Hotel Katia Vólos

... of thing is perfectly fine for everyone else, it does not fly with my skin. The white one became red in the funniest of places and picked up even more freckles.

As Cian put it, telling him that he's darker than I am is a milestone for Irish people everywhere.

In any case, it was awesome to be escaping to an island.

10.04.09 Arrived in Volos and set off to explore the city on foot. Found a laundry service (cheaper than getting it done on the ship at 6.00 EUR / shirt un-ironed), we got several shirts, socks & smalls done for 8.00 EUR in total. Found a few shops of interest and saw a couple of adorable Dalmation Puppies in a pet shop, poor little mites no room and soiled cage. Lovely selection of fashion, bags ...

... which become a frequent mode of obtaining meal. I met many friends in Volos, and found the university students quite interesting and good company. We went out a few times, in the town which I found to be a very nice place, probably one of the better towns I had seen in quite some time.

... being used for target practice. We emerged next morning to a wet muddy site, with one motor home surrounded by sandbags and another with a ditch around it. We did not feel like a lot of driving, particularly along Greek mountain roads with Greek lunatic drivers, but the second morning we had to visit a supermarket, so took the opportunity to climb up above Volos to Portaria, a charming village full of springs and ...

... all muddy and wet, all of us really enjoyed ourselves. The kids were really excited by now and didn’t want to end their adventurous day just yet. They begged their uncle for more fun. So, Argi drove us to a beach nearby and created a game for the children.

The beach was a very rocky one and the children were asked to pick the best stones and/or pebbles they could find to throw them on the surface of the sea. The stone that went ...

21st August 2008
Our fourth day in Volos – Argi went running with Georgios and Fotis early in the morning while I slept in late and later joined Christina and little Jonaki for breakfast. I did not feel like I was staying in a guesthouse at all. The little stone hut was beginning to feel like our own country retreat and the Mansion was like the reception or clubhouse of a shared residence, something akin to how condominium ...

20th August 2008


Highlights of Pelion:

According to legend, Mount Pelion was the summer resort of the Gods of Olympus. It is easy to see why. Strategically situated between the Pagasitikos Gulf on the west and the Aeagean Sea on the east, visitors to this area will get the best views of both sides.

As Argi manoeuvred skilfully along the impossibly winding roads, I retracted myself into my Bubble of ...

... I just couldn’t resist it. It was true – there is something about having a cold, strong Mojito on a very hot summer afternoon in Potistika, overlooking the blue, raging sea below! I later found out from Climax’s website that the partners of the Restaurant had graduated from the American Bartenders School - I suppose that explained their potent mix that had sent me to La-La land for the rest of the afternoon.

Volleyball @ Potistika ...

... space. The view from outside our hut was simply amazing. We could see the other side of the mountain with many villages dotted along the horizon. There was no air-condition in these huts but a standing fan was provided for us. We were perfectly alright with that because we were out most of the days anyway. Although the weather can get quite hot during the day in August, the mornings and nights were relatively cool and we slept with our windows opened on ...

... enough to cower on the shoulder while the other car squeezes by. This is less entertaining than it sounds. This road makes the one to Vizitas look like an interstate. Bella has been in a fruitless search for an Internet cafe as she has not been able to make a wireless connection at the hotel with her laptop and she has lots of business to attend to for her travel company. She is growing very anxious, but the next village holds even less promise of a solution. It's no ...