Agni TRAVEL - enjoy Greece, Italy, Turkey and Cyprus

Nathan's been out and about on his travels again this month. He tries to persuade us that it's all in the name of business, but we think he's either trying for a Guiness World Record attempt or has been well and truly nibbled by the travel bug.

In the last 4 weeks he's managed to board 12 flights, embarked 4 ferries, travel some 6,000 kms, and has slept in no less than 17 different beds! He's taken over 5,000 photographs (thank heavens for digital cameras, the cost of developing that lot would probably have broken the bank), and has viewed dozens of fabulous new properties in some very exciting locations that will be added to next year's Agni Travel portfolio.

Thankfully, during a moment of reflection and in the nick of time, he remembered his wedding anniversary. Unfortunately he wasn't in a position to nip down to Interflora and pick up a dozen red roses on his way home. He was about to land in Athens for a business meeting before heading off next day to Rome, whilst Eleni was back at home in Corfu.

To prove though that romance isn't quite dead yet, he booked a flight for his long-suffering wife Eleni so that she could join him in Athens. Then he booked a room with a view (of the Acropolis) at the Athens Hilton, and a table for two at the hotel's sumptuous rooftop restaurant. At 995 euros a bottle perhaps we should forgive him for stopping short of buying Dom Perignon, but apparently the 'cook it yourself at the table' seafood barbecue was delicious. And at a mere 19 euros a glass for house wine he did push the boat out and order couple of glasses to toast the special occasion.

... And whilst we're on the subject of Nathan's exploits, perhaps it should be mentioned that all this globe trotting does, he assures us, have a more serious purpose. To search out the best holiday accommodation for his clients.
It seems that he's met with more than a modicum of success too, with some amazing new properties in the Italian regions of Tuscany, Salento and Rome, as well as in Turkey that will soon be gracing the pages of our brochures and website.

As well as these exciting new destinations we will still be offering our fabulous properties on the Ionians and beyond. Even with the amount of time he's spent on the road recently, Nathan and the team have also found some wonderful new properties to add to our already sumptious list of villas and apartment in the Greek islands.

Ryanair has taken a step further to reduce costs by removing check-in desks. It had already scrapped baggage allowances and onboard meals. It avoids flying to major destinations, preferring to land at obscure villages. The cheapest fare on Ryanair is now: nothing! Revenue from the add-ons necessary to take the flight, such as luggage, seats for people with legs and now a five pound check in fee. A return flight from Doncaster to Girona leaving on 12 October and returning on the 21st costs £0.00p. Add in the fees and 30kg of luggage and the price ends up at £110.78; make that £116.78 if you are more than five feet tall and need priority boarding to avoid spending the flight with your knees in your mouth. BA can do a similar job on adjacent dates between Heathrow and Barcelona for a total of £105.78. So much for the cheap flight!

An advert for an "exceptional fisherman's cottage" located close to the beach and a nature reserve was accompanied by photos showing it in rural isolation. They failed to mention the nuclear power station on its doorstep! The BBC website hosts a short video showing the horrifying truth: nuclear power station on doorstep of rental property

After unsucessfully trying to rent the property the owners are now trying to sell it.
This highlights how important it is to choose your holiday villa rental carefully; and why so many put their trust in Agni Travel to describe the property truthfully and be on hand in case of any emergencies. With years of experience and 1000s of delighted holidaymakers, we are sure we are getting it right. Yet, we are constantly improving the holidays on offer. This newsletter has briefly mentioned Nathan's four week trip - searching out perfect holiday locations and properties - so that you can be confident in choosing a winning holiday.

Why not ontact Stella at sales@agni.gr to discuss your next holiday, and see the difference?

Once upon a time there was a little boy called Lloyd. Lloyd, like most little boys, dreamed of being an explorer, adventurer or a submarine captain when he grew up. But unlike most little boys, that's exactly what Lloyd became when he reached adulthood.

Lloyd Godson is Australian by birth, but these days lives not far from Athens with his Greek partner, Carolina, where they're setting up the country's first commercial worm farm. But there is rather more to their lives than just vermi. Passionate about the environment and with a particular interest in matters aquatic, Lloyd is a marine biologist who has always shunned the laboratory, preferring hands on practical applications.

In early 2007 he became the first person to live (for 13 days) in an underwater habitat with a bioregenerative life support system. This feat gained him world recognition as an aquanaut, not to mention a $50,000 prize and the title 'Australian Adventurer of the Year' from Australian Geographic.

Not one to sit back on his laurels, Lloyd was soon working on his next project, 'Life Amphibious'. His plan is to follow the final leg of the route Odysseus took home after the Trojan Wars. Travelling on a small raft, Odysseus was hit by a storm and washed up on the island of Scheria, now more commonly known as Corfu. From there he made the twenty day journey back to his home in Ithaca off the west coast of Greece.

Lloyd won't be travelling by raft though, instead he will be in Omer 7, a one-man human powered submarine built by scientists and engineers at the Ecole de Technologie Superieure in Montreal, Quebec. His intention, apart from breaking records, is to help heighten awareness and education about maritime preservation and ecology issues around the shores of the Ionian islands.

The journey will take place next year, covering around 100 nautical miles in two weeks. But before he attempts 'the big one' Lloyd will be using Omer 6 (fore-runner to Omer 7) for a quick 15 nautical mile jaunt from Fiskado in Kefalonia to Vathy, Ithaca. Not so much setting sail as pedalling madly, Lloyd hopefully departed on 28th September, and plans to arrive on October 3rd, prevailing tides and currents providing.

Watch this space next month when we'll let you know whether this real life Captain Nemo succeeded in the first stage of his latest adventure.

What is 26m tall, exciting, attracts handsome young men and was in Athens at the end of September? The dive board for the final round of the 2009 Red Bull Cliff Diving championships of course!

Red Bull, well known for their patronage of alternative, spectacular, and sometimes dangerous sporting pursuits, host a World Cliff Diving series between May and September each year. This year's tour started in France, and took in many European and other destinations, including Polignano in Italy and Antalya in Turkey, before the final stop in Athens on 20th September.
The format is the same as more traditional high diving. But what, we wonder, makes men (there are no female competitors in this event) want to throw themselves repeatedly, however elegantly, from the top of high cliffs and rocky outcrops twice a month for five months of the year? OK, it's a heck of a way to travel, but surely not that safe!
Perhaps we'll find out next year. The event takes place in three countries that are now also Agni Travel destinations, so we might be lucky enough to go and see for ourselves.

Meanwhile, for those who aren't looking for quite such a high adrenalin rush, but are fascinated by matters aquatic, the Cretaquarium in Thalasocosmos, Crete, must come high on your list of places to visit next time you're on the island. A super high-tec aquarium it is home to some 2,500 permanent residents, being species from the Mediterranean and other tropical waters. To do the grand tour there takes a good couple of hours. And in addition, if the weather isn't too great, there is still an opportunity to make a day of it by visiting the 'Leonardo da Vinci scientist and inventor' exhibition being held in the adjacent Crete International Exhibition Centre, until 15th October.