This creature was spotted one evening at a taverna in Chranoi. It flew and behaved like a hummingbird, but resembled a large moth and seemed to have a proboscis rather than a beak. Can someone tell me which it is?
We found this card in the beautiful town of Methoni. It looks strikingly like someone we know.
Lissa and Marti swim off the rocks at the fortress of Methoni.
Lily with the famous Greek ‘racket’ – a game played all summer long by the sea.
Nik tried to apply ping-pong tactics, but Ari soon showed him that ‘rackets’ is a whole new game…
And the winner is…
Nothing like a fresh fig after a swim. Here is Melissa at Foti and Eleni’s fig plantation.
Also nothing like kolokithokeftedes, eggplant, chips and egg with Yiayia Despo at the new house in Galleika, after a swim…
View from Messinia, across the Messinian gulf, to the Mani peninsula. Taken from the road between Akritochori and nea Koroni – olive trees abound.
Roast suckling pig – the Messinian speciality…
Vasili’s village with Nik and Yana, Nik S, and Yianni. The 70th birthday party went off well without a hitch that couldn’t be quickly fixed.
Be sure to check out the great Zeibekiko dance video on the videos page!
Nik and Yana at the Glendi, attended by most of the village.
Cats and chooks look out for each other around here.
One of Martina’s many feline friends.
After an extensive visit to the 150 year old mulberry tree, we looked like we’d been cleaning the abattoir floor with our hands. The stains turned out to be easily removed by a washing machine, and the mulberries we didn’t eat on the spot were wonderful with fresh yoghurt for breakfast.
Nik S and Martina stopped for a photo opportunity at this giant Fix bottle near the Greek Pentagon, Athens. Fix beer has been in such demand since making a return this year that it is unavailable in Kalamata!
A tale from the Athenian riots: “Caution: Police”.
Martina with an as yet unamed kitten in Asvesti. Moustakas is behind her.
The world’s best breakfast- fresh mulberries with yoghurt.
Late afternoon driving through Athens.
Approaching Thermopylae on the national highway.
The fortress at Methoni – a fine place for a swim.
Wall art in Methoni.
What a wonderful three nights at sea with a group of like-minded sailors. Thanks everyone for joining us and making it possible for us to sail!
Captain Ramazan was the best – and most experienced – diver.
But I prefer the style referred to as the ‘GemmolaFrog’:
Brooke kayaks at dusk.
The crew atop St St Nicholas island.
The crew, minus chef Kenan who was busy cooking up the usual storm in the kitchen.
Delicious pitas made by a rowing village woman were available every morning!
Ramazan dives, again.
Marti, Ellie, Brooke and Abi (I think) underwater…
The ship’s masthead fell off?
Amanda, Abi and Brooke at the height of relaxation.
What a way to start each day!
Abi the pirate boarding the ship… or jumping overboard? 
To fill in time while at the arrivals hall at Eleftherios Venizelos International Airport, I decided to upload some old iPhone pictures from LA. This table was cousin Nik’s 30th birthday present, and was completed over the Christmas/New Year period 2009 in Los Angeles.
{Unfortunately, the extensive captions I typed for all these images were lost by WordPress, so it’s an image-only experience. I will say thanks to Chris Steele for time and expertise on the MultiCam router, where the table surface was planed smooth, and to DigPlus for workspace, scrap bamboo, and inspiration.}
A huge tanker in an elevating dry-dock at the island of Syros; Lady Gemmola of the Aegean Sea Reading Club.
Last night on the ferry from Rhodes to Athens I stepped out on to the deck for some fresh air before retiring for the night on a hard plastic bench. Instead of relaxing myself under the moonlight on the Aegean, I watched countless cigarettes being thrown into the sea. Sick of watching this practise I looked up and gazed for a few minutes at the massive plumes of diesel smoke coming from the exhaust stack, and thought about how this line has three boats sailing the sea constantly, and then of the countless other passenger boats sailing the Greek waters.
Whch is more realistic – a world where nobody throws butts in the sea, or a world where nobody smokes?
I felt sad for Greece and sad for the planet, and I listened to Rachmaninov on my iPod as I tried to fall asleep.
Photos taken at a stop at Patmos, 6:15am.
A stop on our second last day on the boat. The Turkish coastline is covered with evidence of settlements dating back as far as 400BC. Here we see some elaborate and extremely heavy stone tombs, most of which are generally intact.
Ellie visiting some Sarcophagi – these two had fragments of Greek inscriptions.
The heat was most oppressive, even in the late afternoon. Fortunately I found some nice icecream nearby for Martina.
Out boat is on the right in the background. On the island opposite this sarcophagus are the remains of the ‘sunken’ city, largely unexplored by archaeologists, established in 400BC and destroyed in a massive earthquake around 400AD.
Amanda and Abi relaxing on our Turkey cruise: swimming, eating, and then much more of both.
Anyone for a Lays?
One of the ‘deck hands’
The V-GO Antalya, which we are spending three nights on.
