Saturday, June 30, 2012


Sivota, Greece

June 21, 2012

Having arrived back in London early in the morning, there was much to do: laundry, packing, downloading Swedish photos and doing the bones of the Swedish post...and getting to the airport

Soon we were off in the air again, on a very small aeroplane with Small Planet, owned by a Lithuanian company. Some people across were chatting to the air hostess. 'Where was she from?' turned out she was Latvian, so when she was serving us I said 'Mani vecāki ir arī no Latvijas' (my parents are also from Latvia), and she almost fell over backwards! For a moment she wasn't sure where she was.

Generally it was smooth sailing, and we reached Preveza close to the correct time. We were bundled off into different coaches, ours taking 90 minutes to get to Sivota which is on the mainland, and quite close to Corfu.The guide pointed out the sights and recounted some myths but soon it was too dark to see. We settled into our room, then joined others for a drink and to watch the soccer, Portugal v Czechoslovakia.

June 22 - June 27

Our room at Mourtemeno Hotel had a lovely view, and even a glimpse of the beach. 
View from our balcony towards the sea

Southern view from balcony

Eastern balcony view

House across the road and pink houses up the hill

It would have been quite a good view, but an old olive tree blocked much of it. Nonetheless we could see the sunset and the balcony was bathed in sunshine, perfect for afternoon drinks. 
Sunset from our balcony

Our task was to find the short cut to the beach, which turned out to be a dried up creek bed, so we scrambled along it like mountain goats. 
The creek bed...our track to the beach
 Funnily enough one afternoon on the way to the beach we did see about five goats being herded across the creek bed by an old lady. They busily munched on blackberries.

The Cove- Zavia Beach
 The little cove was about a five minute walk, though it felt much longer as it was quite hot, between 30 to 35 degrees. Huge olive trees with white-painted trunks shaded the area near the beach. 

Huge olives with white trunks
 There were lots of banana lounges and umbrellas, as well as boats for hire.

Shaded area just up from the sand



Sunny spots on the beach

 A kiosk and a restaurant were available for refreshments, and an iced coffee was the perfect way to break up the day, sit in the shade and view the beach activities.



 The beach was popular with both tourists and Greek people from nearby and further afield. Much of the usual beach activities were engaged in...swimming, making sand castles, ball games, boating, reading and sun baking. There was more swimming than sun baking as the sun was very intense.

After a few hours on the beach we'd head back for a baguette in our room, with fruit...delicious cherries, peaches or honey dew water melon, followed by pastries...often ending up being lunch as well as dinner..

Most evenings we were entertained by the soccer, followed by a walk to the harbour for a meal or to meet others for a drink.
Ute selling garlic, on the way to the harbour. These would drive around the village with a loudspeaker on the roof advertsing their wares.

On the way to the harbour
Shop near the harbour

The harbour


Restaurant on the waterfront















On Saturday night we went hunting for a restaurant and decided to dine at 'Mama Mia's' as there was a bouzouki player and guitarist, playing there. They were entertaining a Greek party, and the men and some of the women were dancing.

Bouzouki player and guitarist
  One man could dance with a glass on his head! After the party left we joined the musicians for a while, and George tried out both instruments.
  
As many of us had arrived the same time and were staying nearby we got to know a few people which was good. We got to know more English people in Greece than in England!

June 28

We had an early start for the airport, only to find out that the plane had been delayed by two hours, however nearby there was a shady taverna where we sat in the cool with people wed come to know, eating, drinking, listening to music, until it was time to go.

On the way wed had the pleasure of seeing a few stork nests on the top of lamp posts, with baby storks perching in them. Lots of the coastline is very beautiful, and the road was never far from the sea. Olive trees grow like gumtrees...they are everywhere and some are absolutely huge, said to be 2000 years old!


June 29-30

Time now to get ready for the trip home tomorrow.

It has been a very relaxing holiday, meeting new people, seeing incredible sights,  reading...and an opportunity to reflect about the present.

As Pascal Mercier says, travel enables us to expand externally, to undertake expansive excursions in ourselves...discover who and what else we could have become...(Night Train to Lisbon p.244).

Thank you, particularly to Peter and Genief, Màris, Eva and Tommy and Kicki for their contribution to making this a wonderful, memorable holiday. On the home front thanks to Natasha, Costa and Alexander for enabling us the freedom to travel, knowing that all was in good hands; on the work front thanks to Anne and Mary and all at work for competently taking up the baton.
Finally to readers of the blog thank you for reading...and I have very much appreciated the comments that have been made. Ah the pleasures of a responsive audience!

Adieu...until the next trip...

Laima

Sunset at the harbour






















Friday, June 29, 2012



 Vagnharad, Sweden June 16

The excitement started to mount preparing for the next adventure...Sweden. Unlike other places on the trip this experience would be different, as I would be meeting up with Eva. I had met Eva and her friend Kicki in 1976 in Rangoon, Burma and we hadn't seen each other since 1976. To add to the excitement I had received a message that Kicki would also be coming to visit at Eva and Tommy's house.

Night Train to Lisbon by Pascal Mercier made the flight seem very quick. It is a book thats hard to put down, thought provoking and very relevant to the travel experience: it is a mistake to believe that the decisive moments of a life when its direction changes forever must be marked by sentimental loud and shrill dramatics, manifest by violent inner surges...In truth the dramatic moments of a life-determining experience are often unbelievably low-key. It has so little in common with the bang, the flash, or the volcanic eruption that, at the moment it happens, the experience is often not even noticed. When it unfolds its revolutionary effect, and ensures that a life is revealed in a brand-new light, with a brand new melody, it does that silently and in this wonderful silence resides its special nobility. (p.38) When travelling, its not often what is seen and heard but how this inspires reflection, a luxury afforded by travel as there is time to stop and reflect in new and exciting territory, outside the comfort zone of our everyday lives.

Sweden is beautiful from the air...lots of dense forest and lakes, a very green landscape. We arrived at Skavsta airport and Eva and Tommy were there to meet us. Eva showed us to our little house with an incredible view of the lake. Paradise!
Amazing view from our balcony

























 The 36 year gap in time was quickly closed as we talked and laughed, and we all got on so well that it felt as though we'd been together for years. 




Our house...for a few days

June 17

We had a sensational breakfast...Tommy's special fruit salad and nuts and his homemade bread and camembert, salami and tomatoes...all absolutely delicious. Soon Kicki arrived and it was delightful to be meeting her again. We reminisced about our travels in Burma all those years ago, and talked about our lives now. Again we sat down to a scrumptious meal of lamb, vegetables and special Swedish mushrooms. 

First meeting in 36 years...
 We went for a walk around the local area and Eva was delighted to see the first signs of summer: wild strawberries.









On our return we were rewarded with coffee, cherries and chocolate on the verandah ovelooking the spectacular lake.













At sunset we set off in a rowing boat to lay some nets. It was a stunning sunset, relaxing and peaceful.






June 18

We explored Gripsholm Castle, and saw how the castle used to be, and important people in Sweden's history in pictures and photographs. 

Gripsholm Castle



 The castle is in a beautiful setting, surrounded by a lake and has many stunning features including intricate woodwork and walls painted with motifs.  A number of rooms were reconstructed to show how it would have looked across different centuries. 


 Walking round the small town we saw lots of very old houses and later enjoyed a typical Swedish meal at the pub, followed by afternoon tea at another little town nearby. 




 Afternoon tea was a special treat...the cakes and sweets in the shop were very enticing.




The cafe and sweet shop
The canal

 Afterwards we walked to the harbour to see Tommy's new boat, and regretted the fact that we wouldn't be joining Eva and Tommy on the boat at the Midsummer festival at Kicki's, where they were planning to go by boat.


House on our walk with amazing daisies





On our return we drank wine, talked and listened to music, a lovely way to spend our last night.

 

 June 19

Alas it was time to leave our wonderful hosts and the paradise we'd shared for a few days.

 We drove to the local station, and filled in an hour driving around the lush countryside. It s truly a beautiful country.

In Stockholm our room was perfect... We wandered around, found some rolls which we enjoyed at a park. All around us people were enjoying the warmth of the sunshine.

Stockholm, June 20


Another beautiful day...the sun shone brightly as we made our way to Gamla Stan, the old town, past a park Id spent much time in many years ago with friends .



On arrival we were enticed by icecream and sat down to watch the life in the street. Inside the waffle cones were being produced.

 We could hear a military band in the distance. It was time for the changing of the guard outside the Royal Palace, heralded by the band.



Coffee at the Royal Palace
 After a wander around the old town we settled down for a drink, relaxing in the brilliant sunshine.

However there was a plane to catch so we made our way to the airport. We had a truly memorable time in Sweden and hopefully we will all catch up, either in Sweden, Europe or Australia.