About Me

My photo
Recent retiree--35 year's experience teaching reading, English, adult basic education and volunteer leadership skills. Started this blog to exchange ideas and commentary with friends and others having an interest in joining the discussions. Greatest life accomplishments include: 1.organized my 3rd grade class to check out library books for me to get around librarian's weekly limit--Amazon.com, the Mullins Elementary 3rd Grade Class of 1956 is still waiting for "thank you" notes; 2. volunteered in the Peace Corps, island of St. Kitts, West Indies; 3.taught adults to read, earn their GEDs., and speak English as a second language; 4. bought a border collie puppy for $6, got evicted rather than give him up, and began a life-long love affair with all things "Dog"; 5. joined a physical fitness boot camp in my mid-50s--don't mess with someone who's been doing regulation pushups in wet grass at 5:30 a.m.; 6. walked across Northern England with best friend Sally--over 80 miles from the Irish to North Seas; and 7. travelled to many foreign countries for pleasure and work.

Monday, October 6, 2014

Catching Light -Mykonos, Good-bye Greek Isles


 

In June I finished a tour of eight European countries, Austria to Turkey and mostly along the Dalmatian coast with a brief cruise of the Greek Islands.  Mykonos was the last island on the cruise before ending the trip in Athens, Greece.  I chose Mykonos for this "catching light" post because the day we spent on the island offered countless opportunities to photograph brilliant light--blue skies and sea, white cube-shaped houses glittering in the sun.

(Click on collages to enlarge.)

Here are some of the best sights from my tour of the harbor and town, including the lime washed cubical buildings with their blue accents and flat terrace roofs:


Mykonos has many churches, most very small.  In the past churches were built on sites to avoid paying taxes--example the small sanctuary middle left.  The large free form church is the Paraportiani and is quite unique as it is a blending of five churches each with different architecture:

 
Here are some common sights walking along the harbor:  fishing boat, the Alexandria Restaurant by the sea, an old anchor, fresh seafood (including octopus which is pounded and then hung to dry from fishing boats before preparing) and a playful dog making a pest of himself on the beach:
 

Streets are narrow and paved with flat stones that are painted white all around.  The white-washed buildings are accented with colorful doors, windows, and balconies.  Blooming bougainvillea, oleander, hibiscus, and fuchsia tumble over walls and balconies.


The windmill is a classic symbol of Mykonos.  At one time the windmills were used for grinding grain.  Now they are part of the character of the island.  Notice the Barbie pink scooter lower right!


These final shots are of the setting sun over the Aegean Sea as we walked back to our ship along the harbor:

 
 By this time I had been away from home for 21 days so was getting quite homesick.  Still, I'm glad to have these memories of sparkling white light against the blue Aegean Sea.