Loving our time in Naoussa. Sunny, warm and just so, well, Greek! Magnificent scenery wherever you go – white-washed houses with colourfully painted doors and shutters, sparkling azure sea, multi-hued boats painted in readiness for the season and bougainvilleas artistically creeping just where a splash of colour is needed. Given that we have hit the middle of the tourist season, the hordes are increasing, especially in the evening, when everyone has washed off the essence of beach and are ready to eat and drink. Jason remarked the other day that he thinks that, as a family, we are quite difficult to pigeonhole into a nationality (and we have had people here tell us this). We attribute this to the fact that Jason is now tanned like a Greek and has the dark hair, eyes and beard to back this up; I am sort of tanned at the moment, have blonde hair though not the Scandinavian kind and have green eyes and then, of course, there is little Rykersaurus who is blonde and blue-eyed. So, they may have inclined towards Denmark or the Netherlands given the blonde offspring, except that Jason is pure dark side. Couple that with the fact that we tend to adopt a European lilt when we speak English in order to be understood (seriously, we are not understood unless we speak English with their accent) and you get the picture. It’s all good fun!

Dinners have continued to be fantastic from a gastronomical viewpoint and interesting/challenging from a Rykersaurus behavioural perspective.  Rykersaurus is usually pretty exhausted by dinner time, hence doesn’t want to sit still and eat, unless of course, there is pizza or chips on the menu. So, when we elect to eat at a traditional tavern (which is often -when in Greece, do what the Greeks do) and hence want to eat traditional food, the crazy Rykersaurus is unleashed!! This is how Ryker’s love of drawing was born. In order to distract him from his tiredness/bad mood, we encouraged him to draw whatever he could see. So now at every meal, he sketches boats, scooters, restaurants – and anything else he can think of.  Needless to say, as we have had many meals, he has filled many exercise books full of drawings. Will post a picture of one of his drawings soon.

Our day trip on the ‘Naxos Star’ to Mykonos and nearby Delos was fabulous.  Delos is an amazing archaeological site, an open air museum for all intents and purposes, which was first inhabited in the 3rd millenium BC. I can’t even begin to imagine how long ago that was but there, on the island, is evidence of a rich and interesting ancient culture.  We  walked up Mt Kythnos for a dramatic view of the ruins, the Sacred Harbour and its better known neighbour, Mykonos. At the top of the rocky mountain, visitors have left their mark by making towers of stones, so Rykersaurus and Daddy followed suit. Top marks to Rykersaurus for making it to the summit. He has actually been amazing on this trip, going everywhere with us – up many steep inclines and steps, with minimal complaint. You should see the size of his calves now.

Then it was on to picturesque Mykonos for lunch and it was as lovely as we remembered (and just as crowded). Visited the obligatory spots – the windmills, the backstreets that evaded pirates so long ago and Little Venice.  Had a nice lunch away from the sashaying, cruise ship tourists and then later on, a cup of tea/coffee on the waterfront. Noted with sadness the absence of the famous pelican of the island, Petros, and hoped that he was simply having a siesta or also shunning the crowds. He was a prominent harbourside figure last time we were there.