Sea and Sky - Friday, May 15, 2015

Boo-Boo and Tuffy enjoy breakfast overlooking the Aegean Sea at Porto Valitsa

Friday 15 May 8:00 a.m. Porto Valitsa Hotel, Paliouri. 64 F. Partly cloudy. Breakfast on terrace looking out over the Aegean Sea with Boo Boo the Greek kitty trying to eat off the table. After a short drive to the large beach around the point, we boarded the Leftoros for a morning cruise to the uninhabited island of Kelifos. Actually the island has residents: a herd of wild brush goats wander the high areas. After a few Mythos beers, the diving began. Some in swim suits, some in their underwear. Water was cold but refreshing and clear.

1350 hrs: Drove to Christos' house in Paliouri for a "Hayride" in the back of a bee hive truck to the mountain fields where "Big" Giannis puts out their bees. We traveled over roads with shear drops off both sides. It was good it was an all-wheel drive Mercedes truck. When got to the top, we could see the ocean off both sides of the Kassandra peninsula. Christos and Theo walked the areas where they herded goats.

1550 hrs: returned to town for a brief soccer match at the town's fotbol stadium with views of the sea. Nikkos  Matami was a former pro player and can still dribble with skill. He could have scored on me at will but would pass to others near the goal. Young Giannis (on leave from the Greek army) showed some good moves also. The Matami triplets were fun to play with too. Made a few stops but Tori Krutzer blasted one high into the corner of the net for the winning score. We only lost one player to injury (Ryan).  Many would be sore in the morning. Soccer balls are surprisingly hard.

A tearful farewell

1900 hrs: Farewell dinner at Despina and Nikko's house. There were exchanges of tearful toasts and some handmade gifts of olives and honey. We could only offer booze. Triandifyllia (30 leaves) had her gift from Amy Pappas of an "Olaf" doll in a place of honor near her Pegasus doll. We showed the Greek cousins slides of our family pictures. Next time, we would be advised to impose a slide limit. In any event, slides showing our houses, boats and cars were of greater interest to our hosts. Saying goodbye- especially to Christos-was hard. Greg Pappas was bawling like a baby after Christos said (translated by Konstantina) he wanted us to return even if he was not still alive. We will miss our little troll doll, Christos, and his infectious smile. He was proudly wearing his "Alabama" pin as he waved us farewell. Greg wants to see "Greek 1" again in two years. Given their amazing stamina, my bet is that he will.