Greek Dinner and Dancing

Last night we took a drive to a quiet little town to enjoy a Greek meal (all you can eat, all you can drink) and traditional Greek dancing. There were two men an two women who entertained us with their athletic abilities and interesting Greek dances. One man, picked up a table in his teeth and danced around with it. More than one person from my group went to pick it up later to see if it was a real table (it was). The dancers also got all of us involved and taught (or in my case tried to teach) us the dances. They led us out to the streets of this no longer quiet little town in a long line and we shouted "OPA" as loud and as often as we could. What fun.
For those of you who want to see pictures of me dancing, you'll have to wait until they are posted by my hiker friends on Facebook.

Costal Hike

We took a beautiful hike along the west coast of Corfu Island. The trail was undulating and we enjoyed views of coves, beaches, the costline and Albania. In total we walked through 13 coves and beaches (looking rather out of place)and the trail actually goes right through a bar on one of the beaches. We picked up a dog along the way, who followed us for most of the 12 km. According to some of the locals, he apparently adopts people hiking the trail often and lives with a family somewhere near the trail.
At the end we enjoyed a cool drink in a quiet little village.

Greece

Hi All
I have finally arrvied in Corfu for a full two weeks of enjoying hiking and the sun offered on this beautiful island. Our trip over was ok, although we did have to take a detour around the volcanic ash which added 2 hours of flying time to Paris. The group I am with is great, there are 15 of us, one male, one couple and one spring chicken (me). It was easy to find my group at the airport as most of them were wearing their hiking boots, hiking clothes and Tilly hats and thus looked ready to leave for a hike right then. I, on the other hand, looked like I was ready to curl up with my cats and a book. However we had previously introduced ourselves over email and everyone knew my wrist was broken so they knew exactly who I was.

Since we arrived we have been quite busy with two full days of hiking, and one day to visit the town of Corfu. The hiking is challenging, but the pace is fine for me (slow and steady). We go through small little towns, stop at cafes and say hello to the locals. We also see lemon trees, orange trees, poppies and other wild flowers, sheep, goats, cats, dogs and tons of olive trees. We've climbed up mountains (ok maybe just large hills) and have seen gorgeous views. In total there are 9 hikes and two and half days of free time. I am expecting to be very tired!

Back to Work

As of last Wednesday I have finished my 6 month leave of absence and have return to work. The last six months were filled with plenty of fun and adventures through travel and being with family and friends. I also had important down time - time to relax and do things such as clean and organize my apartment and hang out with my cats.
Overall I would summarize my leave by saying it was a pleasant, productive and fun 6 months. Until next time...

Week of Sun

Well I have just finished a very pleasant week in Florida with my parents. During the day I walked on the beach, biked and swam. We did some shopping and ate many great meals- either at home or out at interesting restaurants in the area.
Awesome!

Salvador Dali

St Petersburg Florida hosts an art museum with the works of Salvador Dali. This artist was a master of surrealism who lived here in the 1900's and who originated from Spain. His art is very detailed and interesting and each time I see his work I see something different. During this trip to the museum we went on a tour. Our tour guide had a shoe, a red ladies' pump, pinned upside down on her head. She used this "shoe hat" to explain surrealism: "something that is out of place, not where we expect it".

Visiting

One of my co-volunteers Elizabeth, who was also my roommate in India, lives here in Tampa. I had a great day of visiting with Elizabeth, walking on the beach, talking and sharing photos from India. We both toured around India after volunteering, so we were able to share ideas for future trips. We both want to go back to India soon.