Down Time

And this is what we do when we're not working, eating or sleeping.

The panaramic shot of the village shows you Karamili from our drive up to our home in the village of Proastias (spelling?). Erhard, like Andy and most Greeks, likes to go for a swim every day. He's kind enough to take Niki and I with him and the sea you see is the Messinian Gulf. It is much saltier than anything besides the Dead Sea of course. And this makes swimming absolutely effortless.

There's a photo of Erhard and Nikki. Our arrangement is terrific. He has a main house upstairs with an apartment downstairs which Niki an dI hsare. We have our own rooms there, a small fridge and a washing machine.

There are 5 or so beaches in this area here and we have visited them all. I'm not sure which we are going to today. One of them is actually much cooler than the rest because there is a fresh water spring that feeds into it. The funny thing is that the very top layer, perhaps an inch or so, is very cold while the rest is the more commonly cool sea temperature. I'm toldthis is because the minerals in the salt water weigh it down while the cold water is lighter and mineral free. It's the most refreshing but in the village of Stoupa where many tourists are also enjoying the waters. But this is also the only beach in the area with a shower on the beach where one does not have to wait to go home before washing off the salt.

The village we are in, Proastia, is absolutely ancient and beautiful. There is an old monestary, Bizantine times, that \i really want to walk to but it is too hot by the time I've finished my shower, meal and nap after work. Perhaps on my next day off I won't sleep until 10 and make my way up there. You'd love the pictures. I'm going ot post a few more pics of the village here, the few I have so far.