Greece: June 17th-21st

So, on the 17th, we were off to Athens. We had only booked on night in Athens, and then we planned to catch a ferry to one of the Greek Islands. We had debated on which island to go to, cause we could only go to one. We only had 3 days to spend on the islands. We got loads of advice and opinions from different travellers that we met, and finally decided on the island furthest from Athens called Santorini.

We arrived in Athens in the afternoon and made it to our hostel around 6pm. The hostel, San Remo Hostel, was an absolute hole, but we just had to spend one night there. We dropped off our stuff in the room and went out to see as much of the city as we could since this was the only day we had. The main thing that we wanted to see was the Acropolis, but when we arrived, it was closed. We were pretty disappointed, but then we noticed all the metal scafolding, and realized that most of the buildings were under reconstruction. That made me feel a bit better. I wouldn't have wanted to see the Pantheon surrounded in metal. We walked around and checked out a few other sites, and then called it a night. We were not too impressed with Athens. It was really dirty, full of stray dogs and just not what we had expected.

We woke up at 5:30 the next morning to get to the ferry port in time to catch our ferry. Our boat left at 7:30 and it was scheduled to arrive at 3:30. It was to be a very long day in the sun. We managed to snag a table on the deck. There were no seats really, just tables with benches, and it was first come first serve. We got there early enough to grab a table. The benefit of being on the deck was that we got the breeze, but it also meant that we were in the sun for 8 hours straight. We definately got some sun on that voyage. The trip was stunning. The water was a deep navy blue color until the boat churned it up, and then it turned a beautiful bright green. What a contrast! We stopped at 3 other islands on the way, and each one just seemed to get better and more beautiful. We also met a charming young fellow named Ahron who was from Chicago. He was on his way to Santorini also.

When we arrived, a representative from our hostel met us. His name was Peter and his was a delightful Englishman. While waiting for our bus to leave, we also met a lovely girl called Cole from Perth, Australia. She was staying at the same hostel we were. Cole ended up becoming a dear friend and hopefully she will be flying back to Perth for Christmas to meet up with Shane and I. She keeps insisting that we have Christmas with her folks.

The bus to Anna's hostel was a bright orange van really, and when they led Shane, Cole, me and another guy (later to be known as Texas Pete) to this van, there was only space for one person left. Peter started chucking our bags on top of the van, but we couldn't fathom how he expected us all to fit in there. The van was already stuffed. We smashed our way in anyway, and just as we squeezed in, an old greek guy (the driver) grabbed Shane, me and Pete by the hands and dragged us out of the van. He motioned for us to get into another van with some people, so we obeyed. We were a little worried that we might not end up in the same place as our bags, but we figured we were on an island, so how bad could it be. We took off and started climbing the mountain. The road was in the shape of a huge snake climbing up the mountain, and it was bumper to bumper with cars. The view was breathtaking looking back at the sea as we inched our way up the mountain.

We finally arrived at Anna's Hostel (which was only $8 a night, by the way), and our bags were waiting on us. Cole had been to Santorini a few weeks before, so she knew just where to take us. We were staying on the beach known as Perissa Beach, one of the black beaches. You see, the island is the site of one of the largest volcanic eruptings recorded, so some of the beaches are black from the volcano. We dropped our stuff off, put on our suits, and headed to the beach. Cole knew where the free lounge chairs were, so we followed her. The ocean floor was crazy. It was solid rock from the lava. It was actually pretty difficult to walk out into the water. We spent a couple hours at the beach relaxing, and then went back to clean up for dinner.

That night we had a wonderful Greek dinner. We stayed up way to late, but we didn't care, cause all we had to do the next day was lay on the beach. And that is exactly what we did. After we woke up on the 19th, we walked down to the local baker (who happened to be one of the nicest men in the whole world) and got breakfast, and then headed to the beach. We did nothing but sunbathe and swim all day. It was wonderful.

That night, we decided to rent 4 wheelers, so we could explore some of the island. We met up with Ahron, and he, Shane, Cole, Texas Pete, and I took off on our ATV's. Shane and I just rented one, (to save money...although they were only $15 for 24 hours) so I rode on the back of Shane. We stopped for some gyros (which is what we lived on in Greece!) There was a really good spot on the island that was famous for its sunsets, so we decided we needed to go there. We took off, racing against time, to get there in time to see the sun set. We made it just in time and it was splendid. I can't wait to post the photos of that night! The scenery just getting to the lookout point was amazing! It was exactly what we had always pictured Greece to look like. After the sunset, we road back to Perissa beach and hung out on the beach. Someone built a bonfire, and it was a brillant night.

On the 20th, we woke up and visited our friendly local baker, naturally. He just put a smile on my face every morning, and always gave us free stuff. Then we decided to take full advantage of our mobility and explore more of the island. By this point, we had accumulated quite a group. Shane, Cole, Ahron, Texas, 2 Aussies called Luke and John, a Kiwi called David, another Aussie called Emma, and me. I could tell Shane really wanted to go crazy on his 4 wheeler, so I opted to ride with Cole so he could have some fun with the boys. Our first stop was the Red Beach. Don't ask how, but the whole place was red. There was also a white beach. So, on one island, they have a black, white and red beach. What a place!

After leaving the Red Beach, we went to a secret beach that Ahron had discovered by accident. It was at that beach where all the boys decided to do some cliff diving. I have some great photos of that too. By this point, we decided to call it a day and go for dinner. We ran into the 3 Canadians that we had eaten dinner with our first night in Florence also. They ended up hanging out with us after dinner. That night was spent another night chilling on the beach and meeting other new people. Shane met a group of girls from South Dakota who were taking the same ferry as we were the next morning.

Sadly, the next morning, the 21st, Shane and I had to leave. We visited the baker for the last time, hugged everyone and said our sad goodbyes, and got back into the bright orange van. We had to catch a ferry back to Athens, and then catch the train to the airport. Our flight was scheduled to leave at 12:50 that night. One of the girls from S. Dakota was also going to the airport, so we agreed to all go together. They had a Greek friend traveling with them and kinda taking care of them, and she decided to come to the airport with us. She thought it would be a good idea to take the metro instead of the train, because it was cheaper. So we did. Bad idea! The girl was not from Athens, but from another city, and didn't know the metro system. So about 10 min. from the airport, we all got fines for buying incorrect tickets. The fines are about $60, and we were supposed to call some number and explain that we were tourist and didn't know. But, Shane and I just decided to forget about it. Not sure what they will do to us, but they didn't seem too concerned when we told them we wouldn't be home for a year and a half. Oh well!