Our week with cousin Cara, Meri and George was just awesome. They were our first visitors here in Crete and all of us fitting into this 2 bedroom apartment wasn’t even a problem. It turned out great. The kids just loved having Cara in their room……..it just went so fast though and we were all sad yesterday when they were picked up to be whisked away to the airport. Hopefully they can come back before we leave next year. Unfortunately the weather had a turn for the worse and it wasn’t nearly as warm as it had been for the last 6 weeks – but we still swam every day. Here are some of the musings of the kids – we’ll start with Cara who is making a guest appearance on the blog…….. (Baba Miliking)

On Wednesday we had a party for my birthday down at the rocky beach. Before we got to the beach for dinner we went to Spinalonga island. Spinalonga used to be a leper colony in the first half of the 1900s. We went on a boat that was pretty big. We found a perfect place to sun bake but then we had to jump up cause it was time for the boat to stop so we could jump off and have a swim. There were so many people waiting so we couldn’t get out very quickly. We jumped from the lower platform of the boat and as soon as you jumped in, the water got in your eyes and they felt all salty. Because of all the salt you couldn’t drown you just floated.

When we got to the island Emilio found and old fashioned nail that kind of looked like a piece of bark.

I loved how Spinalonga was surrounded by water and the water was such a beautiful colour and it looked quite crystal. With all the islands in the middle it was hard to tell which one was Spinalonga. Spinalonga means long spine in Italian.

When we got back to Agios Nikolaos we went to my birthday dinner and Christos bought blowers which was a terrible idea cause we made too much noise with them.

We got to swim for a bit just before the party but there was so many rocks that when we came out we had rocks in our bathers. At the party Emilio must have been hungry cause he finished everyone’s cakes and he still wanted more.
Before we left in the morning we got to have an early swim at the beach- we bought down my lilo and we were sitting on the lilo talking and we were floating out past the buoys. When we came back in there was no one at the beach so we had to carry all the things back by ourselves. We had to carry flippers, goggles, towels and thongs. Everyone we passed when we walked across the road gave us a weird look.

Before we got on the Spinalonga boat we went to Dodoni cafe – the best ice cream in the world. I had a Cookie Spookie which is an ice cream which has Oreos and Oreo ice cream as well – it was delicious. We love that cafe. I had such a great birthday with my cousins.

By Cousin Cara

I like cuddling my awesome uncle George – he took me on the dodgem cars– and Cara gave me chocolates and Meri gave me a barbie bag.

Cara came to pick me up from my school – but we got to have two days of no school when Cara was here. But we can’t have days off unless we have cousins here.

I loved Cara’s birthday party – she looked very good in her sparkly party dress – there was a party cake that baba bought -It was an Oreo chocolate cake and had sparklers.

Cara slept next to me in our room – all the kids were together and some nights I had to sleep on a camping mattress. It was fun having Cara in our room.

At the fair I loved the dodgem cars best and the cars that go around like a little train. It was very fun.

I really miss them and I want them to stay with us here for 10 weeks.
By Zoi

We went to Spinalonga which is an island that they used to take sick people to who used to have leprosy and other diseases that people didn’t want to catch. We took a boat to Spinalonga.

It was a big boat with three different platforms – we went on all three and we loved the top floor cause there was sun and we were lying on our towels and some fake grass sun baking. Half way to Spinalonga the boat stopped and we jumped off the back and swam. There is a little platform on the back of the boat and we were treading in water that was really deep for 45 mins.

Before they pulled the ladder up I hopped out of the water. Then after that was over we got back on the boat and we went to Spinalonga. We got our tickets and found the English guide who told us lots of things about Spinalonga. Like there used to be a big market on the street we walked along.

She took us to a church where there were thousands of weddings. It was only used for weddings and baptisms. Funerals were held at the church at the top of the hill. Then she took us to another place called the ‘disinfecting room’ – I didn’t stay for long because I was feeling sick that day and had to tell mummy to take me out – I felt like I was going to faint and I fainted earlier that day when I was standing in front of the fan. It was the second time I had ever fainted.

Through a big gate door you could see the sea and we were there for a bit – then baba and Meri walked around the island and met us back on the boat. When we got back on the boat we spent the whole time of the way back on top.
By Kikibelle

Yesterday (Saturday) we tried to go to a water park but it was closed cause it was too cold and windy – so instead we went to a park called the Labyrinth park.

There was a maze where you had to get a stamp from each marker and if you got it all then you got to do mini golf for free. The maze was not that hard but it was for baba and Meri – Meri had to climb under one of the barriers to get out, and baba had to go through the entrance. They found it hard.

We had lunch there and we got to feed donkeys and ponies and goats some seeds and carob pods. When we got home we were allowed to have a video night and then we were given a seven minute challenge to get to bed so that we could all lie in bed together and watch another movie on Sunday morning. It was really fun. We watched pink panther 2 – it was so funny. We just finished it and even got to have toast in bed but now it is time to go to the beach cause its Cara’s last day here.

The week has been great with Cara.
By Yasi

This week cousin Cara came over to have a week long stay with us. She came with her parents – Aunty Meri and Uncle George (the first) – during their time here George and Meri were generous enough to walk me to soccer practice and to take us out for dinner while mum and baba had a romantic dinner on their own.

They also took us to the fair and brought us dinner many times. Thanks so much Meri and George.

George even took me out to buy a soccer ball that was the right size for me – he knows lots about soccer cause he used to play – he’s awesome.

My two favourite things at the fair was a ride called Indiana Jones which is a really fast roller coaster and it feels like you are going to roll off the side but at the last second it turns sharply and you go with it. It was very fast and fun. On my first time on Indiana Jones I said ‘This is going to be scary’ to Cara and she said ‘No it’s not cause once I went on a ride that went upside down and all that kind of scary stuff’, but when we started to go it was so fast and so many sharp turns that she said ‘Ahhhhh I take that back!’
Equal favourite was the dodgem cars. I was really good at the dodgem cars and I was by myself driving the first time we went on them. I did lots of sharp turns and had lots of appropriate crashes. On our second night at the fair I was in a car with Yasi and Meri was with Kalika and Meri said ‘We’ll race you guys to the end’. Meri turned one way and we turned the same way and we had a massize crash.
On Saturday we were going to go to the water park but the weather was bad for the first time that we’ve been in Crete.

Someone suggested the Labyrinth park. It is a really cool park with horse rides and mini four wheel motorbikes that can’t go too fast and horse arenas and animal feeding. There was even a cafe to have lunch. However, the best thing there was the labyrinth. The labyrinth is a big massive maze and you get a piece of paper to take to some hut places and you have to get a stamp from each place – then you have to try to get out. If you have all the stamps and you keep your piece of paper you can go to the mini golf kiosk and get your equipment for free and have as many rounds as you want.

Cara’s birthday dinner party was also very fun- because we went to this pretty good Restraunt and had some pretty delicious food and then baba had already brought some hats and party whistles. We were too loud with the party whistles so we played this game of trying not to blow the party whistles till the cake came – in the middle of the game no one noticed that the cake had come. So I blew my whistle to let them no but they thought I had lost the game. I was actually whistling to tell them the cake was here. The Restraunt was right by the beach so we had a swim first. It was a super day.
By Tobes

My cousin Cara, Aunty Meri and Uncle George came to visit. George has got a pinky finger that is really strong and is called Mr Claw. Also George’s dad is called Emilio. Nice name.

We took Cara to the Dodoni Ice cream cafe to taste the real Greek ice cream – the lady there is called Mariana and she knows my name and gives me hugs and kisses when I go there. I had a happy clown ice cream with smarties and chocolate sauce and an ice cream cone to make a hat – it’s really yummy. We all got to choose our own thing – we didn’t have to share. Awesome.

I liked jumping off the boat on the way to Spinalonga. There was lots of fun stuff to do that day. The sea was like a big pool and was very very blue.

Meri is a treat and clothes and present monster! – we love her so much.

We played at the beach lots with Cara – but Cara would sometimes not let me on the lilo because she didn’t believe I was a good swimmer, but I am now cause of all my swimming lessons and also we swim everyday.
By Moocha