Magical August Full Moon

August full moon.   It rises up through the trees, appearing sliver by sliver, illuminating the night sky, shining a shimmering pathway across the bay, pouring through the window at 4am, bathing me in all its mystical beauty.

The man in the moon is being kind to us this full moon.  Temperatures have gone down a few degrees with a light breeze mainly from the north.  No gales, no hail, no rain either, no crazy lunar antics.  

But beware: 
New clothes washed for the first time in the full moon will not last long.

Please note:
the best days in August (2016) for setting eggs are the 15-17 and 25th and 26th.  

Please tell me:
how or why do you set eggs!

Greece makes the most of this bewitching lunar occurence and this year 116 archeological sites and museums all over Greece will stay open till midnight.  Imagine climbing up the slippery marble steps of the Acropolis in Athens in the sultry moonlight with your loved one, hand in hand, watching the path of the silvery moon over the ancient ruins, maybe with a flask of G and T  in your bag.
Other ancient sites with that mystical aura which you should visit if you are nearby on this night are the Temple of Poseidon at Sounion, a temple high on the headland south of Athens where Byron carved his name in a marble pillar  over 100 years ago (find it if you can, I couldn't).

The ancient city of Mystra down near Sparti which is mystical enough even in daylight, Delphi the site of the mythical oracle, Yianina Castle and another 111  locations .
A lot of these sites will also have musical events, poetry readings and exhibitions.

On Poros, where Poseidon's temple is open to the public day and night all the year round and for free, once again there will be a piano concert, featuring some of the world's top soloists.  We did go one year but left early.  The chairs were placed so the full moon was behind us.  Nothing magical about that.  And I found one hour of piano music to be more  than enough, especially when all I could see was the back of the whispering couple in front of me.

The Council does deserve a pat on the back for allowing this ancient site to be used.  They set up the plastic chairs, provide plenty of parking, but the road up there still has more craters than the face of Mars.

Neorion Beach is hosting a full moon party with live reggae music and Vayionia Bay is holding another of its popular summer full moon parties.  No doubt we will hear their music wafting up the ravine.  Poseidon's temple is on the ridge only a few hundred metres away (as the magpie flies) from our house but we  never hear the music from the piano festival.  Wind blowing the wrong way or divine intervention?