Everything that has a Beginning has an Ending.

 

NASA said that its InSight Mars mission has ended.  The robotic spacecraft after a more than six-month journey landed on Mars, Nov. 26, 2018. Since then, InSight has been studying the planet's interior and seismic activity.  It detected more than 1,300 quakes with a 4.7 quake that shook the planet for six hours. On De. 21, 2022 NASA announced that two attempts to contact the spacecraft failed, likely because its batteries had lost power after dust accumulated on its solar panels and the rover fell silent thus its mission has ended.

This blog was a byproduct of a mission to transport the car of my friend the late Milos from Florida to his son in San Francisco.  My son John decided that it was risky to me to drive alone so we drove the three thousand miles together.  From San Francisco we returned to Chicago ( 2000 miles) by train and then by bus (400 miles) to Columbus, Ohio for a total of 5,000 miles.  My intend at that time was to stop posting but on advice of a friend, I continue posting mostly on my travels.

The most memorable posts were from an epic journey when together with my brother and two friends brought a sailboat from Spain to Greece a 1,400 nautical miles journey. It was our Odyssey and I described it as such on posts from Aug.15, 2015 to July 16, 2016. 

In the past 10 years, I uploaded 228 posts in my blog Cross Country Chronicles but as Jack Kornfield said in his Buddha book "everything that has a beginning has an ending. Make your peace with that and all will be well" 

There are many individuals from my immediate family, and those who love and care about me who encouraged and inspired me to write.  I want to thank and express my gratitude to seventy thousand plus individuals who followed my musings. I wish them all a good a pleasant trip in their lives. 

Cape Tenaron

 

Cape Tenaron or cape Matapan is mainland Greece's southernmost point. It was the site of the Ancient city Taenarum.  Nearby is a cave legend claims was the home of Hades the God of underworld.  On the hill above the cave there is a temple dedicated to the God of the sea Poseidon.

Tenaron's lighthouse was built in 1892 and its luminosity was 12 nautical miles.  In 1984 it was upgraded with solar panels and its luminosity is now 22 nautical miles.  The trek to the lighthouse from the end of the paved road is 2.2 kilometers.  For those who decide to take the hike to this very interesting place is better to start early in the morning or late in the evening in order to avoid the blazing summer Greek sun as there is no shade in its entirety.  I visited the site in 1968 when I was serving in the Greek Navy and my brother visited it recently on foot.

Santorini - 2022

 

Santorini has changed a lot since I first visited it fifty-four years ago.  It is now one of the most glamorous and visited islands on planet earth.

The views of the Caldera from the patios of elegant hotels is stunning.

The 3-hour trek between Fira and Oia presents a most beautiful scenery.

Santorini has become the place where young persons from far away places such as the United States or China elect to give vows of everlasting love and devotion. 

On this visit I stayed in the lovely hotel Phaos, which patio overlooks the the islands of Anafi and Astypalea in the Aegean Sea.

As in my first visit in 1968, I visited once more Akrotiri the Bronze Age settlement, one of the most important Minoan urban centres in the Aegean Sea, when it was covered by ash following the volcanic eruption in the 17 century BC.  The ancient Minoan town at Santorini's south coast, is called the "Pompeii of Greece" and some archeologists theorise that it is the fictional island of Atlantis that was created by demi-gods who established a utopian society as described by Greek philosopher Plato. 

I am finishing the trilogy on Santorini with the lighthouse in its southern tip, likely the oldest in Greece, as it was built in 1892.  It was the purpose of my first visit to service it and my role as a young Navy physician to check the health status of its crew.  The view was beautiful then, like it is now, thus a large number of visitors keep coming in the evenings to look at the sun setting.  Each of my trips to Santorini left me with beautiful and indelible memories which I will cherish the rest of my life. 

Santorini - 1988

 
I returned to Santorini 20 years after my first visit.  At that time the construction had begun in earnest.  On the left you can see the spire and dome of the Catholic Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist and on the right, the Candlemas Orthodox Cathedral was under reconstruction.

Before my trip to Santorini, we baptised my firstborn son on April 23, the feast day of Saint George, in the little chapel on mount Lycabetus in Athens.  A rare storm had blown by earlier resulting in a crystal clear Spring day with deep blue skies, we thus had a beautiful view of Athens and its nearby islands.

In the evening of our arrival in Santorini, I went out for a walk in the little town of Fira.  It was cold and windy as on my first visit 20 years before. It was after sunset, a light rain had started and I was walking alone.  At one point another person was walking the opposite direction towards me. He was wearing a black raincoat and a hat with a wide flat rim similar to the one of Don Quixote.  He was the Monseigneur of the Catholic Cathedral which was originally built in 1823 and restored in 1970.  The picture above is how the Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist looks today.  

Santorini - 1968

 I visited Santorini for the first time in 1968 while I was serving in the Greek Navy.  It was a stormy day something which is not unusual for the Cycladitic islands known for their strong winds.  We anchored by the southernmost cape called Akrotiri.  

At that time tourists had just discovered this unique island and some visited it on mules or donkeys.  

I visited the island on foot.  The most important site then was, as it is now, the Bronze age city Akrotiri.

Akrotiri became known due to the excavations conducted under the supervision of the archaeologist Spyridon Marinatos in 1967.  I was lucky that Professor Marinatos was on the site at the time of my visit and gave me a tour of the ancient city that was covered completely during the volcanic explosion more that three millennia ago.  It is few times in our lives that we meet in person eminent individuals like him. 

The return

 

The city of Columbus and its airport John Glenn International.

On the taxiway.  The control tower is seen on the left.

On the way to New York at dusk.  The curvature of the Earth hopefully will convince the Flat Earth society members to change their minds.

I am now in the land of the blue skies and seas, the land I was born at and I call home.

MIkis Theodorakis 1925-2021

Mikis Theodorakis the best-known Greek composer and lyricist died today at the age of 96.  He composed music for the films "Zorba the Greek" (1964) and "Z" (1969).  His "Mauthausen Trilogy" also known as "The Ballad of Mauthausen" is considered the most beautiful music written about the Holocaust.  Politically he clearly stood on the left and was a member of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE).  He was among the most prominent opponents against the 1967-1974 Greek junta which imprisoned and tortured him.  In 1989 he run for Parliament as an independent candidate and was instrumental in creating a coalition between conservatives, socialists, and communists.  He became a minister in the government of Constantine Mitsotakis, a conservative, and fought against drugs, for better education, and for better relations between Greece and Turkey. "Today we lost part of the soul of Greece," said Culture Minister Lina Mendoni "the man who made Greeks sing poetry"

The Tokyo Olympics

 

The Summer Olympics originally scheduled for 2020, opened a year later on July 23, 2021 with dance performances highlighting the struggle to overcome the pandemic that infected close to 200 million people and has been the cause of death in more than 4 million people worldwide.

Japan is a country in East Asia of 126 million that inhabit multiple islands.  According to legend Emperor Jimmu, the grandson of Amaterasu goddess of the rising sun, formed the kingdom of Japan in 660 BC, forming a continuous imperial line. In 1868, Japan opened trade with the West.  In the Meiji period, the Empire of Japan adopted a Western modeled constitution and pursued industrialization and modernization.  Today, Japan is a member of both the G7 and G20 groups of nations.

As of today August 1st, the IOC said there have been 259 Covid-19 cases two of which were treated in a hospital.  Twenty athletes have tested positive.  Japan has dealt well with the pandemic reporting 937,203 cases and 15,209 deaths that correspond to 121 deaths per million.

The tennis star Naomi Osaka lit the cauldron with the flame that was brought to Tokyo from Olympia, Greece.

The flame is lit according to the ancient method using the sun's rays.  The flame is given to the first runner by the high priestess of Hera, the wife of God Zeus, the preeminent God on Mount Olympus.

The first modern Olympic Games were held in Athens' Stadium in 1896.  Although the Tokyo Olympics will be celebrating the 125th year since their rebirth, the ancient Games began in Olympia over 2700 years ago.  They were held every four years between 776 BC and 392 AD. 

The Olympic Games were attended by approximately 50,000 people from all over the Greek world and were celebrated as a religious festival for Zeus, the supreme God of the Greek pantheon.  The main event at the games was the sacrifice of 100 oxen to God Zeus. 

Unlike in today's games, the ancient athletes wouldn't have medals but instead, they were given a wreath of leaves and they were welcomed back to their home towns as heroes.

Discus, javelin throwing as well as running were popular events.  The toughest running race was called the Hoplitodromos and athletes run wearing armor and carrying a shield.

Wrestling and boxing were popular.  One of the toughest events was called Pankration - the only rules were that those wrestling could not bite or poke their rival in the eye.

Sumo which originated in Japan is its national sport.  Sumo will not be one of the 2021 games. A two-day tournament will take place between the completion of the games and the beginning of the Paralympic games. 

On August 1st Qatar's Mutaz Barshim and Italy's Gianmarco Tamberi after the bar was set to 2.39m and each missed three times decided to share the gold in men's high jump.  The friendship and humanity the two athletes showed exemplified the spirit of the Olympics.  

           This was the best moment of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics!

People would travel from faraway places to compete in the ancient and modern games.  Two young athletes, Mark and Chloe - my children - traveled 5,000 miles to visit Olympia.  On July 23, 2007, they run the length of the stadium on a very hot day.  Hip hip hooray!

                                             Long live the Olympic Games

Greek War of Independence; 200th year anniversary

The Greek War of Independence led to the establishment of a national state for the first time in Europe.  It was in 1814 that several young Greek intellectuals of the diaspora formed a secret society called Filiki Eteria (Society of Friends).  One of its leaders was Alexander Ypisilantis.  He and his brother Dimitrios Ypsilantis played major roles in the revolution that started in 1821.

Battle scene from the Greek War of Independence by Georg Perlberg.

Today, March 25th, Greek Independence Day, our country will celebrate the 200th anniversary of the revolt against the Ottoman Empire.  It was on that day, the day of the Annunciation, Greeks swore to "fight or perish" in 1821.  Four hundred years had elapsed since the Ottoman Turks had conquered Constantinople and brought the end of the Byzantine Empire.

  As in every revolt, many battles were important but the Siege(s) and Exodus from Missolonghi were renowned for their heroism.  Although most Greeks, men, and women perished, their sacrifice raised strong feelings among Europe's philhellenes the most notable of whom was Lord Byron who moved to Greece joined the revolution lived and died in Missolonghi.

Two of the protagonists in the struggle to establish the new country of Greece were; Theodoros Kolokotronis (1770-1843) the commander-in-chief of the Greek forces in Peloponnese or Morea and Ioannis Kapodistrias (1776-1831) a distinguished statesman and diplomat who had served as the Foreign Minister of the Russian Empire.  Kapodistrias was elected as the first Head of State of the newly independent  Greece.  He found a country that was totally destroyed.  In his brief tenure, he instituted reforms to modernize the country and jump-start its moribund economy.  He was assassinated on September 27th, 1831.

  Although most of the rebels were men, I will mention two women, Laskarina "Bouboulina" Pinotsi and Manto Mavrogenous who contributed as much to the cause as any of the men.  It was Bouboulina who raised the first flag of the revolution on the mast of her ship.  Mavrogenous was a wealthy and well-educated woman who spent her entire estate for the cause and died penniless.

Land battles were important but it was in the sea battles that Greeks excelled.  Konstantinos Kanaris (1790-1877) contributed his ship to the Greek Navy and achieved fame because of his effective use of fire-ships.  In 1822 he blew up the Turkish admiral's flagship.  In the years that followed he burned several Turkish ships off the coast of Asian Minor and the Eastern Aegean islands.  In addition to Kanaris, several other seamen such as Miaoulis, Koudouriotis, and Bouboulina managed to cut the supply lines from Turkey to their forces fighting against the rebels in the Greek mainland thus helping immensely the outnumbered and outgunned Greeks succeed against superior forces and win their freedom.

Painting of Burning of the Turkish Frigate by Constantine Volanakis

The revolt lasted between 1821 and 1830.  As in every revolution, many battles and events took place but the sea battle that concluded the war took place in the bay of Navarino where the naval forces of France, Brittain, and Russia defeated the Ottoman fleet following which the new country of Greece was born.

Ζητω η Ελλας!

Painting of the sea battle of Navarino by Ambroise Louis Garneray (1827)

Halcyon days

Halcyon days, a period when storms do not occur derived its name from Alcyone (Αλκυονη in Greek), who was the daughter of Aeolus, God of winds.  When Alcyone's husband fell in the sea, in a shipwreck, she threw herself into the sea whereupon the Gods transformed them into halcyon birds (kingfishers).  When Alcyone made her nest on the beach, waves threatened to destroy it, but Aeolus kept his winds calm so she could lay her eggs.  It was these calm periods that became known as the "halcyon days".  It is a period of 7 to 14 days when storms do not occur or it denotes a period that is remembered for its happiness.  I wish you all dear friends, many Halcyon periods, in your lives.

Picture of seagulls flying near the islet of Rafti by Kostas Fotos. 

2013-2021; a Travelogue

In the past 7 years, I uploaded 202 posts in my blog Cross Country Chronicles.  As this is the first post of 2021 and maybe the final of this series that started with a trip, I took with my son John, from Orlando to San Francisco to Chicago and on to our starting point Columbus, Ohio.  Also, it included among others the remarkable crossing from Spain to Greece on my brother Nikos 29-foot sailboat Okyrhoe.  The trip from Florida to California and back to Ohio is described in 55 posts in January and February 2014.

The trip from Spain to Greece is described in 23 posts from August 2015 to July 2016.  There are many individuals from my immediate family, and those who love and care about me, to friends I love dearly, to professional associates at places where I lived and worked, and all those who encouraged and inspired me to write.  I want to thank and express my gratitude to all and wish them a good a pleasant trip in their lives.  The pictures in this post are from Porto Rafti, the beautiful little bay, I have made my domicile while in Greece.

                                                                       The three pictures in this post were taken by my brother-in-law Kostas Fotos.

Greek Yogurt

 

Yogurt first appeared during the Neolithic period.  It is probable that the earliest yogurt was made by accident from fermentation of milk in Mesopotamia around 5,000 BC.  Yogurt was well-known food in Ancient Greece and Rome.  The cuisine of Ancient Greeks included a dairy product called Oxygala (Οξυγαλα) which is sour milk.  The Greek physician Galen mentioned that Oxygala was consumed with honey in a similar way Greek yogurt is eaten today.  Yogurt played and still plays a major role in the Mediterranean cuisine today.

Milking a cow painting.  Ancient Egypt c2371-2350 BC. Getty image.

There is folklore linking the consumption of milk to longevity.  In fact people in the Bulgarian village of Momchilovtsi, which is perched on the slopes of Rhodope mountains near the border with Greece claims many centenarians and many locals believe that this is due to large quantities of cultured milk products the they consume.  It was in 1905 the Bulgarian microbiologist Stamen Grigorov at the age of 27 discovered in Geneva the bacterium Lactobacillus Bulgaricus, which ferments milk to yogurt.  A major impetus to yogurt's recent popularity was because in 1904, the Russian scientist Ilya Metchnikov who was working at the Pasteur Institute in Paris published his theory about the health benefits of yogurt for which he received the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 1908.

Ingredients

1.5 liters of pasteurized whole milk, 2 tablespoons of yogurt with active cultures

Preparation

Place the milk in a pot and heat it to 120° F or 50° C.

In a separate cup or bowl, mix two tablespoons of yogurt, that has active cultures with milk until the yogurt is totally dissolved.  Add it to the pot with the heated milk and stir it well.

Pour the milk into a Pyrex glass container or glass jars, cover it and wrap it in a warm towel and place it in the oven.  Turn the oven light on and leave it for 8-10 hours.

Place the glass container in the refrigerator for 6-8 hours and your homemade yogurt will be ready.  To make the Greek variety, strain the yogurt with a cheesecloth to consistency you enjoy.  When you strain the yogurt, you get, liquid whey, a protein rich liquid. If you strain nearly all the liquid from the yogurt, you get a soft Greek cheese called Anthotyro which is very tasty.  In summary from milk you can make home-made yogurt, liquid whey, Kefir and cheese.  Enjoy! 

Sunset

In Greek mythology Hesperides were are nymphs of the evening or the golden light at sunset.  They were called also Atlandides because they were daughters of the titan Atlas.  According to legend the Maidens of the West were tending of the Tree that Dance of the Hesperides around the Golden Tree that was bearing Golden apples.  Hesperides took great pleasure by dancing and singing sweet songs around the tree, (Canvas by Eduard Carvet, 1799-1883)

A happy cow enjoying the green grass of Ireland at sunset (photo by Enya Woods)

View of downtown Columbus, Ohio at sunset after a summer storm (photo by George Spigos)

Chicago also known as windy city or city by the lake at sunset from Adler Planetarium

View of Manhattan skyline and Brooklyn bridge.

Tourists flock at Cape Sounion to visit Poseidon's Temple and to enjoy the sunset at Saronic Gulf. 

Super moon over Poseidon's Temple.  If you can visit the site tomorrow October 2nd you will enjoy the rising beautiful moon between the columns of the Temple that was erected at 440 BC. (photo by T. Matsopoulos)