Things are changing so quickly! 2 days ago we were coming home in 10 days, today, we are coming tomorrow! After advisories yesterday from NZ government saying for “All Kiwis – please fly home” we came to an agonising decision to leave our house/pet sit and change our flights to this Friday, a week early. 10 days is a long time in this rapidly changing environment. New York are threatening a “shelter in place” order, San Francisco has already implemented this. If this comes in then there will be no public transport. It is so hard to imagine a city as big and vibrant as New York coming to a grinding halt.
This morning we wake up to the news that NZ has completely closed her borders to everyone except for citizens. First time in history this has happened. So now we just hope that our flight which is still a day and a half away, will still fly. The good thing is is that we booked with Air New Zealand, of all the airlines, this should be the one which will still get through. What times we are in! You could never imagine this could be a thing, but it is. We have booked a separate ticket to LA from New York, We have given ourselves an extra 7 hours for the connection and hope this is going to be enough.
So now not only are the cafes and restaurants closed but the shopping malls and many shops. Our lovely friends in Thure keep on smiling, though we know it must be hitting them so hard. These ladies are the life blood of that community, how will they survive this? All the small businesses out there who don’t have multi million dollar back up, where will this leave them. So many people are going to be out of work, it will take time, when this is all over, for small businesses to recover. It really is a nightmare of the biggest proportions. We made great friends with 2 café owners in Leros, both of them, along with the rest of the island, have had to close their doors also. I don’t think there is 1 person in this whole world who is not being touched by this virus in some way or another. They might not be getting sick, in fact, very few will, but they will be totally knocked to the ground with it.
We have met a wonderful lady here in Breezy Point, Diane. She has offered to take us to the airport in the morning, and take over feeding the lovely Mac and Jack. We feel so blessed and humbled to have met so many amazing people during our travels. I have said this many times during these wee stories, that it is the people that make the place, it is the people that we meet that endears us most to a country/town/city and I cannot express enough of the love and friendship we have received, its hard to find the words. Thank you. Thank you for being part of our life, which is so much richer for your presence in it xx
We arrive back in NZ on Sunday morning 0700. My wonderful daughter Tayla will be there to pick us up and take us to our isolation spot. It is a relief to be going home!
Every day new information comes out, new advice, new alerts. What to do, what not to do. We have had a very exhausting few days with all these questions and not so many answers. Since my last story – only 2 days ago, seems like weeks!! We have come to a decision and we have booked our tickets home! So we fly to NZ in 10 days time, when our lovely home owners come home. We feel some relief at this, here is an answer.
Just looking at how things are changing and how quickly, we are wondering what things will look like in 10 days. Will more borders be closed? Will NZ have closed the door completely? Will our home owners be able to return as planned? We just have to do what we can with the information we have at the time. At this stage most airlines are still flying with a few disruptions and restrictions. We have a commitment and we intend to fulfil that obligation.
It’s the most crazy thing. Would you ever believe that we would live through a situation like this? There is no other topic of conversation at the moment, facebook, TV news, people on the street, we are all talking about it. Some taking it more seriously than others, some panicking, some don’t care. I don’t mind admitting that I have had the full range of feelings about this. But we have to keep our heads and as I said, do the best we can with the information we have at the time. We have booked our tickets home, that’s the best we can do, if things change, well, we just re assess at the time and work it out.
We spoke with all our up-coming home owners and the consensus is that we have made the right decision. Puerto Rico is under Curfew now. They have to stay in their homes and are not even allowed to go to the beach, this is both Vieques and the Big Island. I am so heartened by the things I read on the Vieques community page and the way that lovely community comes together in these hard times. We have some very dear friends there and we are very sad that we are not going to be able to get there this time.
In the lead up to a house sit, we generally have many email conversations. We form a relationship with the home owners and when we meet, we often feel like we already know each other. This is true for the house sits which were coming up and it is really sad to realise that we are not going to get there and meet these people, that, even though we haven’t actually met, we would call friends. Everyone has been so wonderful and understanding. They have had to cancel their holidays as well, they have had to endure restrictions on everyday life too.
So here in New York, in our little corner of Long Island, all restaurants and cafes are closed, NYC is like a ghost town, we feel we are already in “Self Isolation” As far as I know the public transport is still running. Some supermarket shelves are still empty, or they empty as soon as they are stocked, either way, there is still food there, just some lines are going very fast. This is America! Surely food will keep coming…….
9/11 memorial at Breezy Point
So we are going home, this part of our adventure is coming to a pre-mature ending. Well we didn’t see that coming!
New Zealand – That way!!
We will have to “Self Isolate” when we get back. We have been doing research on what this actually entails. We can get a family member or public transport or a taxi to our final destination, but once there we have to stay there. We will have to get someone to bring groceries, but no visitors. That is going to be very tough! We have been away for a year, we are going to want to see people! We can go for walks or bike rides or even go for a drive as long as we stay away from everyone else. We have been offered several places to go for the isolation period, Our friends and family are wonderful, we DON’T have “nowhere” to go! So amazing how people pull together.
But you know what? We are not the only ones in this situation and I know that we are so much better off than some. My heart goes out to all who are having to lose their jobs, the ones who are sick, the ones isolated from their families and CANT get to them. This is a shit situation for the whole world and this story is just a tiny tiny paragraph of this massive novel.
So here we are, sitting in New York, hearing every day more and more the issues around the world about COVID-19 – Coronavirus. We were not so worried at the start, we are healthy and not too old yet (HA!) we are not going to die, so lets just carry on and continue with this adventure. But as the days go by, more and more travel restrictions are being put in place. Ok so now, what does this mean for us?
We have 2 weeks left of this house sit in New York then we have 3 more sits lined up almost back to back. Our current home owners got away to BVI days before they shut the borders, but will they be able to come back? I believe that US citizens can return so that’s good. Ok next up – Charleston and Fajardo, both home owners traveling to UK and Ireland – not going to happen – travel cancelled. Ok, What do we do now? Both of these wonderful home owners have asked us to still come, they will go on a local holiday instead. Great news, we will continue on with plans.
BUT, we have flights to Charleston with Delta, they announced the other day that they are cancelling 40% of their flights, will we be flying? Can we get to Puerto Rico? – will we, as tourists, be able to enter Puerto Rico? We are already worried about getting from there to Vieques as they have stopped all non-resident people from coming onto the island. Even if we can get to the island, will our home owners want to go back to the states where the virus is more threatening? So many questions and not so many answers!
Ok so plan B, we go back to NZ when the current home owners return. Not as easy as it sounds, flights are hard to find! Oh crap, and we will be in 14 day self isolation when we get back. More crap – We don’t have a home to go to to self isolate and we have been away for a year, does isolation mean we cant see anyone? It will be a case of so close yet so far! And, dear I say it – arriving to the start of winter!! We have had a year of winter LOL, we so need the sun!
Our current home owners have offered for us to stay on here when they get back, so its not like we have Nowhere to go, its just the big question – where can we go from here, what should we do? So for now we just watch each day and see what happens.
Breezy Point, New York
This mornings news is they are closing all restaurants, cafes, cinemas and nightclubs in France. This is going to cripple the small community of Thure where we house sat for 3 months. The local Cafe, which will have to close, have come up with a wonderful initiative. They will do deliveries of groceries from their store, with volunteers doing the deliveries. It is times like this that you see some amazing humility, people helping people is so heart-warming.
The ferries have stopped running to Leros from Athens, not sure about the planes but what does this mean for food and fuel supplies, we are thinking of all the wonderful people we met while there and what this means for them.
Vieques, the small community which is only just recovering from Irma and Maria, dependent on tourism, are having to close their doors, what will this do to an already stressed economy?
Here in New York, schools are closed, towns are being closed off, Broadway is shut down, sporting, ceremonial events and parades are being cancelled. I went to the supermarket of Friday, so many shelves empty, no bread, no milk, eggs, meat, rice and pasta – all gone. There was the most awful feeling in the store, an energy which made me feel panicky! People are panicking, people are worried. There is so much on the news here, it really does sound bad.
We were not so worried at the start, but are starting to be a bit more concerned. We don’t feel threatened by the virus, as I said, we are healthy and feel that if we did contract the virus then we would be able to fight it. But it is the whole knock on effect that we are starting to worry about. How long will it be? When will this end? If we do go back to NZ, can we afford to come back out again? Oh boy, so many questions!
Meantime we are safe and well here in this lovely home, with two beautiful cats who need us! We have lots of food and plenty of wine! We will sit this out for now and see what happens……….
Our time in Europe is almost at a close. We have been here for 5 months now and hopefully the authorities wont be too angry with us for enjoying an extra 2 months to what we are supposed to be intitled to.
The Schengen area is made up of 26 countries in Europe and as New Zealand passport holders we are allowed to stay in the Schengen area for three months only. An interesting fact though is that a few of these countries have a bilateral agreement with New Zealand which states that they will allow you to stay in their country for three months even if you have already had your three months in another country. Greece is one of these places. But with the open borders across Europe, we have no proof (passport stamps) of entry into Greece. With that knowledge under our belts we approach our exit from Europe next week with a few nerves, might be a time for fast talking! I will keep you posted on that one!
Tuscany, Italy
Europe has been wonderful. France was an absolute fairy tale, we have loved our time here so much! This is where we spent the first 2 ½ months and have now come back for our final 2 weeks. We are back at our house sit at the Castle. Our owners have gone on holiday and we are here to welcome the new house sitters. It is great to be back, we feel very at home here. But it is not the same without or lovely hosts! We are so honoured to have had this experience and to have met this wonderful family.
Stunning countryside of Umbria, Italy
After our week in Crete we flew to Rome. There we picked up a rental car and drove the 3 hours north to Umbertide. Did I say 3 hours? Well google said 3 hours – hmmmm why did it take us 5? It was nearly midnight by the time we got there and we were very relieved, it was a pretty tough drive in the dark, not really knowing where we were going. But we got there safe and sound. We were staying for a week in the countryside right on the Tuscany/Umbria border. Our wonderful home owner in Greece has a home in Italy and offered for us to stay. Such beautiful countryside, not a tourist to be seen, magic!
Cortona, Italy
We explored all around the region and found some wonderful villages and so many castles. I was amazed at how different Italy was to France. There were the same ancient buildings and narrow roads but the style of the homes were very different, some were huge!. So many hill-top villages, looking down through beautiful valleys. Cortona, Gubbio, Preggio were a few we found.
Gubbio, Italy
We had lovely weather while we were there, no rain, frosty mornings down to -3 first thing with beautiful blue skies following.
The drive back to Rome was better being in the daylight, then off to The Netherlands. A quick trip to Holland to catch up with friends. It is always so great when you see friends who you haven’t seen for years and it feels like it was yesterday! Holland is a favourite and though we were there for such a short time, we still squeezed in some of the favourite food we remember from previous trips. Chocolate covered bread for breakfast! Stroopwafels and pancakes, so many sweet things!! Yumm. Great cheeses, we are finding each country has its own variety/styles of cheeses, all pretty good too!! Cold meats and wonderful bread.
Amersfoort, The Netherlands
Sad to say goodbye to Eugene, Dennis, Nova and Vida, but we have a train to catch to Bruges, Oh how we love Bruges! It is winter in Europe, not many tourists in Greece, or Italy it seemed, but Bruges! I don’t think this city sleeps – ever! It was really busy, I was surprised. We spent 2 whole days wandering around this wonderful city. We saw things we hadn’t noticed last time we were there. The Belgium Beer popularity seems to have escalated since our last visit. It still amazes me how each type of beer will have its own special glass which is designed to get the best out of that particular brew. There are tourist shops now dedicated to beer, and of course there are still the Chocolate shops! Chocolate in every possible design you could think of – true artists who create these masterpieces!
Chocolate and Beer! Arrrrr Burges!
Hot chocolate – get a paper cup, fill it to the line with what ever flavour of chocolate buttons you like, mix it up to make your own flavour, caramel, raspberry, mango, dark, milk, white 70%coco, 90%coco etc etc, fill with hot frothy milk, stir and voila! Steaming hot chocolate! It was cold in Bruges, so this was very welcome!
Did you know that French Fries are actually from Belgium?!
Beautiful Bruges
So next is the bus, 8 hours back to Chatellerault, France. 5th country in about 3 weeks.
It still find it so strange that you can drive between countries. New Zealand is an Island nation and the nearest place to go is Australia and even that is a 3 hour jumbo jet ride. Even though you can drive from one country to the next, they are on the same continent, they have the same money and they all belong to the Schengen group, they are all still very different. From what I saw, the countries have been able to retain their own identity, the language is different, the buildings look different, the food is different, there seems to be a difference in cost of living from one to the other, yet they are united by no borders. It’s a fascinating place. We have loved being here and learning more. We do intend to be back – if they let us! But perhaps in the summertime next time!
Our plans from here? We are off to USA next week for a house sits on Long Island, followed by Charleston, South Carolina then Fajardo, Puerto Rico then back to the beautiful island of Vieques. This will take us up to about October……
Sitting here at Athens airport waiting on the flight to Rome, I am filled with conflicting emotion. We have really fallen for Greece, both the islands of Leros and Crete, our two wonderful islands in the sun with the most friendly people. But we can’t be too sad because we are off to another adventure, with new people, food and paces to explore.
Crete has been a lot of fun! We have to remember that it is winter here so it can be a bit slower than it is in the summer months, though the weather is still very agreeable. We had sunshine most days and the island looked so wonderful and bright, temps got up to 19° C so very pleasant indeed.
We flew into Chania and stayed for 5 nights. We had a room right on the water-front, the location was amazing with a little deck looking out to sea. The evenings were a bit cool to sit out there for long, but we did our best!
Chania has an old Venetian port and a walled city. The old town was so cute with its narrow streets and wonky buildings. But the most amazing thing we found was the mountains behind. We met a lovely lady in Leros who said, don’t forget to look behind you when you are in Chania, the mountains are amazing. She didn’t tell us that they would be covered in snow and be quite so spectacular, she wanted that to be a surprise, and a surprise it was! You could be forgiven to think you were somewhere like Switzerland, the sight caught our breath every time we looked behind us! You felt like you could almost reach out and touch them!
Chania
We did a lot of walking in Chania, but that is easy, everything is in walking distance. And if it is not then the bus system is very efficient. Though we did always seem to be the last people on the bus! Again, a lot of English is spoken so that makes a huge difference.
We took a bus out to Souda Bay one afternoon and then walked the 2 km to the war graves cemetery. During the battle of Crete in 1941, 1000’s of brave New Zealand, Australian and British soldiers were killed. It was a very emotional place, we both felt bewildered when we saw the shear number of silver fern gravestones. Of the 1527 graves, 446 were New Zealanders, that is almost a third. This is the biggest war cemetery we have seen. We were there until twilight, it was very moving.
Commonwealth War Grave Cemetery
Leaving the cemetery we found a small local restaurant, not so much English here! We were shown the food which had been cooked and chose what we wanted, delicious beef with tomato sauce. Such friendly, hospitable people. That is a big part of what we love about Greece, the people!! Just amazing.
We took a trip out to Maleme which was the location of a huge battle during the war. The air strip there was a target to control and the battle went for days. We walked through the olive groves and came to the German war cemetery, we were glad to pay respect to these fallen soldiers too, they also had heavy losses.
German War Graves Cemetery
A trip out to Galatas, Where New Zealand soldiers made a stand and held the Germans off while the Allies could escape. So well the kiwis were thought of, that the locals named a street after them! We have read so many stories of bravery by our boys. It is so important to remember the sacrifices these family’s made for us to live in the world we live today.
Street in Galatas
One particular story really touched me, of a soldier from the Maori Battalion. After 7 days of fighting near Souda Bay, they were exhausted and hungry, the Germans were approaching from the west. As they made contact, Private Aupouri ran out from his defence position wielding a Bren gun like a Taiaha (Traditional Maori spear) And did the Haka! (Traditional Maori war dance) at this they all rose up, NZ and Australian, yelling defiantly and charged as one. The Germans fled, overwhelmed by the ferocity of the attack! For 1000m they pushed them back through the olive grove to open ground then withdrew back to their defence position at “42nd street” This temporarily delayed the advance and allowed 1000’s of Allies more time to get across the White mountain range to the evacuation point on the south of the island. Very sad to note that Aupouri survived the charge but was later killed in Egypt.
I am certain there are many many more stories of tremendous bravery, on all sides, stories that will never be told, very sad.
Did you know …. The Greeks have been Mariners for around 6000 years! Unbelievable!
Heraklion was a great surprise, what a lovely city! Big modern city but very much still village like. Many narrow streets with cobble paths but also lots of open spaces, squares and parks. There is a great atmosphere, so many cafes and restaurants and lots of people socialising, and believe it or not, usually drinking coffee day and night! They love iced coffee or frappe as they call it. Heraklion also has a Venetian harbour with a harbour wall which stretches out 2.5kms, which we did walk one afternoon. There are many monuments and historical buildings.
There doesn’t seem to be as many buildings in bad repair as in Chania, maybe just more re-building done. There are a lot of derelict buildings in Chania. We also noticed that in Leros and read that a lot of the houses that were destroyed during the war were never re-built.
The archaeological museum in Heraklion and the Knossos palace are worth a visit. The Minoan people of around 2500 – 1600BC were believed to be the first great civilisation of Europe, a really advanced race and it is not really known what happened to them. They have found so much evidence of their existence which is fascinating. Mythology and history do overlap a bit and in the museum there is a family tree of the God Zeus. The ruins of Knossos Palace is incredible, the work that has been done from the late 1800’s through to today, to uncover all the artifices and foundations of this amazing settlement is incredible. There is a theory that around 1600BC, a massive earthquake shook the island of Santorini which caused a tsunami which was large enough to wipe out all the Minoan cities throughout the region, but this is not proven. It is even suggested that this civilisation was in fact Plato’s Atlantis……
227 of the 6000 Greek islands are inhabited! Google says “a truly unique phenomenon!” We have been to two!
We found Greece to be The land of wonderful clear air, beautiful friendly people and deliciously fresh food! We look forward to coming back!
A huge part of what I love about travelling is experiencing the different cuisines. I have become a lot braver in recent years and have started ordering things which I have no idea what they will be when they get to the table. The other night at Moranos, our favourite cafe bar, I asked the waitress what Soutzoukakia was. She had limited English and wasn’t able to explain, but she did say that it was “beautiful” so if it is beautiful then surely worthy of a try. It was really good! Meatballs – long sausage shaped meatballs, with the most amazing thick sweet tangy tomato sauce.
With us being in house sitting mode, we can’t pretend that we are on holiday constantly – Oh wouldn’t that be great though? Unfortunately the funds wouldn’t stretch to that luxury! So trips to the supermarket each week is the normal for us – just like home. But it is not a hardship! It’s like a tourist attraction for us, the humble trip to the supermarket! We just love looking at all the different things on the shelf, the fresh produce department, the meats, cheese, bread, spices, even the canned goods! The beautiful mouth-watering cakes and then the weird and wonderful things that we can’t even start to guess at what they could be! Sometimes it’s hard to work out what things actually are, and good ole google translate comes in handy. We love seeing things which are common for us but are in a different language. In France we were quite regularly “Missing In Action” – just at the Intermarche AGAIN!
It is funny how we seem to slot into using the food which is usual in the country we are in. While in France, we always had cheese and bread. Almost every meal had a cheese and bread component, even though I felt I was cooking similar to home. Now in Greece we are favouring the locally eaten produce. I am fascinated because this has not been a conscious decision, it seems to have just happened. So here in Greece we are living on pita bread and hummus, tomatoes, feta and olive oil, and drinking Ouzo (anise flavoured aperitif). The fresh produce here is outstanding and so reasonably priced. Tomatoes like you have never tasted before! We bought butter the first week and have hardly touched it, yet in France we were going through it like crazy – nothing beats a fresh baguette with butter, so simple yet so divine! I suppose it all depends on what is available.
In Asia we ate out almost all the time, it is so cheap that it was almost not worth cooking at home, and boy can they get the flavours right, so much better than anything I could cook at home! But this didnt stop our trips to the supermarket. Probably the most fascinating grocery shelves we have seen. Oh and the food markets in Asia – WOW, so much to see and smell! Little lady sitting cross legged on the bench chopping meat, with the biggest cleaver, in front of her while babies sleep behind her, chickens with heads, chickens with no heads, live, unrecognisable seafood in buckets swimming on top of each other, little girls selling plates of dried crickets and grasshoppery looking bugs! Its a feast of all the senses.
Some of the house sits we have done in Asia have had quite primitive cooking facilities, so eating out has been a good option. But at USD$1.50 for 2 fried eggs on toast with coffee, or $2 for a bowl of stir fried veg, who wouldn’t. It is such a social thing too, the motorbike kitchens all gather in the same area and start cooking, you sit on tiny child sized plastic chairs, or on mats on the ground, and all sit around eating and laughing and being together. So cool!!
Eating on the street in Cambodia
Brazil! Brazil was the carnivores dream! Meat meat and more meat! All you can eat meat! Yumm. 600g streak. Pork roasted, stewed, chops, ribs ….. burgers and more burgers. We did miss the fresh veg and salad there but hey! When in rome! Delicious! And we drank Cachaca! (fermented sugarcane juice – blows your head off)
Eyes bigger than stomach comes to mindBrazil
Italy next….what’s the bet we end up cooking a lot of pasta!! And will no doubt drink Limoncello!
Market in FranceGreek CakesSpinach & Feta PieFrog legs and snails in France
Eating is really one of life’s greatest pleasures, and discovering the various cuisines from different countries is a huge part of our journey. Bon Appetit!,
And best of all – the Home Grown, from the Chateau garden in France
It literally is! or at least was – Leros was heavily attacked and defended during WWII. This is a fact that neither of us knew until we arrived here. The Battle of Leros in 1943 was one of great significance in the war and there is so much evidence right in front of our eyes. Chris is really good at all the details, and spends a lot of time researching. What he is finding is there are details of battles and fortifications, but they talk about locations which must have been locally named at the time as it is almost impossible to find the places on our modern day maps. Everywhere you go though, there is something. There is hardly anywhere on this island that is untouched. This is the second most bombed island of the Greek Islands after Crete.
The Battle of Leros was a bit of a disaster, just like Crete. The Italians occupied Leros from 1912 and surrendered in September 1943 to the British. Between September – November, 190 German air raids took place and caused major destruction. The British and Italian defended but had no air support so were bombed to smithereens. Between our place at Gourna Bay and Alinda, in the small gap of 1.5km, is where, we believe, the German paratroopers landed, and with their sea support, effectively cut the island in half. Six days later the British surrender.
Up in the North there is a site where you can easily see the trenches as well as the bunkers. It is so rocky and harsh, I try to imagine what it was like back then when they were under attack. Its hard going walking over the rough ground and I imagine the soldiers, fully kitted up, diving for cover. This area probably looked the same back then and I feel that what I see, they must have seen, its very airy. But now, you can see the bomb craters, evidence of how it was, it must have been so terrifying.
On the West past Lakki there are many many tunnels still accessible. A lot are shelters for the goats now. They all link up and are part of a huge bunker system. There are still ruins of barracks and warehouses. Up there is the remains of one the last 2 parabolic listening walls in Europe.
Right in the middle of the island there is a site with abandoned buildings and you can clearly see the mess room, bunk rooms with lockers. There are basketball courts and social areas. We think it was occupied by Italians, it must have been like a whole town up there!
On every high point there are more bunkers and gun emplacements/batteries. If the concrete housing has gone, you can still see the circle of bolts which held the gun down. Some are completely smashed up and others are very well preserved. Even in the towns, just along the normal everyday road, there are bunkers. We are always amazed when we see another one, we have lost count of how many we have seen!
Lakki harbour is the deepest in southern Europe and this is where Mussolini set up the Italian Royal Navy base. The harbour was heavily fortified with double booms across the narrow entrance and batteries defending it on each side. I have read about submarine nets around too. The sea all around the island is littered with wrecks of ships and airplanes, it really is a living museum. So many lost their lives here. We believe there were over 80 Kiwi special forces deployed here but only half have been accounted for. We have been to the war graves cemetery but no sign of our brave Kiwi boys.
We spend a lot of time wandering around these sites. The Italians were building these bunkers for many years before the war even started, they had occupied Leros for 30 years and knew that someone would be along at some point to try to take it off them – and they did. Quite often there will be a chapel built near where bunkers are, it is nice to be able to go in and light a candle for the fallen soldiers. There are many war relics still to be found all over this island. We are finding various pieces of metal and wonder what they are from, most likely shrapnel. Chris is doing a bit of snorkelling and comes up with bits a pieces most dives. A lot of bullets, some have been fired, some not. The whole of Leros was bombed to bits. Its fascinating and very tragic.
Leros has a very long and complicated history, an incredibly interesting place. Nowadays she is a sleepy, peaceful island with beautiful people. Today, 8000 permanent residents, 1943 there were 25000 people on the island, it’s hard to imagine what it was like.
Did you know
The story of the famous novel “Guns of Navarone” is based on the Battle of Leros, and Leros island’s coastal artillery guns — among the largest naval artillery guns used during World War II — that were built and used by the Italians until Italy capitulated in 1943 and subsequently used by the Germans until their defeat.
Well not quite! This is Leros Island in the Dodecanese group of Greece Islands and it is winter! January and the temperatures are around 11-15 daytime dropping to the lowest so far of 7 at night, so not really too bad. A lot of rain though and very windy. We watch from our house the 7 wind turbines as they turn and think of all the electricity they are producing for this tiny island. 54 km/sq, 15 km long and only 1.5 km across at the narrowest point with only 8000 permanent residents. It is about a third of the size of Vieques, where we house sat for 5 months in 2017. We seem to be attracted to islands! This is our 4th island housesit!
Like sitting on top of the world! My beautiful daughter Leigh-Ann came to visit
The terrain is very hilly, though if you Google Leros you will be told that it is a relatively flat island perfect for cycling and walking! Hmmm, we get a different view, but, the highest point is only 320m. I am thinking that because it is so small, makes it very steep to get up to those high points.
The island is steeped in history, from the ruins of the temple of the Goddess Artemis, which dates back to 3rd-4th c BC to WWII bunkers and war remnants everywhere we go. We are very lucky to have a car so have taken full advantage to orientate ourselves with the island and are now getting out on foot to explore even more. I am so taken with the little chapels everywhere, they are immaculately kept and are all open and inviting. There is an opportunity to light a candle which brings a lovely feeling of peace. Quite often we are finding that at each site of these lovely chapels, there are also some WWII bunkers or tunnels. Even just along some of the roads we see evidence of the second most bombed Greek island after Crete.
Tiny Chapels that pop up everywhere
Oxalis
So hiking around the many peaks of Leros is really interesting. Something to see on every corner. And the scenery is stunning. Though it is winter and we have had a few hearty storms and overcast days, we have also had a few days of stunning blue sky and Leros just comes alive! It is very green in places, but we find this is from the weed Oxalis which is everywhere, and very barren in others. Some of the hills look like they are from the moon or the desert, so rocky and very harsh. Perfect for the 1000’s of goats, each with a bell!, I love hearing the goats everywhere, to me its the sound of Greece. From most of the peaks you can see every corner of the island, 360° views, therefore, seeing all coasts at the same time.
You can see the whole island from some points
Guarding the island
The stunning Castle of Panagia in the East, seems to overlook the whole island. At night she is lit up and almost looks to be floating above Platanos. I believe it is not clear when the castle was first built but there are indications that she existed in 1087. You can walk the 365 steps through the winding streets and onto the hill to get to her. On the way you pass the lovely Prophet Elias Church. The vista is breath taking! The castle was used by the Italians as barracks and a lookout post during WWII. We have been up a couple of times, the view from the top is quite incredible, but unfortunately with it being winter, it is closed to go inside.
Prophet Elias Church Castle of Panagia and traditional windmills
Right opposite the castle are the traditional windmills. They are so picturesque and you will find them on a lot of google searches of Leros and also souvenirs. Many around the island have been restored and some are now guest houses, but were used primarily to grind grain. It is hard to find information on some of these things, its as if it is just here…. No explanation or reason….it just is.
The Church Agios Isidoros is another Leros icon. She is pretty special! She has her own island and you have to get your timing right to get out to her. The path is very slippery and the waves crash over it most of the time. Again, so picturesque! And especially stunning when the sun comes out. We can see her from our “home” in Gourna Bay.
There are a few museums on the island which we would love to see but again they are closed as it is winter. This is a common theme on the Greek Islands. This goes with the many restaurants as well, a lot will only be open in summer.
Leronians are so friendly! We are so lucky that most people speak a good amount of English, we did think we were in for a tough time with Greek as the local language, but not so. Everyone here has a Hello or “Kalimera” and big smiles, nothing is too much trouble. We are slowly getting used to the “Mediterranean” thing when eating out, being fed more and more food, extra food besides what you have ordered if you have ordered any, that you don’t have to pay for! Its incredible, we can go to the café at the bottom of the drive and buy a beer and get a platter of food, then get a couple of wines and get another platter of food, then finish with an oyzo and get more food, without paying for one bite. We go in for a sundowner and come out fully stuffed thinking “well that was dinner” We feel a little embarrassed but on talking to others, it is just the way of things in Greece. The people are just so hospitable. And you always get a cake or biscuit with a coffee, it is so lovely.
So many goats
Such a lovely place! Great people, great food, we kinda like this little island in the sun!
We are off to our next house sit location – Island of Leros, Greece. It will be very sad saying goodbye to France and our wonderful hosts Marie-Laure and Arnaud. Our time in France has been an incredible experience, we have been exposed to so many new things and learnt so much, and best of all, made wonderful new friends. We will definitely be back!
So off to Greece! We fly out of Charles De Gaulle so booked a train with enough time for check in etc but the French rail workers have decided to go on strike right at this moment. This strike is looking like it wont be resolved any time soon. The train is too much of a risk so we cancel that and book a private bus. On the day of travel (Wednesday), the strike is still in full force and it is causing havoc on the roads in and around Paris. This was one report …
On the roads in and around the city traffic is likely to be bad again, recent days have seen traffic jams of up to 600 km at rush hour in the greater Paris area.
And anyone driving in France is advised to be aware that blockades are continuing at seven of France’s eight oil depots, meaning that many petrol stations are running dry.
In the air things have improved with fewer cancellations and most services running, however there is likely to be some knock-on effects after 20 percent of services were cancelled on Tuesday. Passengers are advised to check with their airline.
Reported night before travel
This will be an interesting and a bit stressful trip. We have 3.5 hours from arrival on the bus to take off, so even if we get held up for 2 hours we should still have time.
As we travel, we watch the GPS closely and things are going good. We get to 7 km from CDG and have not been held up, so we know that even if the worst happens, we can walk from here and still make the flight! But we didn’t need to worry, we count the kilometres down. We had no hold ups and got to the airport exactly on time! So early in fact, that we couldn’t check in our bags! Oh well, better this than the alternative. What a relief!
Hanging out at Athens airport – all a bit tired!
We get to Athens at midnight and meet up with the two Mexican girls we had met in France. Vale and Laura have been at the airport since 6 this evening. We couldn’t believe it when we met 2 months ago that we would be at Athens airport on the same night, so this meeting was pre-arranged. It was so good to catch up with these two lovely girls!
By about 3am we were feeling exhausted so went to find a place to sleep. Athens airport is not the best for overnighting in. There are almost no seats without arms in the middle. There were plenty of people staying all night though so quite noisy too. We said goodbye to the girls (they were flying back to Mexico at 0600) and found a place a bit out of the way and tried to sleep. By 0500 we gave up and found coffee and a pie! Yes a pie – though be it spinach and cheese rather than mince and cheese – a pie no less, haven’t had one of those for months!
We get to Leros at 11am and were met by Michael, our next house owner. He takes us for a “tiki tour” of the island and introduces us to a few people, a couple of cafes and the laundromat etc. This place looks amazing, I think we are going to like it here! We get home and are introduced to our temporary furry family and our home for the next 6 weeks.
Out for dinner for a typical Greek meal and a trial of the local wine, Retsina, oh yes, this is going to be good! Grab a few groceries and home to bed. Its been a big day!
Panteli, Leros
Big adventures to come as we get out to explore this beautiful island.
I was nominated by a lovely lady, Rachael, to post on facebook, 1 of my favourite travel photos every day for 10 days. A photo which has had an impact on me, post it with no explanation and nominate another person for the challenge. It was great fun going through my photos and trying to pick the favourites. As I am traveling still, I dont have many years of photos with me, but I was creative with my searches and came up with these, with explanations!
Day 1.
Phnom Penh, Cambodia
We house sat in Phnom Penh for 1 month November 2017. Cambodian men dont seem to mind peeing anywhere! Usually it is up against a wall, so this was a bit out of the ordinary, but a common occurrence this all the same. I chose this as a bit of a cheeky shot for Jacqui who we met there. She noticed it too and said she would make it a game each day and count how many she saw in a day! Not sure what the most in 1 day was, but given what I saw, it would have been many – Jacqui was my first nomination. Check out her blog Jacq The Tripper http://www.jacquirawson.org/
Day 2
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
A holiday in Vietnam August 2016. This is an incredibly vibrant city. Venture out on the city streets and its BOOM! Sensory overload! There is noise, colour, smells. There are motorbikes everywhere fully overloaded, zooming in and out of the traffic, total organised chaos! I loved these two, taking time out from their busy day in amongst the chaos. Always amazes me how much they can fit onboard, awesome!
Day 3
Cadouin, France
This is a new shot, only taken in November 2019 while house sitting in France. I spent a day with a dear friend from long ago, Tricia, and she took me to this stunning village. This could be my favourite photo of France, I fell in love with the Dordogne, the pretty villages and friendly people and this reminds me of a wonderful day, I feel peaceful when I look at it
Day 4
Ghent, Belgium
A holiday in Belgium July 2013. I have to confess I did not take this photo, Chris did. He had a trip to Belgium on a Kiwi Fruit boat and convinced me to come out and meet him. He sent me this photo to show how nice it was, so I went with 3 days notice. He took me back to this very spot a week later, we sat in the same chairs, under the same castle and drank Goliath, that was the beginning of a fantastic holiday!
Day 5
Old San Juan, Puerto Rico
We house sat for 5 months in Puerto Rico during 2017. Friends were traveling through Puerto Rico from Cuba onto a cruise ship. We left our island of Vieques and met them for 2 nights. We were so taken with Old San Juan. It is a beautiful old town. The people are super friendly, beautiful buildings, cobble streets, ceramic tiles, wonderful colours, GREAT music! Fantastic mini break!
Day 6
Rabbit Island, Cambodia
Chris and I house sat in Kampot, Cambodia for a month in December 2017. My dear friend Karen came to join us for Christmas. We left Chris looking after the pets and had 3 days on Rabbit Island. We stayed in a hut on the beach, it was freezing! We couldn’t believe how cold it was. These two cuties lived on the island, they were adorable, sharing a pair of jandals, too cute not to take a photo. We left the island a day early and booked into a good hotel in Kep, great fun!
Day 7
Waterford, Maine, USA
October 2017, after house sitting in Puerto Rico we ended up in Maine, almost by accident – we are so glad we did! Maine in the fall! STUNNING, the colours of the tree fall was out of this world. We spent 10 days with our wonderful Vieques Home Owners, Bob and Lou. We never expected to go to the States at all, and this part of our adventures has become a favourite and we are looking forward to going back one day. We met and got to know some wonderful people through this part of our journey, great memories!
Day 8
Lost, Scotland
OMG I dug this one out of the archives, yes there is a place called Lost in Scotland! I lived in Scotland for 8 years from 1990. My old school friend Sheryl came to visit in, around, 1992 or 93, she was staying in London at the time. I think we found this totally by chance. No GPS or cell phones in those days! Great fun and wonderful lifetime friendship which goes back to primary school. This photo screams to me – 90’s Kiwi OE! LOVE IT!
Day 9
Ha’apai, Tonga
And there has to be a sunset! We have seen some stunning sunsets in different parts of the world, but this one is up there with the best! Chris sailed up to Tonga from NZ in May 2010. I met him off the boat in the Ha’apai island group for a weeks holiday. We were having a drink at the bar when someone said “man you should see the sunset!” We all rushed out and this is what we saw. I promise there is no filter or adjustment to this shot, this is exactly what it was like. Stunning!
Day 10
Hahei, New Zealand
Cant have travel photos without a photo of travel at home. New Zealand is a wonderful country and when we came back after a year of travel in 2018, we saw our own country with fresh eyes. We may not have the history of Europe or the speed of Asia, but New Zealand has the most wonderful people, stunning scenery and our own very special history, not so very ancient, but very special all the same, all wrapped up in a time package a long way from anywhere else. I am so proud to be a Kiwi. This photo is my home – it says “home” to me
Kiwis Do Fly 