We have arrived!!

March 13, 2013
We arrived in San Juan safe and sound. The flight was comfortable and we enjoyed the view from our window seat as we flew from Calgary to Dallas Fort Worth airport and then to San Juan. Everything went smoothly our luggage arrived on time and we were happy to find it when we got to San Juan. Corinne and Scott came shortly after we arrived to pick us up in the car they had rented. After a quick stop in at our hotel we went to trendy little place for supper. The food was wonderful and we came away completely stuffed. Our hotel is small and quaint and wonderful. It has lots of little spots to sit outside and enjoy the warm evening. Our plan for the morning is to breakfast early and drive out to the rain forest on the northeastern side of the island. I think this will be a great adventure for tomorrow. Bed time it’s felt like a long day.

San Juan. Here we come!!

So it has started.  We have passed customs and are now sitting in the waiting area.  People watching and blogging.  Thanks to Colin and Cynthia for putting us up last night and to Colin for arising at 4:00 AM this morning to drive us to the airport. We arrived just as the check-in was opening and checked in and got through customs.  Although the suggestion, in their webpage, is to arrive 3 hours in advance of the flight, it is interesting to note that nothing opens more than 2 1/2 hours prior to the flight. Se we had plenty of time.  And is nice to just sit and relax knowing that all we have to do now is board the plane. 

On the way home

Tuesday October 18, 2011

We checked out and the taxi was a little early so we left at 2:20 AM heading for the Athens airport. Not much traffic so no problem getting there. Got checked in and then waited for our flight. Talked to a passenger from Toronto. He had come for holiday, but the strike had shout down the port and so he did not get to go to the islands as planned. Overheard conversations of people leaving a day early because of a possible air traffic strike tomorrow. I guess we were just blessed not to have been affected by the strikes. The flight left on time and arrived in Amsterdam on time. We have still time for shopping. Mom has already purchased tulip bulbs. Hope to be able to plant them when we get home.

Mom's version

I couldn't sleep a bit. I was glad we had decided to keep our hotel room for one more night so we could relax before our early flight. Dad slept quietly and I lay with a hundred things going through my head. There were noisy protests out side, just two blocks down from our hotel so I wondered if still at 2:30 would there be crowds and traffic. Did we arrange for the taxi early enough? I didn't want anything stopping us from missing our flight. Notices had been posted in the hotel about a general strike on Wednesday and so I was glad we were getting out of Athens the day before. I have been amazed how through all the disruptions and confusion we have only been inconvenienced once through our whole trip. We have heard other stories of boats not being able to leave dock, over nights in airports because of controller strikes but luckily we were always a day ahead or behind the trouble. Thanks for all the prayers. Dad had assured me we had planned the departure well and just relax so I lay telling myself just relax, just relax. The Taxi driver arrived 15 minutes early. Yes! That worry overcome. I noticed as we sped through the narrow streets on the long 30 minute drive to the airport that the gas gauge warning light was on and the gauge was on empty. Oh Just what we need to run out of gas on the way to the airport! As I contemplated that I noticed the oil gauge was also at 0 so decided the gauges just didn't work. Okay so hopefully this cabbie filled up this morning. We were finally at the airport, found the right line to deposit our luggage and print boarding passes and soon were on the flight. I watched the lights of Athens disappear with mixed emotions, remembering the excitement of first seeing Athens from the air. At that time I wondered if all we had planned and hoped for would occur as planned. Now we were leaving having filled every dream, with a few bonuses. It really couldn't have been a better experience but Yeah!! we were going home to the familiar,peaceful, happy comfortable life of Lethbridge Alberta.

The flight was a little rough but nothing frightening and believe it or not I slept most of the way to Amsterdam. Time to relax as we have a five hour lay over. I already have my tulips in my backpack ready to bring some spring glory to our yard and remind me of fun times past.

Back to dad to finish this off.

The plane left on time from Amsterdam. We had a long flight back to Calgary. Not much sleeping. The sun was so bright, that we kept the window closed most of the time. We watched as we crossed Saskatchewan and into Alberta and on to Calgary. We landed only a couple of minutes late, then waited 15 or 20 minutes on the plane as we watched three planes land and two take off, using the runway we were waiting to cross to get to the airport. Then it was another 15 or 20 minutes waiting as the people ahead on us on the plane got off. Then another wait at customs and a secondary inspection to get our tulip bulbs approved. Then found our luggage (yay) and out. Colin was waiting for us and took us to his work place where we said "Hi" to Cynthia. Then we headed for Lethbridge. Boy the scenery was different that we have been used to for the past few weeks. We arrived home to a welcome sign hanging above the door and tomatoes still growing. I took Tyson with me to the garden to dig some potatoes and carrots to make supper. Picked some tomatoes out there as well. Ate supper. Garth and Amanda came by to say welcome home. Then we crashed as it had been about 26 hours since we had got that wake up call. It is good to be home.

Our last day in Greece

Monday Oct 17, 2011.

We awoke about 7:00 this morning. Our last day in Greece. We puttered around the room for a while. The little church that is outside our window, had a steady stream of people entering and leaving. On average about 1 person every two minutes. We went down for breakfast about 8:15. Very enjoyable. The scrambled eggs were freshly made and the bacon, although not crisp, was good. Even the milk was cool this morning. We then arranged to have a wake-up call at 1:45 AM tomorrow morning and a taxi to take us to the airport at 2:30 AM. Then we headed out SHOPPING.

We were out by 9:30 and half the shops were not even open. We hiked over to the base of the acropolis so that I could take one more picture. Then shop, shop, shop ... We bought gyros at about 1:00 PM and then headed back to the hotel to unload our booty. Then off on a 3 km walk to visit the Museum of Natural History. As we walked we passed several different groups of protesters. All was peaceful, but there were police everywhere. We spent about 3 hours in the museum. There is so much to see. I liked the ancient history (6000-3000 BC) part the best. We then started in the sculpture wing. Initially I was enthralled but after 100's of statues I was getting a little less enthusiastic. Then we went to the second floor. This is where the collection of vases was. Wow these are awesome. But then after literally thousands of vases, my interest waned. We visited the exhibit of myths and coins. Very interesting. And then headed out. More shopping was in store. And more shopping. And more shopping. Finally mom let me eat some supper and come back to the hotel. So that was our last day. Shopping and museum. Great time.

Small World

Sunday October 16,2011

We were a little laid back this morning and didn't get moving until after 7:30. Meetings were not until 10:00 and we had scouted out the area so knew where we were headed and that it was only a brisk 10 min walk. The hotel breakfast was the standard fare we have found here in Greece. A choice of cocoa puffs, muesli or cornflakes, with usually warm milk (in Zakynthos it was hot powdered milk..mmmm) then various breads, cheese, canned fruit (usually peaches) some sliced tomatoes and olives, yogurt which is really thick and not very sweet but very tasty with fruit or honey drizzled on it (the way the Greeks serve it for dessert),sometimes boiled eggs and sliced sandwich meats, but today to my delight hot scrambled eggs and bacon and of course, coffee and juice. I loved it on days it was real orange juice and I was ecstatic when it was COLD real orange juice. Today it was the funky orange juice that tastes like it is carbonated but it was cold. We have really noticed most places are frugal with electricity so hallways are often dark, lights not used during the daytime even when it is cloudy dark out side. I suspect they also have limited refrigeration. Here at the Amazon, a Best Western hotel, the place is well lit as was the Metropolitan where we stayed before in Athens.

We were welcomed by four missionaries outside the building doors and two more sets of missionaries inside. There was a fairly small gathering when the meeting started-25-30 people counting the missionaries and the couple missionaries and their daughter who was visiting and another sister missionary whose husband came before the meetings were all concluded. The branch president was African as were at least a dozen other members. It was a real cultural mix. Two young American students came in part way through Sacrament meeting. After the meeting I heard them telling people they had just came from Rome where there had been so much violence, with burning cars etc. They had been disappointed in not being able to see the coliseum as it was closed due to strikes. They then said “We were so very glad to walk in this building and feel safe” I had experienced the same feeling of being safe with family so far from home. The Gospel is such a wonderful blessing in our life. The world is also very small in the church. Dad spoke with the young Americans before priesthood and found they were students from Utah State University. When he introduced himself as from Canada one of them asked where in Canada. When Dad said Lethbridge Alberta he inquired “Do you know any Forsyths?” “I am a Forsyth” “do you know a Colin Forsyth?” Isn't that amazing! He was Joshua Blume who had recently returned from a mission where he had served in Thunderbay for 8 months and knew Colin and Cynthia well,and had helped move them when they came back to Alberta.

It was quite the experience to be the person wearing the interpretive head set. The speakers were the American missionary couple. The sister read her talk in laboured Greek. Probably half the speed Greeks speak and certainly without the enunciation, but what do I know it was better than I could have done and I applaud her for all the work it would have been for her to prepare the talk. The Brother spoke in English so that worked good for us. When I got to Relief Society I came to find probably half the class preferred English. I had noticed an older sister with the Sunday School Manual and when it was time for Sunday school she said to us “You stay in this class. We will interpret in English.” Then one of the Elders came and invited us to the English class. We stood unsure of what to do and the Sunday school teacher again encouraged us to stay. “That class is for new members.” she said “this one is Gospel Doctrine. You stay.” One of the Elders offered to interpret so he took the microphone and we used our headsets and had a real neat experience hearing this sister teach us from Ephesians about unity in the church. She was passionate about the gospel. She talked about marriage relationships and how in her 76 years she knew women were the ones who supported the heads of the priesthood holder. We are their necks. She got quite a chuckle from the class and some comments from an older brother who had blessed the sacrament. Her European way with passionate speech and hand movements all made me think of our neighbour Anita who I miss visiting with. She talked about how important it is to love one another and how much more they as a Branch need to do this with Greece experiencing such hard times. She then expressed her love to the class It was very moving to me and I was glad to have had the cultural experience of being in her class. You could tell she was one of the stalwarts of the branch It would have been so interesting to have been able to get a history of her life.

She ended up being the teacher in Relief Society also. Our lesson was about the Second Coming There was quite a group who held up hands when asked if they needed English. Two of the sisters sat behind us and quietly interpreted. I was sitting beside a Danish girl who also spoke English very well. She was visiting with her husband who had served a mission in Greece and was back visiting. The girl who interpreted for us was a beautiful dark haired Greek. She was apologetic because occasionally she couldn't think of the English word. She did a great job and that made it possible to really get the spirit of the things that were said. What testimony building experience!

We went back to the Hotel after the Sunday meetings and were able to catch the Sunday Afternoon session of General Conference as we had strong internet connection that allowed us to watch it. Later we went for an explore of the National Gardens which we had seen a bit of before. We took our umbrellas as it was raining. There was a mansion we had read about that we went to get pictures of. We wandered the narrow streets past some of the shops and then stopped at a little restaurant just outside our hotel. It was a very chic place with lovely decorations. We had their Greek Platter for two which included 5 different dishes. The meatballs were especially tasty. The meal was delicious, cozy and nice to eat inside out of the rain.

Our adventure is winding down. We have come to see there is so much to learn, so many places we couldn't even have imagined and yet with all the differences there are so many things the same.

What a difference

Saturday Oct 15, 2011

What a difference a day makes. Yesterday we awoke to a beautiful sunrise and this morning a dismal cloudy sky with no sun!!! Actually it started to rain last night but it did not seem too bad. At about 2:00 AM, I awoke to a lightning strike lighting up our room followed immediately by a blast of thunder that shook everything. I got up to close the balcony door and the wind was howling and the rain was coming down in sheets. And the harbour was rolling in waves. Yikes, I thought, we have to walk to the bus station in the morning. But Zeus and Poseidon must have their ways and the thunder and lightning, along with wind and rain continued all night. We went down for breakfast at about 8:00 and then packed up and checked out. The rain let up slightly and the thunder and lightning had ceased by the time we were ready to start our walk up the bus station. So we did not get too wet. We boarded the bus for the 10 minute ride to the ferry and then hopped on the ferry for the ride back across to Killini. Then back on the bus for the 4 hour (plus rest stop) ride to Athens. I slept most of the way to the rest stop. It rained all the way until we passed Corinth (about 45 min out of Athens). We arrived in Athens and caught a taxi to take us to our hotel. He told us that there were to be protests from 4 to 6 to join the global protests. Mom was so excited. Finally a protest!!! The roads were plugged as we got close to our hotel which is right near the square where the protests were to be. So it took a little longer and we did not get here until about 4:15. We checked in and went to our room where I restrained mom until about 5:45 and then headed out to find the church meeting place. We were successful, and then headed for "the square" so mom could see the protests. Great fun. Then a quick bite to eat and back to our hotel room. We only took about 10 pictures the whole day. A record for us. What a difference a day makes!!!

Getting Real

Friday October 14, 2011

I was awake before dawn thinking about seminary and knowing back home everyone was just ending their day and here we were starting another clear sky day. You could hear the motoring of the fishing boats off in search of an early catch. The sunrise over the marina was picture worthy-I smile as I write that knowing Tyson and Garth will just snicker and think "what isn't picture worthy to them". We had decided we wanted to do some walking today as we seem to have ridden a bus or a taxi every where. This isn't a real walking-friendly country as the roads are windy, narrow and without shoulders and the drivers are just crazy. A pedestrian is something to be completely ignored. Disregarding all this, we googled a beach area that was just to the south of the town 4-5 kilometers and decided we would go see what the little town and its beach was like. As we walked along the stone walk of the marine I could see crowds of people gathered around some of the boats and thought it was tourists- early site-seers anxiously waiting to be on their way. As we approached I could see I was wrong. These were locals chattering in the loud quick-paced rhythm of their native tongue. A woman on the first boat we approached was setting boxes out on the wharf. They were full of fish. The locals were haggling over the early morning catch. Restaurant cooks stocking up, the markets ordering bags of this and that. As we walked by each of the boats lined up we could see they had success, there were all sizes and kinds of fish and customers were taking big bags of this and that. This was fish at its very freshest.

On the way out of town we walked past a school yard of children probably having recess The school yard was small by western standards and all paved but there were trees and benches, play equipment and most of important of all a small "football" field with nets at both ends,where a large groups of the kids who looked to be about grade 5 and 6 were having a high energy game of soccer. There was a huge cheering section of mostly girls who continued to chant encouragement. They even had a paper banner waving. There were several children just doing their own thing hardly aware of the soccer game and when the ball rolled over past them the game just went on with both teams going after the ball kicking it or heading it into the fray again. There was obviously no "out of bounds" When a team scored, a raucous cheer went up. The game players were both girls and boys with the latter in the majority. It was hard to tell how many on a team as the whole area seemed to be just a mass of kids running this way and that. It was really fun to watch. Pictures were hard to take as the playground was enclosed with a steel barred fence and the area was a foot and a half higher than the sidewalk and fairly shadowed. Most of all we didn't want to be mistaken for anything other than curious tourists.

We took the road where the sign said Argasi 4 km. That was where we were headed. We went up over a bridge and another sign directed us to turn left and announced Argasi 3km. Wow we did that kilometer in record speed. We walked past a church and through little suburb of Zakynthos, walked 10 minutes and then we came to a stop sign with more arrows pointing the directions of the little towns. Argasi straight ahead 4 km. Oh now we had just walked 10 minutes backwards. Hey this is Greece remember! No surprises here. The road was narrow with houses along the side of it. Some places we would hurry to get around a blind corner before traffic came. If we could hear approaching vehicles we would wait for them to pass. We could tell when we were approaching Argasi as there were hotel signs pointing up little side roads. Eventually we were on a pathway and entering town . It looked like a tourist town that had rolled up its welcome mats until the next season. Almost everything was closed. A small group of tourists were standing waiting for a bus and I said to Dad "not a good sign if even the tourists want out of here". There was a sign that said Central Beach. We walked the block to the sea and oh what a site! This time I shall not be using any of my fabulous superlatives. Instead I shall say dump yard! The beach was littered with plastic bottles and bottle tops, paper and plastic and old rotting seaweed. We were met by a smell of composting sea litter and a swarm of sand flies. There was an old wrecked boat that must have sat deserted for years. Litter pick up is not the norm in this county. The only cool thing was there were structural remains of an old arched building that was now sitting 10 feet out in the sea. The date over the door was 1850. There some private beach areas further along that were very narrow but looked like they at least had some clean sand and water. We walked further up the way looking for an area that had public access but all the beach area was filled with commercial endeavors. I crossed Argasi off my list of places I may want to return to and we headed back to Zakynthos town. We stopped to take pictures of an old church and wade in the clear water along a rocky stretch of beach on the way back to town. The afternoon was spent poking around the town, we bought our bus tickets for our ride back to Athens tomorrow and had a little siesta. It was definitely a taste-the-real-culture kind of day.