Seems like whoever hasn't had the flu over these past few weeks has got it now or will get it soon. It's spreading like wild fire around the island. A week of recovery seems to do it though, so it's nothing too serious. As I only got back yesterday, I have some catching up to do with the news from around the island, but once I know, you'll know, so stay tuned.

Right - Thanasi and Angelique, usually on Ithaca over the Summer, have planned a little Spring visit this year. I caught up with them in Athens, where they told me that they'll be on Ithaki soon to catch up with friends and relax away from their busy Athens lives. Angelique and Thanasi are expecting their first child in about 3 months. Congratulations to these Summer Exoghians!

Left - Ag. Sarantas in the north of Ithaca. Below Left - Vathy center drenched in rain yesterday. Umbrellas and puddles wherever you looked.

Left - View across Vathy bay from Dendraki area of Vathy. A heavy and low sky obscurs Kathara on the mountain and brings the horizon very close.

Above and Left - Aetos Bay looking amazing under the dark grey sky. Below - View to Roussano.

Above Left and Above - Platrithia. Below Left - View to Exoghi in the sky from Stavros. Exoghi village is completely covered in low cloud.

Saturday 5th - It's the BIG Carnival Weekend and there's lots to dress up for these days. Last night was the childrens party in Stavros, tonight, Ithakis Theatre Group Forkis is having its annual Carnival Ball again at the Mentor Hotel, tomorrow, after midday, it's the Carnival Parade through the Main Street of Vathy with Floats and costumes, adults and childrens' performances with dance and funny business and then on Monday, Kathara Deftera up in the mountain village of Anoghi where Ithacans traditionally head up for a picnic and kite flying to celebrate this day. If it rains, it doesn't make much difference, there's the old school set up for lunch.

Right & Below - Thank you to Natasa Vlisma for sending in some pics of the annual Treasure Hunt which gets locals out and about around the island looking for the coveted prize.

Below - Frikes before the skies turned grey again. It's forecast that the weather will be sour for the next coming days. More rain, more wind.

Right - Exoghi views from Platrithia.

Right - The dissused Stavros surgery will take on the new job of northern Ithakis Gallery once the works are completed.

Sunday 6th - Wild winds are blowing around everything that's not nailed down today while horizontal rain is determined to get inside where it's warm. Left - One of northern Ithakis favourite eateries, Polyfimos keeps its traditional persona even during the winter.

Yes folks, the weather was too wild and unpredictable to have Carnival today. The participants were of course disappointed, but the Committee has not cancelled it altogether, but just postponed it until next weekend, when the weather should be more stable. Over the next week, the weather is forecast to get much worse, with snowfalls, storms and severe drops in temperatures. -2 to 5 C for Monday? Ooh, very, very chilly. Let's hope the power stays on so if there is snow in Anoghi, we can go to enjoy it rather than fear it.

Above - This has been the colour of our sky through this Sunday. As the day continued, the horizon became more and more obscurred by very low lying cloud. Locals in Exoghi and Anoghi would not have seen the island below them much today. Left - Some rain yesterday, but on the whole not too bad considering what was awaiting us today.

Tonight its off to the annual dance in Perahori. This will be ithacagreece.com first time at this particular dance which has a reputation that makes me wonder why we haven't been in previous years. Let's see if it holds up to all the good things we've heard about this night.

Tuesday 8th - Yesterday I thought it felt cold enough to snow and sure enough, last night it did actually snow. The mountains on the mainland had quite a bit of snow dumped overnight, but here we just had a few flakes that dissolved as they hit the ground. Still, it's freezing and ultimately, Ithaki did not escape the bitterness of Winter afterall. As you can see in photo Left, the skies are blue and the views are endless today as the very chilly wind clears the Ionian atmosphere of its previous low cloud.