Friday 1st - This year I made it to the Marida Festival again. It's one of my favorite days on the Ithaki Calendar and as always, I wasn't disappointed. The community goes all out to make this day special for all and for that they deserve a big pat on the back.

Click here or on photograph left for more photographs of Polis Bay Stavros, Marida Festival, held each year on the first day of October.

Saturday 2nd - So here we are in October, the weather is fine, the island is greening up again and everyone is looking relaxed and happy after a successful Summer Season. There are still plenty of visitors on the island to make it worthwhile for many of the businesses to stay open and interesting for the locals before the real winter hibernation begins. Nights are getting a little chilly now, so restaurants that have tables inside, out of the damp or the rain, are doing well, but it does seem that people are going home alot earlier now than during the peak. In Frikes you can hear the music pumping til late for the yachters at Fiorendino Bar, but mostly by 11pm, things are looking a little sleepy, except for Vathy whose local community are out and about Summer or Winter. Below - Tony and Vanessa are here from Red Hill in Australia. Vanessa has her family roots in the northern village of Ag. Sarantas.

Right - Rien Post, Summer grill man at Rementzo restaurant in Frikes finishes off his Season shift with a big steak. The grill is now reserved for the owner, Nektarios.

Below - Perahori may not be the biggest tourist destination, but for eco friendly tourism, there is no place better.

Sunday 3rd - Not everything is beautiful on Ithaca unfortunately. Below - The quarry hole over Stavros gets cut deeper into the mountain.

Perahori is located on the mountain above Vathy town. The views are stunning and that's a good reason to head up there.

Right - The Frikes to Stavros road has been a dangerous stretch of uneven surfaces, potholes and dangerous edges. Let's just hope that now that it's been fixed, the locals don't use it as a racing track. Below - Just one of the hundreds of pics I took while on a rainy holiday. Seems the wherever we went, so did the rain and although the sun shone on Ithaca in my absence, by the return it was raining here too.

Left - The road to Anoghi from Stavros affords views over Stavros village, across the island to Platrithias and toward Lefkada Island.

Thursday 14th - It's taken me almost as long to make this special of Another trip from Ithaca to ... this time Northern Greece, as it took me to take the trip. We started off with the idea that we'd go up through the center of Greece to Meteora, but on the way, decided to make a stop at Delphi and Araxova to take in some of the sights and also ended up going further north to Kastoria and then Florina with everything inbetween. It was a rainy holiday, but we loved it anyway.

Heavy thunderstorms last night, but the day has cleared to a fine 27 degrees. Warm and mostly sunny. Elections are coming up soon and so there will be alot of concreting and tarring done around island. The Frikes road for instance, has been getting fixed. Yesterday the fixing reached down to the Nostos, but instead of digging up the pot holed road, tar was poured over the top of it. The edges have been smoothed a little and the road is a little wider. Guess it only has to last until the next elections. For now it's a great improvement on what it was.

Friday 15th - How does the water puddle (but even more now) in the same place as it always has considering it has just recently been resurfaced? Below - Kioni views.

Although some of the restaurants in Kioni have closed, there is still enough open to cater for the yachters who are still sailing into Ithakis shores. Left - Christo - Avra restaurant Grill Man. Below Left - Andriano from Laertes farm in Stavros. Below - Stavros View.

Seems there are also plans to re-surface the road which runs from Stavros through Platrithias. Don't know how far they'll take that, but some preliminary tar has already been laid. With trucks and buses weighing down the surfaces, there are many pot holes to fill in.

The flotillas stop next week some time, but for now, there are still plenty of yachts sailing in. Unfortunately during the day there are not many places open in the north, but in the south, there's still plenty of choice. Most restaurants and bars have decided to stay closed during the day and only open for dinner service. Yefuri in Platrithia has decided to continue business until December this year. Usually October means the boys close up and head north. Business hours are Friday and Saturday night and a favorite for many, Sunday brunch.

Once the rain stops, it will be olive picking time. By all accounts, it looks like a good harvest this year. Olive trees are full with olives and no dreaded bugs to speak of, ruining the crop.

Sunday 17th - Heavy rains and thunderstorms overnight with more rain today. It's looking very wintry today, but it's really not that cold. This year winter has come rather abruptly it seems. Let's hope we have some more sunny days before the cold comes. Left - Exoghi under the cloud. Below - Fiorendino Bar in Frikes lights up a dark corner of the village.

SUCCULENT IN THE POT

Tuesday 19th - Half way through October and we've almost had a winters' worth of rain already. Yesterday again, the skies opened up and drenched the island with some spectacular lightning and thunderstorms to go along with it. The thunder was so strong it made the earth rumble under our feet and the lightning turned night into day for seconds as it passed over us. Looks like olive picking time is halted until the weather settles. Below Left - It's been raining so much that even the cats were complaining.

The temp was quite a bit lower yesterday also. Time for some heat, at least at night. Heat also gets rid of the damp, and rain on an island usually means damp.

Thursday 21st - Looks like the bad weather is finally easing off. Today the skies seem to be clearer and the warmth is penetrating through. The heavy rains brought a rather abrubt end to this years' season and have given us a record amount of water in the cisterns for this time of year. It's been so miserable there've been no chances to get out and about witht he camera. Hopefully today, there will be opportunities again.

Right - That's the clarity through the rain over the past week and a bit.

Friday 22nd - Ithakis 'En Xoro' Group has organized Latin Dance lessons every Thursday over the winter. Now that sounds like a great way to keep fit over these next few months. For details contact: +30 69727 43591

Election propaganda is on every bulletin board now. Candidates vying for Ithacas vote. There's the usual suspects in PASOK and the New Democratic party, although the ND has put a new tilt on its campaign, suggesting that Ithacans choose who will be best for them without putting up candidates. Hmm. There is also an extreme indie candidate who has big plans for the island, including an airport among other massive projects. Forget the broken marina in Frikes and a way to dispose of Ithacas rubbish without incurring debt or hazaard, let's just go straight to the big stuff. Go to Page 2 for more by clicking here

Left - Can't imagine this would be much fun. Above - Exoghi still under cloud. Below - Maki from Fiorendino bar in Frikes, starts the clean up.