We departed Corfu around noon and followed our Sky Demon tracking to Megara. This shows what we look at on our iPads we have mounted in both cockpits. Here we're flying east into the Corinthian bay on approach to Megara. It was a little windy this day so the direction of the wind dictates which side of the bay to fly along given the wind coming over the mountains which in this case line both sides of the bay. It becomes a matter of how much updraft or downdraft turbulence we wish to deal with.
Upon entering the Corinthian Bay, we saw this very modern bridge. Nick said something to me about how much fun it would be to fly low through the pointed spans....I said, "Let's not and say we did!" Such notions sometimes need to be put in their proper perspective!
On arrival at Megara, we were greeted by fellow rally members Sarah from Botswana who is co-piloting one of the Tiger Moths with her dad, Brett, Adam, a Bushcat pilot, and Steve, the Grand Caravan pilot. They were happy to see us as we were happy to see them. Now the 'family' is growing, I said.
 |
| Discussing the route to Crete in the dining room of the Cokkinos Seaside Hotel. Nick, Keith, Tiger Moth pilot Mark from South Africa, Englishman Henry (rally friend and head of cheering Section), Botswanian Brett and daughter Sarah ('Pixie'), Janice (Tiger Moth-er John Baxter's wife over from UK to fly as far as Crete), Ron and wife Val - enthusiasts and pilots but not in the rally - cheering section to see us off in Crete. |
 | |||
Colin having a 'read' in the lobby of this very restful hotel situated on a cliff above the Saronikas Sea (a bay, really) with mountains framing it to the north.
The lovely patio/ lounge area at Cokkinos Seaside Hotel looking out over sea and rocky beach below. The Greeks know the value of combining view, greenery, solitude, and NO piped in pop music over loudspeakers to create an attractive and peace-filled environment.
Little 5 year old Vassily -- son of the owners of the hotel -- who greeted us everyday with "Hello" and frequently played with his Legos in the lobby.
A laid back hotel resident with a very relaxed agenda.
Nick enjoying the warm Saronikas Sea water. The beach is very peppled and hard to walk on in bare feet.
As there were 12 of us staying at the hotel, the staff put several tables together so we could all eat together. We were given a choice of ordering from the restaurant menu or eating whatever the kitchen had already cooked up. We chose the latter to make things simple. The array of dishes they brought out was incredible. We ate like gods. Here Nick, Pixie, and Colin are having an after dinner chat. Tiger Moth pilot John Baxter and Keith are in the back. The U.S. presidential election was about to begin back in the states. There was much discussion at dinner about our election process and whom we Americans wanted to see get elected.
 | ||
Megara is an hour's drive into Athens, so while Nick opted to stay and work on the airplane, Colin, Keith and I took the bus into Athens and made like tourists at the Acropolis. The day started out sunny, but by afternoon the sky turned stormy and the rains came. The homeless dogs of Athens knew better than we to take shelter. We didn't want to miss any sights because of a "little" rain. |
While walking around Athens, we came upon this "brochure" of sorts for an art and design college.
No comments:
Post a Comment