greece – Hereandthereclaire.com

Tuesday 6th May – Sunday 11th May 2025

After a little bit of a bumpy but not unpleasant journey, we arrived in Nafpaktos. The town looks amazing, a big castle up on a hill and a really great small walled harbour. We tried to go into the harbour but it was very small and was having work done, it was really only big enough for small boats and dinghy’s. We decided to anchor just outside the harbour walls. The wind had dropped considerably and we decided to go into town by dinghy to do some shopping and have a look around.

Once again I mastered the dinghy! 🥰 To be fair it was really calm and not very far!

We did the shopping and had a mooch about, it’s a very pretty place. Tracey & Jacques opted to take the shopping back to the boat while I waited in a little bar! Handy. This plan seemed great until the wind picked up a lot just as they set off and meant they couldn’t come back for 2 hours! 😂 I managed to pass the time sipping my Mastika and Wine and eating the nibbles, it was hard but I survived! 😂

It was getting on for 8.30pm by the time they got back and we were all hungry and made the great decision to visit the best local Gyros shop, I even tried a pork Gyros, very tasty.

Unfortunately the money we saved on a cheap supper was soon spent in a very nice wine shop we passed on the way back to the boat!

We set off on a bright sunny morning to make our way to Missolonghi. Lord Byron died and is buried on Missolonghi.

In order to get there we had to pass under a huge suspension bridge, The Rio-Antirrio Bridge. This required us to radio the bridge with our mast height then wait to be told which section to pass under, initially he misheard the height, luckily Tracey double checked and we went under the tallest section. Even then it’s a little nerve wracking!

The way into the quay at Missolonghi was strange, we followed a dredged channel past some flat marshlands which didn’t look very Greek, apparently there are a lot of salt flats here.

We went alongside the quay which with no wind was relatively stress free!

Tracey and I then went for an epic walk through the town, at the hottest part of the day, in search of Lidl! Honestly, we’ll do anything for a decent supermarket! 😂

It was actually a rather pleasant walk through the town despite pulling an old lady shopping trolley with us!

Lidl was fun, although we opted for a taxi back with our hoard.

We were moored opposite a busy, buzzing restaurant where we had a very nice dinner and watched the sunset.

Our next stop is the lovely island of Ithaka, which is just off the coast of Kefalonia. The architecture is lovely and relatively modern, after most properties were damaged during an earthquake in 1953. We moored along the town quay, which was great, I love a Town Quay!

The little town looks so pretty and also looks a little bit Italian.

We had a wander around the town and then had food onboard. Another epic Greek Salad 🥗😍

There is a beautiful poem called ‘Ithaka’ by the Greek poet P Cavafy. It is based on Odysseus journey home in Homer’s Odyssey. The poem conveys the meaning of life and to always remember that when attempting to achieve our goals we must never lose sight of the journey as it’s is this journey that provides us with wisdom, knowledge and experience. Thank you Grantley for telling me about the poem.

We were hoping to make a stop on Kefalonia at a place called Fiskardo.

Unfortunately the small quay was completely full, so instead we popped across to a place called Syvota on the island of Lefkas.

There are lots of pontoons in Syvota each one owned by a restaurant. The idea is that you moor on their pontoon for free but then eat at their restaurant.

We had been given a recommendation of a place called ‘Stavros’ Tracey called them as we arrived in the bay and they said they had a spot for us, he said he would come out and wave to us.

We saw a guy waving, so duly moored alongside, chatted a bit he told us there was water and electricity. It was only after about 10 minutes we realised the place was not ‘Stavros’ at all but a completely different restaurant called ‘Vibes’ 😂 we had been poached!

Our first job on arrival was to give the boat a really good clean. I bloody loved this! Mops, improvised brushes, hoses and lots of fun! We actually ended up doing some of the cleaning in the rain! 😂😂 It was such a hugely satisfying task, seeing the boat all shiny and clean. Bliss.

Once we finished we had a celebratory shower and a drink and watched the beautiful huge dog, Gustav, on the boat next door trying to get to the cats on the quay!

As expected we went to the restaurant for dinner. The food at the restaurant was delicious, a little bit more upscale than the usual Taverna but with Greek flavours. We also decided to get a little bit dressed up!
We had a really fabulous meal with lovely staff. Altogether a great day. 👌😍

I was woken in the morning to the sound of Jacques hoovering, which was odd as I’d hoovered the day before. It seems that some very cheeky cats had got on board during the night, jumped up on the side, dragged the remaining banana loaf down and had a good old munch! 😂😂

We stayed another night in Syvota, doing jobs, shopping and having a lovely lazy lunch.

It really is a great little spot, very popular with charter boats.

We left on Sunday morning to make our way to Lefkas town marina where we are picking up some new people!

Friday 25th April – Friday 2nd May 2025

I’m going to start this blog with an apology. It appears that for the last 20 odd years I have consistently spelt Jacques name incorrectly, missing out the c, I’ve done this on all my messages, birthday cards, Christmas cards, everything! 🤦‍♀️😂 Jacques, I apologise. 😘

We left lovely Kea in the morning and continued towards Athens.

The exciting news is that we are going to be meeting up with my wonderful friends Sandra & Chris in Athens! 😍❤️ They booked a last minute flight so that we could have a reunion in Athens!

Sandra and I grew up together in Leslie Close and Tracey, Sandra & I all went to the same Secondary school, which means we’ve been friends for longer than I care to mention! I haven’t seen Sandra for over a year! So it’s going to be emotional. 🥰

Unfortunately we were unable to secure a marina spot in Athens until Sunday so we are going to Anchor in a fabulous place called Sounion, which is home to the Temple of Poseidon!

The bay is lush, with a few other boats including a very fancy looking Grey Catamaran, worth around 8 million! 😳

Jacques and Grantley spent a while sorting out, cleaning and messing about in the dinghy. Then Jacques dropped Grantley off at the beach and he went to explore the Temple. I stayed on board, watching Grantley through the binoculars! 😂 He had a fabulous time.

After a very peaceful nights sleep we set off for Athens. We left in quite pleasant weather, a little, cloudy but nice. This changed as we arrived at Athens, a massive thunder storm hit, with hail stones, rain, wind, thunder and lightning! I loved it, but poor Grantley was sat at the helm and got pummelled! We made it into Alimos Marina and found our berth amongst the 1000s of yachts, some very, very fancy ones as well!

The marina staff came and set our morning lines at the front and we were secure. The storm looked like it had passed, so Tracey and I set out to find the supermarket to stock up and get something for dinner on board with Sandra & Chris.

We hadn’t gone very far when another storm hit. Luckily we were right next to a bar! So we took shelter. We sat amongst all the glamorous sailing people looking like a couple of homeless bag ladies! Honestly, I had a dirty stained T-shirt, Jacques old fleece, my hair was sticking out in all directions, TBF, Tracey looked pretty reasonable apart from the dirt all over her white jacket! We were holding manky old reusable bags!

I was also wearing my trusty heavenly feet shoes that have served me so well over the last year, unfortunately the grip has worn down, so I was now like Bambi on the wet, slippery pavement’s! To add to our woes, it was Sunday, so all the supermarkets were closed, except a little convenience store about 5 miles down the road! It had no fresh produce, so we stocked up on Crisps, nuts, biscuits!

We eventually made our way back to the boat, with about 30 mins before Sandra & Chris arrived, just enough time to shower and make ourselves look reasonably presentable!

It was so, so lovely to see Sandra & Chris and so fabulous that it was here in Greece on Mossy Joe! The sun even made an appearance!🧡

Despite a lack of shopping Jacques and I managed to cobble together a meal of pasta and other lovely things! We also managed to demolish a large quantity of delicious Rosé wine! It was a really wonderful evening.

Unfortunately my head was banging the next day. I’ve got used to not really drinking on my travels. So a wine hangover is brutal. 😩

Tracey & Jacques old friend George came to visit in the morning, he lives on a fabulous farm near Athens. It was lovely to meet him.

We then all got an Uber into Athens.

The last time I was in Athens was approximately 40 years ago. 😬

It is a beautiful city.

After a much needed Gyros Pitta we walked from Monastiraki Square up to the Acropolis. It was a beautiful walk, past fabulous ruins with glorious views.

We opted to not go into the Acropolis, as Tracey & Jacques have been before, and my hangover wasn’t really feeling it!

We walked some more, stopped for an iced tea while Grantley & Jacques clambered over some rocks 😀

Then more exploring around the Plaka area, windy streets, shops, views, ruins. Absolutely gorgeous.

We were meeting up with Sandra & Chris in a great rooftop cocktail bar, with fantastic views.

Having managed to find the hidden entrance, we got a perfect table with awesome views. The cocktails were also delicious. Having sworn off ever drinking again, I somehow managed to drink 2 cocktails 😂

It was incredible sharing cocktails and the stunning views with everyone.

We walked from there to a restaurant that George had recommended, Seychelle. Unfortunately when we arrived they said they were full. There were however some empty tables outside, so Sandra asked if we could sit there, they were a little surprised, as by now it was quite windy and pretty chilly! However they were so accommodating, the lovely waitress risked life and limb climbing up to light the heater, then went and fetched another heater from storage for us. I’m so glad we stayed as the food was amazing. We shared lots of amazing home cooked traditional Greek dishes, which included Oz tounge, meatballs, mutton patties, hotipitta, tzatziki, the most delicious gnocchi, Mussels, fries, fennel sausage with fava beans, a veritable feast.

It was one of the best meals I’ve had in Greece.

After dinner, we all grabbed Ubers and headed home.

We arrived back at the boat, cold, tired but relaxed and happy after a fantastic day.

We all went straight to bed and I could not have been happier to be lying snuggled in my bed!

This happiness was short lived. After about 10 – 15 mins I could hear noises that were not normal, the wind by this point was pretty fierce.

I then heard movement and voices up on deck, I got up to see what was happening.

The 2 front mooring lines that secured the boat had snapped and the boat was not secure. The wind was high and we were in danger of damaging Mossy Joe and also the other boats surrounding us!

This was a serious situation. Jacques and Grantley were busy trying to sort out something to secure the boat but the mooring line we had rescued was to short to tie off, we needed more hands, strong hands. Tracey was on the VHF radio asking if there was anyone in the marina who could help, no reply. The agent who booked the mooring said she would send someone to help but it would be over an hour! The marina staff were also less than helpful. Meanwhile Jacques and Grantley are running around desperately trying to keep the boat safe and Jerry rig some secure lines. Eventually thanks to Jacques ingenuity and knowledge and Grantleys brute strength they managed to get the boat stable and safe. But if the wind kept up, this solution might not hold.

At this point some guys from the marina appeared, they explained that they were security staff and knew nothing about boats! Helpful, not! Then the guy sent by the agent turned up, also not very helpful just said someone would come by at 8.30 in the morning. It was now around 1.30!

I was not the most helpful member of the crew although I did make great tea and stayed calm and positive. 🥰

Eventually it was decided that Grantley & Tracey would go to bed, as some of us should get some sleep. Jacques and I stayed up until 3 – 3.30 am when the wind dropped and stabilised and Jacques felt it was safe for us to go to bed as well. Needless to say none of us actually slept.

By the morning the wind was calmer and the lines had held. Quite the drama. 😬😳

I was so impressed with how calm everyone was and how

Jacques managed to avert a disaster, life on a boat is never dull. 😍

Grantley and I decided to head back into Athens and see the Acropolis.

Initially I was sooo tired, but being back in Athens amongst all the history soon perks you up. First we visited the Temple of Olympian Zeus, which was interesting, a little annoying that we paid €20 to see what we could have seen from outside, but hey Ho. Then we walked back towards the Plaka and up to the Acropolis.

The Acropolis and Parthenon were utterly amazing, it’s so much bigger when you’re close up! What a fabulous feat of civil engineering to build these magnificent structures atop a huge hill, over 2500 years ago. It was remarkable.

Unfortunately our visit took longer than I’d anticipated so we were unable to meet up with Sandra and Chris again before they left Athens. But good to know I’ll be seeing them again very soon.

We had a dinner of nibbles and bits & bobs on board as everyone was exhausted from the previous nights drama, then it was time for sleep! 💤😴🥰

Grantley went back into Athens on Wednesday for more exploring, I stayed on the boat to catch up on writing this blog and emails etc. I’m sure Grantley was pleased to be on his own as he can get around to see more when he’s not having to cart me with him.

I had a fabulous lazy day mooching around the marina, drinking hot chocolate and having a nice lunch with Tracey. Grantley enjoyed doing his 30,000 steps around Athens, Win, Win! 😂

Grantley and I had planned to go into Athens again on Thursday to visit some more sites and some museums, however we forgot it was Labour Day so everything was closed! 🤦‍♀️ We went in anyway and mingled with all the Labour Day celebrations/marchers which was fun. Then I had a walk around soaking up the sites and sounds and Grantley climbed a big hill! 😂😂 Weirdly we had arranged to meet up at 2pm in Monastiraki Square but I was sitting in a little Cafe in the Plaka writing my blog (it takes a while!) when I just glanced up and spotted Grantley. He’d finished hiking up the hill early and come to find me. I’m amazed I spotted him. 😀

We stayed in the cafe and enjoyed some baked feta and then we left in a hurry having stolen the Ouzo glass! 😬😂 (we left a big tip!) it was for Grantley. TBF, the glass was branded and probably given to the cafe by the ouzo company.

We spent Grantley’s last evening on the boat enjoying some meatballs and a little drink!

Grantley left for home this morning (Friday) I have absolutely loved spending this time with him, he is a wonderful travel companion, knowledgeable, helpful, considerate and great company.

He has also loved being on Mossy Joe and has proved himself to be a good choice for crew on the Ark Atlantic crossing that Mossy Joe is taking part in later this year!

Thank you to Tracey & Jacques for giving him this fabulous opportunity.

I was sad to see him go, but I will be seeing him again very soon.

Tracey, Jacques and I are now on our way to the pass through the Corinth Canal and the next stage of the trip!

That’s it for now.

Have a fabulous Bank Holiday weekend everyone, I hope the sun shines for you.🧡❤️🧡❤️

Books read.

The Mysterious Bakery on Rue de Paris. Evie Woods. A charming little story, the perfect read after the my last epic book.

Sunday 20th April – Friday 25th April 2025

We all enjoyed our night in Patmos, watching the local children performing traditional dances and then stuffing our faces with yummy Greek food in a lovely Greek Taverna, served to us by a lovely Greek waiter with a strong Geordie accent! 😂 Turns out his Geordie mum married a handsome Greek guy! All very Shirley Valentine. ❤️

We set of from Patmos the next morning to make our way to Ikaria. Ikaria is one of the most northeastern of the Aegean Islands, it was created when Icarus on his escape from Minos Prison ignored his father’s advice and flew to close to the sun and crashed into the sea.

It is also the birthplace of Dionysos, the god of wine! My kind of place. 🍷

We actually anchored in a stunning little bay with a tiny secluded beach. The surroundings were gorgeous.

There were people on the beach, who had managed to clamber over some pretty big rocks and down a pretty steep shaley hillside! 😳

We enjoyed some downtime chilling on the boat. With one small drama when the anchor dragged and we re anchored but dragged again and almost hit some rocks! Jaques & Tracey were on hand to avert any disasters!

The stars at night were unbelievable, so clear and so many to see! Jaques showed us an app on his phone called ‘Star Gazer’ which is fantastic, you point it at the sky and it tells you the constellations and stars. 🤩 Grantley & I spent quite a while up on deck just star gazing.

The following morning we were off again. We are making our way to Mykonos.

The ocean initially was eerily calm and misty and almost flat water. It looked very otherworldly, we thought we saw some dolphins, but they were just large fish jumping in the distance. The last part of the journey we were heading straight into the wind which makes it a little chilly. We were just arriving at the entrance to the Mykonos harbour when the wind really picked up, it turns out Mykonos isn’t great when the wind is in a northerly direction. Jaques decided the best bet was to avoid Mykonos and instead go across to Tinos, which has a much more sheltered harbour.

This is what we did. We moored up at the Town Quay, in the main town, Hora, which was a perfect position to see the wonderful surroundings.

Tinos is a busy little town, lots of ferry’s in and out. Tinos is also famous as a Greek Orthodox pilgrimage site.

The large Church of Panagia Evangelistria at the top of the hill houses the Icon of the Holy Virgin Megalocharia. Pilgrims make their way from the port, up the steep road to the Church on their hands and knees. The town has very kindly provided them with a narrow carpeted area on the side of the road to make this journey a little easier!

We arrived in the late afternoon and had a walk to the supermarket for essentials, butter and wafers! Then we went out again in the evening for dinner.

The little windy lanes are fabulous and full of wonderful, shops, bars and restaurants. It was surprisingly busy and felt wonderfully vibrant. We opted to go to a Gyros restaurant, so Grantley & I could sample our first (but absolutely not our last!) Gyros Pitta! 😋 This is an essential Greek fast food, which comprises a soft pitta filled with seasoned meat, either chicken or pork, Tzatziki, tomatoes, olives and chips!! It was bloody delicious! So delicious in fact that Grantley had a second one! 😂

Grantley and I had a wander around the next morning, Grantley bought himself a string of worry beads. We have seen so many of the older Greek and also Turkish men holding and using them, the noise of the beads is quite soothing. The lovely lady that we bought them from gave us each a small safety pin with an evil eye 🧿 bead on. I tried to attach mine to my top, the bead fell off and went bouncing down the hill! Luckily it missed the drain and Grantley managed to rescue it!

I have to admit that I am struggling to not buy more things here in Greece. Everything, clothes, bags, shoes, jewellery is in my favourite colours, blues, turquoise, greens it’s so hard to resist! 😬

Grantley and I found a fabulous Bookstore/Cafe! It was in one of the windy lanes. It was spread over 3 floors, with new and second hand books. They also had several books wrapped in brown paper, called Date Night. The idea being that you buy the package and then on your date discover what the book is! Such a good idea. I bought one for Tracey and Jaques. Which incredibly turned out to be a book about boats, called ‘Sealed Orders’ from The Fighting Sail Series! ⛵️ 😍

We met up with Tracey and went to explore the church. We also spotted a couple of crawling pilgrims.

Although I am an Agnostic I was raised as a catholic and I always light a candle when I go into a church. I find it very moving and comforting to take a few minutes to stop and remember all of the people I love who are sadly no longer with us.

The church was beautiful, calm and very ornate, lots of silver and icons.

I loved the little streets of Tinos, another Island to add to your list if you’re exploring the Greek Islands!

We decided to eat onboard on the last night, it was very windy and a little cold. Grantley & Jaques popped into town and grabbed us all some delicious Smashed Burgers! Very tasty. 😋

We left Tinos to make our way to Kea, a longish trip of approximately 5 – 6 hours. Unfortunately after an hour or so as we were motoring along we had some smoke coming out of the engine. We had this just after we left Leros and Jaques thought there might be some residue that was burning off. However as we had a long trip, the decision was made to divert to Syros, a much closer island that had a marina and good Volvo mechanics.

We moored up at the town quay, with the help of some old Greek guys who were sitting on a bench sharing a box of wine!! 😂

We moored up and set the passerelle (gangplank) twice due to having to manoeuvre about. This particular passerelle is large with a hinge in the middle it’s heavy and quite unwieldy, both Jaques and Tracey have sustained injuries from it the last few days! No sooner had we got sorted when the harbour master came and told us that the mechanic could look at the boat in the morning but we needed to move the boat from the quay across to the Marina!

On a side note, the harbour master looked bloody fabulous! He was driving a trike thing, wearing red and white trainers, white shorts with a Hermes belt, a white T shirt under the most amazing shiny, red and white spotty shirt! Honestly he looked brilliant. Sadly I didn’t get a photo!

We moved the boat across to the marina. Everything went very smoothly, no passerelle needed, thank god! We literally stepped off the boat onto the dock.

Tracey was very excited to learn that there was a Lidl in Syros, this meant good French Cheese! 🧀

Tracey, Grantley & I walked into town, called into what we thought was the Lidl, it wasn’t 🤦‍♀️ eventually found the actual Lidl, bought French cheese, wafers and another essential item, Lidl fair trade Caramel & sea salt chocolate! Happy shoppers! 😂

We had a delicious supper onboard comprising French cheese, nibbles and Jaques amazing Greek Salad! 🥗

The next morning the mechanics arrived, Grandfather, Father, Son. All really lovely guys, they work on all the ferry’s and large passenger boats in the area and are very much in demand, so the fact that they fitted us in was amazing. They spent about 40 minutes on the boat, figured out the turbo was blocked, unblocked it and only charged €50! And as if that wasn’t fantastic enough they said to wait 5 minutes and someone would bring us some ‘Locum’ (local pastries, sweets) we waited for 15 minutes and then decided we really needed to leave, just as we moved away from the harbour we spotted a white car beeping and flashing their lights, it was the mechanics with our Locum! We about turned and headed back, as we certainly didn’t want to offend them. Jaques did a drive by on the dock and they expertly lobbed a carrier bag onto the trampolines at the front of the boat! 😂. The bag was filled with delicious local nougat and boxes of sugary pastries! What an awesome treat. I can’t believe that these lovely men came and fixed the turbo, charged a pittance and then gave us gifts! How cool.

The rest of our journey to Kea was great, rainy and a little chilly but we made good time and Jaques & Grantley even made a yummy Banana Cake. We arrived at Kea around 4pm.

We were welcomed to the island by a few beautiful dolphins leaping in front of us!🐬 💙

Once again we were helped by a local guy to moor up. Then we opened up the back of the boat and relaxed in the glorious sunshine with a cold glass of wine, people & cat watching. Heavenly. ❤️

We had dinner at a local taverna run by an old Greek couple, the food was great. A nice mixture of dishes, their Greek salad wasn’t quite as good as Jaques but everything else was lush.

We ended the night back on the boat sipping Lemoncello and chatting shit! 😍🩵💚 A perfect end to a fantastic day.

Have a fabulous weekend everyone.

Books read.

Birds without Wings Louis de Bernières.

This book has taken me a while to read, but wow was it worth it. It is a truly fantastic book, beautifully written, funny, informative and poignant. A new favourite.

Friday 11th April – Tuesday 15th April 2025.

After enjoying our last evening in Fethiye, when Grantley had a delicious meal of yummy stew. We had a reasonable nights sleep. Our hotel is in the Old Town and close to some bars and clubs which despite it being low season, are open till around 3am! 😬

Our ferry to Rhodes was leaving at 8.30 and our tickets said to arrive 1 hour before, which I felt was a little excessive, but we did as requested, thank god! The check in was very long and convoluted and required us to pay 200 lira each in port fees. Grantley and I had very cleverly managed to spend all of our lira bar maybe 20 lira! The fees had to be paid in cash, a little suspect in my opinion, so Grantley ran to the ATM, which luckily wasn’t far away. Fees paid it was time for security, we got stuck behind a couple of ladies who had with them, 7 big suitcases, some huge bags of random stuff, several bags of bread and a mattress! 😂 it took a while!

Amazingly the ferry left more or less on time and the ride out of the bay in the early morning light was stunning.

We arrived in Greece and Rhodes Port 2 hours later.

The weather was beautiful and sunny but very windy, which made it feel a little chilly!

Our hotel was a short 10 min walk from the port, just outside the Old Town Walls.

We were early for check in, so we left our cases and went to explore.

I have never been to Rhodes before and the Medieval Old Town is absolutely stunning. It’s is a UNESCO world Heritage Site.

Rhodes is the fourth largest island in Greece and sits in a very strategic crossroads of the two sea routes of the Mediterranean, between the Aegean Sea and the coasts of the Middle East.

It has a rich and diverse history.

I adore old winding streets which take you on a journey through time. The Old Town is wonderful to walk around, taking different turnings and finding yourself somewhere off the main drag, with no people, just cobbled streets and cats!

Our plan is to explore the Old Town over the next few days and visit the various key attractions.

After wandering for a while we stopped for some much needed lunch, having missed breakfast!

We found a wonderful little place in a lovely square and had a Meze (a mix of Greek dishes) it was sooo good! 😋 One of the items was my favourite, Large Beans, these are butter beans in a delicious tomato sauce.

We have spent our days here wandering through the lanes of the old town. We visited the fabulous Palace of the Grand Master of the Knights of Rhodes. Which was amazing. This was the administrative centre for the Order of the Knights of Saint John. With a fantastic exhibition offering valuable insights into the history of the city of Rhodes from its founding in 408 BC until its conquest by the Ottomans in 1522.

One of my favourite places was the Archaeological Museum of Rhodes, which is housed in the building that served as a hospital for the medieval Knights of St John Hospitallers. It was a wonderful collection of rooms, galleries, gardens with a wealth of history and Cats!

The Knights of St John still operate today under the guise of The St John’s Ambulance in the UK and the Commonwealth. The St John Eye Hospital Group in Jerusalem and the Order of Saint John in Malta.

We are so lucky to be here in Rhodes at this time of year, it’s cooler, less busy and the beautiful spring growth makes everywhere so green and gorgeous.

This was perfectly summed up on our walk to the Acropolis of Rhodes. Grantley found a route that took us through the residential areas then up through the fields and meadows, it was absolutely stunning. 💜💚🩵

The Acropolis was a fabulous place to explore, Grantley did his Cat Whispering act and got followed the whole time by a very gorgeous and friendly big black cat! 🐈‍⬛ Whilst doing the typical boy/man thing and carrying a large stick!! 😂

I have just loved walking around soaking up the history and the scenery. We have done a lot of walking again! Luckily my ribs and knee seem to be on the mend so I’ve had very little trouble.

We had also booked a trip to Lindos. Lindos is a small, ancient Marine town renowned for its ancient Acropolis perched high on the cliff overlooking the town and the sea.

Although the steps were steep and narrowish with no handrail! Not my favourite! I did climb all 300 of them to be able to explore the site and take in the exceptional views. It makes it easier having Grantley on hand. Bless him.

Lindos was stunning, the beautiful white Cycladic architecture was gorgeous. We were also lucky enough to stumble on one of the great Captains Houses, this one now serving as a bar!

A funny and unusual thing occurred at the end of the trip. We had been told that the coach was departing at 2.30pm. Our guide said that they would wait 5-7 mins then if you don’t appear they will assume you love Lindos so much you are going to stay! 😀 Now, I’ve been on lots of trips and find it incredibly irritating when people are late for pick up or on returning, and you have to sit and wait for ages. To be fair I dislike bad time keeping full stop.

Grantley and I and the majority of the passengers all returned by 2.15, a few stragglers at 2.20. Then at 2.30 the guide apologised and checked if ‘Carol and her family’ were on the coach, they weren’t. Then at exactly 2.37 We left, minus Carol & her family! 😂 I’m sorry to say this made me unreasonably happy! I hope they all enjoy their new life in Lindos! 😂😂

Another fantastic day.

Grantley has been amazing company, kind, funny, knowledgeable and helpful. I’m sure it’s not easy for him walking at my pace (his normal walking pace is almost a jog!) but he never complains.

We have had the most amazing time here.

We are both very excited to be making our way to Tracey, Jaques, Mossey Joe and Leros later today!

We have a 5 hour ferry ride first, which should be fun. The sea looks quite calm. Although that’s in the safety of the Harbour 😬😀

Books Read.

None, again! Still reading Birds without Wings.

Have a great week lovely people.

🩵💚💙💜❤️🩷