The Big, Fat Greek Ukulele Adventure 2015 Begins!

Arriving in Athens we find our way to The Meeting Point, literally.  It's not hard to recognize other adventure uksters.  Our group steadily grows until the count is 24 and we board the chartered bus for Poros Island, with a stop at the Corinth Canal, a quick sighting of the beach at Corinth where Paul stepped ashore to preach, a stop at the famous theater and healing center of Epidavros before the ferry to Poros Island.

Athens Airport where we gather at The Meeting Point.  Hello, Tiffani!

The canal at Corinth, which is a major short cut to Athens...with a long history getting to completion.  We see no signs of use...well, unless you count the bungee jumping opportunity?

The theater at Epidavros, dating back to 300 B.C. Was part of this huge healing center.  People came for healing, mineral baths, the medical facilities and there is the stadium for athletics and the theater for music and plays.  

I perch myself on one of the front row limestone seats, waiting for the entertainment.  We are told at the gate we cannot bring in ukuleles (yes, we had a plan), so a few folks decided to sing a little center stage.  Steve hikes to the top of the 15,000 seats to discover the advertised acoustics are indeed perfect even at the tippy top!

While our group is harmonizing away in center stage, one of the officials is blowing a whistle...hum, what could that possibly mean?

See Steve way up there on the top?

We're happy to hop the ferry for a very quick ride across the 250 meters separating the mainland and Poros.

We pile out of the bus and up the stairs on the ferry for the short but scenic ride!

The Greek flag, with blue for the sky, white for the purity of the push for Greek independence, a cross in the upper corner to represent Greek Orthodoxy, and  9 stripes symbolizing a Greek motto: "Freedom or Death."

Poros town right ahead!  

Water taxis line the quay.  

Our apartment for the week has a bathroom and counter type kitchen downstairs and a circular stairway winds up to our bedroom and another bath.  There are covered patios above and below.

Water or juice?  Ever had chilled basil water?

What a great welcome for tired travelers!

No rest for the weary...a fabulous dinner on the patio and lots of information about the days to come.

In the morning a beautiful breakfast buffet awaits us...eggs, sausage, cereals, Greek yogurt, breads, homemade jams, sweet breads, coffee, incredible fresh squeezed orange juice and fresh fruit.  

This second day with our new friends, we are so busy it fits together as a time warp collage of activity....uke workshop with Mike Hind (from Bermuda), incredible salad lunch, a motor tour of the island on a quad, back just in time for a two hour kayak in the Aegean, back just in time for another dinner with Greek chicken, which ended just in time for an evening uke jam under the night sky...ending at midnight.  Whew!

And then there is breakfast!

Mike is on a roll...looks like a great week ahead..song writing included!

In the afternoon we explore Poros by "quad-cycle" with 10 fellow uksters.  We pass harbors, beaches, cafes, make a stop at Posideon's Temple site and back to The Odyssey.  

There we find kayak guide Brian waiting for us so he an take us out for a quick two hour tour as the weather is looking stormy for tomorrow.  

Ok...why not??!

Wow....who would have dreamed...kayaking in the Greek Islands??

And now for dinner...a long uke jam and sleep away the rest of the hours until the next day on this grand adventure.  Hard to imagine another day with a schedule like this!!