It rained here last night. If I’m to believe the locals, there has been no rain for 2 mths. I don’t know that this will be a significant downfall because I see patchy blue sky around me and just a grey, glowering cloud above my head. But it means that my little veranda is all wet and I have had to spend time drying off all of the seats so that I can sit and type.
The power is off and so I am not able to make my tea.
This is going to be my last blog from Greece. I feel tremendously sad about it. It is so wonderful here. Very hard to leave. I said to Kyr yesterday as we were coming up from the pool, where he had been teaching me to dive deep, in two days this will seem like a dream. Tomorrow we leave at the crack of dawn because we have to return the rental car from where we originally got it about an hour away, and catch the bus @ 6:50 from the original hotel. We will probably leave here at 5:30. We will arrive in Amsterdam at noon and then probably rent a car and drive to Bas’s. Bas lives somewhere just outside of Amsterdam. We will spend the next 5 days exploring and visiting Joop’s relatives, while using Bas’ house as a base. Hopefully the Bas’ girls and Kyr will get along and there won’t be too much shyness.
We had originally planned to do all our favourite activities here with just more intensity today. Since that is the pool and snorkeling and going into town to email, I’m not sure if we’ll stick to that plan because of the weather. Yesterday Joop and I went snorkeling, luckily Kyr didn’t feel like it. We snorkeled far around the point and then a wind came up and created quite a current to swim against on our way home. It was a serious struggle. I kept lifting my head and saw that I was making no headway along the bank. My underwater world kept changing so I persevered but it was quite a workout.
I had my first semi-altercation with a Greek shopkeeper yesterday. Because I have never been away from home this long I was not too clever in packing all of my trusted medication and have run out of Tylenol and Chlortripilon. I thought I would approach the pharmacies and try to communicate what I was needing. At least at the first pharmacy, after quite a struggle I was able to get some Tylenol, panadol outside of North America, and even then I was giving the medical name of the panadol but they simply did not understand me. At the next pharmacy I went in and explained that I was looking for an old antihistamine and we called it Chlortripilon and I was having a hard time remembering the medical name but perhaps if they could show me some I would remember it and recognize it. The pharmacist practically leaned across the counter and rang my neck she was so incensed. “What is wrong with you?” She kept yelling, her hands wildly gesticulating in the air. I said that I was sorry and I realized that it was my difficulty in communicating but that no other antihistamine worked for me. She was so angry she just paced around the pharmacy behind the counter refusing to look at me. I just lowered my head in concentration – trying desperately to come up with the medical name. I don’t think she knew what to make of me, standing there with my head bowed, refusing to be run out of her store. Finally after a few minutes it came to me, or at least a tentative version so I wrote out on a piece of paper ‘Chlorphenamarate’. I called her over, and she reluctantly slunk back. I said in a very apologetic voice that I thought that this might be the name and did she recognize it? And that I was very sorry that I had not thought to bring the DIN number with me. Her attitude changed somewhat and she became nervous. All of her earlier bellowing that SHE was a pharmacist was in order to cow me, and I think she was surprised that I knew some pharmacy terms. She looked at the writing and then threw a book at me; it was a list of generic drug names. When I finally found it – Chlorphenamarine – she snatched the book from me and ran to her computer. She said reluctantly that it was an antihistamine, but that it was so old, there was simply no way she would ever have a drug that old. I smiled and thanked her and left. I was proud of myself because despite her aggression I only felt peaceful, not defensive or upset, just resigned to the fact it might be more difficult than I had anticipated. So a word of advice to everyone traveling – make sure you take the DIN numbers with you of all the drugs you may need. I never understood the necessity of putting that number on every label before.
There is a long band of ants beside our veranda, that is about 6cm wide and stretches for several meters into the pasture beside us. Kyr has tried to find the source but was unable. These ants are coming to the hole beside us, each carrying some crustaceous looking larvae, that are at least 4 times their size. They have to fling the larvae about trying to force it in the hole. There are equal number of ants going out. This goes on all day and resumes early in the morning. It must be a motherload of some type of larvae they have found. From a distance it is just a long black band several meters long that appears to be laid on the flagstones, only when you get closer do you realize that it is a moving ant train.
With this power outage, I wonder if we’ll be able to have our breakfast? One of the things that has become apparent is that most guests at this hotel are return visitors. For anyone ever contemplating coming here you must ask for suite #20. It is by far the best perched for privacy and ocean views.
Hopefully Bas will have wireless internet access so that blogging from the Netherlands will not be difficult.
Thursday, September 6, 2007
Wednesday, September 5, 2007
Tour to the South part of the Island
Warm sunny morning, as usual not a cloud in the sky, despite the rains in Northern Greece. We ventured to the south tip of the island yesterday - an hour and a half journey by the little three cylinder car Joop is now quite fond of, despite the grinding of the gears and the whining when you corner too severely. Half way down the island there are significant pine forests and they even seem to be replanting some. We went to a resort town called Plomari, which the guidebooks term a “crumbling” resort town. It does have that decrepit Havana feel to it: lots of palm trees, activity and the occasional building just crumbling. It seemed like an interesting place, we didn’t stay long enough to find out. I was determined to incorporate another activity, and I had read about walks through olive groves just 6 km beyond the town. It was supposed to be a series of old roads connecting a few old villages – one even had 50 buildings and just 3 inhabitants still. I figured we were immune enough to the heat by now to attempt it. It wasn’t as promised. Very poorly marked and in order to ascend to one of the villages you had to be a mountain goat. Probably not exactly true, Kyr and Joop could have done it but I was unable. Instead we persevered along a river bed (all so called rivers are just dry gulches) and upset a donkey and nearly expired from the heat. Joop got covered on his torso by the ink off a grocery bag he was carrying so he looked brightly tattooed.
We were relieved to plunge into the sea at Melinda beach – an old fishing village where the trailhead was. Joop claims to like the southern beaches the best. He said it was the same on Crete. It was a nice pebble beach with a gigantic rock projecting off the beach which some foolish teenage boys were jumping off, and the waters were clear but it didn’t move me as much as the northern beaches. They are far rougher in terms of beach boulder size but they seem to offer much more interesting snorkeling.
I finally got to sample fried zuchinni blossoms at the taverna in Melinda. They were very tastey. We have given up on sight seeing and have resigned ourselves to just the beach and the pool. Those activities seem to satisfy the most. The rest is just too hot and not exciting enough. We have pretty much circumnavigate the island which is important in order to get an all over feel. We have pretty much avoided the main city – Mytillini – I’m not much of a city person myself and the other two haven’t mentioned it.
We are taking our dirty clothes to a laundry today. We haven’t spotted any Laundromats and the Laundry appears to be doing everything. I’m going to do most of mine by hand because I know that my greek will fail me as I try to explain how everything must be done in a netted bag and then it has to dry on the line – way too complicated. Joop says to mention that the crows here are very interesting because they are grey and black. Their sound isn’t caw like either, they do cackle a lot and Joop says a sort of rattling sound. They are large birds and behave like our crows. There is a group of them that is always foraging at this strange mound just beyond our hotel. They fly with their beaks always open – the heat?
My subconscious must already be aimed at home coming because I am starting to fret about defectors from the clinic. I went even so far this morning to classify them geographically in my mind. Total waste of time I consciously know. I have to keep reminding myself that most people aren’t terribly loyal and I shouldn’t focus on what was but what is. That is the thing that I like about thinking about Greek people – not as individuals but as a conciousness of culture. No matter how many times they have been conquered they have persevered and our still themselves. That in itself is very interesting. So bearing that in mind I will not wasted time on trivialities and just be thankful that Canada doesn’t seem in immediate danger of being conquered.
We were relieved to plunge into the sea at Melinda beach – an old fishing village where the trailhead was. Joop claims to like the southern beaches the best. He said it was the same on Crete. It was a nice pebble beach with a gigantic rock projecting off the beach which some foolish teenage boys were jumping off, and the waters were clear but it didn’t move me as much as the northern beaches. They are far rougher in terms of beach boulder size but they seem to offer much more interesting snorkeling.
I finally got to sample fried zuchinni blossoms at the taverna in Melinda. They were very tastey. We have given up on sight seeing and have resigned ourselves to just the beach and the pool. Those activities seem to satisfy the most. The rest is just too hot and not exciting enough. We have pretty much circumnavigate the island which is important in order to get an all over feel. We have pretty much avoided the main city – Mytillini – I’m not much of a city person myself and the other two haven’t mentioned it.
We are taking our dirty clothes to a laundry today. We haven’t spotted any Laundromats and the Laundry appears to be doing everything. I’m going to do most of mine by hand because I know that my greek will fail me as I try to explain how everything must be done in a netted bag and then it has to dry on the line – way too complicated. Joop says to mention that the crows here are very interesting because they are grey and black. Their sound isn’t caw like either, they do cackle a lot and Joop says a sort of rattling sound. They are large birds and behave like our crows. There is a group of them that is always foraging at this strange mound just beyond our hotel. They fly with their beaks always open – the heat?
My subconscious must already be aimed at home coming because I am starting to fret about defectors from the clinic. I went even so far this morning to classify them geographically in my mind. Total waste of time I consciously know. I have to keep reminding myself that most people aren’t terribly loyal and I shouldn’t focus on what was but what is. That is the thing that I like about thinking about Greek people – not as individuals but as a conciousness of culture. No matter how many times they have been conquered they have persevered and our still themselves. That in itself is very interesting. So bearing that in mind I will not wasted time on trivialities and just be thankful that Canada doesn’t seem in immediate danger of being conquered.
Tuesday, September 4, 2007
Castle at Molyvos
We tried to see the castle above Molyvos yesterday. It was built in the 1400s just before the Turks took over. I say tried, because the innards were closed for renovation. But from the outside it looks less like a castle than a fortress made of huge square cut stones. Which leads to the question how did they cut the stones? It was a great vantage point to be sure. It would be hard to approach stealthily by sea anyway.
Almost all of the buildings in Molyvos are built of stone. It makes for a beautiful town with all of the clay tile roofs, which Joop says are unusual for Greece because they are pointed and not flat. The rest of the buildings in the surrounding area are made of concrete. Only the occasional rural building is made of stone and these are usually in the fields collapsing. All of the buildings have shutters which Kyran covets. He maintains he simply adores shutters. They do help to keep things cool. I adore all of the marble. Marble floors everywhere. It seems so luxurious. Several of the rural buildings still have the rebar projecting from their tops. Joop says that this is to be able to maintain that the building isn’t finished and then the taxes are lower.
When I look around and see the pastures that the sheep and goats live in, I cannot believe that creatures can live on so little. The only plant left that is not an olive tree, is a thistley type low creeping bush. To see a pasture you see just these yellowed tufts scattered everywhere which upon examination are those thistle bushes. I can see a goat maybe eating that stuff but a sheep? I read that the thistle is the ecological dead end – when everything else is gone. The sheep have an interesting afternoon habit of gathering in a huddle with all of their heads in the centre and all along the perimeter are hindquarters. They are probably planning a rebellion.
We decided to eat in the harbor last night. It is death defying to walk down these narrow cobble stone lanes which are meant for cars or people, not both. Even though there is tons of people milling about, whenever a car passes you have to press yourself into a wall or building. Scooters are not so bad. You just worry when you see a nervous wobbly driver, who is probably a tourist. The greeks drive their scooters very assertively as if they could not comprehend anything might get in their way.
I asked our waiter a question that had been plaguing us. Why were there so many cats that are missing the top portion of one ear? He maintained that it is from fighting. I disagree. The only ear missing I ever see is from frostbite. I see a lot of fight wounds but never just a portion of ear. Maybe it is a genetic trait Kyr suggested. I felt a bit sad for the Tom cats down along the pier. Where ever there is a small post that offers a tiny bit of shade, a big Tom will be lying. One had found a post with a tiny patch of fresh water. He lay there drinking, nursing his eye which was caked with pus. What a hard life for a cat. So lonely. I saw a Tom leap gracefully off the pier into a fishing boat that was headed out. So I guess when they are healthy there are moments of excitement to be had.
We might attempt to see a portion of the south island today. There is a museum with some unusual fossils – a sea turtle as big a a Volkswagen bug, and some olive groves to walk through. It is difficult to pry ourselves away from this little enclave where you can snorkel all day. I seem to be coping with the heat almost too successfully as I now experience moments of being cold and relish being able to sit in the sun to warm up.
Almost all of the buildings in Molyvos are built of stone. It makes for a beautiful town with all of the clay tile roofs, which Joop says are unusual for Greece because they are pointed and not flat. The rest of the buildings in the surrounding area are made of concrete. Only the occasional rural building is made of stone and these are usually in the fields collapsing. All of the buildings have shutters which Kyran covets. He maintains he simply adores shutters. They do help to keep things cool. I adore all of the marble. Marble floors everywhere. It seems so luxurious. Several of the rural buildings still have the rebar projecting from their tops. Joop says that this is to be able to maintain that the building isn’t finished and then the taxes are lower.
When I look around and see the pastures that the sheep and goats live in, I cannot believe that creatures can live on so little. The only plant left that is not an olive tree, is a thistley type low creeping bush. To see a pasture you see just these yellowed tufts scattered everywhere which upon examination are those thistle bushes. I can see a goat maybe eating that stuff but a sheep? I read that the thistle is the ecological dead end – when everything else is gone. The sheep have an interesting afternoon habit of gathering in a huddle with all of their heads in the centre and all along the perimeter are hindquarters. They are probably planning a rebellion.
We decided to eat in the harbor last night. It is death defying to walk down these narrow cobble stone lanes which are meant for cars or people, not both. Even though there is tons of people milling about, whenever a car passes you have to press yourself into a wall or building. Scooters are not so bad. You just worry when you see a nervous wobbly driver, who is probably a tourist. The greeks drive their scooters very assertively as if they could not comprehend anything might get in their way.
I asked our waiter a question that had been plaguing us. Why were there so many cats that are missing the top portion of one ear? He maintained that it is from fighting. I disagree. The only ear missing I ever see is from frostbite. I see a lot of fight wounds but never just a portion of ear. Maybe it is a genetic trait Kyr suggested. I felt a bit sad for the Tom cats down along the pier. Where ever there is a small post that offers a tiny bit of shade, a big Tom will be lying. One had found a post with a tiny patch of fresh water. He lay there drinking, nursing his eye which was caked with pus. What a hard life for a cat. So lonely. I saw a Tom leap gracefully off the pier into a fishing boat that was headed out. So I guess when they are healthy there are moments of excitement to be had.
We might attempt to see a portion of the south island today. There is a museum with some unusual fossils – a sea turtle as big a a Volkswagen bug, and some olive groves to walk through. It is difficult to pry ourselves away from this little enclave where you can snorkel all day. I seem to be coping with the heat almost too successfully as I now experience moments of being cold and relish being able to sit in the sun to warm up.
Monday, September 3, 2007
Tours of Molyvos
Our only diversion yesterday was some shopping for little things to bring home. We were already overweight with our luggage on the way here and we had to pay extra, so that curtails too much trinket accumulation. In one shop where I went to buy an old photograph of Molyvos, the shopkeeper announced that he must educate my son. So he hauled us in to look at trilobite fossils and insisted on writing the dates down on shopping bags. He proudly showed us his protection against the evil eye and insisted that it was not for sale not $100, not $200, not $300… we got the point. I was all for buying all of the things to protect you – being of a superstitious nature myself.
Kyr was most pleased with his purchase of a primitive slingshot. He has all sorts of plans for the thing to aid in his movies, and my limits are not dissuading him in the least. Joop has fulfilled his fantasy and finally has a shirt made in Greece that he can use for all of his dancing.
The sea was too rough for snorkeling, just the pool. I felt too tired all day to do much. The thing about the second week is a looming sense of your departure. It is funny, the first week it seems almost limitless the trip, and then you hit the cusp and you realize, this is the last Saturday here etc. It is a lot of pressure to see it all and do it all in the second week.
Hardly any word from home except intrepid Sandra. It makes writing a blog not as communicative. I send words out into the void and don’t get much back. Oh well it is not wasted because I will have a good journal of our adventures when I get back.
Kyr was most pleased with his purchase of a primitive slingshot. He has all sorts of plans for the thing to aid in his movies, and my limits are not dissuading him in the least. Joop has fulfilled his fantasy and finally has a shirt made in Greece that he can use for all of his dancing.
The sea was too rough for snorkeling, just the pool. I felt too tired all day to do much. The thing about the second week is a looming sense of your departure. It is funny, the first week it seems almost limitless the trip, and then you hit the cusp and you realize, this is the last Saturday here etc. It is a lot of pressure to see it all and do it all in the second week.
Hardly any word from home except intrepid Sandra. It makes writing a blog not as communicative. I send words out into the void and don’t get much back. Oh well it is not wasted because I will have a good journal of our adventures when I get back.
Sunday, September 2, 2007
Windswept at Hotel Elpis
There were violent winds last night. I had to get up in the middle of the night and retrieve our clothes off the line for fear they would be blown away and I would be without a bathing suit.
Yesterday was initially disappointing in the acquisition front. We returned to the black sand beach, one of Kyr’s favorites although I am terrified of the jellyfish there. At one moment Kyr and I were just rounding the point when he grabbed me and pointed to a beautiful cerulean pie plate sized jellyfish just ahead of us. We frantically swam away and paused to get our bearings when he yelled that there was one right beside me. I barely knew which way to move. I’m too nervous a person to have to be on the lookout like that. I think we managed to find only 1 abalone ½ shell. So it hardly seemed worth it. When we got back to the hotel some guy was hogging the inflatable inner tube Kyr likes to use to jump through in the pool. He has constructed quite the challenges for himself. So we were forced to snorkel in our own little bit of the sea. Of course it turns out to be the best snorkeling so far. Teams of fish. Lots of abalone ½ shells. Up until now you really had the sense of the doom of the ocean – so few fish, and you wonder how you can morally harvest any. But just where we were last night, there was a tiny sense of how the ocean used to be. It is all quite sad. And those jellyfish are just pointing out how dramatically things have changed – they are one of the species that moves in when the fish go.
The other thing that I have noticed is how interminably long it takes to break up volcanic soil. I used to look at Hawaii and marvel just how permanent some of the lava fields seemed with their historic walking trails right through the lava. Now it is a whole island that is eeking along in soil development. It is just mesmerizing to me the number of rocks everywhere. It makes those piles of rock obscuring some prairie fields seem like a sprinkling of salt. These people must have been heroic to move some of the rocks aside and tentatively plant the olive trees. The trees themselves must be eternal optimists to have grown without soil. The whole thing is shocking. How does anything make it?
Last night when we were having a bit of ouzo on our own terrace (Yanna was out and her husband was in charge so there was no procuring any type of beverage other than greek beer as he speaks no English) we heard a voice in the distance that was coming from a megaphone. Although the words were greek the cadence was that of an auctioneer. I maintained up and down it had to be an auction, Joop said no way it was a watermelon salesman. They drive around with a truck of watermelons announcing their wares through a megaphone. He must have been right because the voice did move around.
Our nighttime taverna had live music last night and lots of greek dancing. Joop really got into the spirit of the thing and as we went to the kitchen to pick out our meals he waltzed in and nearly took out the waiter with his zorba the greek hand movements.
Despite the aggressive winds that will probably prevent swimming, the heat is unchanged. How fair is that? Yesterday I had to go on an exploration to find waterproof sunscreen. A very rare beast. If you can believe it the majority of the products are tan enhancers. A person would die using that stuff. I finally found a precious bottle of the waterproof SPF 30 for a minor $25. I am really glad I brought some stuff with us initially. It is just too bad we went through it so fast. Right now Kyr is sitting in the car playing his Nintendo DS. He only has a car charger left because he blew out his adapter the day we arrived. Joop is enjoying my Penelpe Lively novel; he even occasionally laughs outloud. It is quite amusing. I am rushing through Willa Cather and devouring all of the prairie homesteading novels. They are very good. I might leave the itinerary up to the boys today to spare me anxiety because everymorning I have to spend time recovering from my nightmares.
Yesterday was initially disappointing in the acquisition front. We returned to the black sand beach, one of Kyr’s favorites although I am terrified of the jellyfish there. At one moment Kyr and I were just rounding the point when he grabbed me and pointed to a beautiful cerulean pie plate sized jellyfish just ahead of us. We frantically swam away and paused to get our bearings when he yelled that there was one right beside me. I barely knew which way to move. I’m too nervous a person to have to be on the lookout like that. I think we managed to find only 1 abalone ½ shell. So it hardly seemed worth it. When we got back to the hotel some guy was hogging the inflatable inner tube Kyr likes to use to jump through in the pool. He has constructed quite the challenges for himself. So we were forced to snorkel in our own little bit of the sea. Of course it turns out to be the best snorkeling so far. Teams of fish. Lots of abalone ½ shells. Up until now you really had the sense of the doom of the ocean – so few fish, and you wonder how you can morally harvest any. But just where we were last night, there was a tiny sense of how the ocean used to be. It is all quite sad. And those jellyfish are just pointing out how dramatically things have changed – they are one of the species that moves in when the fish go.
The other thing that I have noticed is how interminably long it takes to break up volcanic soil. I used to look at Hawaii and marvel just how permanent some of the lava fields seemed with their historic walking trails right through the lava. Now it is a whole island that is eeking along in soil development. It is just mesmerizing to me the number of rocks everywhere. It makes those piles of rock obscuring some prairie fields seem like a sprinkling of salt. These people must have been heroic to move some of the rocks aside and tentatively plant the olive trees. The trees themselves must be eternal optimists to have grown without soil. The whole thing is shocking. How does anything make it?
Last night when we were having a bit of ouzo on our own terrace (Yanna was out and her husband was in charge so there was no procuring any type of beverage other than greek beer as he speaks no English) we heard a voice in the distance that was coming from a megaphone. Although the words were greek the cadence was that of an auctioneer. I maintained up and down it had to be an auction, Joop said no way it was a watermelon salesman. They drive around with a truck of watermelons announcing their wares through a megaphone. He must have been right because the voice did move around.
Our nighttime taverna had live music last night and lots of greek dancing. Joop really got into the spirit of the thing and as we went to the kitchen to pick out our meals he waltzed in and nearly took out the waiter with his zorba the greek hand movements.
Despite the aggressive winds that will probably prevent swimming, the heat is unchanged. How fair is that? Yesterday I had to go on an exploration to find waterproof sunscreen. A very rare beast. If you can believe it the majority of the products are tan enhancers. A person would die using that stuff. I finally found a precious bottle of the waterproof SPF 30 for a minor $25. I am really glad I brought some stuff with us initially. It is just too bad we went through it so fast. Right now Kyr is sitting in the car playing his Nintendo DS. He only has a car charger left because he blew out his adapter the day we arrived. Joop is enjoying my Penelpe Lively novel; he even occasionally laughs outloud. It is quite amusing. I am rushing through Willa Cather and devouring all of the prairie homesteading novels. They are very good. I might leave the itinerary up to the boys today to spare me anxiety because everymorning I have to spend time recovering from my nightmares.
Saturday, September 1, 2007
September in Molyvos
Last night we had a drink on the main terrace overlooking the pool. Joop had spotted the proprietess sitting there looking lonely and so we diligently went to engage her and be entertaining. It turns out ( she speaks very good English after 10 mths at an American school for English in Athens) that she inherited the hotel from her father. She grew up in Molyvos, the lovely town just 2km away and they spent ½ the year in town and ½ at the hotel. She was away in Athens doing a sociology masters when he died and she came back to run the hotel. Her mother has a difficult time being here as the emotions are too great. Yanna runs the place singlehandedly with the assistance of a rather terse ukranian woman named Victoria. They close down in the winter at the end of October. The gardens are very lovely and require Yannas devotion in the closed months. On the whole she does very well. I don’t see how anyone could keep up with gardens in this desicating heat. There was an unusual heat wave in May and a persistant one that has lasted all summer. Normally the temperatures are in the mid 20’s at this time of year. Her occupants are 30%Austrian and 70% dutch. I have looked everywhere we have gone and there is simply not a more lovely hotel to be had. The perch on the ocean with the steps leading initially to the pool and then to the sea is very marvelous. There are outdoor showers at both the beach and the pool with fresh water. Kyr just adores the constant swimming; snorkeling most of the early afternoon with frolicking in the pool in late afternoon. It is just one big convenient water vacation. So for anyone going to Levos you must stay at the Hotel Elpis just outside of Molyvos(Mythimna).
The hugest grasshopper in the world just jumped onto Kyr’s veranda and now the boys are diligently photographing it.
Our snorkeling journeys are very successful in abalone ½ shell acquisition. I am surprised the depth to which Kyran can dive. I try valiantly but I always feel that there is a big hand pushing me up just as I almost get to my desired object. I tried valiantly 4 times to get an orange sea urchin shell that was most unusual – the other ones are all green. Finally the mean hand relented and let me grab it. The beach we went to yesterday was a seaglass mecca. Green is the most common colour with brown a rare beast. We tried to eat at a taverna right on the empty beach, the chairs practically in the ocean. But the waitress was so rude and delighted in saying no to everything we requested. Kyr eventually got a slab of cheese and Joop a bowl of beans. Outside of greek salad it was slim pickings. All you end up wanting – and are even willing to pay extra for, is a pleasant server since most food is the same. The stress level here is minimal. It affords great long sleeps. The only time I feel anxiety is in the morning thinking up an excursion that won’t exhaust us. I think it is vestigal anxiety that just needs a home because I’m sure if I didn’t worry about it our days would end up the same. The only other thing that prompts anxiety is contemplation of my vet association. I made the mistake of reading an email from some independent vets and now I am very worried for the future of the association. They seem to have all gone crazy and are demanding more and more money just to perpetuate a feud. It makes me understand how wars start – just an escalation of what initially seemed to be a finite problem. It is hard to attend meetings- the expense and inconvenient times. I must send my vote proxy. How do you do that? It is quite hard to have much say as a rural vet. I’m going to try and put the vet association out of my mind. It is unlikely they even have vets on this island. I think everyone believes nature must take its course. A bit difficult to swallow but it’s a different world and I am made obsolete. But never fear my surgical skills are not disintigrating, they are being honed daily trying to extract seaurchin spikes from Joop's fingers.
The hugest grasshopper in the world just jumped onto Kyr’s veranda and now the boys are diligently photographing it.
Our snorkeling journeys are very successful in abalone ½ shell acquisition. I am surprised the depth to which Kyran can dive. I try valiantly but I always feel that there is a big hand pushing me up just as I almost get to my desired object. I tried valiantly 4 times to get an orange sea urchin shell that was most unusual – the other ones are all green. Finally the mean hand relented and let me grab it. The beach we went to yesterday was a seaglass mecca. Green is the most common colour with brown a rare beast. We tried to eat at a taverna right on the empty beach, the chairs practically in the ocean. But the waitress was so rude and delighted in saying no to everything we requested. Kyr eventually got a slab of cheese and Joop a bowl of beans. Outside of greek salad it was slim pickings. All you end up wanting – and are even willing to pay extra for, is a pleasant server since most food is the same. The stress level here is minimal. It affords great long sleeps. The only time I feel anxiety is in the morning thinking up an excursion that won’t exhaust us. I think it is vestigal anxiety that just needs a home because I’m sure if I didn’t worry about it our days would end up the same. The only other thing that prompts anxiety is contemplation of my vet association. I made the mistake of reading an email from some independent vets and now I am very worried for the future of the association. They seem to have all gone crazy and are demanding more and more money just to perpetuate a feud. It makes me understand how wars start – just an escalation of what initially seemed to be a finite problem. It is hard to attend meetings- the expense and inconvenient times. I must send my vote proxy. How do you do that? It is quite hard to have much say as a rural vet. I’m going to try and put the vet association out of my mind. It is unlikely they even have vets on this island. I think everyone believes nature must take its course. A bit difficult to swallow but it’s a different world and I am made obsolete. But never fear my surgical skills are not disintigrating, they are being honed daily trying to extract seaurchin spikes from Joop's fingers.
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