Santorini

One of the lovelier Greek islands is Santorini. At one time, centuries ago, it was an active volcano when it blew off it's top which created a caldera that was filled by the sea. What remained was a little bit of paradise. People moved into this eden and built white houses on the tall cliffs overlooking the beautiful blue water.  Churches were built with cerulean blue domes reflecting the sky and the water. That's Santorini and today we had the pleasure of enjoying this scrap of land in the middle of nowhere.

We tendered to the island, and took the gondola to the top of the mountain. From there we walked and rode to Oia, the city on the top and enjoyed the views. The tourist season is over, so Oia is a quiet village. We've been here during tourist season and it's not quiet at all. I finally got to see the island without several ship-loads of my closest friends, and it's a delight.  I have 2 favorite Greek islands--Corfu and Santorini. This has been a good cruise as we visited both.

On the road again

We are at sea on the Pacific Princess. The sea(s) being  the Adriatic, Aegean and the Mediterranean. We are making  landfalls at either old walled cities on land, or old walled cities on small islands. After we cross the isthmus at Gibraltar, we will sail in the Atlantic to Fort Lauderdale.

We started in a wet and rainy Venice. While not a walled city, it was protected in ancient times by the mighty Venetian navy and in modern times by the "moat" aka waters in the Venitian archipelago. From there we went to Sibenek, Croatia then to   Kotor, Montenegro.

The first time we visited Kotor we were sure it was the model for Diagon Alley in the Harry Potter books. Upon returning to it 8 years later, it still is a honey colored walled city/state filled with narrow, curvy cobblestone streets that lead to tiny shops tucked into alcoves along the way. We kept on looking for a friendly wizard to show us the way to magic shop. We have a minor love-affair with this little town that was once part of the Venetian empire.

Our next stop was Corfu, a Greek island that is drop dead gorgeous. Bigger than Kotor, it is a teeming with Greek-ness. This is where you look at signs and think "that's the strangest fraternity name ever"...it's all Greek to me! We've been to Corfu many times and each time we've thought it would be a wonderful place to live -- but there is one problem -- everything is written in Greek and there are not subtitles.

Today we landed in Rhodes, the 4th largest Greek island and famous for the Colossus of Rhodes, a huge statue that connected two parts of the island. Sadly, the Colossus fell down millennia ago, but archeologists have recovered stones from it and know the exact location where it stood. First on my list was to see the location, which is now marked by two columns, each topped with a deer. 

Tomorrow we head to Santorini, another drop dead gorgeous Greek island. I hope my internet connection is good enough for me to post some pictures. In the meantime, what follows are some collages of Kotor and Rhodes.

Kotor is located at the end of a long fjord, so the waters are still and the reflections are amazing.

 

"Blogger" won't let me download my collage of Rhodes, but these are the columns that depict the location of the Colossus of Rhodes.

What Happened to Christmas?

I'm on a rant here, so bear with me. I've been looking for Christmas cards that wish people a MERRY CHRISTMAS. This year that wish seems to be difficult to find. I can find cards that wish Happy Hanukkah, or Feliz Navidad, or Happy Kwanzaa, but not Merry Christmas. Instead the cards wish you a bland-ready-for anyone-non-offensive "Seasons Greetings" or "Joy" or "Merry" or "Happy Holidays." Well, I'm offended. It's Christmas that we are celebrating. That's the reason for the season. What happened? Is it politically incorrect to wish people Merry Christmas? If that's the case then let me be the first to wish you MERRY CHRISTMAS this year in my best politically incorrect manner!

Geography Pillows

These are my "geography pillows" -- I made tonight. Many years ago I bought this fabric for my classroom, and it has it has lingered in my fabric stash ever since. Tonight I created pillows from my fabric stash. I think they came out well.

Sunsets and Utility Poles

Once again, we were treated with a spectacular sunset. If you look closely, you will the fields in the "middle ground" are very dry.  We've not had rain in over 200 days if the weather guesser is correct.

And, another positive note--work is starting on the generator. We are getting a new service pole today. We have small herd of trucks onsite...I did not know there was room for so many.

Ode to a Fence

What a fine fence you are.

 Meticulously crafted of barbed wire supported by stakes that have seen a hundred winters.

Not rickety or feeble because you boldly snake through gullies and climb mountains

Yes, you are worn with time

...yet you carry your burden with dignity

Halloween

Several years ago we were in Rio de Janeiro during Carnival. As luck would have it, I was offered an authentic Carnival hat and I said YES. We brought the hat home (which was not easy) and since then it has been in my living room as a conversation starter and attention getter. Well, this Halloween I wore it to town...and several other people took the chance to wear it too. I wore to McDonald's and "won the prize" (which was a cup of coffee) for best costume of the day. Great fun!