One of the things that makes the island of Crete so intriguing to me over the years is that it is a minature continent. About 200 miles long and from 15 to 50 miles wide, it contains within this relatively small space four major, rugged mountain ranges, and numerous bays and peninsulas. When we drove from Iraklion to Chania on Tuesday, we drove within sight of three mountain ranges in the space of two hours.
Almost always you are within sight of both mountains and sea! This makes any travel on the island endlessly fascinating!
Yesterday our family drove up one of those mountain ranges to the plain of Omalos, a high mountain plateau in the White Mountains. We had hoped at one time to walk the Samaria Gorge which descends to the south shore of the island to the sea from the plain of Omalos. The hike, which is very popular these days, is not open yet. However, we enjoyed the high mountain air (nearly 2,000 meters high), and we all enjoyed seeing the plethora of wild flowers. Because of the ecological isolation, there are many plants endemic to Crete, which means they can only be found on this island. Yesterday we say a rare tulip that blooms only on this high plateau. At places the ground was covered with these magnificent blossoms. Sorry not to have photos, but maybe we can add those later.
We have had a good week. Loretta did get out of the hospital in Iraklion on Tuesday. She is a bit weak, but feels good and is recovering strength as well. Wednesday our family hiked up the Rodopos Peninsula where the Orthodox Academy is. Loretta and I drove up and picked up the family and had a nice picnic high in the olive groves, and goat and sheep pastures. That evening Kaitlyn's Dad, Steve, left for home on the ferry boat, so we took him to the harbor at Chania. He is so good with Kaitlyn, and I know both Kaitlyn and Joanne are missing him. We are so glad he could join us for about ten days.
Today is Dora and Susanna's last day with us. I will take them to the airport in Chania tonight and turn in the Fiat van we have been driving these two weeks. Joanne and Kaitlyn will stay with us here at Kolymbari until we all come home together in just over a week, April 29.
So much for this time.
Roy
Saturday, April 19, 2008
Monday, April 14, 2008
The Week that Was!!
I haven't posted a blog for over a week, for several reasons.
First, Loretta and I joined our three daughters, Joanne, Dora and Susanna, and granddaughter Kaitlyn, in Athens on Sunday, April 5, as they flew in from the States, and we were joined by Kaitlyn's Dad, Steve, on Tuesday. So since that Sunday we have been busy traveling. Our first week with our girls was designed as a kind of tour of classical Greek archaeological sites--Myceneae, Naufplio, Epidauros, Olympia, and Delphi. Then we came to Crete with our rented van on a ferryboat on Thursday night to begin our time here on Crete.
The second reason for a late blog is that I lost my laptop computer in Athens on Monday, April 6, when I misplaced it or had it stolen--not sure what happened. So when I did have some time to work on the computer it wasn't easily available to me. This is also the reason I'm not including any pictures with this and succeeding blogs, at least at this time.
The third reason for a late blog is that our family has been dealing with a fairly agressive intestinal bug of some kind that has laid about all of us low at one time or another this past week. I'll spare you the gory details, but it hasn't been pretty for any of us. We know that Kaitlyn had diarrhea on the trip over from the States, so it's easy to blame her, but it may have been something we all ate as well I suppose.
While the rest of us have been fighting it off fairly successfully without official medical help, Loretta hasn't been so fortunate, since her immune system is already compromised by the anti-rejection drugs she takes for her kidney transplant. Actually, she has been struggling with colds and infections since we left home for Israel, but always managed to recover pretty well. The week before we flew to Athens to meet the girls, she had a bad cough that persisted so much that I sent her to an Athens hospital emergency room on Sunday, April 5. She was treated with a three day flu drug therapy and seemed to respond to that. By Tuesday she was having her first good day in a week. Then she got this intestinal bug, and it has laid her pretty low. We knew on the ferryboat to Crete on Thursday night that we would need to seek medical treatment for her again, so when we arrived in Iraklion on Friday morning we took her to a hospital emergency room here in the city. They have kept her in until now, but the doctors are quite sure she can be dismissed tomorrow (Tuesday).
She has received excellent medical attention from the nephrologists (kidney doctors) on staff here, and we feel very confident about the quality of medical care she is getting and responding to. Of course, the medical system is quite different and strange in many ways as well. It is an experience of Greek culture we would have preferred not learning to know so well, but yet we are learning so much from this experience too. And we are so thankful that they were able to turn around the dehydration that was on the verge of threatening her kidney transplant.
Despite our illnesses, we have been able to do just about everything we had intended to do. The family spent a little more time than we had planned exploring things here in Iraklion where Joanne was born and where we lived for two years, but that hasn't been bad. And today the family took off to see the East Coast of Crete where Susanna worked on an archaeological site in 2004. Loretta and I are sorry to miss that, but we had traveled there when we lived here so we know it is a beautiful part of the island. Tomorrow, with Loretta dismissed from the hospital, we will return to Kolymbari and our "base" at the Orthodox Academy of Crete for the last two weeks here on Crete. At this point we hope to finish out, though at times this weekend we considered coming home early because of Loretta's health. At this point I think it will be safe to stay until our secheduled flights.
So much for our news for now, and the week that our family will remember in a number of remarkable ways for years to come!
Roy
First, Loretta and I joined our three daughters, Joanne, Dora and Susanna, and granddaughter Kaitlyn, in Athens on Sunday, April 5, as they flew in from the States, and we were joined by Kaitlyn's Dad, Steve, on Tuesday. So since that Sunday we have been busy traveling. Our first week with our girls was designed as a kind of tour of classical Greek archaeological sites--Myceneae, Naufplio, Epidauros, Olympia, and Delphi. Then we came to Crete with our rented van on a ferryboat on Thursday night to begin our time here on Crete.
The second reason for a late blog is that I lost my laptop computer in Athens on Monday, April 6, when I misplaced it or had it stolen--not sure what happened. So when I did have some time to work on the computer it wasn't easily available to me. This is also the reason I'm not including any pictures with this and succeeding blogs, at least at this time.
The third reason for a late blog is that our family has been dealing with a fairly agressive intestinal bug of some kind that has laid about all of us low at one time or another this past week. I'll spare you the gory details, but it hasn't been pretty for any of us. We know that Kaitlyn had diarrhea on the trip over from the States, so it's easy to blame her, but it may have been something we all ate as well I suppose.
While the rest of us have been fighting it off fairly successfully without official medical help, Loretta hasn't been so fortunate, since her immune system is already compromised by the anti-rejection drugs she takes for her kidney transplant. Actually, she has been struggling with colds and infections since we left home for Israel, but always managed to recover pretty well. The week before we flew to Athens to meet the girls, she had a bad cough that persisted so much that I sent her to an Athens hospital emergency room on Sunday, April 5. She was treated with a three day flu drug therapy and seemed to respond to that. By Tuesday she was having her first good day in a week. Then she got this intestinal bug, and it has laid her pretty low. We knew on the ferryboat to Crete on Thursday night that we would need to seek medical treatment for her again, so when we arrived in Iraklion on Friday morning we took her to a hospital emergency room here in the city. They have kept her in until now, but the doctors are quite sure she can be dismissed tomorrow (Tuesday).
She has received excellent medical attention from the nephrologists (kidney doctors) on staff here, and we feel very confident about the quality of medical care she is getting and responding to. Of course, the medical system is quite different and strange in many ways as well. It is an experience of Greek culture we would have preferred not learning to know so well, but yet we are learning so much from this experience too. And we are so thankful that they were able to turn around the dehydration that was on the verge of threatening her kidney transplant.
Despite our illnesses, we have been able to do just about everything we had intended to do. The family spent a little more time than we had planned exploring things here in Iraklion where Joanne was born and where we lived for two years, but that hasn't been bad. And today the family took off to see the East Coast of Crete where Susanna worked on an archaeological site in 2004. Loretta and I are sorry to miss that, but we had traveled there when we lived here so we know it is a beautiful part of the island. Tomorrow, with Loretta dismissed from the hospital, we will return to Kolymbari and our "base" at the Orthodox Academy of Crete for the last two weeks here on Crete. At this point we hope to finish out, though at times this weekend we considered coming home early because of Loretta's health. At this point I think it will be safe to stay until our secheduled flights.
So much for our news for now, and the week that our family will remember in a number of remarkable ways for years to come!
Roy
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)