I am now in Patras, waiting for the 6pm boat to go Ancona, Italy….  my last few hours in Greece and not at all sure that I should be leaving the 30c sunshine, blue skies, sparkling sea! All of a sudden it feels very real that I will be in the UK in a few days!!!

The boat journey from Crete to Pireas, Athens was great.. smooth seas and met with two friends from the circus, so good company too, no sleep, but that’s ok…. got into Pireas at 5am, parked up in the port and had a little sleep there for a couple of hours.  Panos (greek friend from circus) came down to meet me about 10am and he took me around Athens, visited all the sites, managed to do some shopping, eating etc… whizzing around on the back of his motorbike was great fun! I love Athens (and I don’t usually like cities), but I have fallen in love with Greece so it’s all good!

We met with Lena and Stella in the afternoon (more friends from circus), hung out drinking coffee and eating and then went back to Lena’s place – which was a small room on the roof of a building, very cute and fantastic views of the city and sea!  More chatting and some massaging!  I stayed with Lena last night, watched sunrise over the city this morning and we then walked to her work, had some breakfast and then I was on my way!  Back on my own, the first time in weeks, back on the road and back in BG!! 

BG is on fine form, starting all the time and purring along the road! I’ve been driving with a huge smile on my face, remembering the past 10 weeks, people, places and experiences and fully realising what a fantastic time I’ve had, am still having and will have in the future.  I am looking forward to the journey home, though I’ve been sensible with getting the boat further up the Italian coast to Ancona, it does save 600km of driving if I’d come into Bari. I’ll cut across Italy and come along south France, then I can call in on another circus friend and then straight up to Calais!

I am inspired to get on a plane, simply so I can visit new friends in Sweden, Thailand, Singapore, Bali and Australia and it would take a very long time to drive to visit them all, though if anyone fancies the trip, I am more than happy to do it!

So friends and family in the UK, I should see you all quite soon and can bore you further with the detail of my adventures, pictures included of course!  Do have a look at my friends blog ‘elaineguru.blogspot.com’ -she’s got some great pics on there and even 1 or 2 of me!

If anyone from the circus is reading this (maybe you Elaine) and you have a CD of the chanting and songs we sung, I would love a copy and could give you an address to post it to!

Best get some food for the boat journey..  see you in Italy or France or the UK!?!?!?!?

Still on Crete, can’t seem to leave just yet…. !!!

Left Anidri last Friday and spent the night in Paleochora.  Those of us that were still around met up for dinner that night and a few drinks.. more goodbyes were said and a few more tears…  we all realised it would be tough saying goodbye at the end, but not that tough!

Saturday morning and off back up to Hania, with 3 friends from the circus and one further friend following on his motorbike.  We hung out for the day in Hania, shopping.. well I tried to shop but was in full fever stage of a cold, so just wondered around shivering and gazing at shops.  I took one friend to the boat, but it was so windy the boat didn’t sail that night!

And then Sunday morning we were down to two.. . just Panos and I.  We hung out by the harbour watching the huge waves and wondering if the boat would sail that night (it did).  Then we met up with lovely friends Gina and Pete (from Reading who are living here for a couple of years), for lunch and we happened to bump into Katie and Martin from the circus, so a little mini reunion was enjoyed.

I’ve been staying with Gina and Pete since Sunday and sharing my cold with them, which is obviously very kind of me!  We’ve been talking about everything under the sun, playing great music and getting a few things sorted out with the van and I think I am ready to drive back to the UK… ahhhhh….. so I am going to attempt to get the boat tonight back to Athens, though if the wind picks up again, we may not sail!   

I am very excited about the journey home and wonder how long it will take as I am going to visit friends along the way from the circus.  First stop Athens, where there are a few lovely folk, so that could take a while and then France and/or Switzerland, London and finally Reading…..

We are now in the last couple of days of the retreat… finishing this Friday 10th October (HAPPY BIRTHDAY JAMES) ….. 

I am working out my route back to the UK and getting the van ready …..

Really not sure about leaving the sunshine, I hear the UK is very cold….

Oh no.. time is going too fast now.. end of another fantastic week and only one week to go!  We are all trying to eat less food and practice more massage..

Yesterday was great.. everyone is getting a bit tired with all the bodywork and information and beginning to think about life after the course, so we finished class early and went to the beach for a quick swim and then a Chi Gung class at sunset, followed by dinner and wine and then into town for a little more wine and lots of dancing!  Very refreshing!

Week 2 has drawn to a close and it has been even more awsome, amazing, inspiring and fantastical than week 1… words don’t really describe what it is like to be with this group of lovely, beautiful people and taking part in the retreat…. but please don’t panic, I will endeavour to bore you all senseless in my usual fashion when I see you! 

For now, all I can say is that the sun is back, the sea is still warm, the yoga is getting easier, the classes are just so magical and inspiring, the singing is increasing and I even played my party piece on the guitar one evening! Still eating tons of food and a good night out was enjoyed by all last night, including raki, wine, cheesy 80’s music and dancing!

Some pics for you to enjoy and get a sense of life here….

Take your seats, the circus has started…..

What can I say, this first week of the circus has been awsome… it really has exceeded all of my expectations, in so many ways and ways I didn’t even realise! 

The setting is fantastic, nestled into the moutains, on terraced land, this guy has built 3 ecologically sound buildings… 2 buildings  – each has 3 bedrooms and 1 kitchen, a studio and terraced area and then his own home and 2 smaller units… all built with loam/lime/hay.  One dog and 2 cats! The elephant bees are back, along with their mates the monster bees and wasps!

I can not adequately describe the other people, suffice it so say all ’like minded’ and they feel like family already. I am so happy to be getting to know them all.  All have similar life stories to tell. The teachers are just awsome, inspiring, skilled, generous and fun!  I sometimes just sit there as they are talking or demonstrating and wish I could be even a tenth like them.

The food is out of this world, proper veggie food, all prepared for us. They are even putting the tomatoes and cheese separate for me, so I can eat all the food and must have put on at least 2 stone already!

The daily schedule is – wake up call at 6am (by tibetan bowl), 6.15am meditation, 7am break, 7.15am yoga, 8.30am breakfast.  10.30 – 1.30pm is class, 1.30pm – 4.30pm is lunch and siesta, 4.30pm – 7.30pm class and then dinner…. an early start and a long day, but the pace is comfortable and plenty of time to rest and eat! We have half day on Wednesday and a day off on Saturday.

The thai yoga massage classes are simply inspiring.  It’s like anything you are passionate about and are able to do it all day long, with teachers and others who are equally as passionate… fantastic!  Well worth all the planning, travelling and expense. I will get some pictures uploaded, so you can have a look!

You’ll be pleased to here that it has been RAINING today, proper rain like England.. and isn’t that just so English too, first full day off and it’s raining!

Baby girl appears to be fixed…. horray!  She is starting each and every time and we have been able to give people lifts into town and to the beach, so she has been getting a lot of attention.  I think they all think I am mad for driving here from England, on my own, and they are probably right, but what a journey it’s been and I wouldn’t change a thing!

Well, this is it!  Last day in Paleochora and head to Anidri tomorrow and the retreat centre! 

Spent a lovely day today with Gina and Pete (massage friend from Reading and her husband, who are currently living near Hania on the north Crete coast)… catching up and they drove me around a few places. We went along to the retreat centre to check it out, it took a while to find as they haven’t put out the signs yet… but we arrived there at the same time as a couple of the teachers… it will certainly be a retreat, tucked away in the mountians at the top of Anidri gorge, about 4km from Paleochora. I’ve found out that it’ll be a 6 day week and a 6.45am start……. so I am in town now stocking up on tonic (for the gin and vodka) and chocolate, purely for medicinal purposes of course!

Oh yes, how can I forget.. Baby Girl seems, I am going to have to whisper this bit… to be fixed!  She’s started each day since Monday and the engine sounds fantastic… the strongest she has sounded since the UK.. horray!

Horray, we made it!  BG and I are on Crete, in Palecochora (SW corner), just a few km from where I am doing the course… will have a couple of days here and then ahead round to them!  The view of the sea from the campsite is just spectacular and Palecochora itself seems to be where all the hippies are hiding.. there’s even a veggie cafe!

Yesterday was interesting.  The VW garage checked the battery and it really is ok, but they changed the cable from the alternator to the auxillary battery (no charge and did it within 4 hours) and have promised, for sure, definately, that she is better now… we’ll see, but so far so good I have to say and she’s been starting no problem.

She was ready by 1.30pm, so a quick drive upto Athens (well, was quick on the motorway till I hit Athens traffic!), found the port ok, checked in and waited to board the boat.  After an hour watching huge trucks being loaded and no other car in sight, I began to wonder whether I was at the right boat and I wasn’t!!! Drove to the right boat, which was a monster, cruise ship size and boarded straight away, found a place on the deck and slept!

We docked at about 6am this morning and then waited another 90 mins to disembark!  2 hours later and a beautiful drive through some lovely mountains and here I am! From the little I have seen, Crete seems a lot greener than the mainland, more colourful flowers and more English and have already made a friend on site, a little ginger cat, though I think it’s more about the potential food it can get from me, rather than true friendship!!

So, I am going to relax now, may even treat myself to a room for a couple of nights and chill.  Still can’t believe that I am here and the course is really going to happen.. but I am and it is!

Ok, so maybe when the garages say that the van is fixed, they actually mean, it’s fixed for a day and then it won’t be….. I am now back in Argos (which somebody pointed out is the same as Argos, as in the UK retail chain, I didn’t click!!) and the van is back in the garage!!!!  

Who knows what will happen now – I am getting bored!  The insurance company is involved now, so we have various plans laid down, it’s just a matter of time as to which one we pick.  Either way  I AM GOING TO CRETE!  That has been the whole point of the trip and almost a year in planning!

It’s still sunny and hot, hot, hot! It’s still fantastic to be in Greece, I am still meeting lovely people, I am in great health, so that’s all good! I am very excited about the Thai Yoga course (though it does seem further away than the UK at the moment), meeting the other students, teachers and having a massage.. kind of need one!

A couple more pics….

Thunderstorm at sunrise, Plaka Beach, Asini (where I have been for almost 2 weeks)

 

Sunrise Plaka Beach, no thunderstorm!

 

Sunset, Plaka Beach, couple of nights ago!

 

That’s me done for now… who knows what the next few days will bring?!?!?

Just been back to the garage and they have said that it was the alternator that was the problem and are fitting a new one (second hand kind of new) and then she will be better!  That’s what they all say, but this time I am inclined to feel that they are right, it makes sense given that the alternator is what charges the battery! Horray, horray, horray!   So I am going back to pick her up in 2 hours and then head back to Asini and the sea!