There and back again!

Well, before everyone bites my head off for not blogging, I thought I'd better try find some time during my day to type up a higldy-pigldy post. Work has been busy since I got back, but seems to be settling down (at least for a few days before month-end) again now. Gives me time to do things like this...

Packed and ready to go (only 1 of those bags was allowed for Jake & I!):

My mom, Jake & I on the flight from Cape Town to Johannesburg:

So, we had the most amazing holiday ever and it was an experience of a lifetime. The weather was unbelievable and it went up to 47 deg (apparently) the one day. We have all come back nice and tanned, although mine seems to be fading already. I wish it was summer already so I could show it off a bit before it's completely disappeared (I never go brown!).

We started off our stay in Greece with a few days in Athens. It's a massive, busy city (aren't they all?), but there's plenty to see and do on foot. The whole area is just seeped in history and I learnt so much. The Acropolis is incredible and it's quite amazing to be there, knowing that the Parthenon and other main buildings of it were built during the 5th centuary BC!!! The views of the city from the acropolis are stunning! We also visited Poseidon's Temple, which was built sometime between the 5th & 6th centuaries B.C. too.

Jake & I at The Acropolis "the Gateway" (note how white I was!):

Kathy, my mom, Jake, me, Michelle & Joanne at Poseidon's Temple:

Our next stop away from Athens was the beautiful, vibrant island of Skiathos. Skiathos is about 50 mins flight north east of Athens. We spent 2 nights in Skiathos (one on land, the seond on our yacht, "Thetis") before our sailing trip began. From Skiathos, we visted Skopelos, Alonissos and Skiros. We visited so many tiny bays and saw the most incredible places along the way. The sailing was a fantastic experience, although it was lots of hard work and plenty of stress, which we weren't prepared for. My uncle was our skipper and to say he was hard on us at times, would be an understatement. There were at least 2 occassions where I ended up in tears, threatening to catch the next ferry in the opposite direction. I mean, why can't they just say front and back or left and right?? Still, we had tons of fun on the water and it was also time where we were forced (when we weren't working) to relax. We couldn't do anything, except play games, lie on the deck or snooze. Being on yachts allowed us to visit places you can't get to without a boat, we saw things that most tourists never see. We saw dolphins 3 times, once right next to the boat. It was incredible!! And the waters are so blue and so warm - at 10m, you can still see the bottom!

Jake was an absolute star too! He slept on all the flights (6 in total) and behaved so well on the yacht. He had a special spot to sit when we were coming into/leaving port and he never really performed over having to sit quietly while we did our thing. And it was fabulous to have so much time with him. We played cards on the deck and swam and went to the beach and ate ice-cream and just generally enjoyed one another's company. It's been really difficult getting back to reality and I'm really not enjoying having to come to work full time anymore. I'm desperate for a half day job and I've decided to give my current job till the end of the year, before I ask them if they'd consider employing me half day. It's so convenient...

Jake at the helm:

Jake & I swimming in Monastery Bay:

Fortunately, we weren't affected by the massive fires that have wrecked complete havoc across Greece. We did see the start of one big fire, which had apparently spread to 35km and killed 15 people by the time the evening news came on. Thankfully, we didn't have access to television on the yacht and if we did see one in any of the towns we stopped in, it was all in Greek, so we had no idea of what was going on around us. Since getting home, it's been quite frightening to see what we were in the midst of and to realise how many people's lives have been affected by this devastation. All while we were enjoying our holiday...Thanks to everyone who sent messages to check that we were safe.

And that's about it. We were all pretty exhausted when we got home after all the travelling, but relaxed. It was a stunning holiday and I would definitely love to visit Greece again in the future!!

PS. It's been completely impossible trying to decide which photos to put up on my blog and I still haven't had mine put onto CD yet (well I did, but the quality was so bad, the photo shop has to re-do them). So, here are just a few of my dad's from our trip, in no real order (more to follow when I get mine back!!)...

Skiathos Town:

Arch at Lalaria:

Jake & I in the streets of Skopelos Town:

View over Skopelos Town:

Skopelos

View from Old Town on Skopelos:

Steni Vala:

Jake & I in Orei:

Palio Trikeri (only has 30 permanent inhabitants!):

Sunset over North Bay. This was is an active volcanic cauldren:

Jake & Eve on the beach at Lanaria Bay, Skyros (nice, comfy rocks):

Skyros Town:

Our whole group (we were 5 yachts worth!) in Skiathos on our last night:

The crew of 'Thetis'

Our last day spent at Koukounaries beach, Skiathos:

Us at Koukounaries (Skiathos) on our last day:

Jake & I on the flight leaving Skiathos for Athens