Ithaca Greece - Winter 2005 - 2006. Greek Island Holidays in the Ionian. Ithaca Ithaki, the home of Ulysses and Homer
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Winter on Ithaca 2005 - 2006
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...October
 
Sat 15 Oct - Friday evening in Vathy starts off slowly as shops open again after the days' Siesta. There's a buzz beginning with the evening coffee at one of the Cafes.
 
 
 
 
Above - Niko from Mylos Creperie in Vathy, gets the Bar ready for Friday night. He was looking relaxed after some time in the big city of Athens, but last night it was back to work, mixing his special crepes, melting chocolate and sorting the nuts. Niko, also singer and guitarist of Ithakis' The Chapries, has the Western bay of Vathy, rocking.
Above - Nita France and Rob Harrison are here for a month. They just love Ithaca and can't stay away, and we love them for it. They're enjoying their holiday at Levendis Cottages at Aphales, where the views are spectacular and the surrounds, peaceful. A nice change from the noise pollution of Manchester in the UK. We caught up with them at Rementzo Restaurant in Frikes getting out of the cold with a little cognac and good conversation. Nita and Rob are another couple of faces from behind the Visitors Letters to the site.
An October Moon
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The moon rises in the sky before the sun has set its' amazing colours across the skies over Ithaki.
 
 
Back north to Frikes
"Now let me think...Do I know you???" Above - Clive and James are old faithfuls to the island. This father and son act holiday on Ithaki a couple of times a year to spend quality time with eachother in the place they both love to be.
Left - A rainbow halo around last nights' moon made for some romantic notions on this Greek Island of Ithaki. Beautiful one day, stunning, the next.
The notice is up on the tree. The Sardine Festival (Marida) is on today at Polis. The other big event of the month is the baptism of the Spavento Twins today which is being held at Mavrona Church. My guess is that most of the northern island will be there to celebrate. The very cute and cuddly twins, like their parents Jenny and Yiorgo, are very popular.
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Sun 16 Oct - No power today from 8am to 2pm.
 
Right - A big day for the northern village of Kioni and the Karantzis and Vlassopoulos families yesterday. Theofilos and Nikos, twin sons of Yiorgos and Jenny from Kionis' Spavento Bar, were baptized at Mavrona before invited guests that came from as far as Athens to celebrate this traditional Orthodox event. Na Zisoun. CLICK HERE for more pics.
Left - The Marida Fish Festival was finally held yesterday at Polis Bay, Stavros, after weeks of postponement. The weather was great and so the north island headed down to the beach to enjoy the free food on offer by the community and its' fisherman.
Click here on photo left for more pics of the Marida.
 
 
Last night turned into a wild one at Spavento Bar in Kioni. Father Yiorgo and Godfather Aggelo entertained the patrons with alcohol induced, but comical antics. There was dancing and bonding with old and new friends, svinakia, lots of laughter and today, probably a little embarrassment too.
 
 
From Finland, from Greece, from Australia, from the UK, and before long, everyone spoke the same language. No, not the language of love, but the language of Lurv
..
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The red horizon overlooking Frikes explodes into a blue-sky day with warm morning sunshine embracing Ithaki. It's another Monday morning. Kids go off to school and the workforce descends upon Vathy.
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The inmates are running the asylum again. Get down!
   
 
Mon 17 Oct - An early morning moon over Vathy, full and golden. At 7am it's still dark, but no sign of the rain predicted for this area. No wind either. The skies are blue at 8.30am, and it seems to be all clear on the horizon. There is a drop of around 4 degrees in the temperature however. Yesterday there was no electricity on the entire island from 8am to 3pm, which made the Cafes around Ithaca very popular, and last night Frikes had quite a bit of dinner traffic from incoming yachts. The holiday season has extended quite a bit this year, especially noticeable in the north, which is usually well closed down by now. Of course there aren't hordes of people, but enough for many of the businesses in Kioni, Frikes and Stavros to remain open.
This is the time of year many mothers set off to places far away from Ithaki, to settle their sons and daughters into their new homes away from the island, while they study at University and Colleges from Barcelona to Crete. While in many Western cultures, young adults take financial responsibility on themselves when they move away from home, in Greece, the responsibility remains with the parents. A tradition, not looked on as a burden, but as a means for their children to concentrate fully on their task of becoming educated. During Winter on the island, mothers journey frequently back and forth to places all over Greece and beyond to do laundry, cook and generally make life easier for their kids. The ferry does 'The Mother Run'.
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CLICK ON PHOTO TO SEE MORE PICS OF THE MARIDA FISH FESTIVAL, POLIS ITHACA CLICK ON PHOTO FOR MORE PICS OF THE TWINS BAPTISM