A couple final thoughts

European tour 2011 is officially in the books and I have a couple comments to make:

ON LONDON
Amazing city with wonderful people. There is a great feel about the city and I think Londoners are justifiably proud of their splendid city.

ON PARIS AND ITALY
On countless occasions we encountered extremely rude people in both these cities. While generally we found small town Italy and France to be a bit more welcoming - these two major cities and many others in France and Italy are incapable of being helpful or pproviding what I think is the minimum amount of courtesyy for effective communication and social discourse. Booooo

ON SANTORINI
I believe this island is a mess and requires strong leadership and a new direction or risk becoming a serious black eye to the rest of Greece. Just to scratch the surface:

Doing something with the sewage - it just washes up on the beach,,,,

The ATV/scooter rental business needs to be controlled. There are literally thousands of unhelmeted inexperienced drivers going too fast or too slow on the roads. Add to this the local Greeks who drive well beyond safe speeds and have no regard for any traffic laws whatsoever. In addition, there are countless incidences of accidents on the island due to this or improper maintenance.It's a mess.

Each business owner in his or her zest to extract maximum cash from touristos has to be made to understand that this is hurting the welfare of all Santorinians and Greeks in general. Programs for tourists to report ripoffs should be made available and licencing processes put in place.  IE  - no prices marked...you forget to ask the price of a bottle of water in advance and its 4 Euro. 50 cents anywhere in Athens - but 4 waters carelessly ordered in Santorini costs you close to $25. What a pile of crap. Shame (this is one of countless schemes we ran across). I will never return to this Island and intend to write a letter to the editor of the local "Welcome to Santorini guide book". It should be subtitled "where we love you money and will find a way to get it all"

ON HOLIDAYS
I love my job and have no trouble merrily going along doing what needs to be done, but taking the time out for yourself and family are equally important. A holiday gives you an opportunity to reflect on, assess and ponder life. Breaks are necessary and I am fortunate to have had a couple good ones in recent years.

ON TOMATOES
Tomatoes are red - all the way to the center. Huh! Who knew. The food is amazing in Europe. Cheese - cured meats and wine are standouts but it's the tomatoes that steal the show!

ON MY WORKMATES
I am indebted to my workmates who have so generously covered off my duties in my absence. In he 5 years I have been with this company, I am constantly surprised and pleased by the way the organization supports its members. Whether it is formal processes or just people helping people - I am very proud of our company for this and many other reasons. Thank you

ON GOVERNMENT INVOLVEMENT IN THE ECONOMY
I believe that my politics take me slightly to the right of center. That said, I am supportive of a social democracy and capitalism. And I have been known (on quite a few occasions) to complain about the Government (all 3 levels) getting overly involved in business and my personal life.

When we first reached Europe and enjoyed a bottle of wine and brick of cheese in a park with others doing the same, the following occurred to me;
1) It was cheap - no sin tax
2) It was delicious - less government intervention complicating production
3) No one was falling over drunk (In fact there are far far less homeless/ drug abusers in Europe)
4) We were free to enjoy the park without worry of being arrested.
5) We bought it at the corner store of which there are many...

All of these things really appeal to me, but as I continued to work my way through Europe I saw that at some point, lack of government involvement leads to chaos and a lack of fairness in process. I am very proud that in Canada if you work hard, you have a reasonably good chance of being successful. You don't need to grease any palms, rip people off, or be concerned about the stability of the government (for the most part) in the future. IN sum - we have it really good and I have never been so proud to be a Canadian.

ON FAMILY
This trip has brought us closer together as a family. As we shared the emotional roller coaster of travelling together, we found ourselves being more supportive and thoughtful about each other's needs. Travel is intensified living where in a single day your emotions are like shooting stars as you delight in the sights but basic life processes can be such a challenge. A small gypsy boy of about 10 years old came at Jake with a pair of scissors yesterday and then pretended to stab Jake in the arm. There was no harm done - and I was proud of Jake for shaking it off so quickly. He reasoned that the boy was probably not even aware that his actions were threatening given that he lives on the street where his norms and Jake's are miles apart.

And yes - I hauled the kids through a bunch of Museums but tried to balance that with fun along the way. This blog (although rough) is going to be produced as a book the kids can look back on years from now and remember some of what we shared as a family thanks to the generosity of my workmates and the lifestyle we enjoy in Canada. Maybe - just maybe, they'll remember a few things from one of those damned museums or churches!

A couple final thoughts

Shoes for Brigitte and Daddy gets a Man Bag

Here is George. He's a wonderful man who manages the Faros2 Hotel in Athens. He has been so helpful to us  that I had to include him in the blog and to make the point that it's the people who make the difference to a vacation. You can go to the most wonderful places in the world but if you can't relate to and enjoy the people when you get there - it's just not worth doing.  I'll write one more blog after this with my final thoughts but this is the final trip report.



Well, for our last day of vacation,  we had plans to go on a 4 hr city bus ride to and from Poseidon's temple about 100 kms south of the city. Unfortunatelyy the travel plans just didn't come together quite right so we shopped in Athens all day. We poked around the streets walking probably 10kms through different neighborhoods.
I thought we were just looking around but it turns out we were looking for shoes. Please note the following pictures;

 

One of possibly 300 shoe stores we visited today





Brigitte looking for shoes




A nice young Greek man getting shoes for Brigitte






Brigitte unhappy that she still (after 300 stores) does not have new shoes!

  In the end Brigitte found the elusive shoes (sandals with gems...still unclear why they were a must have item) but please please check out Daddy with his new Man-Bag below. Why oh why did I not do this years ago. You can put your camera, wallet, phone - well heck anything in your Man-Bag (purse) and you don't even know you have it. After one day I would say that this is a must have and most European men do. Makes sense to me now!

We finished up the day with a great dinner and final walk around the waterfront. Athens has been a very pleasant surprise. People are more polite than expected to one another and tourists. Looking forward to a noon flight tomorrow and the ensuing 15 hour flight. As they say "ya gotta pay to play" . And so ends the Mahon Family Traipse through Europe. Thanks for following along.

Politics and the Plaka

Today was about seeing the National Archaeological Museum of Greece and exploring downtown. First - the bus to the NAM. Not perfect, but we are getting pretty damn good at making our way around European cities. As we get close to the end of our traipse, it's fitting that we visit this particular museum. One of the world's top 10, it takes in the art of all (most) invaders and displays it chronologically through the museum. The museum is absolutely first class with the added bonus of everything being in both Greek and English.  It is the very best place to see classical Greek works of art.

Another stray dog in Athens perched on the steps of the Museum

SIDEBAR: There are stray dogs and cats everywhere in Greece. At first we were a bit intimidated as they march down the sidewalk toward you but they are not aggressive and for the most part cared for by the community in general. Of course mostly they just sleep!

Found very near our hotel on Santorini and the most famous image in that community. Two shopkeepers fighting over a tourists money :)

The museum displays 7000bc through to 500ad. Early works include this this fresco found in Santorini which ties in nicely with our visit. Many of the early works are pottery which I'm not a huge fan of other than these beautifully shaped pieces. Look at the one on the far left - the balance, grace and proportions are wonderful to look at from my humble and artistically challenged perspective....







The museum goes on to explore the Greek sculpture that inspired the Romans to copy and develop their own style. This again ties all that we have seen together very nicely. As mentioned before, I love sculpture and there are 2 bronze here that were my favorites. The first is (likely) Poseidon and is one of my favorites. I have included 4 views plus a face detail here. It's a very powerful image. I love the positioning of the legs and feet giving this strong and powerful sculpture movement at the same time. Excellent! Even though the Triton is absent, you have no trouble imagining what it would have looked like.

Another great example in bronze displaying both a stillness and movement at the same time. I really enjoy this stuff for some reason. This one is a youth (Scholars are unsure who though perhaps Paris) holding either the head of Medusa (doubtful - I mean look at the expression - he'd be freaked with all those snakes and stuff) or presenting an apple....he may also be hailing a cab. Your call.


















Check out this Egyptian addition....the proportions are so good and  the detail amazing. Again - an interesting tie in with what we have learned about the Roman empire and what all these people were doing around that time.

Lastly, this sculpture captured my attention and imagination. The slightly furrowed brow and calm expression suggest wisdom and thoughtfulness (to me anyway) as he contemplates the mysteries of the world. He may also be contemplating whether of not he left the iron on........

The balance of our day was spent at the Plaka and Monastiraki neighborhoods of Athens. It's a beautiful green leafy area near the Acropolis filled with tourist shops, restaurants and tons of people.

The Plaka at night

Within the Monesteraki, there is one area called Soulvaki row where we found a suitable place to sample what is reported to be the best Greek salad and Soulvaki in Greek. It was!!!! And in what I think is a pretty funny story - we were invited to sit and enjoy dinner while watching Arsenal and Manchester United play a match on TV. Wonderful. We quickly were engaged in the game along with a couple from London two tables over and a group of Australians behind us. Suddenly, mid game, the channel changed to the local Greek match. The waiters wanted to watch this even though there were no customers interested. We protested and got the Premier game back on briefly but in the end the waiters decided that local soccer was more important than the customers desires. It was a pretty funny moment and a couple good laughs for the United Nations side of the equation.

And for me the day got really interesting at this point. At the table next to us were two young men in their early 20's. One studying to be a lawyer and the other working as a teacher. What is going on in Greece politically? I asked them. Over the next hour we discussed the politics of Greece including the demonstrations. Both agreed that nepotism and corruption are serious and systemic issues that must be addressed but also the change to the EU has made Greek goods expensive and difficult to build export markets outside the EU. Hmmm - makes sense. Also - there is the fear of moving to a single European government where the Greek people are unable to participate in making decisions about their future. Great talk.

And as we made our way home later we stumbled on Syntagma square in front of the government buildings. There was a "soapbox" set up and people were taking the opportunity to make their concerns about Greek politics known. I took this shot from behind two of the many police around the square as they keep a close eye on the proceedings. Unfortunately we had quite a wait for our bus as certain buses were out of service while the protest was going on. We did get a bus later on and made it back to our hotel safe and sound. I get the concerns of the Greek people. It's more than just the Drachma that has disappeared as there is a real fear that the birthplace of democracy may be a casualty in the western world's rush to create a kind of prosperity that is incompatible with old world charm and thinking. Just scratching the surface.....but those are my thoughts.

On the bus on the way back to our hotel the man beside me asked me to move so that he could get off the bus. As he thanked me for letting him out of his seat he said "enjoy your stay in Athens and thankyou for coming" Well!!! Thankyou so much for having us!! Below a couple of shots of the kids just cause.

Athens - coming of age

We had arrived at night (early morning 5:30 am) exiting the ship with 5 or 600 of our closest friends. We had slept next to all these folks contributing to this "special "kinship. On the dock were hundreds of cabs lined up to take us to our hotel. It was well organized but as we approached the que a cabbie says "where you going?' we named the hotel and he says "you're crazy to take a cab - it's  4 blocks) and proceeded to give us detailed instructions. Impressive! As we walked along we noted a few homeless folk along the way but most impressive were these cockroaches that were the size of 2 golf balls side by side. These little buggers were scurrying about giving a sort of science fiction feel to the whole experience. The day the roaches carried off my car.


We made our way to "the big site" The Acropolis, by public transit as has become our practise. You get to see way more of the city and you are forced to deal with the language barrier (though slight in Greece these days) and their transit system. I'm pleased to report that the Greek transit system is excellent. The transit station are clean and attractive, the buses whisk you quickly and efficiently to your destination and the cost is very reasonable. This is the best transit system I have seen so far......Of course it was built and refreshed for the Olympics not so long ago - so that stands to reason. Pictured above is a market we came across selling bread, meat (head on skinned goats that didn't go over well given our intense relationship with Rango and Nancy) , fish, veggies etc.

This struck me as a contradiction of sorts. Athens is, or at least is trying to be a modern city. I like the whole open market concept though there are associated sanitary challenges that can be met in a supermarket with controlled conditions. Pike street market in Seattle has managed to do it well - I think the Greeks will as well but they are not quite there. The other contradiction is clean and fresh areas next to areas that are in extreme decay. Lots of abandoned retail space and crumbling sidewalks etc. Generally clean though - unlike Paris where there was garbage everywhere, between the roaches and the garbage guys - it's being tidied up. All this in the face of severe financial austerity programs from the state. That makes it a big challenge for the Greeks in Athens. All in all., the city has a great feel, we feel safe here and are loving traipsing about the place. On to the Acropolis!

When I was a young student I had a philosophy teacher named Dr. Alister Brown. He got me excited about early Greek philosophers and particularly about democracy and how we go about governing ourselves. I did my best to work my way through Plato's Republic and found myself thinking about the Acropolis and these fellows hanging around just talking. Anyway - I don't mean to make this more cheesy than it already is (though that is my style) I felt almost drunk as I wondered around on the top of the rock. It was amazing.

In the center of Athens you have this rock (pictured above) that is flat on the top and about the size of 3 football fields. There are a number of structures on the top most notably the Parthenon. And here we have authenticated artifacts detailing the history of civilization going back to 6800 bc. The really good stuff is roughly 400 bc and fresher but it is inspiring to traipse on the same ground where many of our philosophical beliefs were hatched. It's one thing to read it in a book, but for me - thinking it through while standing where is happened is a very powerful experience.

The Parthenon magnificently perched atop the amazing Acropolis

 

In addition to the "cerebral or philosophical" fascination of the Parthenon, it is architecturally rich and intriguing. Each column gently slopes upward rather than being uniformly sized all the way tp the top of the colmn. The corner columns are slightly larger and the floor and top sections are both slightly concave. The combination gives the structure "movement" appearing more pleasant to the observer. Cool hey? And how did they figure this all out? The other point to be made here is that the workmanship is beyond comparison. It is perfect.

And lastly on the Parthenon - the stories of Gods and men are told at either end of the structure. Destroyed into pieces by various invaders, it has all been reconstructed so you can get a pretty good sense of what is looked like at one time. But for that you have to go to the Acropolis museum - more on this later.We learned a lot about Athena, daughter of Zeus (though she apparently came out of his head - yah - right) and found this to be fascinating. She was very a pretty cool chick!

On the site of the Acropolis are other monuments well worth exploring. Pictured above is the theatre of Dionysus.. Sitting here in the stands its easy to imagine the performances that must have taken place in this theatre cut out of the side of the hill.

Or even more impressive is the Odeon of Herodes Atticus (below) which is entered from on top of the Acropolis. We have noticed a trend in Europe where these old theatres/amphitheatres are being used for modern theater or musical productions. What a cool way to see some musical or theatrical events. Man oh man! At the same time - I have been to a number of events where the crowd is not necessarily respectful of the environment around them. Good thing its made of rock.

Odeon of Herodes Atticus

The view from the top of the Acropolis is fantastic and you can see why its been  pretty attractive real estate since the beginning of recorded time. At one end is a military post (at times)  where Jake noted the cup holder built into the rock. Perfect for those long nights watching for invaders or perhaps your ice tea while you sun tan on a day like yesterday.

Jake and Stevie LOVE museums, So much so that they are thinking of having t-shirts made for other poor kids who have to endure the European Museum tour. On the front -"I just LOVE museums" and on the back a listing (like a concert shirt) of all the museums. The Louvre, the Uffizi etc.

We visited the Acropolis museum which houses many of the artifacts found on the site. Where I have complained elsewhere about Italy's seeming lack of care and attention to old stuff - not so with the Greeks. The museum is first rate as are the sites mentioned above. The attendants are polite but firm on enforcing the rules and the facilities are in excellent repair. Even the bathroom (this is a first) was a treat to visit.

The museum is built over a site where the excavation is in progress. A glass floor is in place so you can see exactly what is happening below - well done! This plate on the left is nearly 3500 years old - another reason to not put your good china in the dishwasher - you just never know who will be looking at it later.

We spent the evening in a part of Piraeus where all the yachts anchor up and party. It's a big circle (probably 2 kms across) where you can walk a boardwalk and take in the restaurants and shops along the way. We felt safe and enjoyed a fabulous Greek salad and Soulvaki. Love Athens! It's a great city.

A slow boat to Athens

Well it was time for us to say goodbye to Nancy and Rango (the goats) and head for the ferry to Piraeus (Athens) and get back to traipsing. That's Brigitte below with her cute dress and packsack. She could easily model for Mountain Equipment Coop with a get up like that!!

Due to a discombobulation when booking our travel to Athens we ended up on a 11 hour ferry ride which took in the sights at five other islands. Other than Eos, these island sightings all happened after midnight....not the best time for viewing the sights.


This attractive ferry is the high speed we had wanted to catch (4hrs) instead we enjoyed the slower ferry with its limited space and a ton of people, broken air conditioning and diesel smoke that rolled into the cabin area. So here's where my romantic idea of backpacking through Europe gets a bit off track. It's fun to sleep on the deck of a pitching ship when you're 20 something. Quite another when you're in you late 40's. Brigitte is still not talking to me though the kids seem fine. It was a looooong night though punctuated with a few high spots.

Brigitte and I enjoyed the sunset on the deck with an excellent glass of local red wine and the warm breeze. (This is before things got ugly ) I added this picture of a truck coming off the Ferry with part of its load on the lift gate at the rear. In Canada you would be fined down to your underwear for attempting such a thing but not here in Greece. Gotta love that.

Oia - lightening up a bit

We spent the day today in Oia (pronounced EEEA) enjoyng this small village at the northern tip of the island. We felt much better today as Oia is a bit cleaner and better organized than Fira. The shopkeepers were more helpful and the trinkets and doodads much more intriguing. There are numerous art galleries and artisan shops along the way.

On the left is one of the numerous pedestrian walkways where donkeys are sometimes used to move goods from the parking area. I was thinking that the transportation company I work at - Total Delivery Systems - should get into this mode of transport back home. Total Donkey Systems! Perfect for any enviro-friendly or tricky delivery. Let us show you our ass! :)
Anyway - the neat thing about Oia is that it just keeps unfolding in front of you as you walk. Narrow pathways going in all directions. And here is the really great part - the views from here are astonishing. Check these out!

 It really is breathtakingly beautiful scenery. And what is really interesting for me is what happens when you let go of conventional architectural design and stop worrying about rounded shaped and walls not meeting at right angles. In the picture on the left you can see the homes built right into the cliff side and in many cases neighbors share walls, roof tops etc. The result in my view is a very pleasant looking "subdivision" that is very good use of space and geography. While this village is home to less than 3000 residents, all the shops and amenities are there.

What also makes this area so pretty, are these pink flowers pictured below. They grow on a vine-like tree that adds a dash of color to the white and blue background in just the right measure. In my mind if this didn't exist in reality, a great fantasy artist would have created this perfect balance of color and shapes. Taking it all in is a real pleasure.

And a note to balance my comments from yesterday. We met a number of really nice and well-meaning Greek people on Santorini yesterday. This morning, for example, Brigitte and I enjoyed a latte at a small beach-front shop. An older Greek woman had obviously been up since the early hours of the morning baking the fresh croissants that came out of the oven just when we arrived at around 7:30 am. We ordered  2 lattes and a single croissant (they were huge)which came to about $7 Canadian. Very reasonable and the croissant may have been the best we have sampled so far. What we got was our coffee was the croissant, plus bottles of cold water and 2 slices of marble cake. To our delight and surprise this was all included in the price! And as we enjoyed our "breakfast" the Greek lady looked on with a smile proud that she had made us happy with her work.

And I have to mention Evelyn and her father at our hotel The Bella Santorini who have been incredibly helpful at every turn. Yesterday Jake had an upset stomach and when Evelyn heard about this she immediately mixed up a concoction of some sort to help him out. So maybe I was a little harsh. Not unlike the riots earlier this year in my own home town, a couple lunkheads can really make a mess of it for the balance of folks who are well meaning honest and wonderful people.

Fira - the dark side

Anyone who knows me knows that I am passionate about honor and integrity. I am in no way way perfect but I am deeply committed to a sense of fair play. With that said - read on if you are prepared to hear my unvarnished view of the Greek people on Santorini. It ain't pretty.

Today we did a day trip into Fira (Theira) and poked about in the shops and kiosks along the narrow people filled streets. It was really enjoyable.

Great jewelry and assorted nicknacks at every turn. Even better than most touristy places they have managed to get the name Santorini on just about anything to make it into a souvenir. How about a Santorini soccer ball or a  nice set of Santorini sunglasses. At the same time - there were a number of very creative shops selling handmade jewelry, painting etc. I really enjoy seeing the creativity that comes from a community where "some" conclusions can be drawn about how people live and the lifestyle choices they make.

And from the hilltop (The town of Fira is on a hillside that works its way up to a sharp peak) you can go down the other side to the old Port pictured below. You can make out the switchbacks going down the hillside which really is an engineering marvel to me. The cross pieces are white marble with cobblestone in between. There are about 650 steps or 1300 up and down. (It felt like 5million on the way back up)

You do, however, have a choice and can travel in either direction or both by Donkey or Tram. The cost is reasonable and there is definitely he potential for fun here. Pictured below are Brigitte and Stevie atop 2 of probably 100 donkeys available.

All in all, Santorni is a beautiful place endowed with an abundance of natural beauty, amazing weather and water that is perfect for recreational swimming or snorkeling.

But a couple things I want to talk about that have become obvious to me on the Island. First, it's as though someone has taken a luffa sponge and systematically scrubbed off any traditional Greek culture that may have existed here. There is no industry other than "taking money from tourists in any way possible" and there is no interest in protecting even the memories of the traditional Greek way of life. The other casualty of this movement is the Greek people's honor and dignity. Pride and integrity have been replaced by false bravado and hollow proclamations of honor that are really just a thinly veiled disguise enabling the greater percentage of the population to scam tourists for even more money.

The island is full of crooks and outright thieves who have no sense of decency or humanity whatsoever. Whether its the grocery clerk who adds up your purchases incorrectly on the handheld calculator or the two shop owners operating in cahoots to claim that you have paid the wrong person for your goods and must pay again -it is pathetic and disgusting. I expect this behavior in parts of the world where people are genuinely poor and  are begging through the sale of trinkets for their very subsistence, but this is not the case in Santorini. It's just plain greed and dishonesty at it's worst.

We have been either ripped off or had to fight to avoid a scam on so many occasions that I vow never to return to this cesspool of deceipt or spend another dollar other than what I have to before leaving the country (our transportation was booked incorrectly so we ended up having to spend 2 more days here). The Greeks have adopted and developed a culture of tax avoidance (sorry cash only), nepotism, favoritism and pride in deceiving others. They have gone on to perfect and pass down to new generations this set of norms to the detriment of most things important to a nation. What happened to this birthplace of western civilization where some of the greatest thinkers passed on to us rich and brilliant ideas like democracy, geometry and philosophy. These were really smart people - what a disappointment.

And on the Donkeys - the animals are abused and in need of proper care and attention, the tourists would pay for the donkey ride and the operators (there are many and none in charge) claim that they have not been paid so the frustrated tourist has have to walk up the 600 stairs in the 35 degree heat. In this mini-enterprise, not unlike many, these are just con-men  preying on well meaning tourists generously prepared to pay good money for services offered. Again - it is pathetic and disgusting to me.

Judging from what I have seen in Santorini, the EU bailout was a mistake as the majority of citizens have little or no trust or respect for formal systems of government and should be left to their own devices to work it out for themselves. I get buyer beware and for that reason will not travel here again unless there are substantial changes in the culture.

Just thought I'd state how I really feel and get that off my chest - that feels better now!!!. For the record, we're only out about$35 dollars that we know of....but its the sting of the con man who smiles sweetly and then deceives you that leaves a mark....oooouch!

A bit of R&R on Santorini

Well the last few days and the next couple are just relaxing and exploring this beautiful Greek island. I have to admit that at first the beauty was lost on me. That is until our sunset sail last night. There are about 6000 islands in Greece broken up into 7 major groups. Santorini and Mykonos are the best known of the Cyclades group located roughly 200kms from mainland Greece. Santorini is a pretty new place. Although it was colonized in 3000 BC, there was a major volcano in 1450 BC that renewed the landscape from that point forward. If you can imagine, the volcano is about 10 kms across the part above the water and 40% of the ring and the center are below water. So it looks like a half eat donut really. And then in 1950 a significant eruption occurs in the center of the volcano forming another island (though currently uninhabited) Below you can see the outline of the volcano (called a caldera once filled with water) and the island that formed in 1950 (New burnt Island)

So they discovered the remains of the Minoan settlement but the island does not have a lot of history. and what is unattractive about it is the grey dirt that makes up most of the island at this time of year. You really want to be close to the ocean looking outward to appreciate the beauty. The water is clear. You can easily see 20 or 30 ft below you when swimming. Its quite remarkable. What is eye-catching is the white houses set against the mountain with the Agean sea sparkling below. The inked in arrow is where out hotel/apartment is located.

We caught a sailboat from the West side of the island and sailed to the "new island" formed as I said earlier in 1950. What was interesting here is that all the rocks are new. There is little vegetation - just a big pile of rocks. We did a quick walk about and snapped a couple pics. First the sailboat and below that yours truly standing amongst the black rock of the island. Looking closely at it you can imagine the liquid rock flying into the air like a spilled glass of milk , hardening in the air and breaking into these great chunks as it lands. Fairly cool I think.



Pictured here are some old ruins and also some rocks...hehe



We went on to another island and swam with the group in the turquoise water and into a hot spring where that water was orange. You can see it below as Stevie, Jake and I do a bit of swimming.

Onto the north end of the island where we anchored and had dinner which was surprisingly good. Included was a local white wine that was a real standout in our amateur opinion. After dinner we sailed back back and forth the north end of the island and watched the sun sink into the ocean. I looked over at Santorini and the top of the island is covered with cars and people all watching this spectacular sight. And as we tacked back to the harbour the island were framed by the setting sun behind them turning the entire horizon into a pallet of reds, oranges, pinks and blues that we will never forget.  Below are a couple shots.

Here's a couple family shots from the day just for fun. Please note the captions below as I believe that each one tells an important story.

I am having such a good time!!!

I am having such a good time!!!

I am having such a good time!!!!

How the hell will I ever pay for all of this!!!! Can you say second mortgage??