As Betti's departure approaches, and with no certainty yet on the wine internship, I suppose I should begin to think about what I'm going to do with my time. Certainly, I'll have no problem just taking it easy. I can imagine the following schedule (or something like it) evolving as my typical day:

8am: Wake up, part II. I say part II because Rikki and Cleo took no time in adjusting their internal clocks, and they force me out of bed at 4am each day to give them their breakfast. They do this by fighting loudly with each other or engaging in other annoying, loud behavior until I capitulate.

OK, so coffee while I water the plants on the front and back patio, followed by other minor household chores (removing bugs that entered during the night, laundry, etc.) and then some time on the computer to check news, emails, Facebook, etc. A small bite for breakfast, then a walk around outside for about an hour, followed by weight training (I have yet to procure these weights...but REALLY intend to once I can find out where one might buy some).

At this point it's probably noon, a good time to be inside with the fan on and write, read, study Greek, eat some lunch.

From 2-5pm, hit the local beach for some swimming and sun-bathing.






Afterwards, depending on my mood I might visit the beachside Mythimna Taverna for a beer and a bite to eat (I've made the aquaintance of one of the waiters, Nikkos, so I sort of feel like I "know" someone there) or maybe just home to make dinner for myself, or if I'm feeling particularly bold I'll get dolled up and go into Kastelli to have my meal at one of the waterfront tavernas there.

Maybe an evening stroll after dinner, followed by some internet viewing of the Daily Show and/or the Colbert Report.

OK, so when I'm not just kicking back and working on my melanoma or the slow, easy descent into hedonistic decay, there's one hell of an amazing island to explore. The problem I'm encountering is...how to go about it?

Which of the following aspects do I focus on? Beaches, hiking trails, caves, archaeological sites, villages, cities, historical sites? What's great about this place is that where you find any one of the above, you almost invariably find several of the others.

I'll have a bit of time to ponder it soon, as Betti leaves tomorrow, and it will be just me and the cats until my holiday in Dahab with Ahmed the week of July 8.