Above - Penelope Restaurant in Frikes. Right - Maria and Stathis from Penelope Restaurant (also known as Steve's Place to the yachters who sail around the Ionian) take a little break after a long shift. Daughter and father are never to busy to stop for a smile. Below - Forkys Bay at Dexa.

Thursday 3rd - Mostly fine day yesterday, but a little cooler than over the past weeks. Left - One of the Frikes Mills. Below - Frikes Main street quieting down a little after a busy night. The bay was filled with Flotillas. One of the busiest nights in a long while in this small port village.

Friday 4th - Looks like June weather may be neither here or there with cloudy periods mixed with equal sunny periods. When the sun is out it's warm, when it's behind the clouds, it's a little chilly. Still the views are very clear around the island and that's always a plus. Below - Frikes Bay side (the other side)

Saturday 5th - The Vathy Gallery is now putting on several exhibitions over the next few months. The Gallery is open every day from 10.00- 13.00 and afternoon 19.00 - 22.30 and every Sunday from 19.00 - 22.30. You can see exhibitions form artists including Klara Koitler, Ithakis very talented painter who paints in her retreat in Exoghi.

Whiplash! thanks to a speeding driver that was either asleep, blind or on the mobile phone. Wrecked car, crinked neck. What a start to the weekend.

Left - The stone retaining wall on the far side of Frikes Bay is coming along very nicely. It's a decorative and safety measure. Good job. Now Frikes only needs what it's needed for many years, a new quay. The old one on the far side is broken and even before it was broken, never did the job it was supposed to. On the roadside quay, the old quay, well, they knew how to build them in those days. Sturdy and safe.

If you're wondering what happened to the Roman archeological finds in Vathy, well, they have been covered up by a new construction. Possibly apartments.

This morning started off with thunder, lightning and rain, a real heavy downpour, and the weather forecasters didn't predict it. By lunchtime the skies were mostly clear again only to cloud over more and more as the late afternoon approached.

Sunday 6th - With yesterdays unpredictable and unpredicted weather, you'd never have expected today to turn out so idyllic. The sun is shining, it's warm, no wind... the perfect day for the beach. Last night Drosia restaurant on the road to Filiatro Beach in Vathy, (and the only place with Paella) had a big local wedding where guests came from north and south to help celebrate it. Although Drosia staff were a little nervous as to how the weather may impact on the wedding parties special day, not to mention the food which had been prepared through the day, they had nothing to worry about. Night time on Ithaca was a star filled sky with no sign of wind, rain or storms.

Right - Exoghi Views after the storms cleared. Below - If there's music to be had you can bet your bottom dollar that Dimo is the one to call for all the dj requirements. Always a good selection of music.

Right - What visitor to northern Ithaca hasn't sat on the bench just outside Raxi, either to rest or to enjoy the views.

Above and Below - Sunday Brunch at Yefuri Restaurant in Platrithia Northern Ithaki

Another beautiful weather day today. Let's hope rainy skies are a thing of the past. We shouldn't have any now until October.

Wednesday 9th - Stunning weather days again. Nothing but blue skies and Kefi (good cheer) all around. Below - The Roman 'Finds' in Vathy get buried again, this time under a new build.

Right and Below - A superfast tidal wave gets the surf up in Frikes yesterday and tosses the yachts onto the quay and onto eachother on the broken side of the quay. 5 very scarey minutes for the yachters and the onlookers. Luckily for Frikes businesses that these yachts didn't pull up anchor and leave.

You can Google Pop Levy to get all the latest on his musical moves. He has also branched out into Producing with Californian artist Bunny Holiday, and is looking forward to getting into film. If his videos with Bunny Holiday are anything to go by, they'll be very quirky cool.

Right - Stathis from Penelope Restaurant in Frikes takes a few minutes to catch up with the news in his local paper. Monday to Friday in Frikes are the busiest business days for the village with Flotillas with hungry yachters sailing in daily for some Traditional Greek Kitchen food. While most people think this life must be idyllic, local business owners know that between June and end of September, early mornings and late nights with hundreds of meals going out daily isn't easy.

Monday 7th - It's been a bit of a Yefuri weekend this time. Last night the restaurant put on a little jazz music with Adrian Lunney and Demetri Vlass. The gig was short notice, but if you're interested, Adrian Lunney will be playing again this coming Friday at Yefuri. Last night he had some special guests with 11 year old Tyler and her father Spiros Lecatsas pulling out their guitar talents.

Above - Yefuri restaurant during soundcheck. Left - Adrian Lunney. Below - Demetri Vlass.

Left - Tyler Below - Sprios Lecatsas dueting with Adrian Lunney. Jazz meets Platrithia.

Left - In Frikes, Peter (or Poita as we like to call him) welcomes Mary Mihalakos to Ithaki with a Fiorendino (or Orange Bar or YMCA as we like to call it) breakfast. Above - The Kioni 'picture postcard' view. This is Mary's first time Ithaki and she's enjoying taking in the sites and meeting the locals.

Left - Pop Levy is back on Ithaki again this year, this time looking very good in olive branch. Pop has recently been upgraded from 'Alien' to 'Alien with extraordinary talent' in CA of USA where he lives. This Visa Status is usually reserved for sports icons. Pop Levy has a new album recorded and mastered, which will hopefully be released very soon.

Light up a Sparkler and everyone becomes a kid again, everyone except for Riens' wife who was working elsewhere for her husbands birthday celebration. This is not unusual during a Summer Season. Wifes, husbands and friends sneak in a little time here and there whenever and wherever they can, during this very busy period. It's going to get even busier next week. Football starts soon. Warm up the 'Wide Screens'.

Left - You can catch this view on the road to Kathara/Anoghi. On a really clear day you can see the mainland and Patras. Below - Kathara Monastry.

Left - Rien Post from Rementzo Restaurant in Frikes celebrated his birthday last night after a long and very busy shift behind the charcoal grill. Friends got out the 'sparklers' and a version of Happy birthday 'Greek Style Accent' to show their love.

Thursday 10th - I guess in this economic climate, Ithaki is thanking its lucky stars that the flotilla traffic has decreased this Season, if anything, it's increased. Flotillas mean earnings for restaurants and gift shops.

Above Left - Locals eating out is a rare sight this Season. With wage cuts and tax increases, locals seem to be staying away from their beloved cafes and restaurants more and more. Above Right - Aetos views.

If you're looking for something to do in terms of entertainment this weekend, you can catch some jazz at Yefuri Restaurant in Platrithia this Friday night with English guitarist Adrian Lunney and Ithakis own Demetri Vlass, jamming out some favourite jazz tunes. On Saturday 12th at the Vathy Gallery, Haris Louvros is presenting a photographic Exhibition of his works. Dimitris Danis, Gallery curator for 2010, welcomes you all to the opening night. Doors open 8.30pm.

As this time of year is wasp season, and after I had bragged that I haven't been stung since 1986, a wasp got caught in my sleeve yesterday as I was putting on my cardie and was stung 3 times. I'm allergic to medications of any kind so I put on crushed garlic and wrapped my arm in paper soaked in vinegar. I can report that today I still have no swelling and minimal pain. If it works for me, it may work for you too should you be unlucky enough to get stung this Season. The usual cure is an amonia based liquid, but that doesn't stop the swelling. Older locals also swear by the milk of a fig leaf.

Friday 11th - Right - Sunset over Afales Bay in the north of Ithaca. Below - Eugenia and Colin (seen here with Zaharate and Nikos Vlassopoulos from Lahos) are here for a few weeks to holiday at their Ithacan home. This couple was married on the island in one of their ancestral homes and return to ithaki as often as is possible from Sydney Australia. Colin and Eugenia like to keep some of the old traditions alive by cooking in the outdoor wood oven from recipes commonly used in the 50s

There don't seem to be many visitors coming or leaving the island at present. It is only June and June usually isn't very busy. Now the big hope is July and August.

Like many family homes, the walls are covered in photographs that can span over a century. I would like to thank Eugenia and Colin for allowing ithacagreece.com to join in their traditional meal.

It's not uncommon for visitors to the island to be invited in the homes of locals to join in a feast of various kinds. The Ithacan people are known for their friendly nature and welcoming atmosphere. It's quite a treat to walk down a traditional memory lane now and again. It keeps our feet on the ground and our minds on the really important things in life.