Fall colours

A blaze of colour in late October.

Mt. Ida in the clouds.

The Adams River Salmon Run - 2010

The 12-kilometre-long Adams River is the ultimate destination of as many as two million of the returning sockeye. In fact, sockeye salmon return to the Adams River every year but the migration that occurs every fourth year dwarfs the others, having reached as high as 3.6 million sockeye in 2002. With approximately 65 hectares of stream bed, the diminutive Adams River rates among the richest natural spawning streams in North America.

Four years earlier, the parents of the returning sockeye followed the same waterways, mated, laid their eggs in the coarse gravel stream beds, and died. The eggs slowly developed over the winter, then the warming waters of April and early May induced the tiny alevin to leave the gravel, and the spring freshet carried them down to Shuswap Lake.

For a year, the young salmon roamed Shuswap Lake, dodging predators and feeding in the shallows of the H-shaped lake's many bays and inlets. Then in May and June of their second year, they took a rough and tumble 480-kilometre-ride through the rapids of the Thompson and Fraser rivers to the Pacific Ocean.

Of an estimated 100 million sockeye fingerlings that leave Shuswap Lake in the spring of a peak year, approximately 10 per cent are expected to return to the British Columbia coast in the autumn four years later. In their Pacific wanderings that take them as far away as Japan, natural predators and ocean-going fishing vessels would take their toll.

What an unbelievable sight!

The air above is filled with children's chatter

while the underwater struggle continues.

The stink of rotting carcasses fills the air

as their deaths are recorded.

Further upstream the battle continues.

Partners attempt to lay and fertilize eggs

Before the cycle is completed.

Air travel

Coming home to see the salmon!

On the flight from Athens to Frankfurt, they were the last to board, a family of five with overstuffed bags that wouldn't fit. Their seats were spaced apart. The father demonstrated a fierce determination. At the expense of anything that was already stowed in the overhead compartments, he was determined to make their baggage fit. He finally managed to cram one of the bags on top of our stuff, including my computer. I reached out and grabbed him, yelling at him to be careful! He didn't stop cramming the bag, just muttered "sorry" and carried on. The flight attendants were frustrated, telling him that the bags wouldn't fit. He refused to listen, moving other people's things to accommodate his determination. He finally managed to jam, cram and stuff everything after removing some items in order to flatten the luggage. Our flight departure was delayed by this idiot's oversized luggage!!

Meanwhile the family was all standing in the aisle, refusing to sit in the designated seats, expecting that other passengers would juggle their seat assignments in order that the family could sit together. After several requests from the flight attendants, the family finally got their wish with 3 of the 5 seated together. These three were seated in the row in front of us. The children continued for the first two hours of the flight to jump on the seats, slam the window shade up and down and yank on the seats in front of them while their mother slept! On arrival in Frankfurt, the father blocked the aisle and waited expectantly, while other passengers removed his luggage from the overhead bins and passed it overhead along the aisle to him.

On the flight from Frankfurt to Vancouver we were treated to another raucous family with two young boys across the aisle from us. The boys performed acrobatics accompanied with shrieking vocals for most of the trip. The only exceptions were when meals arrived to distract them from athletic activities! The parents put on their headsets and quietly watched movies while everyone within ten rows on either side shook their heads in disbelief!

Air travel has lost a lot of its charm for me. Surrounded by undisciplined children, screaming babies, snoring travellers and farting seniors in a contained capsule is not my idea of fun! Speaking of farting seniors, who had the bright idea to include overcooked broccoli in the hot dinner?! 

Our last day!

When I removed my earplugs this morning, I heard the steady downpour of rain. The entire island will celebrate! The olives will be plump for harvest. The hills will turn green. The pathways and houses will be washed clean. There is only one concern. Will the ferry sail tomorrow morning??? The rain is accompanied by strong winds!!

During breakfast we heard the Thunder God for the first time in Greece. He rattled and roared above us, sending spikes of lightning from the clouds. It was quite a display. The winds continued all day with the sun trying to peek through from time to time.

Yesterday we heard a story about a ferry arriving at the port of Piraeus, dropping anchor and sitting away from the pier. Apparently the fishermen were holding a demonstration and had positioned caiques along the edge of the piers so that none of the ferries could dock! This is Greece!!

Nadia and John waiting for dinner!

Dinner was planned for our last night at Jazzmin Cafe. Theo would make lemon garlic pasta, I would make a salad and Nadia would create another veggie dish. At the last minute Nokie arrived and took over the underground kitchen. Armed with a three foot length of broom handle, he wanted to roll out pastry to make a pork pie. There were pots and cutting boards everywhere. The counter was dusted with flour. Some pastry was prebaked, to be crumbled later into the pie filling. His creation finally went into the oven at 10pm!! The kitchen was finally free for me to make the salad. Reaching up, I pulled down a large bowl. Unbeknownst to me, Nokie had poured the pork broth into this bowl to cool. I took a bath in it!!

Nokie rolling the dough!

Being a super organized person, I had packed the luggage earlier in the day and taken the bags to the car, ready for our early departure the next morning! As I grumped my way to the car, dragged my bag back up to the room, cursed my way into extra pants and shirt, I couldn't think of anyone to blame for this fiasco!! Of course that added to my frustration!! It was bad enough to have stinky socks in the luggage that refused to dry in the damp humidity; now the odour of pork would permeate everything!

Returning to the Cafe with a black look, I was greeted by Nadia's laughter. It was tempting to pout but I decided not to add further ruin to the evening!! I gave in to the potential humour of the incident. The pie finally emerged from the oven at 11pm, golden and steaming with delicious aroma. The dinner was delicious, finished off with slices of Russian Cake freshly baked that day by Theo. We tucked ourselves into bed at 12:30am, stuffed and tired. The alarm was set for 5:00 am.

On the ferry at 6:00am, we decided to share a 4 bed cabin with Yorgos and Nadia for the trip to Piraeus. Wise decision!! We all needed a few hours of sleep.

After careful consideration, we decided that our Greek friends just don't think of us as elderly folk who need their sleep! They think of us as friends who want to share in their tradition of late dinners!! Bravo!! We will look back on these special times as we tuck ourselves into bed at home, night after night, at 10pm!!

Looking back at the port of Katapola from the ferry at 6am!

What a day!

The clouds had lifted a bit this morning but it still felt like a steambath when we headed to Aegiali to pick up Gabi. She had agreed to make the hike from Langada to Tholaria with me. This is my favourite walk/hike on the island.

We arrived in Langada at 10am and were immediately greeted by several friends from past visits. John stayed to share mountain tea with Vangelis, a Naturopath and Herbalist, while Gabi and I started the trek down through Strombos and up to Tholaria. We passed olive trees full of fruit, waiting for a good rainfall to fatten the olives. Enroute we had three minutes of rain that helped to cool our overheated bodies. In Tholaria we gulped cold drinks to rehydrate.

Next we drove back to Langada for a book swap with Michael Ann. I had finally finished SLAP, the book that I brought on this trip, and was reluctant to pay 15 euros for a new book. She was more than happy to have new reading material. Now I had to decide between Joan Didion's "Slouching towards Bethlehem" or Jonathan Harr's "A Civil Action". Both are non-fiction books.

Michael Ann (Mikey), John & Gabi

By the time we finished our book exchange, over coffee, everyone agreed that it was time to share a lunch. It was 2:30pm!! It was another one of those Greek experiences with many small dishes of delicious food on the table and never ending conversation.

When we finally arrived back in Chora, there was an invitation for dinner back in Tholaria at 8pm!!  Without hesitation we made the winding half hour drive again after dark, skirting sleeping goats, to join our friends. Another groaning table of food and more conversation on Judaism, Islam and the Mormon faith. Questions about  the situation in Bountiful surfaced. Mormons and Jehovahs regularly visit Amorgos, hoping to convert some of the island's Greek Orthodox residents.

Most of the goats had moved off the road by the time we drove slowly home. The air was very warm with the promise of rain tomorrow.

cloaked in cloud

cloaked in clouds

flown in from africa

everything is damp

nothing dries

wind swirls endlessly

around windmills

between buildings

through the cafes

chora is invisible

shrouded in white

All day the clouds descended on Chora, wrapping us in a warm steambath from Africa. Laundry hung limp and wet. Skin felt damp. Bed sheets were sweating. We drove down to the port and into sunshine. Everyone was walking around in summer clothing.

Back up to Chora for lunch and we watched the clouds drift into the taverna, softening the light. Winds from the south blew endlessly. Bouganvillea scratched across the windows. The air was thick enough to chew. Really glad that I took advantage of good weather yesterday for a swim.

In the morning, Nadya decided to bathe the abandoned kitten first in vinegar, then in a chamomile solution. He objected at first, but finally accepted Nadya as his mother figure. She managed to transform him into a clean little critter. His chances of survival are still quite slim as there are no humans prepared to take him into their homes.

In the evening we ventured out into the clouds for a drink at Bayoko. No one else was visible on the pathways or in the Cafe. We wandered the narrow pathways of a ghost town, unable to see more than two feet ahead. Eerie lights in windows of homes, rumblings from TVs and the wind were all that we saw and heard. The air was still warmer outside than inside. Our landlady had decided to cloak our bed for winter with a heavy eiderdown. We couldn't breathe!

cloudy days ahead

The weather predictions for our last week looked glum so we decided to take advantage of clear skies yesterday with a road trip. We started with a drive up to the ancient Minoan site above Katapola that has been dated to the 11th century BC. Excavations halted at this site years ago so we didn't discover anything new but the view to Chora and down to Katapola is breathtaking. From the other side, we could see the entire southern end of the island.

View from minoan site with Katapola below and Chora up on the hillside     

From there we drove north to Aegiali where I had (possibly) my last swim of this trip. John could not be coaxed into the water. On this vast expanse of beautiful beach, I was the only one who enjoyed the crystal clear water!

Coffee at Marabu with Christos, warm greetings from Nikolas, chats with Brad & Sandy, late lunch at Asteria. The day disappeared in surprise encounters with old friends, more good food and sunshine.