What would a trip to Naxos be without a stroll around the Portara. This is a trademark of the island. Over to centuries the people have given it the name Portara - meaning huge door. It is a marble gateway into what was once a temple dedicated to Apollo. The temple was built in the 6th century B.C.


A walk through town in the evening. Even the Greek Orthodox priests need to line up to use the ATM.

Here is the Proof! Debbie does swim in the sea. We have moved from our "Greek beach" to the tourist beach. It is more sheltered, fine grain sand (no need for our little water shoes) and in the afternoon that is all one can do - put your hot body in the water.

We had an incident at our new beach the other day. A German fellow was staring intently into the water when his girlfriend entered the water. He told her to get something from shore which turned out to be a camera and together they got close to the surface of the water and started taking photos. Nosey me swam up to them and asked what they were looking at - it was a JELLY FISH which swam into the shallow water. Ìsn`t it beautiful` he said and he started to pet it...(a bit weird if you ask me but ...). As the day went on more and more people started to take photos of the jelly fish (so I always knew where it was when I was swimming). Then some children were looking at it by the shore. A large Greek man entered the water to see what everyone was looking at, saw it was a jelly fish, went to shore, picked up a child`s plastic pail, re-entered the water, picked up the jelly fish in the pail and deposited it on the sand on shore (I was hoping that young German man didn`t see this!) And so, the jelly fish was drying out in the searing afternoon sun. When I finished swimming and was entering the shore, I thought I`d look at this sea creature to see if it was yet dead. A young child (a regular Greek swimmer) took a paddle from a paddle ball game that everyone plays on the beach and was rolling this poor jelly fish back into the water. He did wait until the big fat Greek man was out of site before he did this. He kept flipping it and flipping it and flipping it until finally it flipped into the sea. It looked like it was regaining conscienceness by the I wandered away. We swam in the same bay this afternoon and there was NO jelly fish, so it must have swam back to it`s family in the deep sea.

Our Drive

We rented a car. That was the easy part. Driving it on Naxos roads was the difficult part. The car rental girl gave us a map with different routes to take. We jauntily set out. The Greek drivers are something else. Drive too slow and they drive right up on your tail and beep their horn yet they will park their car in the middle of the road, blocking traffic without a thought.
We also noticed that the left hand side of their cars were always scratched and dented. There is a very good reason for that...their roads are not wide enough for two vehicles in many, many, many, many ... spots. Do they slow down in these narrow areas??? No.
We chose the mountain route to begin with. Naxos contains Mount Zeus - that may tell you the height of the mtns. We stopped at a town called Halki. Once we found a spot to park, it was very interesting.




We enjoyed a wonderfully huge greek salad in the local taverna. And of course, did a bit of shopping. This is the town that has the oldest Citron distillery which we toured. Citron is their famous liqueur made from the leave of a tree similar to the lemon tree.

Arrived back in town to view another spectacular sunset.

We successfully navigated the roads on day one, so ventured out on day two to drive on a larger main road along the coast. The road did let two vehicles pass in most spots but the coastal road rose up into the mountains so high the lack of oxygen was making me dizzy - and I was the driver! We drove to Apollonas, a picturesque little town with a sandy beach and many tavernas lining the water. Of course, we stopped to eat.

On our way home we stopped at a Kouros, a sculpture made of marble of a young boy which is 9 meters long. The marble was apparently defective so they decided not to use this carving and it lays where it was discovered.

No driving tomorrow. Just lounging about at our favourite little beach and enjoying the salt water of the sea.

Ya sas!

Week 1

The moon and "first star I see tonight" as seen from the taverna at which we ate tonight.

Difficult to see, but while we were eating the clouds rolled in and thunder could be heard in the distance. Suddenly the rain poured down with everyone scurrying for cover. Our waiter knew it would rain ahead of time as he cleared all the tables prior to the deluge.

Getting into Greek time means market in AM, then a coffee, then lunch on our balcony which consists of fresh bread, ripe tomatoes, cukes, and Greek cheese with extra virgin olive oil for dipping. Then bathing suits and beach to take our daily dip in the sea. Back for a shower then down to our favourite bar for an ouzo prior to dinner.

Another evening we ate at Vassilis, a taverna which has been in operation since 1951 (that's not so old is it?) The waiter was the gandson of the original owner
the family tradition continuing.

Saw this fixer upper - good location - close to shopping, walking distance to the beach, thick walls, good to resist heat in summer and keep heat in in the winter ... what do you think, should we buy?

This is our little beach - almost private - and one used only by the locals (and us). It is a bit rocky on the feet so we went out and bought water shoes and now we are as happy as clams. And this is where you'll find us midday when the temperature is too hot to do anything other than swim in the Mediterranean. The water temperature is perfect and it feels like silk. We do stroll over to the larger sandy beach with all the tourists but to swim, we prefer our secluded little spot.

The sunsets are breathtaking.

Considering a concert again tonight although eating a slow dinner at Visilis may win over. No rush, we have many days yet.

Naxos

It was 4 years ago that we saw this Island and things have not changed much. The weather is fabulous - 27 and not a cloud in the sky. The Mediterranean is warm and very inviting in the midday heat. The castle is still showing performing artists and last night we saw Greek folk dancers. They performed under the stars and we got to taste various Greek wines and liqueurs as part of the evening.

Naxos on my mind

Just found a couple of web cams of Naxos Greece. If you pull it up don't forget there is a 10 hour time difference between Whitehorse and Greece.

Downtown Naxos Town


The "other end" of St. George's Beach

If you watch America's Got Talent as much as I do - never - you may not have seen this 10 year old girl perform. If not, here she is, well worth the watch:

End of Sept

Finally, finally, finally got to meet Dustin's little one. Look how old he is!! (By the way I am talking of the one in the checkered jacket, not the black jacket - it didn't take me THAT long to meet him!) Met him at the site of the new house going up on the Meadow Lakes Golf Course - Hole #2.

An ideal place for a wee one to play. Sand - lots and lots of sand - along with the prerequisite heavy equipment toys I remember so well from the days of my little boy.

It's always interesting to see a house at its different stages of "life". Hard to imagine a 3,000 sq ft house in this space.

And a few doors down is Ben's house. This looks out his living room window onto Hole #2 and further away, onto Mount Sima - the Whitehorse downhill ski hill.


It will be a lovely view, especially from the loft which is not quite built yet.
As I golfed this course, I was wondering if there was insurance one could purchase for living so close to a golf course. Golf Balls do not always go in the direction you intend them to go. The answer - the golfer is responsible for any damage caused by their golf balls. My opinion - THAT'S NOT FAIR ! ! ! - you build your house so close to a golf course, the responsibility should lie with the home owner. He/she knew of the possible dangers before they built! (As you can tell, my golf balls do not always go where I intend them to go).

Went to enjoy a cup of coffee today and to meet the new adopted addition to my friend's family - Honey is her name and if you wanted a watch dog, this is not the dog for you!

Here is a family portrait which includes Ginny, licking her lips.

And not to be forgotten, inside, with a cast on her leg which includes a Harry Potter lightning bolt, is Alley. Needless to say she is not allowed out doors, but is now able to jump onto the counter with a cast on.

The Skagway Road

The drive to Skagway was very scenic. Above is a portion of the road amongst the wilderness one drives through. It is blueberry season, so one could always see cars on the side of the road while the car's occupants were in the blueberry patch.

The landscape changes, so there is no worry of being bored of only looking at spectacular lake/mountain views.

I stood beside a tourist from DL on the edge of a peaceful lake and smiled and said "beautiful". He looked at me and said "Paradise!" How true.

Every turn was a new pictures. I imagined my son who took the boat onto these lakes this weekend to camp. What a time he must be having. Hope he took sunscreen too! (OK, I'll stop being a mother now.)


How fortunate we are to be able to drive now to Skagway. When I first moved to the Yukon, the only way to reach the town was by train (8 hour ride on the narrow gauge), fly in a small aircraft, or ferry from Haines Alaska. It took a while to blast through the mountains but by the very early '80's the road was complete. This is now a year round road although I tend to stay away during the winter if I can. I did once experience white-out-conditions and white-knuckled it to Skagway. Once was enough for me thank you.

Skagway in August

Here is the valley that leads to Skagway Alaska.

With only 2 trains on this day, I was lucky to catch the train as I drove into Skagway.


And here is the photo for cousin Joe ... I don't know which line this cruise ship is, but what a spectacular day to be docked in beautiful Skagway.

Yes, I did drive 200 kilometres there and 200 kilometres back to buy a pair of shoes. And what a day for a drive! To cousin Joe, this is what Skagway looks like when water is not falling from the sky. It would have been a spectacular day for a train ride. And with only one ship in port, Skagway WAS bearable. I didn't go in any more than the 2 sport stores though as I found enough to buy in those two shops. It was a day my credit card was flying out of my pocket uncontrollably.

Smile for the day

Remember this famous photo (hope I don't get sued for using it on my blog)... well, now they have a web cam at this site.Even though it is a street busy with traffic, it is so funny to see people crossing and freezing so they can have their picture taken just like the Beatles. CLICK HERE But don't forget the time difference. It is of course busier during THEIR daylight hours.

A New Artist

His paintings fetch thousands and attract buyers from all over the world.

But while his watercolours, pastels and oil paintings hint at a talent honed through decades of practice, Kieron Williamson is barely halfway through primary school.

The seven-year-old prodigy sold his latest collection of paintings for £150,000 [about $245,000 Cdn] at the weekend, with all 33 works sold in just 30 minutes.

He paints up to six paintings a week and 700 people have registered on a waiting list for an original.

Until two years ago, Kieron's artistic talents stretched only to colouring in dinosaurs drawn for him by parents Keith, 44, and Michelle, 37.

But on a family holiday to Cornwall he was inspired by visits to harbours and ports and began producing 'mind-blowing' images of the boats in the water.

Gallery owner Adrian Hill said: 'Kieron has probably become one of the most collectable artists currently exhibiting worldwide. He's impressionist without being too abstract.

'He is years in advance of where he should be.'

Kieron's parents plan to buy him a house with his earnings and invest the rest for him until he is 25.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1299399/Kieron-Williamson-makes-150-000-30-minutes-selling-new-batch-paintings.html#ixzz0vrVzJAsp

And here's the little artist producing another valuable painting.

Yet another has joined the ranks of the Retired today. So to celebrate we dined at the Wolf's Den Restaurant just south of town. The evening was beautiful - warm and sunny so it was dinner - all three plus hours of it -- on the deck. Happy Retirement Gail!!!

The forest fires in northern British Columbia (Stewart Cassiar Road) are felt in Whitehorse. The distant mountains are obscured by smoke.

If you have been to Whitehorse since the Copper Ridge subdivision was built, you may be familiar with the Hamilton Boulevard extension which now gives the residents an alternate escape route. This is the same road that when the route was blasted during construction, too much dynamite was used and the rocks fell through the roofs of the mobile homes ... whoops! But it is a pleasure to have a 2nd exit and it is a lovely road to drive.

Music, Music, Music

Today is the 1st (and they hope annual) Frog Mountain Music Festival. It is being held at 'young' Bill (& Barb) Drury's farm out on the Alaska Hwy. I keep crossing my fingers that our damp weather improves and as I look out the window, I was quite hopeful that it was clearing, as it was getting brighter by the minute, but now we are having a sun shower. Oh well, there is still time for it to clear which will make the festival all that much more enjoyable. In case it doesn't, they do have tents set up.


Finally I saw a performance of The McLean Girls at Coasters last night. Mom McLean was in town too so met the mother of these three very talented girls as well. I couldn't believe it was the first time I was in Coasters and will be my last as it is closing down at the end of the month. Enjoyed their performance very much as did the crowd. They'll also be performing today at the Frog Mountain Music Festival.

July

The weather has been quite "iffy" since my return from the damp east coast. Late yesterday afternoon the skies opened up and the rain fell in bucket loads. We seldom get such fierce downfalls so it was fun to watch.

Golfing at Meadow Lakes this year. Our factor for change was price - saved almost $200 for ladies league - money we can surely use elsewhere. This course is much more technical than Mountain View... in other words, we lose a number of balls each time we play. Above is the 3rd hole, teed from atop a very large hill.

As with the "other" golf course, the club house still calls our name at the end of the game.

The Eagle Has Landed

Driving downtown to visit my friend this afternoon, I came across some tourists pointing their cameras up into the sky instead of toward the beautiful Yukon River. Looking up I saw Bald Eagles. Rats...I didn't have a camera. So after we visited and dined, I went home, gabbed my camera and revisited the area. I drove down the South Access (Robert Service Way) and at the foot of the hill at a tourist pull-out is the nest. The photo above is Whitehorse nestled in the valley on the way down the South Access.

This I believe is one baby. Just as I was leaving a second one poked its head up.


And on a treetop nearby quietly sits the parent. They make quite the tourist attraction! By the way, these photos were taken at 9:00 PM.

Two Year Old Smoking Boy

Here's the scoop behind the two year old smoking boy in Indonesia:



A very sad sad story.

Gibraltar

Back from my vacation and have been getting myself and my house in order once again. And trying to catch up a bit on the golf games I missed while away.
While I was travelling we had inclement weather (while at home it was 25 degree sunny days!). I thought it was the maritimes' weather system. Wrong! It was me. I looked forward to coming back to "summer" but the inclement weather came with me. (And I thought it was only when I washed my truck that it rained). So if you know an area of drought you can rent me out and I'll bring the rain with me!

My friend from Vancouver Island sent me these photos of the airport runway/road in Gibraltar at the mouth of the Mediterranean Sea. As you can see from the map above, the runway runs right across the land. Consequently the road cuts through the runway. So when the light turns yellow you don't step on the gas and go like h***, you stop! And you certainly don't run a red light!