I seemed to have unintentionally photographed quite a few animals this week. In reviewing them now (at home), I figure, why not make this week’s photos to the theme? Then again, it would have been too easy if I have at least a photo of an animal every day of the week when I didn’t think about it in the first place. As a result, I struggled to pick a favourite one for some of the days, and I also struggled to find at least one photo for some of the days. Saturday’s photo of the day was even a toss up between two different non-living animals – a sculpture or a stuffed head of a cow….

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24 Jun: While F was out snorkelling, I had settled quite nicely at a terrace with a drink and reading on an ebook reader. Out of nowhere, this little friend appeared and started exploring under a number of tables, including ours. It has a friend too, that was a bit more skittish and stayed away from this human. Now that it had my full attention, when it jumped up to perched on a low wall, I knew I had to take a photo.

25 Jun: With the sun high up in the sky, it was not the ideal time to take a walk and yet there we were, walking the cliff trails between Fira and Oia. We marvelled at the beautiful scenery before our eyes, and stopped often to take photos. At Imerovigli, I was in the midst of taking yet another photo of the caldera when loud barks came behind me. Turning around, I was surprised by this fella who could potentially jumped down at us! Luckily, it didn’t, and as a bonus, it gave me a pose. Click.

26 Jun: To move between the village of Oia and the Ammoudi Bay on the cliff side, a couple of options – walk the nearly-300-or-so stairs or ride a mule. Mind, the mule as an option is strictly for uphill ride here. A few things to bear in mind: (1) keep an eye while you walk because there are dungs everywhere, (2) step to a side while the mules are passing so you don’t end up spooking the animals or get caught out by a temperamental one that day, and (3) they swish their tails constantly and the whipping could be painful so don’t stand too close either.

27 Jun: After a good dose of sunshine, what’s not to like about having a short nap on the beach? It seems this puppy felt the same way, and very obliviously snored away on a bed of dried seaweed near the Red Beach, just 10 minutes walk away from Akrotiri excavation site. It just looked so adorable that I squatted down and took a shot quickly, then quietly moved away, lest I disturbed its sleep.

28 Jun: At dinner, a few wild kittens were frolicking by the cliff adjacent to the restaurant. They were teeny tiny, not even 30cm long, playing away without a care in the world. One of them must have gotten a little hungry, for it left the rest of the litter to start wandering under the tables of the restaurant. As I looked down, this cutie looked back and mewed at me. If I could bring it home, I probably might have done that!

29 Jun: I’ve searched through my photos ernestly but no cute animals photographed on Saturday. Instead, I have a mounted head of a cow outside a hunting shop, and plaster models of horses. Not just ordinary horses, mind. Afterall, they are in the scene together with Athena and Poseidon who were competing to become the patron of Athens. No prize for guessing who won the honour. This entire cast is, unfortunately, mere miniature model of the west pediment of the Parthenon which no longer exist today.

30 Jun: We haven’t spotted that many dogs or cats in the city centre of Athens but there were certainly a lot of pigeons around. Pigeons that are completely nonchalant to the presence of human. When we walked past them, they barely shifted a couple of steps to let us past and continued doing whatever they were doing. The exception – when the bell of a church beside us tolled, all the pigeons flocked to the roof of this building immediately. One swoop up, pretty impressive to watch, but too late for me to try to photograph.