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Sunday 25 June 2017

The holidays over, time to share the snaps

Well our holiday got off to a great start, we were enjoying a drink at the bar after we arrived and the earth shook, literally, yes, there was an earthquake, a 5.6.

It was quite funny really, there were about 6 couples sat there, all talking and I don't think any conversation stopped, we looked at each other but it wasn't until it stopped that we said, was that an earthquake??  It lasted for 10 - 15 seconds and you could actually hear the rumbling and you could see the bar top shaking, but we all just carried on as though nothing happened lol

We went to a little Greek Island called Lesvos (or Lesbos), a place called Petra, which gets it's name from the rock (petra) that stands in the middle of the village.

On top of the rock is a church, Virgin Mary of the Sweet Kisses. 





Cobbled street leading up past the rock


View from the top




Some of the cobbled streets in Petra




View from just outside the village


I just missed the sun going down on the last night, but I did get the lovely red sky


The next photos are of our visit to Skala Sikamininas

The little harbour in Skala Sikaminias
This is the place that made the news some time ago, where there was a surge of refugees, do you remember?
There are only 100 people living in this tiny village and they helped save refugees from sinking boats as they tried to make their way across.  Sadly the news put tourist off and the village suffered badly as a result.  There is not much to see, just a few taverners, a pretty church and a couple of gift shops, but it's totally unspoilt and so tranquil.





 We hopped on the land train into Molyvos, it was about 15 minutes or so from where we were staying in Petra

Looking back towards Petra from the land train

Molyvos, possibly the prettiest place we have ever been in Greece


There are beautiful little cobbled streets






Every little house has made the most of the little bit of space they have, making steps and patios pretty with plants and pots


I loved the one below, not much space but wow, it looked beautiful!



And I loved the little windows


And the shutters


We walked up to the castle on the top of the hill, the views were amazing





Unfortunately after trudging up the hill we discovered the castle was closed for maintenance work, so we were unable to go in, we did meet a little donkey though :-)



We walked down to Molyvos harbour via the pretty cobbled streets and enjoyed a well deserved drink.
While we were there the owner of the taverner caught an octopus right there in the harbour, i'd never seen one in real life before




The weather then suddenly changed, it looked like were in for a storm



Lucky for us it passed over with only a few spots of rain and then the sun came out again.

We hired a car for a day to get to Skala Skaminias and just to enjoy the beautiful scenery round about really, but we had heard about a little Turkish Bath so we found that out too and enjoyed an hour alternately dipping in cold and then hot water, supposedly it helps with aches and pains, I can honestly say that it's made no difference whatsoever, lol, but it was something different :-)

The holiday was not without it's problems, as usual I got bitten, whether by mosquitoes or something else I'm not sure but I had quite a lot on my feet and ankles and my foot started to swell up so I had to visit the doctor in Petra.  I came away with antibiotics to take for 10 days, antihistamine, take for the same time, 2 lots of cream to apply to the bites and some cream to stop getting bitten again!  Mark did have a few bites this time too, but mine seem to get infected, it's no fun.  This is one of the reasons we only go away for 7 days at a time now, once I start to get bitten I just want to come home, It stops being a holiday and becomes a battle of the bites!

Lesvos is a beautiful place and it's a shame they have suffered with all the bad publicity that the refugee thing bought on them, on the other hand, the fact that not many people are visiting makes it a great place to go, it's Greece as it used to be in the late 1970's and early 1980's, very laid back and friendly with none of the commercialism. 

I know I've shared a lot of photos, I do like keeping a track of things I've seen and places I've been on my blog, It's nice to look back on.   I hope that you like seeing them to.

I'll leave you with just one more

Greece is known for it's cats and Lesvos is no different, in fact I think there were more here than I've seen in other places.  It's very tempting to feed them, but you can't feed them all, (and Mark tells me off), although I did see evidence that some villagers do put food and water out for them, which is good.  We came across a mum with her kitties when we were walking and this one was just to cute to ignore.

Look at that little face!


Seeing how they have to scavenge around for food makes me so sad, 

On the last night I did save some of my dinner and we went back to the place where mum and kitties were so we could leave it for them, so I did manage to do my good deed.

It's back to business as usual tomorrow, we caught up on some of the garden work today, everything seems to have shot up and greened up in the short time we were away, but Stevie has looked after my plants well and everything has survived :-)  The majority of the holiday washing is done and put away, the rest I will do in the week, just some food shopping to do tomorrow, I feel a salad week is called for after the indulgence of Greek food and more bread than I ever normally eat, I'm guessing the scales won't be kind to me on Wednesday when I weigh in :-(  Looks like going back to basics to get back on track.

Until next time,
I hope you all have a great week
-X-

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

Such beautiful photos. I cannot imagine living in such a beautiful place. The BLUE of those shutters ..........simply gorgeous. (I think I have a Weeks Dye Works floss that looks like that blue. LOL)

Awwwwwwww...that sweet kitty. I would have had to give it something to eat too.

butterfly said...


Wow lovely photos looks lovely out there .
You must have had a lovely time .
The little kitten was so sweet .

Jo said...

It looks fabulous, so picturesque and olde worlde which is missing from so many holiday destinations these days. It's many years since we've been to Greece, the last time was Zakynthos back in 2001, we just managed to slip a week in after my cancer treatment finished and the date when Daniel was due back at school and it was one of my favourite holidays ever. I too suffer from mosquito bites, I think I'm allergic to them as they always swell up. I once had one at the side of my eye and my eye ended up closing it was so swollen. I dread to think what the other holidaymakers thought Mick had been doing to me as it wasn't apparent that the eye closure was due to a bite. I hate seeing all the cats on the streets too, poor little things. I've been known to become a little obsessed with making sure they've had something to eat.

Vickie said...

What a way to begin your trip with an earthquake!! I really enjoyed seeing these sights. I will never get to Greece, so I thank you! I am not even a cat person anymore, but I would have taken THAT little kitten home with me. What a looker that one is!!

Mylittlepieceofengland said...

Your photos are lovely, what a magical holiday (except perhaps the earthquake, though you obviously just took it in your stride). It's wonderful to be able to see so many unspoilt places and what a cute kitty xx

Poppypatchwork said...

With all the jobs once you get home, your holiday seems a long way off. Your photo's are wonderful, we have never been to Greece, you certainly show it at it's best.

Barb said...

I loved seeing all those beautiful photos of your trip. So sorry you got all the bug bites!! Isn't it funny how fast a garden grows when you are not home!!!

Brigitte said...

I was enjoying your holiday pictures a lot. Thanks for sharing.

Desiree Ehleiter said...

Wonderful pictures! It looks like it was a wonderful holiday! Sorry to hear about the bites... I hate biting bugs!

Carol said...

So glad that most of your trip was so great, Maggie! I really enjoyed your photos--you are an excellent photographer :) Greece is definitely on my "must visit" list some day!

Mary - Lecoeurceltique said...

Lovely photos, Maggie. It's years since we've been to the Greek Islands. Your photos make me want to go again. Shame about your reaction to your bits :(