Most conferences and symposia I’ve attended in the past have a "forced march" quality about them: back-to-back sessions all day long. So, I was delighted to find out that Wednesday at the Symi Symposium was a day off with the opportunity to visit the island of Antiparos. The boat left at around 11 am, and those of us who took the trip spent the day sailing around the islands, swimming in the Mediterranean, eating Greek food cooked by our boat’s crew, and enjoying each other’s company. Not much sustainability news (although, more and more, I’m learning that much about the Greek lifestyle, as I’m seeing it, is pretty sustainable), but here are some photos from yesterday’s excursion.

Though not everyone participating in the symposium went on the day cruise, we still had a packed boat… and, of course, all the kids came (the symposium definitely caters to families).

Paros and Antiparos are part of a chain of islands called the Cyclades. There are islands everywhere, many small and unhabited.

Our first anchorage was this lovely little cove on Antiparos. The kids started jumping the water as soon as the boat’s engines turned off… the adults followed quickly…. I took this picture before jumping in myself.

Yes, the water really is that blue…

Our next stop was a small village on Antiparos with a lovely beach. While we tourists took off for the beach or the cafe, our crew cooked a fantastic Greek lunch for us: shish kabob, Greek salad, spinach pie, meatballs… Local food is the standard in Greece, and it really makes a difference in taste: I may never eat a supermarket tomato again!

We made one more stop at another beach — this one, the boat had to anchor, and those who wanted to go to the beach had to swim to it. I simply enjoyed another dip in the Med.

It’s hard to imagine a more relaxing day… in a more beautful place.

Today was back to work, and I’ll have a post up on this morning’s session on the green economy shortly… in the meantime, enjoy these photos.