Last Days in Greece

Ok back to blogging. So we slept in after the long ferry ride from Santorini. The next day we looked up some bus times, and decided to take the bus to one of our favorite beaches we'd already visited (not Tsigrado, Paleochori) and one we hadn't, Provotas. This time we spent a good couple hours at each beach. Provotas had lots of shallow waters, so we waded around a rock outcropping to a more secluded beach. It was also very... European shall we say. Kristen and I didn't join in, but it was an interesting experience. The shallow water made for a very fun beach to swim around in. Paleochori was a beach we had visited the second day on Milos with the car. It's also the place where I broke my camera, again on the second day. But despite that, it really was a great beach. Lot's of volcanic rock, complete with green sulfur deposits (at least I think that's what they were, that's what they were on Vulcano in Sicily). Again we climbed some rocks and found a beach with less people, but more nudity, which again we didn't join in. But it was nice to have less people around. We also had lunch here at a restaurant that cooks food in the volcanic rock. Very cool, and very delicious. That night we had one last dinner in Adamas. This time at a nice little family restaurant in the boats area. You could one of the older ladies in the family cooking all the meals in the back, and one of the younger kids (12-14) was serving us. Very greek, family, traditional, etc. This time we had fried squid, which was different from calamari in that it wasn't chopped up and was fried less. That was appetizer, for the main course I had a delicious spicy meatballs dish and Kristen had a speghetti with minced meat. So good.

The next day we grudgingly got back on the boat to Athens. This time we stayed at a five star hotel. Not that the Ledra Marriott wasn't nice, but this one definately earned that fifth star. The Intercontinental Athens. It had a pillow menu. We didn't use it, cause the pillows they gave us were great, but still pretty cool. All these high star hotels need to stop charging for internet though. It's just greedy. If a hostel or a McDonalds can do it, why can't you. It doesn't have to be Wifi. Cable works just as good. Anyway, other than that, this place was first class. The view from the terrace at the top overlooked the Acropolis and most of the city. The pool was heated to the perfect temperatures. The concierge helped us find a really good electronics store where I could buy a cheap digital camera. It was awesome. For our last dinner together we braved the tourist trap restaurant one more time, for the chance to dine on a rooftop in Plaka looking up at the Acropolis. We both had a delicious pasta, meat, and cheese lasgana type dish that was amazing. After walking our favorite Athens streets one more time, we headed back to the hotel. It was only the next morning that we learned that someone had sliced Kristens purse! Because it was double layered they didn't get anything, but they came close. Kristen fixed it with some thread so it could make it back to the states. I thought I might have seen the culprit lurking at the bus stop the night before. But I can't be sure. Thank god we didn't lose that camera. Unfortunately Kristen is not quadruple jointed and so could not fit in my backpack. So I had to let her head back to the states. And a few hours later I boarded a flight to Cairo. Olympic Airlines was nice. Meal and everything, roomy seats. They were actually a little better than my Virgin Atlantic flight. Anyway, first day in Cairo is next.

Ia and Fira in Santorini

We took an early ferry to Santorini the next day. Milos was flat land moving up to hills and mountains with cliffs sometimes on the shore. Santorini was one massive cliff face on the west that slopes down to beaches in the east. The port is at the bottom of the cliff and we took a bus to Fira, then another to Ia. Ia was just like it looks in post cards and puzzles. When we got in, we grabbed a gyro, not thinking much of it. It was the best gyro in all of Greece. It was fantastic. It's the place right after you get off the bus in Ia. Amazing. We started walking back the way the bus came along the major road in Ia, so we could see all of Ia. As we walked we came across a little old lady climbing down some stairs. Kristen asked me if we should help her and before I could answer, the old lady asked for help. Kristen and I (mostly Kristen) helped her get across the street and to her apartment. She was the sweetest old Greek lady who spoke only 4 words of english. She was so happy just to be helped, she almost broke into tears. After that we had a Ia photo shoot with both Kristen and I. Oh! I forgot to mention. My camera got toasted during the first day in Milos. I tried to go for a swim with it. So no pictures from Greece from me, but Kristen promised to pass me some pictures to post. I also got a very nice replacement camera in Athens, so there will be pictures from here on.

Once the sun started to set, the tourists started to swarm. We elbowed our way out of Ia, and went and had dinner in Fira as the sun setted. A delicious beef dish to start, then a vegetable dish for Kristen (which I don't think was her favorite) and a tasty meatball dish for me. All on a rooftop overlooking the city and the east side of the island as the sun set. After we took a walk and watched the cruise ships and volcano island to the west before heading for the bus. Our ferry back to Milos was a little late, so we didn't get back to Milos until 4am. We were exhausted! But it was so much fun. Next post is our last day in Milos and last day in Athens. After I will post about my first day in Cairo and then hopefully upload some Pyramid pictures. But not for a little while, because I need to get some food in me.

Milos Beachs

Finally got setup with internet in Cairo. So let me continue where I left off before I go on to Egypt. Milos was PERFECT. People throw that word around too much, but it really was everything we wanted. We got to see island life. There weren't too many tourists at all (and when there were they were European tourists). And there was enough tourism that we didn't feel out of place. The absolute perfect balance. The day we got there we found our hotel, a nice little set of hotel rooms and apartments right outside the main port city. The main port city, Adamas, is a quaint little shore town with tons of food, bars, and bakeries. Our hotel was a 2 minute walk from the center of town (and almost out of town by then). We visited our first beach right in town, relaxed, and got breakfast for the rest of the week on the way back. Cereal and fresh fruit. That night we had dinner on the water, mostly seafood. Sepia (squid) in a wine sauce, muscles, and another shot at Souvlaki that wasn't as good.

The next day we rented a little compact car, and explored the island. In total we saw 10 beaches in total. The northern beaches were a little dirty to be honest. We don't know why, they tended to catch garbage in their caves and such. The southern beaches though, were something out of a movie. None of them compared to our favorite beach Tsigrado. It was a little beach cut into cliffs of the island. To get down to it, we had to scramble down a little crevice, not much wider than a person. There were two wooden ladders and a rope, but it was a steep drop. At the end, there is a leap of faith moment almost to get to the last steps. The climb down alone was fun. Then once down there the beach is all caves and clear blue water. You can swim in and out of caves and snorkel around the rocks to your hearts content. It was amazing. Kristen forgot her sandals at the end, and I jumped at the chance just to climb down and back up again. At the end of the day, we still had the car so we went to the northern shore town of Pollonia. This was our favorite meal by far, it was at a new restaurant (10 days old) called Medusa. We got fried calamari to start, Kristen got a mushroom tortellini that was made by a genius chef, and I got a grilled beef dish that almost melted in your mouth. It was amazing. At the end of the meal, after we had paid, they started feeding us a homemade island liquor made with honey and cinammon. Normally I don't like liquor but this stuff was amazing. If I hadn't been driving, I would have just kept drinking till I fell asleep. The next day was Santorini, which will come in the next post...

Downtime in Bari and Ferry to Greece

Hey everyone, sorry the blog posts have been slower. Not much to say since I left Rome. I stayed in Bari for three nights at the same hostel as Kristen did, Bari Belle Camere. Really nice hostel, got my own room for cheap. Bari was a really nice, very Italian city. Lots of shopping and a cool medieval section. Unfortunately timing (and laziness) didn't let me go on any day trips from there. Mostly I think I needed a few days to recharge. I have been going non-stop since Dublin, and it was beginning to wear on me.

Yesterday I took an overnight ferry to Greece, Supfast Ferries. Bari to Patras. The ferry was nice, and the food actually wasn't too expensive. It was pretty good and there was a selection. The airline seats were worth the extra price, but you really have to stake your territory. I didn't head down to sleep until 11, and by then my seat had been taken. Normally I would have asked for it back, but it was a family and it was a little girl in my seat cuddled up with her mom. I couldn't do it, that would be like punching bambi. A lot of people without seats will also steal them or spread out on the ground. I slept on the ground for the first 4 hours, only to wakup and find my water stolen. Little sketchy. After we docked at the first stop, I went back down and found the family gone. I laid out across some seats and got some real sleep (with my backpack in my stomache, wasn't taking any chances after the water). One person (who did not have a seat) claimed they were sleeping there, at which point I pulled out my ticket and told him to get lost. Nice ferry, but some of the people on it were nasty.

The coolest part of the ride were the friends I made. Met a very cool couple from Newfoundland and two other couples from Portugal. I hung out with them for most of the ride, which made it a lot more fun. 15 hours on a boat doesn't feel long at all when you're making friends. Now I'm in a hostel in Athens, waiting for laundry to finish before I head to the airport to pickup a beautiful young woman who will be touring the Cyclades with me! Less than 4 hours until shes here!!! While we're in the Cyclades I won't have much internet, so expect the next post sometime next week. With pictures of course.