban is on till November

The weather has been iffy with wind and rain but the sun is out now and temperatures are rising. 

We moved the remains of our winter wood pile to the back of the house.  There's no Poppi around to haul wood so we managed ourselves, log by log. Took us 3 days to move the pile but we did it. Those logs were heavy. 

The front entrance is clean and clear ready for the big umbrella, summer chairs and table

Small Things

 Small things in our life

I left K at the café for 5 minutes to cross the road and buy the daily bread. When I returned my chair was taken. 

A passerby left 3 bottles of rosé on my chair.  3 plastic one and a half litre water bottles. Very local rosé, from grapes grown and trodden a few hundred metres from our house.  

Our koumbaros (father of a godson) had promised us some of this year's vintage, saw K, and rushed off to deliver it 

A home breathalyser test 

The traffic police are getting stricter on the island. Breathalyser tests are few and far between but the fine has doubled and licenses are suspended 

We tried it out at home. One small glass of raki and you're right at the limit.  

The breathalyser is in the glove box of the car. It hasn't been used yet.  The boy has decided to drink non alcohol beer when we're out, or let me drive. 

'Times they are a changing' 

The last 2025 Christmas card? 

This one, posted in November from England, arrived on 29 April

The year of the Daddy-Long-Legs

No, they are Not giant mosquitoes

Those daddylonglegs are everywhere. They fly around the windows every evening, get inside and expire on the windowsill. We've never seen so many

                                        

After our last heavy rainfall this fountain started flowing. It has been Completely dry for the last few years
It's not just flowing, but gushing