Itisallgreek2me

Moon In My Hand

23 June 2013 – It is a regular thing for Ray and Heather, together with friends, to head to Paradise Bar at Agia Marina beach on a Sunday afternoon.  Knowing these outings can become very rowdy and it is never their intention to drink in moderation,  generally I try to avoid them.  However, being my last Sunday for this trip and with the anticipated supermoon, I decided it might just be worthwhile going down.  Left the house just after 1900 hours to make the 20 minute walk down … more akin to a stroll as the intense heat of the day was still very noticeable.  On this night, a full moon … the closest and largest of the year.  In other words, it was not just a supermoon, it was the closest supermoon of 2013 and really quite amazing.

Finding it somewhat difficult to keep up with the continuing arrival of yet another round of shots at our table and the loudness of the music, together with whistle blowers all around, I quietly left after a couple of hours to walk back to the Bar to see Costas.  Went the longer more scenic route via the Old Harbour, with an amazing number of luxury boats moored there.  The hot night had everyone out walking, dining, drinking, buggy riding … near the Bar I met Helen and later she came there – our third night in a row keeping company until leaving together around 0200 – 0300 hours to head home.

The anticipated explosion of numbers on the island for the Pentecost weekend never really happened … a sign that there just is not the money around.  Disappointing for the businesses who rely so much on the holiday weekend numbers, however, nice for me with the beach uncrowded … had my last visit to Agios Mammas yesterday – Monday.  With Costas spending long tiring hours in the Bar, on Saturday we had lunch out at Spetsiotiko, on Sunday it was to Bouboulina, once again for me I was happy to have their Moussaka … it truly is the best I have tasted anywhere. Yesterday we settled for a takeaway burger and pizza.

After avoiding taking out the dreaded suitcase from the storeroom for as long as I was able, finally it had to happen on Monday.  Did as much of my packing as I could before heading to the Bar around 2230 hours.  Ray and Heather, John, Pantelis, Stratos and Sotiris were all there … said my farewells before 0200 hours, then home for what was, thankfully, a better than average night’s sleep for this girl.  Up this morning at 1030 hours … John called by the house with a map to help me locate Triton Hotel in Piraeus.

Around 1230 hours, I said my goodbyes to three of the cats – Bob, Oliver and Sydney, all sleeping in the garden on top of the wall and with my suitcase atop Costas’ bicycle, we walked down to Filippos in the Dapia.  Had an omelette and a coffee … Ray and Heather and also Penny came to say their farewells – “Kiwi” Alex passed by with her son and I met Niki who is originally from Wellington.  With my inevitable departure hour approaching, Costas and I walked down to the jetty to await the Flying Cat 6.  As it approached, I knew we had to say our goodbyes so I said to him, there was no need to wait … a last embrace and he walked off, eventually disappearing out of sight just as I was about to board.  How I hated leaving … the journey to Piraeus seemed like an eternity, eventually disembarking at 1800 hours.  Within 20 minutes I was here in my room at the Triton Hotel … at 39 Euro, excellent value, a more than adequate room, clean and comfortable with free wi-fi, plus things I was not expecting like a refrigerator and a hairdryer.

My plans are to stay in this evening and rest.  Tomorrow I will probably not hurry to leave here before the deadline check out time of noon.  The bus stop for the Airport is very close by and I have checked in online for my 1610 hours flight from Athens to Dubai.  My usual compliments of Emirates hotel room for the 12 hour stopover there, then the following day, the long haul to Auckland via Melbourne.  An Air New Zealand flight to Wanganui should see me arriving back at 1625 hours on Friday.  The weekend to recover, catch up with family and organise myself at home, then back to work on Monday.  If everything goes to plan, I will arrive back in Greece on 25 October, head straight for Spetses and then sometime in November after the Bar has closed for the season, Costas and I hope to visit Crete together, when I will have the opportunity to introduce him to my wonderful family there.  As always, a worthwhile goal to aim for.

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