I received an interesting message on MySpace yesterday. Here it is:
I liked the first song that I played, but not the second. Let me know what you think.
It is photographed often. Here is one of my favourites from last March.
Today I was transitioning between chores (read relaxing on the internet) and in my StumbleUpon network discovered a great site showing birds and other wildlife from Greece.
It is by wildlife photographer Panos Oikonomou.
See more photographs
This is one of Pano's photos of a hoopoe. We saw one from our veranda two years ago.
I just recently discovered StumbleUpon and am really enjoying it.
The large photo is one we took of a wierd rock formation in a remote part of Antiparos.
Truly nothing noteworthy has been happening. Is that good or just boring?
The weather is getting hotter, day by day. I mention this because it is normal to have a few days of heat wave in June and this is the first normal thing about this year's weather. Like most other places it has been abnormal lately.
O.K. That is enough excitement for one post. Better luck next time.
The Acropolis was formally proclaimed as the pre-eminent monument on
the European Cultural Heritage list of monuments. Even the French Culture Minister said
"this is the birthplace of the European civilisation".
The news just gets better and better for ease--and hopefully cost--of flying to Greece.
Continental Airlines has just made a major announcement of daily non-stop flights between "New York" (Newark's Liberty International) and Athens. This New Jersey hub will connect to 230 additional destinations.
Newark Liberty International Airport
You can tell they are serious because the press release talks about reducing to four flights per week during the slow winter months and returning to seven flights in March 2008.
Also recently Air China said they would begin flights from Beijing to Athens via Dubai and fly direct if and when traffic warrants. Greece officials have recently been courting the growing Chinese tourism trade.
Including earlier announced new flights by other airlines--some of which are direct to island airports--more flights mean more visitors from more places. Maybe even enough that the ferry companies will be motivated to schedule better connections or the Greece government motivated to force Olympic Airways to become efficient. No, that is too unrealistic.
I have posted several times about various flotsam and jetsam that we have picked up on the beach. This recent news item, however, will cause me to be even more watchful of what floats in.
Hashish bricks wash up in Peloponnese
Port Authority officers confiscated 77 packages, 1 kilo of hashish each,
that washed ashore in the Kalo Nero beach in western Messinia,
Peloponnese, southern Greece.
The authority was notified by local people who found the first 6
packages. They were all damaged from being in the water for
several days. An investigation is underway to determine their source.
(ANA)
Update: About a week later they found a satchel on Crete with several more bricks in it.
I am guessing Greek island beachcombing has really picked up.
So many photo opportunities get away from us. Here is one that didn't.
We had just passed a marble cutting factory on the right and noticed their discard pile to the left. As we got closer we saw the small herd of goats sunning themselves in the late afternoon. They found us interesting to watch as well.
Riding the back roads into the isolated valley that holds the ancient Temple of Demeter I felt I was living a scene from countless movies that I saw as a child. We were the explorers searching for the treasure that was not visible to mere passers by. Then we found ourselves in a hidden valley lush in vegetation and at its center a magnificent temple.
It was quite interesting. This site is maintained by the Ministry of Culture so it has explanatory descriptions as well as a museum.
Update: Whoops, forgot this:
If you are a member of Blogazoo here is a Gazoo
If you are not yet a member; join here for blogging benefits. Blogazoo
While I am at it, check out AuctionAds. It's new but has the great potential of eBay.
