KALOSORISATE STIN ELLADA! May 27 to June 9, 2007
Kalosorisate stin Ellada! Welcome to Greece!
Greece is located in southwestern Europe and borders Albania, Macedonia, and Bulgaria to the North, Turkey to the North-east, the Aegean Sea to the east, the Mediterranean Sea to the south and the Ionian Sea to the west. Numerous islands surround the mainland. The Greek peninsula covers an area of 131,944 square km and has a population of approximately 9.5 million people. Athens is the capital.
Our Trip to Greece - Saturday May 19 to Saturday June 9, 2007
Hans and I returned to Greece after an absence of 38 years. I last visited here as a student in 1969 as Athens was a stop on a Mediterranean cruise I was on. Hans was actually there too, in the sixties, as he made several stops in Piraeus while working on a merchant ship.
On this trip we managed to see quite a bit in three weeks. Our first taste of Greece was a Sunday drive along the Saronic coast to Sounion and the Temple of Poseidon. The next day Janet took us to Mycenae, with its massive Lion's Gate and to the lovely coastal town of Nafplion.
Sunday, May 27, our Sailing Odyssey began. Our three Bavaria50 sailing yachts - the Pyth - King1 - Oceanida - with 26 adults, one child and three captains, set out for five days of adventure. Our first island was Kea, then on to Serifos, Nisos Sifnos, Ios and our final destination - Santorini. It was an amazing experience.
I have made a video - actually a slide show with music - of our sailing adventure using music by Pix Lax provided to me by Janetanne. Thanks Janet.
Santorini - What can I say! It's right up there as one of the most beautiful destinations in the world. Our VT meet there was incredible. We got to see many of our old VT friends, but more importantly made many more new friends.
Highlights - The Sunset in Oia - the Pirate Ship outing - the donkey ride up the cliff in Thirassia - our Sunday night farewell dinner at the Poseidon in Fira.
And after it was all over and we said our last goodbyes and gave our last big hugs, Hans, Janet and I headed back to Athens on the Blue Star Ferries ship Paros. During the eight hour return trip we made two stops, one in Naxos and one in Paros.
As Stephanie and Gerry had invited us to accompany them to Delphi, we did that on Tuesday, June 5. We had a ball with them - laughing and singing in Harry's taxi along the way, stopping for a lunch of baby lamb and experiencing the mystical Delphi together. Thanks again Gerry and Stephanie - you guys are the best.
Thursday June 7, we did a day in Athens to visit the Acropolis. I'm sure glad we waited, as it was a wonderful day to walk up the many steps to the Parthenon, not too hot and not raining like it was during our first week. Somehow, the Parthenon was larger than I remembered. My only disappointment was that it was so crowded with people and the Parthenon was surrounded by scaffolding and a crane as there was ongoing restorations being done.
All in all it was a wonderful experience. I want to take this opportunity to thank Janet and Galatea, Gerry and Stephanie and all the wonderful VTers who came from far and wide, to Santorini and made this Euromeet2007 the best ever!!! |
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