On the first day of the month we went on the SUPs to Cosmos. Afterwards we went in the van to Dimitri’s Tarverna in Geni and had a frappe and omelette. We then went to Nidri to get some rope and hooks for Mel to hang his sails from. There was no wind so we went back to the apartment and watched “Best Interests” – a BBC drama which Mel had downloaded.


We went for a bike ride on Sunday to Agios Petros, Nikolis, Sivros, Kontarena, Agio Fili and back. It was cloudy over the hills today and the wind didn’t arrive until late but Mel went on his wing-foil and then windsurfed.
On Monday I went for a run and Mel had a rest and then we went into town and sat with Gabbi & Horst and Bernt & Annette at Livanaki’s. Mel went on his wingfoil in the afternoon and later we had a drink at the Cosmos with Rob & Amanda as it was their last day.
I went to Flow Yoga with Alex at Healthy Options on the Tuesday on Amanda’s recommendation and I really enjoyed it. It was windy in the afternoon so Mel went on his wing-foil and then windsurfed. We went up to Bazanaki’s for dinner.
There was plenty of wind for the next two days so Mel had the opportunity to go on the wing-foil and windsurf. He also had a lesson on the wing-foil with Max Rowe which he enjoyed and got a lot out of it. I did another flow yoga session with Alex and we also went up to Barrie and Gill’s and to Bazanaki’s for dinner with them.
On Saturday 8th July we packed up the van and moved to room 305 at The Cosmos Hotel. It was another very windy day and Mel took pictures on the beach. The next day Mel arranged with Lakis to clean and service our bikes. Later Caroline & Ashley arrived with some very surprising and excellent news!
We went to The Wave restaurant in Pondi for our evening meal and enjoyed catching up and finding out more about Caroline’s pregnancy (a girl due 8th January 2024)
We went for a 5km run (Mel on his bike) with Ashley and Caroline on Monday. Then we went to Agios Petros on the bikes and Caroline went to Yoga at the Cosmos. Ashley and Caroline went to the windsurf lessons but there wasn’t a lot of wind for them to start their windsurfing holiday. Ashley went on a bike ride in the afternoon in the olive groves following one of Neilson’s routes on Strava. Mel went out on his wing-foil for a while and then did some windsurfing. We joined in with the welcome meal at Cosmos in the evening and we all sat with Charlie & Anne. There was lots of good food and it was good to catch up with them after 4 years.
I went to Flow Yoga again with Alex on Tuesday which I am enjoying a lot. Mel did a bike ride with Barrie and Ashley and Caroline did a run with Neilson and then went to their windsurf lesson. Later they did a bike ride with Neilson and Ashley did some windsurfing with Mel.
There was some more running and cycling on Wednesday but also some washing at the Cosmos apartments followed by a frappe and pastry in town. We walked into town in the evening and had a meal at Alex’s Pizza Restaurant but it was very busy and Mel struggled with the walk because of his knee problem.
Thursday was more of the same – Ashley and Caroline ran with Neilson and then went to windsurf groups, we did a bike ride to Agios Petros and Sivros, Mel windsurfed in the afternoon and in the evening we had curries at the Cosmos. Peter Hart arrived today with his family but he’s not doing a course this year, just a family holiday.
Ashley and Caroline did a hike on Friday morning following the red route described on a local website (www.vasilikilefkada.eu) towards Agio Fili beach and Kontarena. Mel did a bike ride on his own and I went to Flow Yoga with Alex. On Saturday Mel and Caroline went for a bike ride to Sivros (Orange pie, frappe and Orange juice stop) and Ashley and I did a run (8km P route). It has been very hot again with not much wind in the mornings but some in the afternoons. Mel went out with Ashley again and then wing-foiled and windsurfed himself. We went to the Cosmos BBQ in the evening and Ashley won a prize for his beach start!



The hot weather continued across the whole of southern Europe (raining and cold at home!) for the next week. We all had a lie in and rested on Sunday but Mel wingfolied later in the day. Sue & Chris Mortimer arrived today and came along to Cosmos to say hello, lovely to see them again. They also went to the Flow Yoga class on Monday with Alex as I did.
Mel went on the SUP Monday morning and then I joined him after Yoga, it was lovely and peaceful. Ian Gillis came along to Cosmos to see a friend and we had a chat with him too. He is only here for a short time as his daughter Sally has recently given birth and Pat obviously wants to be near to her.



Ashley and Caroline went for a run and then joined their windsurf group. Irene and Terry arrived today too and joined their group. More wing-foiling and windsurfing for Mel in the afternoon, followed by a meal at the Cosmos later.


Mel and I did a short bike ride on Tuesday dropping off Ashley and Caroline’s washing at the Cosmos apartments on the way. Ashley and Caroline went for a run with Neilson and then into windsurf groups. They stayed out over lunch and Mel joined them, teaching them how to do heli-tacks. Ashley went out again later when it got windy and Mel wingfoiled and windsurfed too.



We went to the Cosmos/Neilson BBQ again on the last Saturday and Ashley & Caroline were given crowns by the keep fit instructor for going out running every day with her. We had a lovely last evening together, enjoying the company, food and banter.


