I told the men that I had to have a picture of me with all of them so I could show my friends back home how many boyfriends I had in Greece. They very willingly obliged...After our big photo shoot, they went back to more wine...I went "home" to Falasarna, another Sunday filled with surprises, joy, and love. 

I shared my camera, said "take a picture of us!" with my host and hostess. The photographer decreed that the picture just had to be in the flower garden. If the photo seems a little out of focus, you're not imagining it. One thing I found on this trip: Wine, laughter, and focused picture taking don't necessarily mix well....but they do capture the fact that we were having a good time, right?

You can see how he is already more comfortable. Wow, I may have unleashed a monster! Look for him on the cover of GQ 10 years from now.... 

A very warm family... 

This little boy was very intrigued by my camera....a little suspicious at first, but when I showed him the image on the back, he got very excited, and was ready to pose for me right away...Perhaps one day he'll become a photographer, and will say that he realized that was his calling the day I came to town! :) 

We had lots of wine to drink from.... 

Ok, so back to the family in Milia....When they invited me to eat with them, I went back to the car and grabbed the grapes to give to them, an impromptu hostess gift to be part of the meal. When they saw the grapes, they laughed and laughed. I had no idea why, until they took me around to the back of the house: there was their own wine making apparatus, with baskets and baskets of grapes, probably from the same field. I guess they didn't need any more...After a quick lesson in how to make the wine, we returned to the table, where they encouraged me to keep sampling.  

and then proceeded to place them in my car for me to take on the rest of my trip. Typical Cretan generosity. (That's my beach mat and bathing suit also on the car seat...important to be ready at all times, you know!) 

After a brief conversation in my limited Greek, he enthusiastically started cutting grapes.... 

Then I met this man, who owned the fields and the grapevines,and the goats. He came over to see what in the world I was doing out in the middle of nowhere tromping around with his goats.... 

I met these guys on the way to Milia.....tried to take candid shots of them, but as soon as they saw me, they got together and posed. Well, not really, they just started trotting enthusiastically toward me because they thought I had food... 

Here's an example of the kind of mountains I was driving around in....this is on the way to Milia.... 

One day I decided to look for a taverna I had heard about in Milia. I couldn't find it...I kept driving up these perilous winding roads, higher and higher, no guardrails of course, and barely room for two cars. I wish I had a picture of the faces of the people coming from they top; they scared me more than looking over the edge of the road! Anyway, I totally panicked, and would drive back to the middle of the village and try again. Every time I tried a new way, I drove by this group who shouted and cheered whenever they saw my bright green rental car. Finally I stopped, asking them "Pou einai Taverna Milia?" "Who cares!" they shouted, "Come eat with us!" So I did.