Learning by doing: Here is my latest attempt to take short videos and combine them with photos to tell a story. Any comments are appreciated but I know I can do better, so watch for the next one. Cheers
This post is a little off topic. One of the things that Karin misses on our little island is a second hand shop or charity shop as they are known in the U.K. One of our usual stops when we go to Athens is the extensive flea market at Monistiraki.
The best shops in the USA for used merchandise are called Goodwill. They now have extensive new and used products that you can browse online. Unfortunately they only ship within the USA, but shipping costs are a flat rate, so quite reasonable if you choose more than one item.
Take a look; its fun!
I may have mentioned before that I bought a new camera a few weeks ago. I really like it but I am slow in learning to use it. Last night it came into its own; I managed to get several shots of lads leaping after several years of unsuccessful trying with my old digital camera.
The first photo shows the fire jumping circle in the middle and the free food and drink in the back.
Read previous descriptions of this annual event starting with last year's post or go the the Paros Festivals page on our web site.
Through the season the two major traditional dance and music groups give countless demonstrations of the skills and costumes. On Whit Monday we happened to catch one in the main square of Parikia. It was unusual to see so many people in one place on Paros.
Whenever people gather there are vendors selling either balloons or the latest cheap toy--usually something that lights up and moves. They always seem to do a brisk business.
Ancient slavery brought back for boat trip from Athens to Venice: A reconstruction of the ship of legend, the Argo, left the western Greece town of Volos on Saturday and is due to arrive in Venice on 12 August. The crew rowing on the 50 oars are volunteers, however, and will be well feted at each of 37 stops along the way. Their departure was serenaded by the local symphony orchestra for instance. Hellenic Seaways is sponsoring an escort boat.
It is built along the line of prehistoric ships of the Greek mainland in the 14th century B.C. and belongs to the same family as Homer's long ships and the later ram-bearing warships of antiquity. It is called a penteconter and has 25 oars on each side plus a simple sail.
Photo lifted from this site about ancient ships: http://www.mlahanas.de/Greeks/Ships/Ships.htm
My conversation with George Bush:
Me: Welcome to Aliki, Mr. Bush. (I know the correct address is Mr. President, but that is not what came out of my mouth.)
GB: Thank You. I am glad to be back.
Me: (As I shook his outreached hand) I am an American living here.
GB: I thought I detected a touch of accent there.
He smiled and walked on.
Karin greeting him as he walked along the road to our Piso Aliki beach.
So yesterday I read in the news that George and Barbara Bush were received in the Maximos Mansion (Greece equivalent of the White House) by Prime Minister Karamanlis at the start of their almost annual visit to the Greek islands. Today a big yacht sales past our beach and anchors off the Aliki harbour. The rest is history--which I will document sometime later with the other photos and videos I took.
This is the Latsis family yacht on which the Bushes and some of their grandchildren are island hopping.
Update: More photos and a short video at:
http://picasaweb.google.com/ParosShepherd/GeorgeHWBushVisitsAliki
I don't believe in long teasers, but I still don't have the photos from Delphi processed.
However, the highlight of our return journey was several dolphin sitings from the ferry deck. I managed to capture the longest one on video. Sorry for bad photography; I still haven't mastered the camera.
Several of our friends on Paros are from The Netherlands and several of our friends on Paros are artists. They both came together this week at an Exhibition by Five Dutch Artists on Paros.
Referring to artist centres such as Monmartre, Paris he writes:
“It seems possible now that Paros will develop in a similar way. This small island possesses the indefinable atmosphere necessary to an artist to start work and to continue working. During several decades an international community of painters and writers has settled here, people who know they feel at home here as the continuity of their production shows. This has nothing to do with the usual tourism. Nowadays Paros has become a centre of artistic revival. And it keeps on growing.
‘What are the reasons for this growth? In the first place it is about freedom. Of course there are tourists here during the summer, but compared to other Greek islands they don’t form an occupation force in the season. There is no tourist industry. Moreover Paros is situated in a crossroads of maritime routes. Parikia cannot be called a city, but neither is it a village. Since centuries it has maintained itself as an international settlement. Inevitably this has influenced the inhabitants’ mentality. The people are open, hospitable, curious.
‘Artists need galleries to show their work, bars to talk to their fellow-artists, though not necessarily about their profession, an inspiring landscape where one can breathe freely. Paros possesses all this, and in addition: the sea.”
I am about ready to organize my photos from a recent trip to Delphi.
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