Special Amorgos events

 

John had requested that some of his ashes be delivered to friends on Amorgos so I carried four small containers in my luggage. One was for Buket, Shukru and Tuna, special friends from Turkey. They decided to scatter his ashes in Istanbul, a city that John loved. Another container was for Yorgos and he carried it to Crete for scattering...one of John's favorite islands. 

The other two containers were for our dearest friends Theo and Kalliroi who decided to remember John in distinctly different ways. Kalliroi invited a few friends to a beach on the south end of the island. She gave each of us a "wish rock" to throw into the water along with a wish. Sandra had made a series of paper boats with messages to float. They instantly became submarines with the first wave. Kalliroi read a poem before wading into the water to scatter John's ashes. After hugs and tears we drove to a small cafenion to toast John with raki!

Natasha, Marianna, Sandra, Kalliroi & Theo

Theo decided that he wanted to share his scattering of ashes with me at sunrise. John loved to stay awake and watch the sunrise after we arrived by ferry on Amorgos at 2:00-3:00am. It was our way of celebrating our arrival on this wonderful island that became our second home. So, the morning before I left Amorgos I met Theo at our favorite sunrise location, watched as the sun peeked above the horizon and Theo shared John's ashes with the island.

October 24 Update

 

It has been a busy time since arriving back in Canada. The next day, on October 12th, my youngest sister had her second surgery to remove a brain tumor that had regrown since the first surgery one year ago. She was released the next day and is doing well. For the next 11 days she stayed with my other sister who lives close to me.

We shared special time together with walks, talks, meals, shopping and napping during her recovery from surgery and my recovery from jet lag. On Friday, October 21st, she had a CT scan to check for bleeds and on Sunday, October 23rd, she ferried back to Campbell River.

I also returned to my volunteer position at Penny Pincher, a Langley Hospital Auxiliary Thrift store. It was fun to reunite with my co-workers. Most of us are either near or over the age of 70 and enjoy the opportunity to make a contribution to the hospital and to our community.

Now we are anticipating the arrival of a grand baby at the end of this month. Adrian and Marika will soon be delivering a grandson...a little Maxwell will join the clan!

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Back in Athens

Sailing at sunrise with Mata.

It was a long trip back to Athens with stops at 5 islands enroute.

Tonight I will have dinner with my friend Niovi

before meeting Theo, my 3rd adopted Greek son, for a glass of wine.

Tomorrow morning will be an early start

with a 4:30am wake up call and a 5:00am taxi to the airport.

Sunset

Reflection of the sunset

on a day of strong winds.

Last night

Last night was the final dinner of my Turkish friends visit. 

This morning they sailed back to Athens.

The month of October brings closure for almost all of the restaurants, bars, cafes in Chora. Last night this was the only place to eat and it was full of the remaining tourists. There are still a couple of shops open for business but I will be walking on empty pathways for my final days here.

Locals will soon be busy with harvesting of grapes and olives. Cats will be searching for their next meal after all the visitors are gone. The north wind will race through Chora bringing winter jackets out of storage. Only seven more sleeps on this rock in the Aegean Sea.