catch up

I was sucked into a worm hole in the time and space continuum, sorry.
The summer got super busy and I was too exhausted to update the blog (not sure if anyone noticed). The owners departed late October and then I got to start relaxing and then getting lazy. We had a month in Athens getting boat stuff sorted, and exploring the massive chaotic city. Amazing historical sites, I saw REM and the Kaiser Chiefs in concert at the original Olympic stadium, and had crazy nights out with fellow yachties. I also had my laptop debugged!
Random statistic heard from semi-reliable source: only 5% of the Greek population use personal computers. It goes with the other more believable statistic: Greece consumes more cigarettes than any other EU nation (including France) and is the only EU country where the smoking population has grown in the last 2 years! I found those online, so it must be true.

I am adjusting to the odd ways of the Greeks:
.Prepared to be ignored upon entering a place of business, be it struggling hardware store or post office, although sometimes they stalk you and make it very uncomfortable until you run out
.Do not park next to a donkey (the rental car guy will tell you this for good reason)
.Do not hurry your server in a café, it will only delay them. If you do not have three hour for coffee, why did you stop?
.Coffee should take three hours, lunch a mere four, dinner ends just before dawn
.GMT stands for “Greek Maybe Time”: when a local says he/she will be somewhere at a certain time, keep in mind it is just one of their options and not a likely one
.The only reliable political organization is the anarchist rioters; they do follow through on promises
.As Davis Sedaris said, “Greek music is an oxymoron” -but I am starting to like it
.Greek women are not out and about in the day time, or at night for that matter…?
.Locals yell into phones for long periods of time, but I never see anyone listening on a phone
.Watch for flying dishes in night clubs and pubs, it is not always a good thing

photo1: town rubbish bins just after the holidays. The island has run out of money to pay employees, so they have stopped working, same for the bus system. Always an adventure in Greece!

photo2: Local man bailing out his dingy, while tied to the dock. I believe it is so shallow, the boat must be resting on the ground.?