Island of IOS

 Fall has arrived and the mornings and evenings are cooler with a breeze off the Sea. 

On the 28th we took the ferry to the island of IOS. As we disembarked we realized that we had made a good choice. It's a small, quiet island. It is full of beaches and therefore they are trying to make it a party island. But that is far away from where we are staying.

 Our place is close to the Port and up, just enough to be able to overlook the mountains in the distance. Very peaceful.

 As we were looking at our plans for the next island, we found we had made a mistake. When booking on Hotels.com they sometimes put hotels from different island and we realized we had booked a hotel on a different island than where our ferry was going. Hmm! What do we do?

 We mulled around different options and then found out that we could change our ferry and since our hotel was not changeable, we decided to stay a few more nights in IOS and then head to the mainland.

 So what seemed to be a mistake was really a blessing. I found myself relaxing since the decision was out my hands and enjoy where we are.

 So we are here on IOS until September 3 when we board a ferry to the mainland.

Tomorrow we will rent a car and drive around the island.

Next Adventure

 On August 27 we dropped off our friends, Rick and Sally, at the Airport. It's a small one room airport with one check-in. They will have a 40 minute flight to Athens, spend the night and then head home.

 We, on the other hand, are spending another night at the Naxos Beach Resort Hotel while we make some plans for the next week.

Here are some highlights from Naxos

 Our next adventure is the island of IOS

Naxos

 

On the 23rd we took a ferry from Santorini to Naxos. Santorini, although beautiful, was more crowded and has become more of a party island. Naxos is more family oriented and calmer.

We took a Taxi to our hotel; Naxos Beach Resort Hotel. We've stayed here before and it is so nice. We have an ocean view from our balcony and about a 15 minute walk from downtown.  

  

 We walked around the town, had some lunch and ice cream and walked UP and then DOWN.

 On the 25th, we rented a car and drove around the island ending up at the Vlasiss Family Restaurant on the beach. Fotis and Mary Romeos met us there and we had a wonderful lunch and visit with them.

 On the way to the restaurant we saw a spectacular display of wind surfing.

 Clifford is having a great time

 We also received notice that our son, Jason's, documentary is being released soon. Here is a link to the trailer. I will post the link to the full documentary when I get it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wroL0kvYJLs

Santorini

 

After another trip to the airport and a 50 minute flight, we arrived in Santorini. Transportation was waiting for us and we were transported to Nolis White Fira. It's a cave-like structure on the hillside; down 40 uneven steps.

 On Friday we decided to rent a car and drive around the island. Beautiful scenery, lots of blue topped churches and good food.

Today, which I think is Saturday (we loose track of time) we are regrouping and headed to Naxos on the Ferry at noon.

Athens

 

We finally made it to Athens; 24 hours late.

 We took an Uber to the Astor Hotel, near Syntagma Square. We've stayed here before and as usual, it was very nice. We slept on the plane so felt good and ready to go. After a shower and change of clothes, we headed to the Acropolis and Mars Hill, just for a review.

 After a meal and ice cream in the Plaka, we headed back to the hotel for some sleep.

 I love breakfast in Greece. Cheeses, meats, croissants, and other pastries. One of the reasons we like the Astor Hotel is that breakfast is on the rooftop and gives us a view of the the Parthneon. We decided to just enjoy the view as we need to head to the airport at 11 a.m. for our flight to Santorini.

I think we will make it to Athens -- Just wondering When!!

 We left home and thanks to the HOV lane, we made it to the airport with ease. Everything was on time and we had great exit row seats. As we settled in, we were smiling. Then - - mechanical issues -- and we had to de-plane. 😓Even though it was a short delay, we were going to miss our connecting flight so Rich spent time on the phone rescheduling. Still we would make it to Athens later in the day on the 19th. 

 After reloading, we were on our way. THEN - - Storms in Chicago -- rerouted to St. Louis. Realizing the storms were not going to clear, we ended up spending the night at the Hilton.😓 More time spent on the phone rescheduling.

 We finally made it to Chicago on the 19th and will fly out to Athens at 5 pm. Since we had a long layover,  we decided to check out the American Lounge. While trying to decide if it was worth the price, a gentlemen in front of us said he would sponsor us and here we are - - comfortable chairs, breakfast, lunch, coffee, tea, etc. 😋

 Now we are sitting comfortably enjoying!!

Ready, Set, Go!

 

We are packed and ready to go with two small carryon suitcases and backpacks for each. Mine is filled with snacks! 

 Our last year's trip to Spain carried the theme "aimlessly wandering" from the book A walk in the Woods with Pooh. And if you look at many of the pictures, you will see that Winnie the Pooh tagged along.

 Well, Clifford (the mascot who rides around with us in our Red TESLA) decided he wanted to join us this morning. So I guess we have this year's adventure will be entitled "Clifford gets introduced to Greece."

So Good-Bye for now. See you on the other side of the world!

Adventure 2025

 On Monday we begin our 2025 adventure as we return to Greece. Some have asked "Why Greece?" I'm not really sure, but in 2005, when we were planning our Sabbatical we got fixated on Greece. One reason was because it is the land of the Apostle Paul and has many biblical sites. Another reason was that at that time, just before they joined the European Union, it was an easy place to travel at an inexpensive price. When we returned home, Rich preached a series of sermons called "In the Shadow of Paul." You can find them on his sermon audio page at https://www.sermonaudio.com/series/36547

 It was at that time that we bumped in Fotis and Mary Romeos and got connected to their ministry to the Greek people. We also visited Athens, Ephesus, Patmos, Corinth and Samos along with multiple islands. We fell in love with the islands, the people and the history.

 In 2016 we went back and visited Crete where Titus ministered and Paul had a short stopover in Fairhaven. We found an Evangelical church of about 15 people and were able to worship and have a meal with them.

 In 2020 we went back and visited Philipi, Thessaloniki, the Monastery at Meteora and spent some time with Fotis and Mary at the Cosmos Center and got some in-depth insight into their ministry. That was when they introduced us to the island of Naxos. It is a diverse island with lots to see and also the home where Fotis' mother grew up. They still visit their family home there and in August we hope to visit with them again on the island. PS They are also home to the Waffle House (Ice Cream)

 You are welcome to follow our journey in 2025. We will probably be visiting some of these same sites and also hope to get to some new islands. 

  Rich will also be recording some short "sermonettes" which I will be posting on my YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/@300phydeau

 I blogged most of these trips which you can find in the archives of this blog if you are interested.