To the islands again

We have managed to survive the first island. By survive I mean, escape the mosquitoes (we look like we have chicken pox) and catch a ferry back to Athens yesterday. We were then delayed by a day due to windy weather. All ferries from Athens were cancelled last night. We were thankful that we got back.

Today it looks like the weather has "settled" a bit and ferries are being permitted to leave the port again. We have booked passage to Crete (leaving at 11:30pm) and should arrive there tomorrow morning around 8am. This time we booked a cabin so hopefully we will get some sleep on the 10 hour trip. When we took a ferry from Croatia to Italy, we were wrecked the next day traveling.

George is feeling much better. He joined me on seeing things today for the first time since we have arrived in Greece. We walked the long way around the Royal Gardens and saw the Stadium for the first Olympics and the Museum of Cycladic Art. We also got our laundry done which has put us both in happy spirits! On the way back from the museum on our way to the subway, we ran into a line of police dressed in riot gear. There was a peaceful demonstration going on about something. I wish we knew what, but the signs were all in Greek and we didn't want to stop to ask. It was a bit daunting to see the riot police. We didn't stay long in case the peacefulness was disrupted.

No pictures :( I have packed the harddrive somewhere.

Pictures from Germany

Ok, so it's time to catch up on some pictures. The following are from our stay in Jena, Germany, about 1.5 months ago.


Here is the view from our room in Eberhard's house in Jena. Such a picturesque little town.


We took a walk up the hill to view Jena from above. The view was great, but it was raining so my lens had water droplets on it. Here is a picture of the whole gang (yes, George was due for a haircut even then). We had a great time when we were in Jena; Eberhard and his family were excellent hosts.

Have you ever had a hotel to yourself?

George is sick so we decided to get out of Athens. We looked at some islands close by and headed to Aegina. Aegina has the Temple of Aphaia on it. It is 60 years older then the Parthenon.

Yesterday we arrived in Aegina after taking an hour ferry. We took the bus across the island to Aegina Marina where we had booked a dorm room. We were greeted by a fellow Canadian who runs the hotel. (Not sure if he is the new owner or not). Anyway it turns out that due to the bad weather, the town decided to shut down early. The shops have mostly closed, all the bars except two are closed and only 2 restraunts remain open. It is a ghost town. I haven't decided whether I feel like I am in the movie "The Shinning" or "28 Days Later". Both are scary movies, so perhaps it is time to move on and find some more people...

The Temple was interesting. There hardly was anyone there and it is overcast, so it is a good photo day. George will be jealous once he is over his cold.

The walk to the Temple is another story in itself. I was told to go to the end of the road and follow the dirt path. I couldn't miss it. So I followed a dirt path that I found at the end of the road. I ended up hiking up the hill and into the not really dense brush. It was a good view of the city, but I didn't think I was getting near to the Temple. Then the path brought me to a church.



I figured if there was a church then there must be a road. There was no road on the other side of the church, just another path. So I followed the path. Then the path disappeared. I climbed up a hill to get my bearings, and then found a fork in a dirt road. I decided to take the road that looked like tire tracks had been made recently. I rounded a curve and had a good view of the temple.



I wasn't close, but at least I knew where I was suppose to go. Eventually the dirt road lead to a paved road and there was the sign for the "Short Cut" that I should have taken. I did have a nice walk through the woods though, but I am glad the island is a small one.



I ended up taking the short cut back and it was no where near the road that I was originally pointed up. Live and learn and take the bus when you are one your own.

Tomorrow we will catch a ferry back to Athens and then find another island to explore.

We are Engaged!

Some of you may have heard already, but George proposed!

On October 10th, 2006 George informed me that he was going to make dinner. I was not allowed to come with him to the grocery store and I was not allowed in the kitchen. I thought that perhaps he was "annoyed" with too much help in the kitchen and this way he was getting me out of his hair. I usualy end up cooking, but this is so that I can get out of doing the dishes ;) Unfortunately, the gas ran out on the stove leaving George with a pot of half cooked pasta. Our roommate came home and we ended up going out for dinner with her and a couple of other travellers.

The next day we were at the beach and George says, "I would like to go home and cook." I was thinking that it was really early, but guessing that he wanted to eat and then go out and take pictures of sunset and night shots, I went along with his plan.

Once again I was kicked out of the kitchen, so I went to enjoy a relaxing shower. When I got back George said, "Hurry up we are leaving in 5 minutes." I was flustered because by this time I was hungry. I was then informed that we were going to head out to have a picnic dinner.

We headed out to the rocks and ate dinner looking at the sunset.


The picnic spot. I actually took this photo the next day while we were waiting for our train.


A little wine from a drinking box


A great meal.

Next George produced the dessert wine that I had wanted to try, but he had convinced me earlier that day that it was too expensive. I had wanted to see if it compared to Ice Wine. They make it by drying the grapes and then pressing them. (Raisin Wine!) He then suggested that we get up to look at sunset. It wasn't an impressive sunset, but the clouds did create some interesting rays of light. Luckily I took a picture.



Next, George got down on one knee and proposed. Of course I accepted. It was perfect. Here is a picture of the ring!


The ring is really pretty. You have to ignore the bug bite on my pinkie finger.

The sun had disappeared so we decided that we would make our way back to the hostel. George got down first to help me. His first steps were unfortunate. He ended up flat of his back soaked in water. He wasn't hurt except for a scrape on his arm. The big loss was that his shoes got soaked through. I slipped as well, but managed to catch myself on a rock.

The next day George got to show off the socks that I knit for him while his shoes dried.