If you travel much to Greece, chances are you signed up at some point for Icarus, the frequent-flyer miles program for Olympic Airlines.

With the sale to MIG going through by the end of September, Olympic Airlines is asking all of its frequent-flyer club members to redeem their miles. After September 30th, the miles and tickets bought with them will no longer be valid. Here's the letter I received:

"As you may be aware, Olympic Airlines will enter into liquidation and a new privately owned Airline Olympic Air will be established.

Consequently, we would like to inform you that the accumulated miles of Icarus Program of Olympic Airlines must be redeemed for domestic and international flights until the September 30th of 2009*.

To request an award ticket please contact by e-mail:
Olympicairlines.telephone.sales@olympicairlines.gr
or fax:
0030-210-96 66 244 (US callers use 011-30-210-96-66-244)
*All flights must have been completed until the 30th of September 2009

The ICARUS FREQUENT FLYER PROGRAM will be terminated on 30th of September 2009.

Taking the opportunity we would like to express our appreciation for your continuous support during all those years.

Sincerely,
Olympic Airlines

As problematic as travel with Olympic has sometimes been for all of us traveling to Greece, I can't help but feel a pang now that it is really, really changing. Sentimental, I know! Here's to a bright future for Olympic Air.

Up and coming airline Athens Airways has added more destinations, including Rhodes, Zakynthos, and Cefalonia. Can we really hope for a fully competitive domestic marketplace in Greece? With Olympic, Aegean and now Athens Airways competing on some routes, there are finally some new options for flights to and between the Greek islands - and that's great news for travelers to Greece.

Despite a major undersea earthquake striking south of Crete, the deep tremor did little damage and most Cretans didn't feel it, despite a range of Richter scale estimates between about 5.9 and 6.7. As luck would have it, I'm on the south coast of Crete at the moment and didn't feel the quake. The only possible evidence I've seen or heard of so far are more than the usual number of fallen rocks along the roads and some eels and dead fish washing up on shore.

More on Earthquakes in Crete and Greece

Is your family at that age - with the youngest no longer too young to travel, and the eldest almost slipping into adulthood? It may be the perfect time to travel with your kids in Greece. One caveat - for many years there was no official drinking age in Greece. Now it's 18 years old. And while some parents may not mind a late-teen grabbing a Greek beer that would be illegal back home, it's another story when they come back to the table with a bottle of ouzo.

More:

• Packing Light for Kids
  
• How to Find a Family-Friendly Beach in Greece - Not ready for the discussion of the European birds and bees? Here's how to find the not-nude beaches in Greece.
• Finding Family-Friendly Hotels in Greece This independent rating service rates Greek hotels solely on how well they work for families.
• Travel with Kids at About.com - Teresa Plowright covers traveling with kids on the Greek island of Corfu and worldwide.

Landing at a Greek airport? Don't be surprised to see cameras trained on you. They're looking for hot travelers - and no, it has nothing to do with what you're wearing. The camera images allow monitors to spot anyone arriving with a high fever - which means you'll get pulled out of the line for a chat with the local medic.

So far, swine flu cases in Greece have been limited to those arriving with travelers. About 70 cases have been reported over the past few weeks.

Inspired to go to - or go back to - Greece after seeing Nia Vardalos' "My Life in Ruins"? While coach trips may not be the very best way for everyone to see these sights - unless you have a Nia with you - there's little doubt that most travelers to Greece will want to visit some of the key sites shown in the film.

My Life in Ruins Movie Locations

If you love maps, it's easy to spend way too much time playing with them. This live interactive map from The Hellenic Shipping News Daily showing the details of thousands of ships at sea will keep you busy for hours. While you're playing around with it, you may even learn a thing or two about the geography of Greece and the Greek islands.

It may be the best show since the 2004 Athens Olympics extravaganza as all of Greece turns out for the opening of the New Acropolis Museum on Saturday, June 20th. Not in Greece? You can still share in the fun by watching it live on the web.

Kathimerini on-line reports that the number of swine flu or H1N1 cases in Greece has topped 21, with virtually all of the cases reported in tourists or Greeks returning to Greece from the United States and elsewhere.

One woman with swine flu, who had just visited doctors in the United States prior to her trip, re-diagnosed herself based on the pamphlet she was given at Athens International Airport and was admitted to a hospital where she is recovering.

The Greek government has specifically asked hotel keepers to be sure that any ill guests are referred to hospitals to be tested for the disease.

If you are traveling in Greece, or anywhere right now, be sure to have with you any phone numbers you need to contact your own health insurance providers. You may also want additional protection via travel insurance. In the unlikely event that a traveler falls ill from swine flu or any other ailment, many higher-end travel insurance policies have help lines which can assist you through the process of getting medical treatment.

In what could be the beginning of the end for the "captivity" of the Acropolis/Elgin Marbles at the British Museum, museum authorities in London have suggested they might be open to "lending" the disputed sculptures to the New Acropolis Museum for a short time to celebrate its opening next week.

Greece has responded that that's just not good enough and that accepting the loan would essentially recognize the British Museum's legal right to ownership of the marbles.

The British don't want that "right" examined too closely. Even Lord Elgin's original agreement with the Ottoman Pasha doesn't clearly state that he was welcome to take them back home with him.

So, in the meantime, the beautiful floor which has been put aside for the permanent return of the marbles will remain empty.

CBC: Greece refuses loan of Parthenon marbles
New Acropolis Museum Picture Gallery