Summer Journal 2012, August 6

Yesterday started pretty much like any other day but ended quite differently.  We went to Sultana's, met up with Anya (she'd biked over to join us), then we headed down to Milos for an ouzo and our daily swim.  Here's Stell and Anya at the table at Milos:

We came home for lunch where Stell was determined to fry some eggplant slices.  They did not look appetizing to me, so I opened a package of tuna and let him work on the eggplant.  We were invited to Anya and Helena's for a drink at 10 p.m.  When we drove toward the village, at Masoutis Grocery store we were stopped by about thirty riot police (with shields, gas masks, and all the rest of the costumes they wear).  We could hear the sound of guns that release tear gas and could see a huge crowd of people in a "smokey" atmosphere down the street.  Obviously the MATT (riot police) were not going to let us drive through, so we parked in the vacant grocery store lot and headed on foot around the crowd.  Nonetheless as we were making our way to the center of town, the tear gas stung our eyes, noses, and throats.   People had moved benches into the street, and the "mob" had two small fires burning in the middle of the street.  One fire was right in front of the butcher shop. 

I was unable to get good photos because it was dark and my camera is a cheapo limited little machine. I did ask one of the riot police if I could take his picture, and he said "no".  We knew that earlier in the day around noon, protesters of the Canadian company's gold mine operation had marched on a nearby mountain, so this protest was a more demonstrative outcome of that earlier event - most young people with high levels of testosterone, and not our older friends who were earlier in the march.  Of course, these young people are frustrated because of the economic decline generally, no jobs, and a general lack of opportunity.  No one was injured, but they had littered the street and some had thrown rocks.  I was personally glad that Paris, Carrie, and the kids were not driving into town because this sight would have been shocking, although I did not feel the least bit afraid or threatened when we walked through the crowd. However tear gas is not pleasant.  We went onto Anya's and to dinner at Mitakos. 

Later when we walked back to the car, the crowd had disappeared the streets were reopened and only a lot of garbage littered the street.  As Stell said, isn't it peculiar that these young people are protesting environmental degradation, and yet they trash the streets as they had to try and make a point.

We think Paris, Carrie, Alexander and Jaiden should be in Dusseldorf now.  They have four hours until they fly into Thessaloniki.  Paris has rented a car, so we are expecting them around 7:30 p.m.

Here are recent pictures of the children who will come to their Greek home for the first time:

Alexander Asterios Kefalas

Jaiden Walker at the Airport

I will try over the next couple of weeks to take photos of their first trip to Ierissos, Greece!

Margaret aka YaYa Steel