Dear Jason,
Thank you so much for your recent letter. I really enjoyed reading (enjoy, read) about your holiday in Spain. It sounds like you had (have) a wonderful vacation. Let me tell you about our summer holiday in Greece!
The flight to Greece went (go) smoothly. However, we had some problems with the ferry in Athens! We had booked (book) a ferry crossing two weeks before we left (leave) and arrived at the port with our tickets in hand. Unfortunately, the ferry was (be) nowhere in sight! We rushed about the port trying (try) to find the ferry, but no one had ever heard (ever hear) of the ferry lines! Finally, after we had been waiting (wait) for about four hours, a man told (tell) us that the ferry line had changed (change) owners and had a new name and kindly directed (direct) us to the correct ferry. Well, we were pretty lucky as the ferry was preparing (prepare) to depart that very moment! We hopped on board and drank (drink) a beer to calm our nerves.
After that, the vacation really began (begin) to be fun. We arrived in Sifnos (one of the many marvelous Greek islands) and found (find) our apartment. The apartment was located (be located) directly on the beach with a marvelous view of the sea. We stayed (stay) in a small village which has (have) about 200 inhabitants during the year, but swells (swell) to over 2,000 during the summer holiday months. We spent (spend) our days reading, swimming, napping and having a very relaxing time indeed. We also took (take) a number of long walks around the island.
I'll always remember one walk in particular: We had woken up (wake up) early that morning so as to get an early start. I was making (make) coffee when my brother-in-law, who had joined (join) us in Sifnos, burst (burst) in saying, "Susan is (be) ill and we have to go to the doctor's". We got into (get into) the car and, after a short journey up the road the nearest doctor's, Susan got the medicine she needed (need). We returned (return) to our apartment and Susan went to bed for the day. Daryn, my brother-in-law, and I decided (decide) to go on our hike even though we had lost (lose) a few hours going to the doctor. By that time, the sun had risen (rise) high in the sky and we set off (set off) in blistering heat. A slight breeze was blowing (blow) so we really didn't notice (not notice) the heat. After we had been walking (walk) for about an hour, the wind suddenly stopped (stop) and we found ourselves alone in the countryside without a drop of water. We decided we would keep (keep) walking as we were sure to find somewhere to stop and have a drink and a rest. Unfortunately, as we later discovered (discover), the closest village was another five kilometers away. We carried on (carry on) in the boiling sun until we finally reached the village. We went (go) into the nearest bar to have something to drink. It was then that I realized (realize) that I had left (leave) my wallet in the apartment as I was rushing (rush) to get out the door and go on the hike! We were 15 kilometers from our apartment and had been hiking (hike) through 100° heat and didn't have (not have) a dime (well, a drachma actually!) to buy ourselves something to drink! Luckily, the people of the island are really friendly, so we explained (explain) our situation and the owner offered (offer) us a Coke on the house. I don't think I had ever enjoyed (ever enjoy) a drink so much in all my life.
The rest of the vacation was spent relaxing. We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and have already planned (already plan) our next vacation in Greece in two years time.
I hope you and Barbara are well. Write me soon.
Best wishes,
Ken
