Tuesday May 22, 2018

The Flying Cat 6 is our transportation to Hydra

Today is the day we go to the nearby island of Hydra. George and I were there many years ago and dreamed of writing a book and doing sybatical there. It is a beautiful island, fairly isolated. Ollie this island does not have cars, people walk and use donkeys to move their things. In his book Rick Stevens says its the best island. We board the Ferry (FlyingCat6) and head off. There is not so much “to do” here as just to relax and enjoy the beauty.

 

Ollie this is in place of cars here!

We get off and head up the outer shore away from the crowd to a small restrauant I remember that is near a “beach”. The beach is not sand- it is concrete built so you can swim in the rocks and near a cave. Karla and Kerry head down while I sit and enjoy the breeze and grab a drink. Karla jumps into the cold water and swims inside the cave before finding out you are not supposed to!  Its a short swim and Team Washington returns and joins me for lunch. The menu is very different with Cackels and sea urchin and every kind of sea food. Karla orders a prawn soup that is amazing. I have the best chicken pilaf in history- covered in goat cheese- yummy. Kerry is disappointed in his salad. After some shopping we board the ferry for the 2 hour journey back to Athens.

Karla (far lower right peaking from rock) swims

View from Lunch table

Beautiful island!

An update on George. He had to stay behind as he finally got his passport! He picked it up in 5 minutes however had to then go to the American Embassy to link his permanent resident card to it- initially they said it could be done online but in fact he had to go in person. He was number 50 of 350 and waited in the waiting room 3 hours- despite getting there in the morning! But at least he now has all that finished. His new passport is a “temporary” one- good only for a year so sometime in the next year when he is back he must get another- but at least it wont involve the police!

 

A terrific end to the Greek part of our trip! Dinner below the Acropolis

We head for a special going away dinner for Kerry. In a magnificient setting under the Acropolis we head to a top rated place for a terrific meal. I had marinated chicken, George had Beef Stew (which is not stew), Karla had lamb chops, and Kerry had Sea Bass. We finished with desssert and headed back to pack. Tomorrow morning Kerry heads back to Columbia and we chill a day and move to an airport hotel so tomorrow we can fly to the conference. We laugh as the conference has notified us of the train strike and basically wished us luck getting there. Thank goodness we were one step ahead and figured it out!

As we review our highlights we all agree Santorini was the place and the day we had lunch in the little seaside community is top of the list. We have experienced the city, the rural countryside, the islands, the cuisine, the history and loved it all. Kerry heads back for golf and we start back to work a bit more gently through the conference. Stay tuned as we head to Zurick and then Bern!