MY CHRISTMAS GIFT

My Christmas gift from Z was a trip to Prevesa in the south west of Greece. Our 5-hour journey was beset with initial very heavy rain, a tractor blockade of striking farmers and extensive roadworks involving detours into unknown terrain. ☹

However, we arrived safely at our hotel – in an ideal location just outside the city- ready to party.

We celebrated Christmas Eve with a buffet meal and live music. A real surprise was Z making a rare sortie onto the dance floor to honour his homeland as they played Thracian music. I actually found myself, at one point, in the lead dance position – argghhh! I did manage to lead without any mishaps in step/tempo for a few sets before graciously conceding the role!

Christmas day dawned mild and sunny – the shot below shows the lovely setting of our hotel there in the background. Exploring Prevesa in spring-like sunshine was a joy. Its port, in a well-sheltered bay, is the winter quarters of magnificent yachts from all over the world - N. Europe, the States, Australia

Walking around whetted our appetite – I had to kneel on the pavement to get us-at yet-another-table from an interesting perspective. This taverna offered us its famed prawns.

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Boxing Day saw us going across, down and over to the nearby island of Lefkada. Here we are driving through the one-kilometre under-sea tunnel ……

…while below we see the road bridge, with more beautiful yachts moored on the island. En route we saw a flock of magnificent flamingoes obviously drawn by the local shrimps, but traffic conditions didn’t allow us to snap them. ☹

The narrow streets, with bougainvillea and jasmine still in bloom, were really picturesque.

We had a glorious time there and only the thought of our lonely kitties made us ready to leave. This early morning shot from our hotel balcony helps you understand our reluctance to go.

 

Our OAP Outing !

 

After much persuasion on my part (!) we became members of the local senior citizen group and attended our first trip with them. We explored parts of Halkidiki on a cloudy but mild day.

We first visited the village of Arnaia but despite the efforts of our patient, adept driver our large coach could not manoeuver the narrow, cobbled streets so we went on foot. We marvelled at the beautiful, brightly coloured stone buildings. Our driver was, indeed, excellent!

Our planned visit was to the Saint Kosmas Nunnery outside the village where the nuns offered us coffee and biscuits. One sister related an interesting account of the sanctuary history while another gave a talk of a more ‘spiritual’ nature: extolling the Orthodox faith, she pronounced that only those believers would be admitted to paradise - in one sentence banishing the 2.5 billion Christians to hell fires, claiming divine security for the 280 million Orthodox followers. :O  Clearly, she had not got the memo explaining that those of the Jewish faith believe they are the chosen ones. Scenes I’d like to see: representatives of those groups debating the issue and, for good measure, we should throw a Free High Scottish Presbyterian into the mix.  😊

What did impress me there were the lovely stained-glass windows with the peacock design.

Another wee visit we made was to the richly embellished St Stephen Church.

The original one had been burned down in 2005, and while it was renovated, they retained some of the original features, clearly visible through the partial glass flooring – fascinating.

Our lunch stop in Stratoni allowed us to see the loading bay for exporting ore concentrates – mainly silver, zinc and lead – to European markets. The mine, non-operational for a few years, was re-opened in 2006 by Hellas Gold.

Here is our cheery band of co-travellers who entertained us on our return trip with ribald jokes and lusty singing! May we enjoy other such well-organized outings in future!

Zissis and I wish you all a happy festive time with health and peace. 😊