Day 13 - Valley of the Butterflies (that are actually moths)

On the description of our car rental for today, the travel agent wrote "NOT A MINIVAN." When it was delivered, I saw that she was right. I could have started a bus line with the behemoth that would comfortably seat 9 and accommodate their luggage for a 3 week trip.

I drove the tank, first to the valley of butterflies, where the fragrant sap of a tree that is used to make vanilla incense attracts thousands of moths. We walked 3.2 km up the valley, though I lagged behind my family as I tried to take some photos. The walk was beautiful, along a small river with waterfalls. We saw crabs hiding in the rapid easing for food to float by.

After the valley, we headed to what was billed as a traditional Greek village but actually end up being a small town without much of interest. We ate at a small taverna and completely blew our theory on how well we'd learned to order. We ordered a couple of entrees and appetizers and as soon as they started coming it was clear that we'd made some mistakes. The plate of dolmatas must have had thirty pieces instead of the six we expected. the "grilled vegetables" was a plate of battered and fried veggies that would have been an entree anywhere else. The tsatsiki came in a huge bowl. The stefados came last and was too delicious to leave. I ate a 3,000 calorie lunch.

After lunch we headed to ancient Kamiros to see Aphrodite's temple. Andrea, not used to that large a lunch passed out on the trip. Fortunately the car was big enough that she could lie down in the front seat next to me. Unfortunately, she was my navigation system. When she woke up we'd gone 15 miles down a road with hairpin turns that was not pointed where we were headed.

Once in Kamiros, we saw the ruins and temple, which was less impressive than most we had seen but allowed the kids to pick up a few points more points.

Back in town, we went to another Greek restaurant, got crepes at our favorite crepe stand (where the proprietor took 2.90 instead of 3 euros when I couldn't quite come up with exact change), and headed off to bed. As Andrea and I lay in bed, we thought about the next two weeks apart. It will be the longest time we've been separated since Joshua was born. Since we've been married we have only been separated this long twice. It is going to be very difficult for me.

A few more notes about Greece:

A friend pointed out that despite the animals everywhere the streets are clean. When I mentioned this to my family the kids took it as a challenge and have managed to find a couple of messes, though still nothing like the number you would expect given the number of animals. We can add to that observation that we've seen almost no litter and few garbage cans. Clearly, there is an invisible ultra efficient army of street sweepers or Zeus and his family magic it all away.

Day 23 -- Kos

At breakfast we discussed our plans for the day. Elina and Sasha were headed for Telyndos and Vasilis was still feeling sick so our hosts suggested we go to another island for the day. I inquired about Ephsos, which Eva highly recommended but it would mean going to another island, changing ferries and would require an overnight stay. They suggested Kos and after a little research we found that we had 15 minutes to catch the ferry.

Ari and I quickly jumped in the car and Gianis drove us to the port and held the boat while I bought tickets. We got to Kos and took a taxi to the water park. In my daily attempt to have my father of the year award revoked I realized that I brought too little money with me. The ferry was 12 euros in each direction, the taxi 8, the water park 17 for me and 13 for Ari, a locker 3. No place took credit cards. I had brought 70 euros, some change, and a credit card which I thought was more than ample. Oops. I announced that lunch had to be someplace that took credit cards.

The park was relatively small compared to Cedar Point or Michigan's Adventure but had plenty to do and was almost empty so there we're no lines to wait in.

Ari frolicked in the water for hours. I went down three big slides with him and I swam a few laps to feel how much muscle mass I've lost since I stopped regular weight lifting.

Copyright Notice and Warning: The following paragraph is likely to offend people who are religious, object to chauvinism (that means you Joshua), have married me, or have a daughter who married me. Those people are prohibited from reading it.  Those who will report, hint at, repeat, or allude to the contents of the following paragraph to my wife are also prohibited from reading it. License to read the following paragraph is given to everyone else provided you immediately forget its contents and never discuss it with anyone else.

The water park was full of beautiful young (well when you're my age they are all young) females in bikinis. There was a time in my life when I would have sat mouth agape, possibly drooling, thanking God for the beauty he had bestowed upon my eyes. However, my glass half empty  wife has pointed out that perhaps it is God's way of torturing me by showing me what I am missing. Given the intense yearning I feel for my wfie, not having been apart from her for this long in well over a decade, and feeling that God must want to make sure I'm not too happy after my post about the paradise I am in yesterday, I was definitely tilting toward the God is torturing me view of the world.

OK: feminists, wives, wives relations, and people who have not yet mentally consigned me to Hell for my misogynistic thoughts may resume reading here.

At 1:30, both of us getting hungry, we headed back to town to find lunch but when we got there a ferry to Kalymnos was about to leave so we jumped on. Arriving back in Kalymnos we were down to 8 euros. We asked unsuccessfully at 7 or 89 restaurants if they'd take a credit card before we gave up and caught the bus back home where Eleni whipped us up some spaghetti Bolognese , bread, and a salad. Food never tasted so good.

After lunch we Skyped with the family, twice. The first time was fun and games but the second upset Ari greatly. I had spent part of the day thinking that I had never seen Ari so happy for such an extended period of time and seeing him reduced to tears was hard to bear.

I calmed him down a bit and the children distracted him with a game of hide and seek which I followed with a walk to the local patiserrie, where we shared baklavas and chocolate cake. Unfortunately, Ari became upset right before his Greek lesson was supposed to start so he missed one of his precious (at least to me) Greek lessons.

Finally, here I sit, exhausted, God toying with me more. To punish me for my gloat filled posts about mosquitoes, he had Ari bitten twice and sent two into my room, allowed me to kill the first and made the second escape from me by inches the last five times I tried to kill it. I may have actually gotten it on the l last go, but more likely he's hiding it to let it buzz my ear right when I am dozing off.