First earthquake felt

I meant to say in my last post that I have now actually felt one of the earthquakes. Around lunchtime on the 25th I was sitting on my balcony using the laptop when suddenly everything was shuddering. I realised immediately what it was because I remember feeling a couple of very small ones that the UK experienced some years back. This one only lasted for a couple of seconds and was very slight but I had felt it. There is an interesting web site for anyone that might wish to take a look, it shows all the seismic activity going on all around the world. When you look at it you will see that this earth is never still, there are earthquakes happening somewhere all the time.
The link will take you to the list of current earthquakes & you can go backwards in time on it too:
You will find several references to areas of Greece, Aegean Sea etc. The area that mainly affects Zakynthos is listed as Ionian Sea. If you work your way back to 25.08.06 at 11:20:39.9 you will find the one I felt. If you click on the date & time for any entry it will take you to more details. For this particular one they have currently listed it as magnitude unknown & it occured 23 km south of Zakynthos.
I noticed that there is also one listed as occuring on 27.08.06 at 13:41:19.7 but I didn't feel this at all. The details show it as having it's epicentre further away.
The series of quakes that Justine & Simon experienced earlier in the year were far, far more frequent & there were some pretty big ones too. If we do get any sizable ones I know to either get outside or get under something substantial eg a table.

For anyone looking for photos today I have posted two. These are both taken from the kitchen of Justine & Simon's house. I have taken them because the view reminded me so much of parts of the Lake District which as many of you know is a place so dear to my heart. The buildings & the olive tress in the foreground give it away though. As far as I know there are no 'lakes' but hey I have the sea.

As you can see we do also have clouds sometimes (albeit mainly white fluffy ones) In fact yesterday there was quite a strong breeze although it was still very warm, but it was a welcome relief.

Recent Trips To The Mainland

Since I last posted I have been on 2 trips to mainland Greece with Justine and Simon. The first trip was to Patra on 18th Aug. Any trip to the mainland involves either a ferry journey or a short flight and the picture here is of Zakynthos town as we were leaving the harbour on the ferry. The ferry berthed at Kalini after a journey time of approx 1 hr 20 mins and we then drove (or more correctly Simon drove) to Patra which took approx 40 mins. The main purpose of our visit was to buy some household purchases either not available or of very limited choice in Zakynthos. In Patra there's a large shopping complex (large by Zakynthos standards) which includes a Carrefour store which was where I found much of what was on my shopping list. What I was unable to buy would be taken care of on our second trip which was to Athens (Athena as said in Greece) on the 21st Aug.

The trip to Athens involves the same ferry journey as to Patra but the drive once on the mainland takes approx 4 hrs so Simon booked us all into the Holiday Inn in Athens for one night. The photos on the left show me posing on the deck and then mother and daughter both posing on deck. The plan was that we would visit Ikea and also hopefully have time to visit the Acropolis

Justine and Simon had warned me that the last trip they made to Ikea they spent over 7 hours in the store - yes I did say 7 hours. Having now been there myself (never before having set foot in an Ikea store) I believe them. Not sure if we were in there as long but if not it was a close run thing. Needless to say the Acropolis has to wait until another day. Several Euros lighter I must say I was very pleased with my purchases, as various throws, cushions, covers, quilts, curtains etc got loaded into the car. My larger purchases &

those of Simon and Justine were too big for the car so delivery had to be arranged. I must say I was very impressed, taking account of the considerable journey they had to make to our island, that they got delivered only 2 days later. So anyone that knows me well will appreciate that it wasn't long before the hammer & screwdrivers were out and flat packs were constructed into usable pieces of furniture. My house is becoming more homely each day and is starting to feel very cosy. I will try to take a few indoor photos some time to post here.

I have 2 things that I am really looking forward to coming up shortly. Firstly my good friend Jan will be coming to Zakynthos to stay with me for a week from the 11th Sept and on 1st Oct my mum is also coming out for a week. I am so looking forward to seeing them both & sharing my new home with them. I hope that in time I will see many more of my friends and family out here.

My home

My good friend Bern has asked for more photos so I will post a few more to give just a flavour of my home & surroundings. This is the approach to the house. Mine is the smaller one to the left. The larger one on the right is where Justine & Simon live upstairs & Sia & Otto live downstairs.





The gates that appraoch the courtyard to our houses.








My house.







And a little closer to my outdoor seating.









My little balcony where I write my blog.

My workstation in the sunshine.

You can see how close I am to Justine & Simon as that is their balcony on the upper floor just opposite.

National Holiday

Yesterday was a Greek National Holiday (Assumption) & also the 'Name Day' for Maria (Mary)
In Greece it is Name Days not birthdays that are celebrated, for more information or to see if you have a Name Day see: http://www.symivisitor.com/Greek_name_days.htm
My Name Day is on August 30th which celebrates Alexandros(Alexandra, Sandra, Sander, Alexander)
There were fireworks going off in the distance in Zakynthos town so although quite late in the evening I headed into town with Justine & Simon to see what was going on. We parked the car where the ferries leave from & walked along the road that runs alongside the harbour. On the way we passed the church of St Dionysios http://www.greeka.com/ionian/zakynthos/zakynthos-churches.htm & took a look inside. It was quite impressive. Every inch of the interior is covered with beautiful paintings.
St Dionysios is the patron saint of the island of Zakynthos & there will be a further big celebration on August 24th which commemorates the transportation of the Holy saints body from the monestry to the church.
After leaving the church we continued walking alongside the harbour & picked up some sort of sesame & honey sweet from a street vendor & further on some very scrummy grilled corn on the cob. There were some wonderful boats in the harbour, we were quessing at multi million £'s worth for most. We eventually came to the main Solomos Square. Here there were several generations of families all out together enjoying the festivities. In the square we stopped at a large grand looking cafe building with many tables outside & I enjoyed a frappe (cold iced coffee for those that do not know) with ice cream in it. Justine had a hot chocolate & Simon an ouzo with water, all accompanied by a bowl of olives. It was so different to being in town at night in the UK, well truth be told I would never do it in the UK. It felt totally safe & friendly, a truly wonderful atmosphere. A strange thing is I was never overly keen on olives in the UK & I have grown to like them already.
At some point I have to venture back into Zakynthos town to apply for my Tax roll number - A.F.M. (pronounced Aa Fee Mee). This is where I believe I will get my first real taste of Greek bureaucracy, we shall see when the time comes.

Solo bike ride into Laganas

The first week I was here Sia kindly escorted me to Laganas (the closest main resort town) via push bike. It is worth mentioning here that I had not been on a push bike since the age of about 14 which happens to have been many many years ago. Must admit it was a bit of a wobbly start & being on the 'right' side of the road added to my concern. However, said journey was completed with no ill effects other than some discomfort around the posteria region owing to a none too comfortable saddle (really must get some fat back on my a**e or a softer saddle)
So today I decided to strike out on my own & duly peddled off unaccompanied to see if I could remember which way to go & more to the point would I ever manage to find my way home again. Well I obviously got back or I wouldn't be here now writing this so going solo was a success (but still no soft saddle or extra fat yet)
Oh, also I have been reliably informed by Justine & Simon that we had a small earthquake (Zakynthos is prone to these) at around 7.30am this morning (14th)& Justine asked if I had heard/felt it - and I had to say that no I didn't so I must be sleeping well. Simon then came out onto their balcony (which is directly opposite mine) earlier this evening & said 'did you feel that one' & again I hadn't & yet I had been sitting out on the balcony using the laptop at the time. I expect I will get to experience one at some time & will report 'when the earth moves' when I do.
Well that's all for now folks except to say 'hey quess what, it was sunny again today' Yamas.

I've Arrived !!!!

Hiya from sunny Greece. I am beginning to feel settled and am busy now putting my own stamp on my house here which is starting to feel quite cosy now. Surprise, surprise, the sun shines almost every day although we did have a storm the other day which very quickly came & went & you wouldn't have known we'd had it a few minutes later. I have purposefully not spent my time constantly in the sun or on the beach or doing the usual touristy things. I felt I needed to distinquish in my mind that I am here to live & not here on a permanent holiday so I have busied myself with sorting out the house. This has included a bit of DIY (some things never change) & altering donated curtains to fit the windows etc. Sia & Otto (landlady & husband) are very impressed with my DIY skills so far & I have earned the nickname from Otto of 'Super Frau' (Otto is Swiss) Today I've been down to the beach at Keri with Justine & Simon & had a good swim in a warm clear sea followed on the way home by a very pleasant meal at 'Keri Lighthouse'
I have taken on the task of doing Justine & Simon's ironing at the princely sum of 5 euros an hour. Sia used to do this for them but is no longer doing it. Justine asked if I was interested, particularly as they have recently returned from a trip to Las Vagas & have done a mega wash load hence a resulting mega load of ironing. I have agreed to give it a go seeing as they are paying (or so I am reliably informed) above the going rate on offer in town) Having done a long stint on the ironing early this morning it was a welcome relief to go swimming at Keri.
Ironing was never a favourite task of mine but it all helps to contrbute towards my living expenses here.
I am also starting to pick up a few more words of Greek which all helps & Justine & Simon pick out signs or words on menus & ask me to say them in Greek & work out what they mean. I don't always get them right but have a damn good try, I think determination to learn is going to be the key here & as I believe I've already proved to myself, anything is possible if you are prepared to put in the effort to make it happen. After all, I'm here aren't I !!!!