26 September 2014 – 15 November 2014.
more Greece blog posts and pics coming soon…
Greece Photo Gallery
Chillin’ in Greece
I am so ridiculously cold right now, I can barely type! It’s ridiculous! It’s been chilly every day since I got to Greece but yesterday and today have been the worst! I think I’m becoming cold-blooded….
This statue seemed to be enjoying the rain….
Yesterday, I left Athens to visit Delphi. Shortly after catching the bus (with seconds to spare!), it began to rain. It rained off and on (mostly on) the whole way to Delphi.
When the bus let me off, I put the hotel into the map and began trekking to the hotel. It was just over a kilometer, according to Booking and Mr. Google. I had left my large suitcase at Thomi’s house in Athens for the week, but I still had my two-in-one backpack that zips together into one giant backpack and my big bag from sari bari. Not so bad…for a while.
I went up a hill, then down a hill, then up another. I was getting rather wet. I rechecked the map, as the roads were kind of curvy and confusing. My cellphone battery was getting low.
View from Delphi
Finally, it seemed as though I was leaving the town entirely. I was pretty sure this was not what the hotel website had said. In fact, I dimly remembered it bragging about how close it was to the bus station. I only had 2% left on my phone battery by then, so I called the hotel reception and asked if she could give me directions or send a cab to the place where I was, based on my description. During the call, (she took a while to confer with someone about something) my phone died. Usually, I can recharge it a little from my computer, but it was raining too much to take it out. So I headed back towards town to try again.
I asked someone for directions when I first passed a shop. By then, I was a bit shivery…. When I finally found my hotel, I looked like a drowned ship rat! The lady at the check-in desk was not exactly sympathetic or even friendly, really.
I went to my room and tried to warm up. I asked the woman at the front desk for some hot water and made a cup of coffee. After a while, I tried to get in the shower. No hot water! Shivering again, I went back downstairs and asked if there was some switch I should have turned on for hot water. She said there would be hot water in 10 minutes (I’m pretty sure she had only turned on the hot water heater when she heard my water running).
Ruins at Delphi
Since I had to catch a bus the next morning to the next town, I knew if I didn’t go to see the ruins then I might not have the chance. The rain had subsided, but the sun was getting ready to set. I hurried and walked the kilometer or so to the archaeological site (there were signs and it was pretty obvious where I needed to go this time, so I didn’t get lost). There was just over an hour left before they closed, but they let me in.
Treasury of the Athenians at Delphi
I loved it. It was very beautiful at twilight. Although it was nearly a full moon, the clouds were totally obscuring it. However, the clouds alone made for some amazing pictures. (I did not see the Oracle, or any spirits. Nor did I have any visions or hallucinations; however, I wasn’t taking any of the hallucinogenics modern historians think that the Oracle may have been taking, or inhaling from the vapors of the mountain…) Anyway, I stayed until the last possible minute, leaving as they were closing the place up.
Treasury of the Athenians Silhouette at Sunset
On my way back to my hotel, I stopped at a restaurant and had some dinner. After my great experience with Thomi’s moussaka, I decided to try some again. Luckily, I was not disappointed! This was delicious – light and flavourful. I followed it up with some baklava – it’s not as though I hadn’t gone for a few hikes that day!
Delphi at Dusk
In the morning, I walked to the bus station (it wasn’t far at all, if you go the right way!) and caught a bus to Lamia – or so I thought! After a while, the bus stopped, the driver said something, and most of the people got off. After a minute, I asked the other girl left on the bus if we were still going to Lamia. She said no, and that there was another bus. Confused, I got off the bus and saw the driver returning. Hopeful, I asked him for some info, (he hadn’t spoken much English). He said something that included the words transfer, other bus, Lamia, and 11 o’clock, here. So I waited. After about 20 minutes, another bus came and said it was going there, so I got on. When I got to Lamia, I still had to get another bus to Ioanina, which was another 4 hours’ drive. By the time I arrived there, it was late afternoon.
Meteora from Afar
The drive down from Delphi was spectacular, by the way. Delphi is located on a mountainside, and the bus first went down into the valley I’d been admiring from the ruins that day and the evening before. On the way to Ioannina, we passed Meteora. This is the place that Thomai and I are going to visit later this week. It’s spectacularly beautiful – giant boulders on the top of hills, precariously balanced and pretending to be mountains with monasteries perched on the rocks. I’d seen pictures before, but could barely believe the photos. When we drove past, I caught a glimpse….I cant wait to visit! It’s unreal!
Stone in Monodentri
The village I was going to spend the night in is called Monodentri. It is in Epirus, Greece, in an area made up of 45(?) villages called Zagorihora, famous for its stonework, monasteries, and scenery. The Vikos Gorge holds the Guiness World Record for the deepest gorge. There are stunning stone bridges and stone homes. In Monodentri, all of the buildings are made of stone, even the modern ones. Panos, one of the brothers who owns the hotel I stayed at, came to Ioannina to taxi me up the mountain the nearly 40 kilometers to Monodentri, and told me about the stone buildings, but I was still a bit surprised, taken aback, and mildly amused when I realized this meant ALL buildings – I don’t think I’ve ever seen a stone gas station before! Quaint!
Sunset hits the hills by Ioannina
The drive from Ioannina into Monodentri was just as beautiful as it had been coming from Delphi. We climbed directly into the mountains, and as we did so, the sun was setting and hitting the hills across the valley and below us. They glowed pink in the setting sunlight. Just as we were coming up the mountain, the moon rose, full and stunning, right in front of us.
When I arrived at the hotel in Monodentri, I was greeted by the other brother and given the hotel’s specialty, a local dish – cheese pie. It looked like garlic bread, but was made with cheese and egg and flour and I don’ t know what else. It was quite tasty.
My room, however, was quite cold. As we were even higher in the mountains now, it had gotten colder and autumn has definitely fallen here. I thought I’d turned on the heat right after I got to my room, but it didn’t seem to be working. Wondering if I had missed a step, of if something wasn’t working, I asked at the front desk, but I was just informed that they don’t turn the heating on for another hour or so. I’m just about to go forage in the forest for some firewood to put in the fireplace here in my room….
Okay, maybe I’ll just go get dinner instead. Maybe there’ll be heat when I return. And maybe it’ll be warmer tomorrow when I go for a hike to one of the monasteries near here along the Vikos Gorge. Maybe.
Greece is Gorges
Oct 9, 2014 @ 17:43
The Bee That Stung Me in Zagorihori!
My wake-up call this morning was neither wanted nor pleasant! I was stung by a bee while still in bed! I woke up in Monodentri, a bit chilly, but snuggled in my warm bed. My shoulder was sticking out of the covers and I could hear something buzzing about in my room. Assuming it was a fly, and not wanting it to land on me, I reached up to the pull the covers over my shoulder. When I did so, I was rudely stung!
Now to be fair, maybe the bee felt that it was rudely shoved out of its way by my blanket, but I must point out that it was in MY bed! I tried (unsuccessfully) to ignore the pain for a while, before getting up and going down to breakfast at the hotel. I thought they might have baking soda I could use to make a paste. That usually helps with stings and I’m pretty sure it helps draw out a stinger if it’s left in. I tried scraping it out with a credit card so I wouldn’t squeeze out any more toxin, but I think that maybe the stinger is still in my shoulder, cause this bugger is still stinging, hours later! (Can you believe it’s the same arm as my jellyfish sting, too?) Even with Google translate, however, I was unable to obtain any baking soda. One of the brothers came back with an ointment he said helped with bee stings, but I’m pretty sure it was just a mild numbing and antibiotic ointment. It helped for a very short time, and then went back to normal (fire!).
Guinness Book!
So…I had a bit of difficulty focusing at breakfast and getting organized to go on my hike to Vikos Gorge this morning. Finally, I got everything packed up because after my hike I needed to return to the hotel to collect my bags and catch a 230 bus to Ioannina so I could meet my friend Thomi at our hotel there.
Just outside of Monodentri, literally perched on the edge of Vikos Gorge is the Monastery of Paraskevi. From its vantage point, it is possible to see all the way down to the bottom of the valley, which holds the Guiness Book World Record for the deepest gorge. It is almost one kilometer deep (nearly 1000 meters!) This is deep!!! It’s also narrow, not wide, like the Grand Canyon. It’s just a huge, deep gash cut into the side of the mountains. Gorgeous.
Walk from Monodentri
I really enjoyed the walk once I got going. I was a bit skittish about insects at first, but seemed to be attracting larger and larger animals as I went along. First, a cat followed me for a while, and then after I visited the monastery, a dog attached himself to me and followed me all the way back into the village. I stopped to hang out in the forest for a little while and he even came off the path with me and took a nap while I chilled out. Luckily, he decided to follow another couple before it was time for me to catch my bus!
Hiking Vikos Gorge
The forest was so lush and beautiful, though. I really enjoyed it – there was a lot of diversity. I found four different types of mushrooms within a square meter out there! (I didn’t touch any, in case they were poisonous, so you don’t need to worry, Mom!)
The scenery walking along the gorge out to the monastery was beautiful and the monastery itself was well worth the walk. It was made all of stone (of course!) and built right on the edge of the gorge. Only one monk was there, as it isn’t a functioning monastery, but this one was painting icons, the same type as were painted on the walls from centuries before. It was interesting to see him work. I was also fascinated by the beautiful roof on the building.
View across Gorge
I’d hoped to see a few stone bridges, which the area is known for. Although I didn’t see those, I’m glad I got the chance to get a couple of glimpses at the Epirus area of Greece. It’s a very beautiful, very relaxed area of the country.
Bouzouki Bar in Ioannina
In the afternoon, I took the bus back down the mountain into Ioannina, where I was supposed to meet Thomi at the hotel she and I would be sharing. She had come into the town that week for work. I got to meet her coworker Thanos, and the three of us went into town that evening for some food and drinks. We ended up at a bar with live music, a very traditional and typical Greek type of music called bouzouki, which was great to hear. It was enjoyable and I also got to try a couple of Greek alcohols – one that tasted like black licorice/ouzo (like jagermeister) – yuck! – and another that was a very nice clear wine-like drink. We had a good time.
Tomorrow, I’m going to check out Ioannina while Thomai and Thanos finish up their work in town. Then Thanos has kindly offered to give us a ride to Meteora! Awesome.
Path to Monastery by Vikos Gorge
Meteora – Monasteries, Mountains, and Majesty
Oct 12, 2014 @ 02:46
Meteora is a region of Greece which is known for having mountains – giant sandstone boulders, really – upon which monasteries have been built over the centuries. There are now about half-a-dozen monasteries (including a two convents) built on these rocks. In centuries past, some of them were accessible only by rope ladder. Nowadays, there are stone stairs carved or built into the sides of the mountains, and most are accessible by some form of road. If not, there is usually a cable-car of some sort which is able to bring supplies across the mountains to the monastery. It’s a uniquely beautiful and spectacularly scenic sight. In fact, it is on the UNESCO World Heritage list.
View from hotel balcony in Kalabaca
Thomi and I stayed Friday night in Kalabaca (or Kalambaka), a town just at the base of the Meteora Mountains. We got a ride from Ioannina from Thomi’s coworker Thanos, who was on his way back to Athens. We had an enjoyable ride into town, it was a couple of hours, but they passed quickly in friendly conversation. Thomi and I were pretty excited when we arrived in our room at Hotel King. The guy at the front desk, Dan, was very helpful and gave us a map of the area, detailing how to get to the monasteries, the hiking paths, bus routes, distances, times, etc. And from the balcony of our room, we could even see one of the monasteries, illuminated a little bit in the night. It was beautiful.
Morning view from Hotel
Where she mows, nobody knows.
In the morning, we got up took a few more pics from our balcony. We got a kick out of watching an older woman next door who was mowing her lawn in her nightrobe. She also had some of the largest chickens I’ve ever seen in her yard.
Bell tower of Byzantine Church
We left the hotel, and – following Dan’s suggestion from the night before – headed through town to visit a Byzantine Church, ‘Kimisis tis Theotokou’ (Virgin Mary’s Dormition) which was built in the 11th century. From there, we took the trail up the mountain to the nearest monastery, which I believe was called the Monastery of St. Nikolaos Anapafsas.
We took our time on the way up – the hike wasn’t super-long, but the vertical climb was quite steep. Also, somehow, every couple of steps, the view got exponentially more incredible! Suffice to say we took a LOT of pictures.
Pulley at St. Nikolaos
After hiking for a while we came to a flat sidewalk area leading to a set of stairs going directly up the rock face and leading to the monastery. As we were ascending these stairs, we could look out across to a few of the other monasteries. In addition, we could see one of the cable cars working. I thought, initially that it was from the nearby nunnery, Agios Stefanos, which I found a little scandalous – imagine the clandestine meetings that could have been occurring via cable car! I saw later, however, that it was only going from the parking lot near the road to get supplies to the monastery. In fact, inside the monastery was the pulley system which had been used for centuries to lift supplies up the side of the cliffs. I don’t think it is used anymore, but looks pretty cool!
Agios Stephanos Monastery – Now a Convent
After we visited the first monastery and descended the stairs back to the sidewalk area, we had to go up the mountain on the other side to the parking lot and then along the ridge before dropping a bit to go up to Agios Stefanos. By then, we’d walked several kilometers and it was getting on in the afternoon. We were beginning to worry about time.
Entrance to Megalo Meteoron Monastery
We definitely wanted to see the Megalo Meteora Monastery, or the Holy Monastery of Grand Meteoron, which is the largest of them all. However, it was about 4 kilometers from where we were, along the ridge road. The convent where we had just arrived closed in about 20 minutes, and the Megalo Meteora closed an hour after that. We decided to call a cab. Thomi had gotten the number from a guy on the way up to the church when we were still in town. He came and picked us up after about 15 minutes (just enough time to see the convent at quick-speed) and gave us a ride to the biggest monastery. Basically, it’s on the other end of the group of monasteries from where we were, so this meant that on the taxi ride we were able to pass the other monasteries we had been viewing all morning. After the taxi dropped us off, we still had to descend into the valley by Megalo and then ascend another set of stairs built into the stone before reaching the actual monastery.
Varlaan Monastery from Megalo Meteoron
It was well worth it, however. This monastery was by far the biggest. It was also set up to show how it had operated in the past. It had an old storage room and carpentry shop with tools from the past. And the view from here was spectacular. The Varlaam Monastery was in clear view and made for some great photo ops!
Photo from Taxi
As it was getting late by then and we had to catch a bus to Trikala that evening, we were going to call the taxi driver again when we left, but just as we were reaching the exit (having been shooed out by monks at the close of the day along with all of the other tourists), we managed to catch a ride down the mountain in a taxi with a couple of other ladies. Very convenient. As soon as we arrived back in town, we stopped at a restaurant for some food. Slouvaki for Thomi and chicken kebab for me. We hadn’t eaten anything except a croissant each in the morning. Not quite enough food (we’d planned to stop for coffee, but the chance just never arose…) – we were starving!
Moasteries seen from Agios Nikolaos Anapafsas
We headed back to the hotel to collect our bags and managed to make it to the bus station in time to catch a bus to Trikala to stay with Thomi’s aunt and uncle for the night. It had been an exhausting day, but it was so rewarding. We were both pretty proud of ourselves for making it up the mountain, the hike had been a blast, and the views had been well worth it!
Meteora to Santorini
Oct 15, 2014 @ 09:45
Sunrise from ferry to Santorini
So I’m on my way to Santorini right now on a ferry boat from Athens. I got up super early this morning and left Thomi’s house to catch the metro to Pireaus, the port of Athens. When I arrived there, I picked up my ticket and hopped on the ferry. So I just got to watch a beautiful sunset as we sailed out of Athens and we are now heading south towards Santorini. I’ll arrive midafternoon. It may not be as fast as flying, but I’m pretty comfortable here on the deck, the view is great, there’s a nice breeze, and it’s about a third of what a plane usually costs – plus, no baggage fees! Woo-hoo!
Last night, for my final night in Athens, I wanted to cook dinner for Thomi to thank her for letting me stay at her place. Conveniently (as I’d hoped!), Thanasis and Lorena were both free as well, so we invited them to come over too. I went to the fresh grocery store in the afternoon while Thomi was still at work. I’d spent the morning working on packing and organizing/filing some of my papers.
Thanassis and Lorena aprove the dinner
I bought some chicken and eggplant at the store. I cooked the chicken with green and black olives, mushrooms, green peppers, tomatoes, basil, oregano, garlic and chives. We put that on bowtie pasta with feta. I also cooked some eggplant. After softening it on the stove with olive oil and salt and basil, I put it in the oven with some balsamic vinegar, tomato slices, and fresh basil. Just before removing them from the oven, I added fresh mozzarella. Lorena brought a fresh salad and Thomi had red wine.
Mimosa pudica – a touch plant!
It was a pretty successful meal! We had a good time. Just before the end, Thanasis’ friend Lazarus came by, and then another friend since they were about to watch a football match. They left and the three of us girls hung out talking for a while longer. I went upstairs to the roof apartment one last time where the guys were watching the game. Lazarus had brought me some homegrown seeds from his garden to take with me. He and Thanasis both garden and are interested in diversifying plant-life throughout the world, to prevent homogeneity of plant species. (We had a great discussion about it a week or so ago; hence, the seeds). And did I mention Thanasis has a touch plant? I love those!! I got to say goodbye to ZukZukos (the cat) as well, and see the view of the Acropolis one last time…so beautiful!
This morning, when saying goodbye to Thomi, she gave me the sweetest goodbye gift, writing in a little notebook a goodbye letter, including mementos of our time together, keepsakes, leaves, shells, etc. I really appreciated it. It’s interesting the way some friendships just spring into being, nearly fully formed. I’ve been lucky enough to experience that several times already on this trip. Pallavi, Núria, Anna, Hedda, Sebastian and Jessica, to name only a few. It’s been so great!
Thomai and I on the bus to Trikala
I’ve spent the last couple of nights in Athens at Thomi’s house, since we got back into to town from our little trip up north where we had a great time. The highlight of the trip was definitely Meteora. We arrived there on Friday night and hiked up to the monasteries Saturday. That evening, we went to Trikkala, where Thomi’s uncle and aunt live, along with a couple of her ocusins and their families. We stayed with her aunt and uncle Saturday night. Her aunt cooked us the most delicious homemade pizza that night. Unfortunately, neither of them spoke any English. Since I don’t know any Greek (except I can say Thank You…), we weren’t really able to communicate much, which was a shame, as they were both quite nice and extremely hospitable. I also got to meet Thomi’s cousin Leela and her husband and kids, as well as her other cousin’s husband – they’d just had a new baby, so I didn’t get to meet her. Everyone was so nice, and I felt so welcomed! When we left early the next afternoon by bus, Thomi’s aunt had even packed us food to take home – which was more than enough for multiple meals (and SO delicious)!
Santorini Harbour
I really enjoyed my time in Athens and mainland Greece. I’ve met so many great people and seen incredible things. I’m totally looking forward to my time in Santorini. It should be interesting and I may go on from there to another island or another country…we’ll see!
Santorini – Diving and Dining
Oct 17, 2014 @ 21:20
Mediterranean Dive Club, Perissa
My first few days in Santorini have been great so far. Shortly after I arrived at my hostel (where the guy who works at the front desk is actually named Adonis!), I walked down the beachfront about a quarter kilometer to the nearest dive shop. It was open, and the girl who works there, Vicky, is super-cool. It’s nearing the end of the season here, but they still have some dives going out each day. They had a group of advanced divers going out the next day (Thursday) and then again on Saturday. I signed up!
So yesterday, I headed over to the dive center around 930. I met a couple of guys who would be diving with me. One was from Chile and here on his honeymoon, but his new wife isn’t a diver. The other has been traveling for a couple of years too. He’s from South Africa originally, but now usually lives in Florida. Our dive guide is a guy who reminds me of a Greek Slater (yes, a Saved By the Bell reference). After he and Vicky got us suited up (in both a long dive suit and a shortie over the top, since the water is only 21-24 degrees here), he drove us over to the docks. I rode in the back of the truck with one of the guys and the equipment, which was fun. Then, they loaded the gear into the boat, a zodiac speedboat, and we were off around the island. We passed the Red Beach and then the White Beach before arriving at our first dive site.
Mediterranean Dive Club
Our first dive was a very lovely dive, with a couple of caves that we got to go in and a tunnel that was quite tiny. It was pretty chill, we were all relaxed and it was an enjoyable dive. I saw one of those cool little tubules that creep out the end and then suck back in when they get scared. I don’t know what they’re called, but they’re fun!
After a rest on the boat and some chocolate croissants, we headed over to the lava caves for our second dive. This area is called Black Mountain by the locals and has a rock there that they say looks like the head of Bart Simpson sticking out of the water. I guess it sort of does. I felt like it resembled a muppet or Fraggle, more than a Simpson, but…
Back in my Hostel Room at Anny’s – a kitchenette!
The lava caves was a neat dive because all of the black lava rock as a background made for completely different colors than one normally sees during a dive. It looked different even from the dive we had just done, literally just around the corner of the island. There was also some coral that was very brightly colored and really stood out against the rock, especially in the caves. One of the caves we went in was so deep that by the time we got to the turnaround point, I could barely see the flashlight of the dive guide, let alone the neon of the flippers right in front of me! It was fascinating. When I turned around, after finally distinguishing the guide’s finger in the flashlight, giving me the turn-around signal, I saw in the distance, the blue irregular circle of the cave’s opening where we had entered. It was quite beautiful. I really enjoyed it.
We boated back, then had another fun truck ride, and then were greeted by Vicky with cookies at the dive center! Not a bad deal! I’m going back tomorrow. After I went back to my hostel and showered, I went to a restaurant near the dive center that had played reggae music earlier in the day, which, as far as I’m concerned, is almost as much of a draw to a restaurant as the menu! It’s called Tranquilo. I had a tasty salad and mushroom pie.
Wismine, Shelby, and Adonis
This morning, I slept in a bit and then was sitting on my balcony, checking my emails, when I overheard the conversation of a couple of girls sitting by the pool. I chimed in – they were talking about a tv show I watch – and next thing I knew, I was down by the pool making friends! We all decided to go to lunch and I suggested the reggae place down the road, since there was a delicious salad on the menu I still wanted to try (and I had heard their salads were awesome). By then, we were a group of five. Sydney who is in fact from Sydney, Wismine who’s American, Chanae who’s from Australia too, Ryan, who is Canadian and I all headed over to Tranquilo, where we had some delicous lunch.
Can’t. Hold. Too. Heavy. Salad is ENORMOUS!
We ordered a bunch of dips first, one of which was Fava Bean dip, which is an island specialty. It was great, and reminded me a little of one of the types of lentils that my parents make. The salad, when it came, was larger than my head! Several other people from the hostel had gone hiking in the morning and came by as we were eating. They stopped to eat too.
After eating, we decided to go to the beach. It’s directly across the street from the hostel, which is awesome and convenient, and tonight there’s a live reggae band playing at Tranquilo. So, we’re going to head over there again…. I like Santorini!
Santorini by ATVVeeee!!!
Oct 20, 2014 @ 22:18
Although yesterday didn’t work out for Ryan and Wismine and I to rent ATVs to drive around the island, today we managed to get our schedules aligned. Ryan and Wismine had met up in Fira the night before with some other people we’d all met at our hostel in Perissa and didn’t return until last night after dark. So Ryan and I (who had originally planned to rent ATVs and see parts of the island that day) planned to try and meet up again in the morning.
The “Hotel Santorini” Gang at Tranquilo
After I got up today and made some coffee, I opened my balcony and saw that Wismine was sitting at the pool bar talking to Adonis. Since I met her, she has maintained that this hotel is like Hotel California: you can check out anytime you like, but you can never leave! Evidence: the fact that she has stayed here days beyond her original plan and keeps extending her stay. The same happened with Sydney and Ryan. I’d even been thinking about staying longer, and had decided last night to stay until the weekend. There is a large group of people staying here, all of whom keep extending. When we all met at Tranquilo the other day, we took a photo. A few of them have left by now, as our stays have overlapped a bit, but it’s an interesting phenomenon here at “Hotel Santorini”.
Anyway, Wismine kept saying that she was going to leave today, but the minute I saw her, I started asking her if she wanted to join Ryan and I on an ATV jaunt around the island. Adonis joined in on the cajoling about staying longer, helping to argue the merits of a day or two longer. By the time Ryan woke up, she was pretty close to deciding to join us. His voice joined the chorus and she decided to stay.
So the three of us set out shortly after noon to rent ATVs from a local shop. They’re offering off season prices right now, which is great. So for 25 Euros each, we all got our own four-wheelers to zoom around on! Here on Santorini, people just drive the ATVs on the road, with the rest of the cars. There are a couple of different speeds of engines you can get. The midrange, which we had gotten, maxes out at about 80km (which Ryan and I found out through rigorous testing!)
Wismine and Store Owner Trying to Free Bird
On our way to the ATV rental place, we were passing a store window, and the craziest thing happened – we saw movement in the window. At first, I thought it was a butterfly or something and that it was some kind of terrarium-type display. However, upon a closer look, we realized that there was a bird actually trapped in the window! We went into the store and managed to get the owner to come outside with us to show him the problem.
Wismine Window Display
He was as surprised as we were. He opened the window and we tried to let the bird out, but it was so clearly panicked that it simply kept trying to get out by flying up, rather than down and out the window. It was just crashing into the roof! Finally, it went out through the rafters – apparently the way it had come in. The owner then got Wismine to climb into the window, jokingly indicating that she could be the new display (he spoke as little English as we did Greek). It made for a fun photo, and we were all so relieved the bird was okay, that it was pretty fun – and only a little creepy that he was essentially locking her in to his glass cage…..
Santo Winery Sample Platter
After getting our four-wheelers, we headed up to a winery, perched on top of a hill near Fira, the capitol of Santorini. We decided to share an 18-glass wine tasting platter between the three of us. It came with a platter of food as well, and descriptions of all of the wines. We really enjoyed ourselves (more and more, unsurprisingly, as we progressed through the wines)! The view from Santo Winery was spectacular.
Selfies galore!
Many photos were taken there (including some selfies)! I particularly enjoyed the moment when I captured a selfie with both Ryan and Wismine taking their own selfies in the background!
Oia Lighthouse at Sunset
Our goal had been to get to the Oia lighthouse, at the far west end of the island to watch the sunset. It’s supposed to be one of the most spectacular places to see the sunset on Santorini. We were not disappointed. The view was wonderful, and the sunset was incredible.
Sunset at Oia
Gorgeous…
Ancient City of Akrotiri on Thera, Santorini
The next morning, Ryan and I got up and took the ATVs to Akrotiri. This is the site of an archaeological dig. The city that was here is rather like Pompeii, only it happened repeatedly. The volcano erupted, earthquakes occurred over and over, and this city was built layer upon layer over itself after each disaster. Scientists are unearthing the city as they can, which is difficult, as they are going through volcanic rock most of the time, rather than dirt, and finding the civilizations from as early as the middle of the 5th millenium B.C.E. That’s 7000 years ago! Apparently, the place has more or less been inhabited continuously since then. The topmost layers they are uncovering date from 1650-1500 B.C.E. Then, there are the layers below, going as far back as 7000 years. Fascinating.
Layers of Akrotiri
Some of them are quite well preserved, having been essentially frozen in time by the volcanic eruptions. Only four of the 30 buildings found so far have been fully explored, and (as they were at the sites in Malta), everything is covered by a weather-resistant bioclimatic shelter. Unfortunately, most of the artwork, such as the murals, have been moved to museums off-site, but the relics were great to see.
After our romp through the ruins, we went down to the nearby beach for a delicious freddo cappuccino and some greek yogurt with honey on it. Then we headed back to Perissa to return the ATVs. All in all, we had a pretty great time, and covered a lot of the island of Thera!
Glorious!
Oct 31, 2014 @ 19:01
The Ferry Leaves Santorini
I’m on a ferry right now, headed back to Athens from Santorini. I had a great couple of weeks there. It would be more difficult to leave, I think, but as we were pulling out of the port, the clouds opened and the sun burst through.
I am on the boat with my friend James. I told him that it must be a sign that it actually is time for us to leave – that and the fact that the island is essentially shutting down for the end of the season. The hostel where we stayed is literally only open for one more night before it closes. It even rained in Santorini more than half of the days this last week. Luckily, I did most of my sight-seeing during the first week I was there and was mostly just chilling at the hostel this week. The rain was no problem, but rather contributed to the general relaxation and hangout vibe I had going on.
Anne and James having dinner on my balcony in Perissa
James is a guy from Vieques, an island territory of the US located in the Caribbean, close (I think) to Puerto Rico. I’d never actually heard of it before I met him. He and the girl he was traveling with, Anne from Germany, were at the hostel and I met them about a week ago. She headed back to Dresden a couple of days ago, but he is continuing his travels. He decided to come to Athens with me after realizing that with the end of the season, most ferries off Santorini weren’t happening anymore and that Athens was the only practical destination. So he’s going to crash at my friend Thomi’s house with me this weekend while we each figure out our next destinations.
So Long Santorini (James, I still think it looks like a Pirate Ship!)
Also, hopefully, tomorrow we’ll go to the farmer’s market in Athens. I didn’t go on either of the Saturdays when I was in town last time and I hear it’s pretty cool. Of course, we are bringing a couple bottles of Grandma (wine we found in Santorini with a Grandma’s picture on it) to Thomi’s house, so I suppose it’ll depend how crazy the night gets tonight whether or not we make it to the market tomorrow…. We’ll see!
For now, we’ll settle in on this rather cushy ferry and watch some Eddie Izzard! Glorious!
And Happy Birthday to my mom and Happy Halloween to everyone else!