Geocaching With Kids...

Yea, it's like that sometimes!

But, hey, it's still all good!

Greece Withdrawal

We're suffering withdrawal symptoms! Luke asked me this morning when we were going back stin Ellada (to Greece). I was really sad to tell him I wasn't sure (which is no longer true, but I'll get to that!!). He said he misses the sun, the sand, and the sand bugs. Personally, I don't miss the sand bugs (they're BIG, but mercifully scarce) but, I do miss the ocean and the beautiful climate! And the food. Oh, do I miss the food! Tomatoes really taste like tomatoes there (probably because they are all locally grown) and the olives and octopus. Yes, I love octopus, or as the Greeks call it, octopodi. No, it doesn't taste like chicken, either.

I also miss hunting for wi-fi spots. Ha! I made my husband drive around Gythio for 20 minutes while I stared at my wi-fi locator. We found one at a cafe on the ocean (how convenient!!) and that's where I did most of my blog posts while drinking a greek coffee or a Frappe. What a life!

So, when are we going back? Next summer for sure. I'll be taking my mom with me and we're going to travel the Pelopponese again as well as Crete. There is also a slight chance we'll have to go back in October because my husband is getting involved in business there. It's a very, very slight chance we'll go back that soon, but I'm going to hang on it for now!

For now I say adieu to Greece. I'll leave you with two photos of our last evening there....

Here's a stairway we climbed up and down just for the fun of it in Gythio:

And this dog apparently lives on top of this roof because he was there every time we passed by:

He barked at us every time, so just to be funny I shouted stomata! at him and you know what? It worked. He really did shut up. Either that or he was thinking, stupid American! Either way, I got a kick out of it and that's all that counts, right?

I'm Loving Kyparissi

Wow, I really like Kyparissi! It's hell to get here since there's only one road in and it is through the mountains. Talk about winding roads! All three kids got car-sick on the way. Oreo cookie puke smells really, really bad. It's pretty yucky to clean up, too. I truly feel bad for Hertz rent-a-car!!!!
The road to Kyparissi is so lightly traveled that we even had to wait for goats to cross the road.

But, as we approached the town, I knew I'd like it.

There aren't very many cars (relatively speaking), so you can walk without having to worry too much about the kids getting hit. The townspeople say the best way to get to this town is by boat. Three car-sick kids tell me that's absolutely true!

We came here for a geocache and I'm so glad we did. It's very pretty here. To get to the cache you walk on a nicely kept path that winds around the sea. It was absolutely beautiful. To find the path, follow the coordinates given at the Geocaching.com site and look for this sign.

Then head for what looks like the backyard of the house that is on the edge of the sea. You'll find the path there. Follow it to Agios Georgios church (St. George). Here are a couple of photos of the path:

It was a very pleasant walk. I left the kids and my husband on the beach and walked it alone.

The last time this cache was visited was last year (August 20, 2008 !) It wasn't hard to find, but since the town is pretty hard to get to I guess not many geocachers put it on their list of places to go.

Here's a view from the cache site:


As for me, I'd like to come back!

Mystras

Another day, another cache. This time it's Mystras.

I've been here before, so there's not much to say about it except that if you are ever near Sparta, you need to drive to Mystras to check it out.

Just be sure to wear sturdy shoes because it's a heck of a climb!

Ancient Corinth

I really like Ancient Corinth for some reason. It's just a pile of rocks (as my husband says), but it has a good vibe to it. I was here in 2006, but didn't go up to the fortress; we just visited the archaeological site. This year we went up to the fortress for two reasons: to see the fortress and to grab a geocache!


Here's Luke and Sunny figuring out which way we needed to go:



Aha! We found it!


The whole area is, as my husband says, a pile of rocks, so I couldn't resist doing a little bouldering while I was here. I wish I had my harness and my rock climbing shoes...I would've scaled the fortress wall!! lol! Luke kept asking what I was doing climbing on the rocks. He's young, so I'll forgive him that silly question. ;) I scratched up my calf when my foot slipped off the rock I was climbing, so now I'll look really nice in my dress next weekend for the girls' baptism.

More later!

A Few Of The Sites

August 16, 2009

Today we grabbed another cache nearby.

It was placed by the same person who placed the cache we grabbed yesterday (note the same type of cache container). Yesterday's cache was Imittos North-Agia Paraskevi and today's was Imittos Top-Athens. The road to this cache was very narrow and winding. Exciting, but scary!!!

Then we headed down to Sounio, which is located south of Athens on the ocean. My husband has always wanted to go there to see the Temple of Poseidon. It was awesome.

And here's the wrecking crew. You should have seen the mess they made at the restaurant we ate at before coming here. Oy.

Check out their outfits. Do they scream midwest fashion mess, or what? I'd love to dress them better, but they refuse to wear what I want them to wear. They want doggies and kitties on their clothes. Always.

Here's the view from the temple:

It's funny that my husband has never really explored Greece. He says that since he lived there he never thought to do touristy things. Strange. I love exploring Illinois even though I live there (sounds exciting, I know). In fact, I love Chicago so much (not!) that I left some graffiti at Sounio!


Tomorrow is Ancient Corinth.

Geocaching in Greece

Hey! We made it to Greece safely. I wasn't able to post until now because I couldn't get to a free wi-fi site. We stayed at my husband's aunt's condo in Athens last weekend so we could do some geocaching. I can't tell you how much I LOVE my new GPS. I waymarked the condo so when I went off on my own I knew how to get back. It's very easy to get lost in Greece because the streets have no rhyme or reason. They twist and turn and after a few minutes of this you realize you have no idea where you are or in which direction you are heading. Chicago is nice because after Mrs. O'Leary's cow caused the Great Chicago Fire (poor cow...of course they blame it on an animal!) the city planners laid out the streets like a grid. So, the majority of our streets run north-south or east-west. Wonderful for navigating. But Greece is a totally different matter! It's such an old city that I think they simply paved winding goat trails and gave them names. I love this city, though. It's ancient and modern at the same time. Here's a photo of the view from the balcony of the condo we're staying in:


One thing I love about Greece is that everyone has solar hot water. Why don't we do this in the states?????

Luckily we aren't suffering from jet-lag, so in the afternoon we hiked to a geocache location nearby. Check out the view from the cache:

Very pretty in an urban sort of way.

Here's the cache:



Welcome to Greece!