Reflections

Our day started off around 8 AM. We were tendered over to the island of Santorini, Greece in the town of Thira. W hen we landed at the dock, we had the option of taking a gondola or donkey up the 1500 feet track to the town center. We chose the gondola. Our good friends Ed and Melissa Godby suggested earlier in the week that we consider the trail to Oia.  Oia or Ia is a small town on the South Aegean Sea. T he trail is approximately 4.2 miles and was along the Cliffs of the island over a volcanic landscape. So we took them up on this challenge. The 1st mile and a half was through an area that had carved out of rocks some of the most beautiful white stucco hotels with swimming pools. The trail at this point was like walking through old streets of antiquity. However after that first 40 minutes of walking, we began to greet the less populated area of the trail. I would estimate that the trail dropped 700 feet over the next half mile. The cobblestone turned into volcanic gravel. ...

What a long hot sunny day. At 9:30, we were picked up at the ship by our new Grecian Friend Costas. I hand no idea that by day's end, we would be friends with his son Nicos and Alex and wife Jo. Rather than spending time in the touristy area, we hired this family to take us to the north side of the island. There we would be fitted with our snorkel gear and introduced to our two man kayak. The day included a 4.5 mile paddle into the ocean around a rock formation with a blow hole. Despite the taxing effort of paddling all those miles, the view was amazing. Rock formations, fish, bleach white houses with beautiful greenery growing up the walls. At 1 PM we settled in for a gourmet Lunch. Costas mother made home olives, we had bread that was made that morning, fresh tomatoes and a fresh  Tzatziki Sauce made by his mother. Can you taste it? It met our appetites expectation.

27 years later and she is more beautiful than ever. We enjoyed each other, a filet Mignon, cheese cake and the outstanding performance of Graffiti (four stringed pieces).  We were accompanied at our meal with Gary & Karolyn Chapman. Gary is the author of New York Best Seller "Five Love Languages". The conversation was quite entertaining. We also enjoyed the company of Jeff Templeton, owner of Templeton Travel. Deck 11 near sunset Gary & Karolyn Chapman, Elizabeth and me.

With our bodies adjusting to the time change, we woke up early this AM at the Tiber Hotel, located on the shores of the Med. Breakfast was on the 5th floor over looking the boats headed to catch the days bounty on the Mediterranean Sea. My internal GPS could tell that I was facing west which is unusual for an east coast person. I opened Google earth to see how far I was from home....this morning....4772 miles. That was a little daunting. But then I realized I was on vacation and thought about the men and women who travel that far to the Middle East....they're not there on leisure....and not for a few weeks; they're there on duty and for months.  We are headed today to  Civitavecchia. This  is a town and in the province of Rome. A sea port on the Tyrrhenian, it is located 50 miles west-north-west of Rome, across the Mignonet river. The name Civitavecchia means "ancient town".  Some really neat culture this morning includes eating blood red oranges from ...