- Easter is a really big deal here bigger than Christmas in the UK...Seems religion is a big deal with locals here ... There was a church service on Thursday evening, then they were all back in Church on Friday then a midnight procession and same again on Saturday . The thing is the evenings have been so cold I'm accustomed to going to bed at 10 and I couldn't be bothered to wait for midnight.
- Yesterday I killed time by going out to Antiporos island

- It wasn't very interesting ...I took the bus to the local ferry. When I arrived I was surprised by how busy this smaller island was .. I walked past 3 supermarkets to the square and a the Venetian area ...not much to see. Another 600m and I was at the north beach. I explored the west penninisula and a few Km east . Beaches with views to Paris, but nothing exciting to me. After the ferry I walked back to Parakia hoping to find some shortcuts, but no it was a tiresome 5Km walk along the road.

- I first walked up the valley on the south side of the ridge to the Thapsonon nunnery ..It took a lot longer than the route I took last week when I'd come from the North side cos that time when I'd got o the top I could see the nunnery and it was a flat 2Km walk there. Coming around the south end of the ridge took longer as it was twisty and up and down a bit. Then I lost another 30 mins cos in the last stage when I saw the path was overgrown I'd taken a shortcut up the road on the south side,but then I'd got caught out by the valley also bending south so the road went in a loop the long way round.
- Then next I had to cut cross 2 valleys to get Lefkes. I came down into the next valley and I lost time again cos rather than go north and up to cross into the next valley at the farm I'd passed last week I followed a construction path which seemed to go more direct up the valley side, but it ended and when I made it up to the top and the other side was steep so I had to go south to get down to the next valley bottom.
- I zoomed up the other side of this next valley and then down through Lefkes... So I'd been going 4 hours when took a break... it was then 1pm so I zoomed down the ancient Byzantine paved path to Prodomos another medina type village and the last 1Km to Marpissa.

- Good timing , I arrived there just a the speeches had started and then people lined up for the free food and wine. When the Greeks got drunk enough they started dancing, but for us Brits the music was far too loud. The Brits I sat with were all retired and seemed to have bought houses here and come for month long vacations.

We all queued up for food and free wine

The traditional lamb roasted on a spit and cheese and egg

- I'd been thinking of walking back, but that would take at least another 3 hours so since Jane said there was a 5pm bus I was thankful. It was only 1Km to the Beach at Piso Livadi so I walked there to see the sea there ..it meant I had walked from East coast to west coast ....and then I picked up the bus with the Italian tourist Maria.

- These duo tone of white buildings with blue window frames is boring and to cap it all the people seem to have little colour sense in clothes ... I's black shoes, black leather jacket, black hair "for God's sake people brighten-up" .. Well at least they don't dress as bad as me !

- Are all the Greeks millionaires or something ? .. How can they pay €30 each for a room and then €2 to sit ouside a cafe and €5 to eat anything. - Me I’d sit outside with my thermos and sandwiches.

- I worry that the foreign hordes they expect to turn up this year, might not turn up... Even if they have got the money they could go somewhere cheaper like Eastern Europe. Even many of the Greeks might not come.

- You know the main thing that happened to me 2 weeks ago ... Saturday I went from the town to get to a smaller island for an afternoon ... The island was not so interesting, but the main thing was after I got on the bus I saw my bag was open and my glasses cleaning cloth was missing. That really annoyed me .. When I arrived back I looked over the bus station carpark but no.

- Then 4 days later after the Easter holiday I went back to the bus office to ask, But there was my glasses cleaning cloth on the floor ..all black from busses driving over it .. But all the dirst washed off easily and I was very happy ..... Can you believe that was the best part of my week ?

- To be honest it's not that great on the islands ....... I was hoping to find good communities, but the system is very seasonal. Most people go to Athens in the winter then come back to make money for only 4 months in the summer. One thing is that even though the weather is dry and sunny, there is a cold wind.