We FINALLY got to celebrate our anniversary!

STARDATE 8 June 2009

Yia sas friends, neighbors, prayer team and family!

Just a quick update on the progress of the Weldons in Greece! First and foremost, we are IN our house. All has been delivered except our oven, TV and the sea shipment. Our air conditioners are installed – we are using them as I write BECAUSE the outside of the building is being scraped and painted. Everything in the house has cat footprints because of all the dust. SO, we have cleaned, mopped, sanitized and are using the a/c till the outside is finished. It’s cool but I hate it – the breeze is SO delicious. One good benefit though is that we cannot hear the traffic noise from the street below and it is QUITE loud at times.

We still have no phone because we have no work visa yet. That means we also have no internet and our Vonage phone doesn’t work! BUT the good news is, we’re going to Athens on Wednesday (another overnight in Athens – WHEW) to go to the government building on Thursday morning. Taxis are picking us up at our hotel (all 6 of us) and we’re meeting Ellie and George (the former aide to the Prez of Greece)! We HOPE that as soon as the visas are in hand, Ellie can get the phones ordered. MAYBE by the weekend, we’ll be up and running. This is a frustration because we cannot watch our church service either – this internet “air card” is (on a good day) only about 1 kbps. If you’re not internet savvy, that means SLOWER THAN MOLASSES!

On a brighter note, Glen and I finally got to celebrate our anniversary. Thanks to the Greek observance of Pentecost (which they call “Holy Spirit Day”), we were able to have a 3 day weekend. So, we took off on Saturday morning to drive 1.5 hours to Killini – our favourite little port village. We were rushing to get the 11:30 ferry. The cost is about 14 euros each for a return ticket and takes about 1.5 hours.

Here’s what we found when we arrived. Seems that the 11:30 ferry boat company had “damaged boats” and the next ferry didn’t leave till THREE thirty and the cost was 35 euros for both of us! What did we do for 4 hours? We ordered coffees and cheese pies, sat in the tavern and watched other people leaving for Zakinthos – motorcycles, motor homes, huge trucks, cars, and pedestrians!

At 2:45, up pulled OUR boat. It is quite a sight to see these huge things loading on heavy trucks as well as a full load of cars, trucks, motorcycles and people. We saw the Lockheed office manager (JR is his name) on his big ole Harley HAWG – he was trying to sneak away with 2 other Harley buddies for a quiet weekend. You should have seen his face when we walked up. We stayed completely away – didn’t even look at em when they roared off the boat!

Inside the ferry is quite modern and clean – a/c/ blowing COLD – but there are also tons of Greeks blowing cigarette smoke. So we opted for outside! Found a shady spot and commenced people watching – my favorite sport!

Here’s a self portrait of us (just to prove we’re on the boat).

Notice the Asian guy in the background – he took his car on the boat – and returned Sunday along with us. But he would NEVER make eye contact with us so we didn’t find out where he was from!

Glen wore his Terrell Owens shirt so everyone knew we were Americans. We stood just inside and it was SO windy – hats would just not stay on. The water had lots of white caps.

Islands were all around us – our first view of Keffalonia up close. (By the way – if you haven’t seen “Captain Correlli’s Mandolin,” you need to – it was all about this island! It was destroyed by an earthquake in 1953 (after the Italians had a go at it during WWII) so most of what we saw was restored! Like most Greek islands, the harbors are just gorgeous!

Okay – so we were told we could just take a taxi from the port – 15 euros for a 10 minute ride to our hotel in Scala. We’d been told by one of the guys Glen works with that Scala had the best beaches. ONLY there weren’t enough taxis to go around! So we walked about 5 minutes to the port where we found a gift shop run by an older Greek woman who spoke a bit of English. She phoned a taxi for us and told us “ten minutes!”

After about 25 minutes, we walked up the road to a small hotel and taverna – it’s now close to 6 p.m. and we’ve been trying to get to the beach since ELEVEN THIRTY! We’re HOT, sunburned and sweaty! We ordered iced coffees(fredo cappuccino metrio) and Glen phoned the hotel. She told us a taxi would come in TEN MINUTES!

Just as they brought the coffees, we saw not one but TWO taxis slither by. One guy said he was the one the hotel phoned so we took our seats in the back. Another guy was in the front (common practice). We began a BREATHTAKING drive around the mountain – the sea on our left. In about ten minutes (REALLY), we arrived at Porto Scala – our hotel. The internet said there were a few steps down to a quiet beach and in close walking distance, sandy beaches.

WELL, across the street were 2 suicide climbs down. One had a wooden “bridge”thing (Glen went down – NOT ME) and the other had rock and grass “steps” with rails. From where I stood, I must admit that the beach (it was very VERY teeny) was spectacular and the snorkeling looked phenomenal! But I also knew that I would never get down and/or up again. We asked about the sandy beaches – TWO KILOMETERS down the road! At this point, I was ready to SCREAM! But the young lady at the desk was not responsible for the delayed ferry OR the 10 minute taxi, so we smiled and gulped. She told us they had a bus – it would deliver us to the beach and bring us back at 3:30 (our return ferry left at 5:45) BUT check out was at noon. (At this point, I am seriously questioning my sanity for even suggesting this trip!) We said we’d go to our room and freshen up and decide later.

You guessed it – our room was at the top of the mountain of cabins! UP and UP and UP! Here is the view from our balcony:

Our little cabin was green – they were all colors and just gorgeous! We decided to have dinner and try to chill!

Dinner was a monumental FLOP – how I hate buffets! We are trying to eat kosher so the bacon wrapped/cheese stuffed SAUSAGES and the fried SQUID did not appeal to us. So for 31 euros, we ate fried potatos, rice, cold hamburger patties, delicious salads and a glass of wine. (I could have used a bucketful at this point)

After dinner, we took a walk. We went all over the area across the road – discovered the remains of an ancient temple (mostly just rocks in the foundation and some pillars) – saw an elderly man fishing at a quaint little harbor – and I got a close up look at those demonic stairs! I was SOOOOO despondent! We returned to our cabin just as the sun was setting – when the moon came out, we were just mesmerized!

Of course, the camera could never capture it – but this moon was HUGE! Even after we went inside, the moonlight was just breathtaking – we slept with the curtains open all night!

After a shower (cold water – brrr), I had the epiphany! SO, we decided to take the bus, hang out at the beach and come back at 3:30. The girl at the desk told us they had showers available even after checkout. (I slept much better knowing the beach was forthcoming)

Next morning, we had breakfast on the veranda with a whole tour group of Scandanavians. We had a look at the showers – they looked better than in some of the Abu Dhabi health clubs! We checked out, loaded up and headed down the road to the beach.

We found umbrellas and sunbeds and went for a swim. The water was FREEZING but we didn’t care! It was crystal clear and amazingly calm. There were few fish and only a sandy bottom but to us, it was the BEST! We came back for a little sun and were treated to this air show. A guy on a ski parachute flew by - attached by a bitsy rope to a small boat. Of course, Glen wants to find out how much this costs “for when we bring Tori here!” RIGHT!

After another swim and more sun, we headed across the street for a YUMMY lunch (cancelled the memory of the dinner the night before). Glen finally got his dolmades. I had gemistas (stuffed tomato and green pepper), and of course a Greek salad, fried potatoes and tsatsiki. We had club sodas! Our meal cost less than the cold hamburgers the night before.

Our van came just at the right time, whisked us back to the hotel where we ducked into our respective showers. OF COURSE the water was freezing – but I still managed to wash the sand out of my hair and off my sunburned body. I had on sunblock AND lotion and still managed to get a serious burn – basically on the wing flaps at the top of each arm! (Just figure it out)

We phoned a taxi and were told he’d be there in “ten minutes”- and guess what… he WAS!
Another breathtaking drive down the mountain and we were back at the same little hotel/taverna as the day before. The sweet little waitress told us that after we left (the day before), TWO MORE taxis had come!

We had a glass of white wine by the sea and waited till the ferry arrived. We both had huge smiles on our faces and were already talking about what we’d do differently the “next time!” For one thing (if you’re interested), we will RENT A CAR at the port. This way we can come and go at will (the taxi cost us 30 euros and the car costs 35!), eat where we want and stay at the beach when we want! We will stay at the same sweet hotel – just not eat their buffet dinner J
Our ferry arrived and we walked 5 minutes to board. We went back to the same spot as the day before and guess who was there – our little Asian friend! Still no eye contact – what a strange little guy!

The ship left the port – and we said goodbye to Poros. We arrived back in Killini about 7:15 and walked a looooooooooooooooooong way to get our car. We stopped at a gyro place and ate while we drove home – arriving back at our apartment just at dark (which is around 9 p.m. our time).
All in all – this was one of the best memories we’ve had – even if it didn’t start out that way! HEY – that reminds me of one of my favorite Scriptures – “all things work together for good to those who love the Lord”- they surely do!