26 June - 30 June - Goodby Dad, hello cousin BeBe

Sunday, sadly my dad left. Then after Papa and I took an adventure to find a ATM to get some Euros ,and to explore some of the area. It took us only 5min to find a ATM, but we also spent 20min looking at KFC menus and looking at an Asian restaurant. We also took a menu to Tutu ( the Hawaiian name for Grandmother), but Tutu said," 45 dollars for some Asian food is too much".

We ended the day with some KFC and M.A.S.H.

Monday, though my cousin Bebe arrived. Tutu had to wake up early so she could meet Bebe at the airport. In the time it took Bebe and Tutu to arrive I caught a squid with a minnow net. A man came on board and checked the generator. He said it was fine. Then later a man came to check the batteries, and he said they need to be replaced. Then they came back and brought some batteries, and placed them. Also a man came with a diesel truck and filled up the tank. Then after several hours Bebe was here.

Later at about 7:00pm we had to switch spots or berths in the marina. Then after a long day we had dinner watched M.A.S.H. and went to bed.

On Tuesday we got groceries and left the marina to go to Varkiza and stayed there for 3 hours then left to another anchorage to stay. We ate dinner watched M.A.S.H. then went to bed.

On Wednesday we did the laundry and gave the Grand Tour of Bird Island.  I drove the dinghy.  A man at one of the resorts waved us away from their beach, but I wasn't going there anyway.

Then ate dinner watched M.A.S.H. and went to bed.

Today we got lunch at a restaurant went to a bakery then took a 25 mile sail to Aigina island.  We played DS during most of the sailing.  Then we cooked hamburgers and steamed cauliflower and watched M.A.S.H. and went to bed.  I have almost finished the book I read each night.  I have read more than 400 pages this week.

23 & 24 June - They got some humongous gyros over here

On the 23 we sailed from Sounion to Varkiza. While at Varkiza we did not do much. On that day we just went swimming. Although while swimming it was extremely hard to keep up with the boat because the current was so strong.

Then after a short time of swimming we had a Chinese dinner and watched M.A.S.H. and went to bed.



The next morning Dad and I prepared for a adventure for lunch. On our way to the adventure Papa drove us there in the dingy. When he dropped us off I saw a large amount of minnows. Then we went off. We saw lots of bakeries that smelled so good and even saw Ben & Jerry's. But then all the sudden we saw the most wonderful restaurant in this part of town. At the restaurant I had a humongous gyros EVER it could feed like 5 people. Dad had a Greek Quesadilla that had cheese, tomato, pork, onions. After we had our delicious meal we went back to the bakery and bought 2 different types of cookies and a loaf of bread. Then we radioed Papa to take us back to the boat. On the way back we saw a woman trying to catch a fish. Then when we went back to the boat we had dinner and watched M.A.S.H. and went to bed.

We didn't take any photos in Varkiza.  But we will go back there.  It was nice.

25 June - A trip to Zea Sinking Marina

Today we left Varkiza so we could go to Zea Marina. While we were nearing Zea Marina we saw a US Warship.  It was Warship 61.  We had heard Warship 61 on the VHF radio a lot. 

Then while we were going in I saw a boat that sank in the marina. Shortly after, some of the people who worked there showed us to a spot where we could dock our boat.  We had to back the boat up against a wall and throw some ropes to the man on the dock.  He ran the ropes through big metal rings and gave the ends of the ropes back to us.  Then we tightened the rope ends on our boat and tied them to a deck cleat.  Papa tied the ropes beneath the water to the front of our boat.  This made our boat be tied in tight near the dock and not move around and hit the boats next to us.  Papa is very good at backing up the boat.

Then Dad and I went to go get some gyros while Papa took papers to the marina office and checked us in with the Port Police.  (I call them the Po-Po.) When we came back we ate the gyros AND THEY WERE SO GOOOOOOOOOOD!!!  They were better than any gyros back home.  And they put a few french fries right inside the gyros.  After that Papa came back with the right kind of plug that would give us electricity.  Later, all 4 of us went back to the same place for dinner.  We stopped at the big supermarket on the way back and bought lots of Coca-Cola Light.  They don't have Diet Coke here in Greece.  They call it Coca-Cola Light.

Then we came back to the boat and I had some ice cream. Then I went outside and helped Papa clean the boat.  We scrubbed off all the salt from the waves splashed on the boat during the high winds.  When we finished Dad had gone to sleep because he had to wake up in the middle of the night to get a taxi to the airport.  Then I read my book until Tutu said it was time for me to go to sleep.

22 June - A long way from Home

Temple of Poseidon

Today I woke up and had a bacon sandwich. The winds were blowing really, really hard. 

Then Papa and I went ashore in the dingy.

After that we went to a resort to get directions to a bus station. The way to the bus station was cross country. Then while we were at the bus station we thought "oh, what the heck" and took a quick trip to the Poseidon Temple.

While we were there we took a couple of pictures then hauled butt to the bus stop.  We didn't have the camera so we used Papa's phone to take the pictures, so they aren't very clear.

Nasty cigarettes at bus stop

While in the bus Papa turned on his mobile G.P.S.. While the G.P.S. was on Papa programed a destination on his G.P.S.. Then after we got off the bus we took a taxi to our destination. After getting the part that we needed we walked to the nearest bus stop. When we saw the bus it passed us right up. So since it was about 2:30, we went to find us a quick lunch.

Papa at Temple of Poseidon

THERE WASN'T ONE PLACE IN ATHENS THAT WE COULD EAT AT!!  There was nowhere to eat near the bus stop.  So we just sat in the bus stop looking at the mounds of cigarettes near the side walk. Papa gave me some M.R.E. -- Meals Ready to Eat -- which was a package of chocolate cookies.  That was all he could find for us to eat.  Then finally after 2 hours of waiting we got on the bus.

On the bus I took a nap; then woke up as soon as we arrived at our stop at the Poseidon Temple. At the stop we decided to walk back up to the Poseidon Temple.  The Temple of Poseidon was built in 444 B.C.  Wow!  It is really old! 



 

Papa's boat is just to right of my hat brim

On top at Temple of Poseidon

On one side we could see nothing by the sea.  On the other side we could see where Papa's boat was anchored. 


Then finally we went back to the dingy and to the boat.



At the boat we finally got to eat something.  Then we watched some M.A.S.H then went straight to bed.

SLAM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Slam!! Is what I woke up to. I checked to see the waves that woke me up.  It was very windy.

Then about 1hour later I started feeling queasy, so papa gave me half a seasick pill. About 20min later I knocked out. Then 2 hours later we were in Sounion.

Then dad gave me a hamburger. Then for the rest of the day I played the DS and watched the Fighter movie.

There ain`t no fish in the Mediterranean

On June eighteenth we sailed from Zea Marina to Sounion, on the way to Sounion I caught my first fish in the Mediterranean....... it was a  plastic bag!!!! At Sounion we saw the Poseidon`s temple.

Later Papa and I went to the Market, which of course I had to drive the dingy to. At the market Papa and I bought donuts and 2 loafs of bread.

Also on that day I tried fishing but still caught nothing. Then I tried catching minnows but that was also a fail.

Then after dinner dad and I knocked out.

A trip to the Parthenon

Me and Dad at Parthenon

View from Parthenon

On Thursday, June sixteenth I went to the Parthenon. On the way to the Parthenon I threw rocks at pigeons, and ran ahead of everyone else. When I made it to the top Papa and I saw what looked like an outpost. I came up with the idea to go to the outpost and see Athens from one of the highest peaks there.

After a long time of me and Papa sitting around at the Parthenon my dad and my grandmother decided to come up.

Exercise!! Run up to the Parthenon!

While we were all on top we found some reading glasses. Soon after we went down and gave them to the man who gave us the tickets to go to the top of the Parthenon.

 

Archaeological Dig beneath museum

Before we walked up to the Parthenon we went to the Acropolis Museum.  In the museum we saw archaeologists doing an excavation of an ancient neighborhood of the city.  The museum also had glass floors that let you see the ruins of the neighborhood that you were walking above.  Also as the museum we saw a video of how the Parthenon was constructed and also how it was destroyed.  The video said that when the Parthenon was new that all the carvings near the top were all painted very bright colors.  That was probably very beautiful to see.

Oldest amphitheater

Concert Amphitheater

While running and walking up to the top to the Parthenon we passed 2 old amphitheaters.  One was really old and not much was there except all the steps curving up the hillside.  The other amphitheater was built for a Roman general named Agrippa.  Today they play music there sometimes.  There is a new stage and big speakers.  You can buy a ticket and listen to a concert.  

Lunch near the museum

On the way back to the boat we all got famished and decided to eat at a restaurant. At the restaurant I had fried calamari, Tutu and Dad had gyros, and papa had some of everything we had. Then we went back to the train station to go back to the part of Athens we where in. When we got out of the train station it was raining extremely hard, so we decided to take the bus back to the harbor. When we saw the bus we asked if we could buy some tickets, but you had to buy the tickets at a nearby tiny store. We checked 3 tiny stores then tried one more and we got one of the last tickets there.

Papa, me and Dad at the Parthenon

A sail from Kythnos to Kea

I'm the yellow dot near the top left.

Today we left an island named Kythnos and motor sailed to another island named Kea. Although before we left Kythnos I got Papa to take me to a beach so I could climb up a mountain. About half way through the trail i was at a patch of dirt, and couldn`t decide where to go. But eventually I found the other part of the path. While I was walking up the path I saw a flat area that I could walk on. I went though the area and found a place that looked like it was a church. But I got a little closer and saw a goat with huge horns that really scared me on the inside. Then shortly after I made it to the top of the mountain, but I didn`t go further because I then saw a herd a goats and immediately went down. On the way down I decided I would try to throw a rock at the sea but there were rocks that were sorta blocking

A picture of the mountain

my shot so I never hit  the sea. Also on the way down the mountain I thought I would take a souvenir, so I got a piece of polished and shaved marble. At the bottom of the mountain I went back to the spot where I had arrived and took a shell. Then almost immediately Papa took me back to the boat.     

On the trip to Kea while we were sailing in the calmest waters we set our fishing line out.  About 2hours and 30min later we saw what we thought was a dead body but was actually a big dead goat floating in the water.  How did a bid dead goat come to be floating in the sea?

When we put our anchor down then we got the dingy in the water and went to town. While we were in town we went to the the Port Police and to the Super Market. While we were at the Port Police we saw a huge bee fly around us.. Then after that we went to the Super Market.

At the Super Market I saw one of the biggest coke bottles I had ever seen , and in total it was a liter of coke. Then on the trip back the winds had picked to 18 knots and the waves got even bigger.  On the way back to the boat we were all soaking wet.

IMAGINE Brownies!!!

Marc & Jane on S/V IMAGINE

Today we left Kea and motored to Kythnos. On the way there I was nervous and excited about meeting 3 new kids on a boat called IMAGINE. The kids names are Caroline, Noah, and Grant. When we arrived at Kythnos we talked to IMAGINE on the sail boat radio. On the radio they said they would be at the island in the hour.  The anchorage was filling up with lots of arriving boats and we began to worry if there would be room enough for IMAGINE to find a place to anchor.  Then finally we saw IMAGINE.

Papa took me to the boat as soon as they were anchored. I met them and played Lego and then played Mario Cart for the Wii. After Mario Cart we played a card game called Bandits and I won that by a lot. Then after that we played Poker for a little while. After we played Poker we got our bathing suits and played water football.

Anchorage at Kythnos (another anchorage behind beach)

 Water football is when you jump from the boat into the water but someone else at the same time throws a football at you and you try to catch the football in mid-air.

We played water football for a really long time I also did cannon balls into the water and I would fall 3 meters in the water so I went about 5 feet underwater in my cannon balls and my friends would say that there were giant waves when I cannon balled. After a long time of cannon balling and throwing footballs Papa went to IMAGINE and picked me up.

Playing Water Football (I am in water)

About 1hour later we went to IMAGINE for some brownies. Caroline had baked brownies for her dad for Father's Day.  When we arrived I had 1 brownie. Then 20min later I helped Grant in his Pokemon game. 5min after that I had a second brownie. Then 30min later I got my third brownie. Then after 40 min of Poker and Caroline and Noah fighting each other we came up with the idea of getting a movie called Despicable Me from our boat.  We watched 30 min of it; then we had to go and we let them watch the rest of Despicable Me. We left it there because they said they would give it back the next day.

When we got back on the boat everyone asked me how many brownies I had, so I told them 3. That was a bad idea because everyone started griping at me saying "Why did you have so many brownies" or "No more Hershey`s kisses for three nights"

After 5 more min I could not keep my eyelids up so then I knocked out.