SS

Christmas is coming

And the goose is getting fat

Time for 'Secret Squirrel' 

To put our names in a hat

Yes. It's Secret Santa time.  Our Greek family is doing the secret gift exchange for either the  3rd or 4th year. Everyone gets one gift. 

We draw the names  now so we have plenty of time to consider the gift and find it or get it ordered. 

It's been very difficult to get all the family together this summer. Some of the family we haven't seen for a month or more. It was a busy summer.  

Then half disappeared off to Athens for work or study. 

This long weekend everyone is on the island so our not-so-Secret Squirrel wrote out the names and put them into a jar.   She's in a central position down on the harbour so we all pass by at our leisure and draw a paper with the name of one of 11 immediate family members . 

 

K and I went in and...... I drew my own name.  I was tempted to keep it. I know exactly what I want. 

But I  took another twist of paper.  

I sent a photo to our Secret Squirrel of what I would like. Someone's going to get my name in the next few days. She can whisper in an ear

Jamie  chooses his Secret Santa draw 

With Aunty Danae and Mother Elli

It's all supposed to be secret but if you've got no idea then hints are discreetly asked for, or loud calls for help!

 

There's a limit of around 20 euros so we are not emptying any kids piggy banks. 

Last year Clever Clogs George, after the draw, asked everyone which was their favourite tipple. He got his gift answer without anyone knowing the recipient. 

Look what I just found!

Next year I'll print out a dozen of these. And leave them somewhere for everyone to secretly peruse.

Xmas is coming folks!

PS Secret Squirrel really has nothing to do with it but he's another SS and I remember him with fondness. 

So here's another video

28th

 Huge celebrations in Greece and Perth today. 

28th October in Greece is a national holiday celebrating the time in 1940 when Mussolini got the boot. He wanted to walk in and take over Greece. Instead the Italian army was forced back over the mountain border into Albania with their tails between their legs.

Long live Greece

The ragged old flags

EU and Greece

All seen better times

And today downunder my brother Paul is celebrating his birthday

One of many 😄

And many more of them bro

We were very happy to have Paul and Karen with us on Poros this summer

Here they are with son in law Kyriakos and his water taxi Socrates

School children getting ready to parade

We still have one granddaughter, Luli, in the celebratory parade and we'll be clapping her again on 25th March

It was a beautiful sunny day on Poros.  The yacht harbour was full

And, as we can't have a blog post without Poppi, here she is!

After the official event there's the rest of the celebration.

A glass of wine and a plate of traditional Greek mezethes (snacks) on the waterfront with friends and family

The cafeterias were full

And because I love country music

Here's Johnny Cash singing about his own 'Ragged Old Flag '

We are flying our Greek flag as usual on the flag pole at our gate.

And the NZ and Australian flags!!!

Family

 Most of the grandchildren are back in Athens now and the rest of the family here are still working. It's a longer season this year. Poros is still full of tourists, yachts and quad bikes.

Julia and Caroline stayed at Aegean Villas. Across the road from the beach.  It was a bit cold for swimming but they dipped their toes in.

These are the rooms, half hour walk from the main harbour.

Aegean Villas. Right beside the sea in Askeli. Across the road from a cafeteria and taverna. Two minutes away from a supermarket and bakery.

Several lots of  visitors have stayed here in the last few years.  

They didn't manage to meet much of the Poros family but got to meet my 2 daughters Elli and Danae. 

When we drove around the island they saw the family compound where D lives

 Family houses all the way down

Left and right

Uncles and cousins and Aunts

One day I drove them up the steep road to the family compound where E lives above the harbour

That's where we used to live. You went in through those 2 blue doors which clanged shut like a prison cell. M in law downstairs, sis in law across the yard. Now E has her aunt downstairs and 2 cousins next door. 

And up on the roof the most wonderful view you can imagine. 

Me with my kiwi sis in law. A few years ago. The view never changing

Epidavros Visit

 One place everyone has to visit, after they see the island, is the 2,500 year old theatre at Epidavros. It's only an hour away.  

Famous for its incredible acoustics.  You'll see a tourist in the middle of the arena drop a coin and look up at a friend right up the top of the seats to see if they've heard it hit the ground. 

Not likely with all the people there and the constant chattering and murmuring of tour guides. 

Performances of Greek dramas and comedies still take place during the Epidavros festival in July and August. 

The ticket is 20 euros which seems a standard price for these ancient sites.  I only pay 10 euros because I'm an EU pensioner. 

I had to show my Greek ID card and was a bit worried when I couldn't find it in my bag.  Fortunately they accepted my driver's licence. 

I've been to Epidavros many times but not in the last 10 years. We usually sit and have a coffee while friends and family do the touristy stuff. I enjoyed seeing it again. 

K was supposed to park, go and buy a coffee from the canteen and wait for us. The canteen was closed and he had to wait, very patiently I might add, for 2 hours while we wandered around. No coffee, no water, no company. Not easy for him. 

Caroline had been there before and was quite happy to see the sights again 

Sitting on ancient stones watching the parade of tourists.  And parade they did. Tour groups from all over the world dressed in the most intriguing clothing and footwear. We observed the passage of gesturing, photographing, clapping, posing humankind. 

I could have sat their for hours watching them all. 

Many climbed up those dozens of marble steps to the top of the theatre. The younger fitter ones leaping up without fear. 

I was fearful just looking up at the steep stairway. I have climbed up there. I've even been to a performance here. But not for many years. 

One thing I've never done is wander round the rest of the ancient site. It's known as the Aesclepion, a healing centre and a sanctuary. It's a large area with a stadium, temples, large dining areas, hostels for those hoping for a cure. 

It was fascinating to walk around with Julia and Caroline and listen and learn from their comments. Julia especially, having worked all her life in the health field, had some interesting insights. 

It was quite an outing and we were more than ready for food and wine, K especially. 

We drove to the outskirts of a small village, Adami, and found a taverna which has been a favourite of ours for many years. 

It's run by a family, daughters taking orders and serving, Mama in the kitchen, one of the men manning the grill. A granddaughter brought our drinks and basket of bread. 

It was  Sunday and it was buzzing with Greek family groups, from Pappou and Yiayia to babies in  pushchairs. 

K and I did the ordering. 

K kept an eye on what others around us were eating and got us a good traditional meal. 

The feta is from village goats, wine from local vines, greens from the fields, or weekly market. 

Greens. Radicchio I think.  Served with olive oil and lemon juice. 

Lamb chops, cheese pie, grilled rissoles, and tzatziki. And all a lot tastier and cheaper than Poros tourist tavernas. 

Definitely K approved. 

After the main course came the sweets. On the house. 

Syrupy orange cake and this dessert called mustolevria.  It's made after the grape harvest with grape juice and is pleasantly refreshing. 

Poros Visit

                                           My english cousins have just spent 5 days getting to know our island and my Greek family.  They've been reading my blog for years and have both visited Greece before but not Poros. Now they have 'hands on' experience  of the tales in my blog posts .

It was a wonderful 5 days of speaking in the english language and seeing Poros through foreign eyes.  K cooked for them a couple of times and introduced them to his traditional dishes.  And he washed the dishes too. Our mechanical dishwasher has finally given up after 15 years. 

Julia and Caroline admiring the scenery up at the Monastery

The peaceful Monastery courtyard.  There was a monk up on the balcony having a quiet coffee and a chat with a friend.  

He had no problem with us .  Caroline and I donned wrap around skirts to hide our 'manly' trousers.  

Men in shorts are not allowed into the church area either.  This is the first time I've ever seen long trousers provided to cover up men's legs.  Quite amusing.  They were big baggy trews with elastic waists.  One size to fit all.

I thought their problem was women's legs

From the Monastery we took a drive all around the two islands.  The smaller island, Sferia, with it's old town and harbour and the bigger island, Kalavria, with the tourist resorts and the pine forests where we live.

Clumps of pink cyclamen have appeared under the pine trees along the sides of the mountain road.  

We drove up past the ruins of the Temple to Poseidon and stopped to admire the view reaching as far as the coast of Athens.

Then on around the old back road, now in need of repair.  It was originally built as a fire road, was tar sealed and is fast turning into a narrow track with dangerous curves and big potholes.  The view out across the bay to the mainland though is quite stunning.  

Fortunately the weather was mainly fine and they had clear blue skies and calm blue seas.

First stop before civilisation was to take a photo of Teacher's Island with its picturesque white church.  Onward past the ruins of the old Russian Naval station, Love Bay and into Neorio.  Neorio is a long-ish bay popular with Athenian visitors, many of whom have houses there.  

We stopped to see Danae and Yianni's family compound. They live down a short driveway with family houses on either side. 

Then on into town, around the harbour and home in time for tea....

K was waiting for us, not in the best of moods. 

There was a power cut while he was cooking and he hadn't been able to cook the sardines.

The stuffed tomatoes were ready though and after a few irrate phone calls the power came on again, just in time to finish off the sardines, baked in a lemon sauce.      Delicious.  That's the best way he has cooked them!

Home with the Master Chef

Julia, K and Caroline

I had my photo taken too!

One of the wonderful presents they brought us

British soap.  This one had the most delightful name.  I could Not put this one the blog.  Plus a huge jar of 'real' (not NZ) marmite and the softest silk scarf I have ever had the pleasure of wearing.

More to come.....

Old Poros Friends

Old friends are back in town. They lived on here for years, are now here to sell their beautiful island house. 

It was our great pleasure to invite them for a traditional Greek meal and talk about the good old days here on Poros. 

They know us, we know them.  They know our girls, our family. We're an old comfortable fit. 

We caught up.  Children, grandchildren.  Trying to keep up with years that have sped past.

There was a lot of reminiscing, people remembered, times recalled, good and bad.  It ain't always idyllic on this little island.  You find nasty neighbours and crazy persons  everywhere

The boys enjoying pre-lunch aperitifs

Traditional of course

Ouzo and raki

K and Steve

While the girls supped their wine

Local from the barrel

Judy and Jan

All ready for the obligatory photos of a groaning table

Yiouvetsi (beef in tomato sauce with orzo - fat pasta rice and greek chicken and potatoes).  Greek salad and my magnificent homemade gravy.  They wouldn't dare say otherwise

K was the chief cook and bottle washer.  Good man.

It gave me time to talk

The cheese plate included this Danish blue, what we call rokfor.

We all agreed it was really good.  And from Lidls.  Around 3-4 euros.  Try it if you've got a Lidls near you.  It's creamy and tangy

They brought us this good bottle of wine.  I wonder how they knew.  We had just finished our last bottle of this given to us by previous visitors brother Paul and sis in law Karen

Where else do you buy a decent wine on this small island?

From daughter Danae down on the harbour!

When they asked what I might like to drink she just scrolled through her archives and found the exact wine we enjoyed.  How's that for service.  

Here is Danae with her frequent visitors.  She's right on the waterfront.  You can't get 'downtown' without passing by and stopping in for a chat and a smile.

Steve, Judy and Danae

Thanks folks.

All that's missing from this is me!! 

As usual, I took all the photos. 

And the rain was there as well. Every time Jan had to get on or off the car ferry the heavens opened.  The last downpour was biblical. The harbour area flooded in minutes. We sat in the car peering through the rain cascading down the windscreen hoping it would clear before the next ferry arrived. It did so Jan made a dash, only to get drenched on the other side. 

Poseidon, or was it Zeus, really had it in for her. 

UpDate

We've been back home 5 days now. Just did the last lot of washing. The first day back we had rain and the 2nd wasn't much better. 

When we left it was still summer but now there's a chill in the air, more rain on the horizon.  Definitely autumn going on winter. We had already ordered the first load of firewood. K gave our woodman a call and told him to get it here this week. 

I've been feeling 'off' but hopefully today is turn-around day.  There's work to done. The house has to be 'wintered' though we did start that before Poppi left.  Heavy curtains have been put up.  

Here are the last photos of the beautiful park at our holiday resort. 

Canna lily

A grove of Eucalyptus trees

This one was a giant. It's been around quite a few years.

Still trying to find the name of the tree with the big hard brown seed casings.  An Australian bottle tree was suggested.  I can see why it's called a bottle tree. 

But this is the tree where I collected the seed casings. The seeds look similar but the tree does not have that bottle shape. 

A greek hibiscus, so I'm told. It does look like a hibiscus but the flowers are so much smaller than the ones I know from NZ. 

October is going to be a busy month. We have more visitors this month than we had all summer.  Tavernas and cafeterias should all remain open till the 28th which is a National Holiday and, weather permitting, all the island will be out celebrating. 

I hope it stays dry. Temps have dropped to 22o.  That's a big difference from a month ago. Enjoyable though for those from colder climates.