That's all she wrote

We're back where we belong.  Cas and I are home, having spent a very long day traveling.  The flight from Athens to Toronto was not the highlight if the trip, but how often does an overseas flight make a top ten list?  Our layover in Toronto was exactly long enough to clear customs, have our passports examined thoroughly and eat something.  I got randomly selected for additional security screening.  Cas was chosen for added scrutiny by passport control.  Seems like we passed the tests, because they let us out of the airport.

All that remains is to unpack and clean a mountain of laundry, as is so typically the case after a trip like this.  The takeaway, though, is that the Greek people are among the most welcoming people I have met.  They are happy to share their country with you.  They want you to see everything and taste all the food and drinks.  They want you to have as much fun visiting Greece as they appear to have just being Greek.  

There are some things I wish were different.  There is an awful lot of cigarette smoke around, and you have to drink bottled water on the islands.  Still the people seem just so happy to see visitors that you buy a bottle of water and try to sit upwind of any unpleasant aromas.  

I'm not entirely sure what big trip we have next summer.  There are a few things in the back of my mind, and I think Cas has some plans brewing, as well.  We may even stay on this side of the planet next time- but no promises.  

For this trip, though, that's all she wrote.  I leave you with one last photo of us during our last moments in the ground in Athens: 

Here's one last reminder of Cas' photo album- go look: https://goo.gl/photos/zxmxAmDBqhc4hPHD7

Out with a bang

It took some doing, but we got from Mykonos to Athens.  The flight was delayed about 45 minutes, but it only took 20 minutes in the sky to get here.  Oh, and it took over 30 for the baggage carousel to produce our luggage.  Still, no worries.  We weren't trying to make it somewhere by a certain time, so it all worked out.  I watched a lot of other people at the baggage claim area stomp around, growing more furious by the second.  No need to get your blood pressure up, folks.  If I have learned one thing on this trip, it's that Greeks do things on their own timetable.

From the airport, we took a taxi to our hotel.  This is another one Cas booked, and it is the level best place we've slept on this whole trip.  Heck, there's a tub and a shower door.  Sure, the door only goes about two thirds of the way around where it should go, but this is real progress.  

Last night, we decided to walk around a little in this somewhat fancier section of Athens.  We stopped at a place that served a really good sausage plate with pita bread, then we made our way to a wine bar that featured really nice Greek sparkling wine.  After that, we found a place where a pair of musicians sat at the front and played Bouzouki music.  That's the typical style of Greek music you think of when you close your eyes and picture a dancing Zorba or something.  It was pretty touristy, but I don't think either of us cared.  Here are the musicians: 

I am just a little disappointed that nobody was dancing around or smashing plates anywhere on this trip.  Cas and I theorized that the Greek economy may play a role in this absence.  Plates cost money, and in tough economic times, you may want to refrain from smashing things that cost money.  Hey- it's a theory.  

After we left there, we went back to our very fancy hotel and up to the top floor, where there is a pool, a bar and a restaurant.  We sat down and took in the view: 

Not too shabby, huh?  

It's breakfast time, now, and after that, I think Cas and I will probably spend a good part of the morning getting to the airport and checking in for our flight.  We head to Toronto, then to Dallas.  There's a three and a half hour layover in Toronto, too, so we have some time built into the schedule in case today is a repeat of yesterday's efficiency.  

Time to zip up the luggage one more time and get the carry on bag loaded correctly.  We should be home just a few hours before our first anniversary.  See you all back in the states. 

What we miss most

I think Cas and I agree that what we miss most (aside from our friends and families, of course) at the end of this trip is American bathrooms.  A good number of the bathrooms in this country admonish users not to throw paper or other things into the toilets, and I am never quite sure if they are referring to toilet paper.  In two locations on this trip, I encountered the hole-in-the-ground bathrooms.  One was in a Monestary in Meteora and the other was in the Samaria gorge along the hiking path.  Neither one was particularly appealing.  Having traveled through Italy and briefly visited a few places in Greece about 20 years ago, I can say with some confidence that the bathrooms have improved.  I can also say they haven't improved significantly.  Some showers have curtains.  A few have a little lip around the bathing area so the whole floor doesn't get wet.  This technology is still in the beginning stages, though, so it's not working well.  Most of them have some kind of holder for the toilet tissue that helps keep it dry while a shower is happening.  Several places had just the handheld shower head with no place to hang it so you could stand under it.  One hotel (I think it was in Loutro) had a broken pipe, so there was no hot water.  They've got room to improve their bathrooms.

And about water, we were told in no uncertain terms not to drink the water in the islands.  I think this is solid advice for anyone considering a trip this way.  We use filter bottles most of the time, and we did so in the mainland part of the country, but in the islands, even the people who work in hotels and restaurants tell us not to drink the water.  The place in Santorini was using bottled water to make beverages at breakfast, and that hotel struck me as a place that would cut any corner it could.  If they were putting bottled water into their complimentary breakfast, there must be something to it.

The bathroom in this hotel is the nicest one so far.  There is a space with a toilet, and that space has a door.  There is a shower with a door, as well.  Between them is a sink and vanity.  Even with all that effort put into a pretty bathroom, the water leaks out of the shower into the room.  It's by design, of course.  There is a drain in the floor.  

Just a thought, though- the Greeks invented democracy.  You'd think they could put a little lip around the shower and find a way to keep the rest of the bathroom relatively dry? 

We have one more hotel to assess before the final verdict is in, but I think that is probably what we have found lacking in this whole trip- reasonable bathrooms and potable water.  Buying bottled water all the time is a but frustrating.  That's why we had to resort to Mojitos yesterday: 

Anyhow, we're off to Athens soon.  I think we've just about packed all our stuff, and the hotel staff says they will gladly call us a taxi just as soon as we need one.  

One more night in a hotel and one more shower in a foreign place before we can get back to our nice mattress, our pretty bathroom and, of course, our people.  See you soon!  

Delos

The decision to close out our trip on the island of Mykonos was driven in large part by the proximity of Mykonos to Delos.  Delos is entirely dedicated as an archaeological site, and is only accessible by boat from Mykonos.  It has no hotels, nor does it permit overnight stays.  Basically, nobody sleeps there.

Delos is supposedly the birthplace of Apollo and Artemis.  It was a pretty important hub in ancient times, what with Apollo protecting it and all.  In fact, the tour guide today told us that the treasury on Delos preceded the one in Athens, and the one in Athens is something we may have heard of.  It's up at the top of the city.  You know, the Acropolis?

Anyhow, it was pretty spectacular.  There used to be a lake on the island, and in its place, there is now a pretty lush spot with lots of trees.  One tree in particular, a palm tree, is supposed to mark the birthplace of Apollo.  Of course, there's a temple, too.  Mostly, what stood out to us after weeks of looking after steps and columns was the series of lion statues.  They were originally built to look toward the birthplace.  I didn't catch if they were a tribute or a symbol of some kind of protection of the sacred place, but no matter.  They were interesting.  

When we got back from Delos, we had a rather large lunch.  We had to.  Marching through ruins in the sunshine really works up an appetite.  Apparently, it also wears you out, because we were beat.  It took way too long to find a taxi that wanted to take us back to our hotel, and when we got there, we took a pretty substantial nap.  

About the taxis, though- if any of you ever travel to Mykonos, please do one of three things:

     Learn the city bus schedule

     Rent a scooter

     Take taxis everywhere

There are no real sidewalks to speak of, and the roads are rather perilous on foot.  I think Cas and I can both recommend against walking around.  

After the nap, we went to a beach, drank a few beverages, had a few appetizers and walked in the sand.  It was kind of a cliche.  We had a nice walk on the beach.  Seriously, though, how often are we on a beach in Mykonos?  

Aside from the difficulty in getting from one place to another on this island, it is very beautiful.  I am sincerely convinced that this is a very slow tourism season for the whole country, and Greece could probably use the money.  It's been surprisingly unpopulated wherever we've been in this trip.  Even in Mykonos, where everyone seems to bunch up on corners and in intersections making me and Cas feel downright claustrophobic, I see a lot of empty tables at restaurants that should be really full in the tourist season.  

Anyhow, I wish the best to the Greeks and I hope they come out of their economic slump.  They're very kind and extremely hospitable.  

We leave Mykonos tomorrow and spend one more night in Athens before heading back to scenic Dallas.  Nothing like some international travel to place where everything is either historical, beautiful or both to make you realize how dull Dallas is.  It's a very functional, utilitarian place to live, but it's neither historically interesting nor pretty.  Either way, I am ready to get back.  

Tilting at windmills

I know that I am sometimes a poor representative of people who have degrees in literature.  I studied it in college, but only to the extent that a young person with a full time job studies anything.  I guess what I am saying is I took a lot of notes.  I took a lot of notes and I made a lot of inferences.  I was pretty busy- I had to work enough to pay for school, and I know that's an excuse, but it's the one I am going with.  I may not have exactly read all the stuff I was supposed to.  Like Don Quixote.  I know, I know- I should read it.  And I probably will.  I just didn't have time when I was supposed to, and somewhere in there, I forgot.

Anyhow, Mykonos has a set of famous windmills.  I think you can see where this is going- if you had bothered to read Don Quixote.  Personally, I only get the reference from a series of inferences I made.  Nevertheless, Cas and I saw the windmills today, and we decided to tilt at them.  Here we are, tilting at windmills: 

Some quick researching tells me that the expression comes from the book I thought it did, and it was because Don himself decided to fight imagined giants, but instead, found himself fighting windmills.  It's also used in the parlance of jousting.  Mostly, though, it refers to fighting an enemy you perceive differently than that enemy is in reality.  Huh.  The more you know, I guess.  

The thing about Mykonos that happened before we got here was that people were apparently tying to dissuade us from our plans.  One girl on our trip who is a bit younger seemed to be telling us that it is not our type of place.  There are nightclubs and parties.  In her estimation, people do not sleep in the nighttime on this island.  She didn't tell us we were too old, but she kind of meant that we were too old.  

We had no intention of going to nightclubs, anyway.  I never liked them in my 20s, and I don't see the need to start now.  Cas and I did exactly what we always do.  We found the things worthy of our attention, and we did those things.  

We walked over to the windmills, tilted at them, found a weird art gallery he had read about online, then went to a nice place with a view for an appetizer and some Prosecco.  After that, we walked around and did a little people-watching.  When we wrapped that up, we walked to a part of town called Little Venice, presumably named for is waterfront restaurants.  We had a sunset dinner there with some spectacular scenery.  I made a time lapse video of the sunset, and Cas should be uploading it any minute.  Go find it.  If I put it here, I don't think this post will upload. 

Tomorrow, we are headed to an island off the coast of Mykonos called Delos. It is an archaeological site where preservation efforts prevent the Greeks from permitting overnight stays.  No problem, though.  We are about to go to sleep in the very best hotel of the trip.  Stands to reason, though.  The tour is over, and now, we're in a place Cas booked for us.  He has better taste than the tour company, as it turns out.  

So, that's it for the evening.  Good night from wild, crazy party island, where Cas and I will likely be asleep before midnight.  Yep.  We're super young and fun.  See you tomorrow.  

Platinum class

Apparently, when Cas booked travel from Santorini to Mykonos, he got us a pair of seats in the Platinum class cabin. He said it was about ten bucks extra, and we got very comfortable leather seats.

Boarding and disembarking a ferry in Greece is a little difficult.  There is always a crowd, many of the people are rude, and nobody seems particularly concerned about their fellow human beings.  That's why the nice seats were a welcome surprise.  Because this is what it was like before we boarded: 

The ship was very fast, and we got to step out to an outdoor observation area a few times along the way. 

We're just arriving in Mykonos, now, and we need to organize a few things, including lunch.  

On our own

This evening, we said good night to the rest of the crew from our tour group.  There are sixteen people and a guide who have been together every step of the way, and aside from those who we may bump into at breakfast tomorrow, we are on our own.  The last thing we did together was have dinner at a really nice restaurant at the top of the tallest place in the port city of Thira.  We took the city bus to the part of the island where the restaurant is, then our tour director took us around on a quick walking tour.  After that, she gave us a few hours to ourselves.  

Cas and I aren't hard wired like the rest of the group, I guess.  They were all excited for the opportunity to shop.  We were wondering what else there was to do.  

Our first move was a cable car that goes form the port to the top of the hill.  (Cas and I are still not sure if it was a big hill or a little mountain.)  We took that down, walked around the port and took the cable car back up.  It was hot out, so we found a place that served sorbet.  After that, we walked up to the Catholic Church in the area named for John the Baptist.  It was a really pretty church, and I am particularly proud of my photo of their bell/clock tower.  Enjoy: 

Everyone else was shopping.  When we reconvened for the dinner, our tour director had on a new dress.  The girl sitting next to me had purchased a whole new outfit, though she was not wearing it at the moment.  Even folks who don't shop much found some souvenirs.  Cas and I already had our souvenir needs met, so we looked at a church, had a coffee, rode a cable car and ate some sorbet.  We were still about 30 minutes early to dinner.  

It was totally worth it, though, because the selling point of this restaurant was the sunset.  

It was a really pretty place to be.  There are lots of photos of the hilltop and the view.  I am sure Cas will upload them as soon as he can, if he hasn't already.  

It will be good to be on our own, now.  I think this is just about the right amount of time to be with a group of strangers.  Any longer and I think some frayed nerves would make themselves more prominent.  

But that's it for this evening.  I think we need to turn in and get ready for our last little piece of this adventure. Talk to you all from Mykonos!  

Classic hotel, gently used

This morning, we started as we so frequently do with a breakfast provided by our hotel.  The place we're in is absolutely beautiful but not exactly as well maintained as one would hope.  I think it must have been quite impressive when it first opened, though.  It's pretty, and the location is prime real estate.  It's just the little things- the shower looks like it's seen better days, and the air conditioning unit (which I am sure was added after-market to the building) has a drainage tube that is routed into th bathroom of our room so it can go down the shower drain.  The whole place reminds me of a slightly banged up classic car.  A real restoration would make it impressive, but as it stands, it's pretty neat.

When we wrapped up our breakfast, we walked to the tourism office to discover that all the stuff we were interested in seeing would require a larger time commitment than we had available.  We need to meet with our group for a walk, a tour of another city and a farewell dinner, and all of that starts before 4pm.  The bus trip that would have taken us to the Monastery would have ended at 5:30.  

It may sound like we just cant get enough monasteries, but the truth is, this one is at the very top of the tallest part of the island, and there's a good shot that the view from there would be breathtaking.  Oh, well.  Instead, we put on our swimsuits and went to the beach.  I mean, you almost have to do that, right?  

After our lunch and a little time in that water, we decided to walk back to the hotel.  When we got here, we hopped in the pool- partially to get the salt waster off our skin and partially because it's a little warm out.  Besides, we were already dressed for it.  

For now, we're sitting on our hotel balcony, drying off a little and having a snack.  It's not too long until we meet with the group and hop on a bus for the last event together.  

Tomorrow morning, Cas and I are on our own and heading to Mykonos.  That's our last stop before the overnight in Athens at the end so we can make it to the airport in time.  For now, though, I think it's time to get out of the swimsuit and into some decent clothes for our last meal with the gang.  

Santorini

When we arrived in Santorini, a driver took us to our hotel.  From there, it was a rather fast series of events. We had to drop our luggage in the hotel lobby, find a place to eat, get some lunch, come back to our hotel, dig our swimming things out of our luggage and get on another bus.  It all felt a little rushed, but it was worth it.  When we got off that bus, we boarded the catamaran that took us on our sunset cruise.

The cruise started at 3pm and ended at about 9:30.  There were three stops along the way, each one with some different purpose.  The first swimming stop was a spot with a natural hot spring coming out into the water.  The second swimming stop was near a particularly pretty beach, and the third one was for snorkeling.  Specifically, it was the snorkeling stop where Cas seemed happiest.  They sounded a loud horn to notify swimmers it was time to return to the boat, and during snorkeling, Cas was one of the last ones out of the water. 

The whole thing was just stunning.  Every direction you turned, you saw something that was completely gorgeous.  And the people who worked on the boat were really friendly and fun loving.  Sometimes, you get people in the tourism industry or people running some attraction who are kind of over it all.  I mean, these guys see two boatloads of tourists every day.  They sail out to three beaches, cook food on the grill and stop for the same beautiful sunset every day.  They were not pausing to take it all in like we were, but they were definitely happy to share this beautiful sunset with us.  

The crew was led by a young guy named Kostas.  That was probably the tenth Kostas we've run across.  I think we've met as many guys named Pavlos as we have met guys named Kostas.  The crew got a late lunch/early dinner together for everyone.  There was a charcoal barbecue grill at the back of the boat.  The ticket price also included wine and soft drinks, so nobody went hungry or thirsty.  

We had so much fun on that cruise.  The food was spectacular, the views were breathtaking and the ride was a blast.  I think the tour company puts that event at the end of the trip as sort of a cherry on top.  We were actually supposed to do it today and have free time yesterday, but we did it the other way around.  I think it had something to do with the fact that one of our fellow travelers is leaving a day early.  She has a friend whose wedding is in some other part of Greece, and she is on her way now, I think.  No matter- it was all pretty amazing.  I know Cas has some great photos of the sunset.  This is the best one I have on my phone, and I have no desire to wake him up right now and ask.

Here's that album link again: https://goo.gl/photos/zxmxAmDBqhc4hPHD7

Smooth sailing

I'm not sure how big of a story this is in the US, but let me assure you (in case you saw it and worried) we were nowhere near the earthquake in Kos.  We're safe and happy, and the tour continues.  Cas and I are on a ferry that will be on the way to Santorini in just a few moments.  All is well.

In the meantime, here is an actual Grecian urn, should you feel like writing any odes. 

It's good to be the king

This morning, we took a ferry to a place where we got in a van and drove for a few hours to Irakleon.  When we got there, we had a little time to eat lunch before we went via city bus to Knossos Palace.

In a nutshell, this was the center of leadership for the Minoan civilization, which existed all the way back to 1900 BC.  The palace covered 20,000 square meters, or for people who think like Americans, that's 215,000 square feet.  

It was essentially a city before there were cities, and they had figured out running water, flushing toilets and buildings with multiple floors.  As it turns out, the plumbing in Knossos Palace centuries before the birth of Christ was better by far than the plumbing in the rest stops along the Samaria gorge trail.  Go figure.  

It was incredibly interesting, though Cas was disappointed that he did not see one Minotaur.  Can't win 'em all, I guess.  When we left the palace grounds, we went through the adjacent museum.  After we left there, we stopped back by the hotel room to relax for a moment before dinner.  It was another one of our group meals at a restaurant our tour director recommended for us.  

Greeks always bring things to a table that you may not have asked for.  When we ordered Ouzo in Meteora, we got a plate with olives, tomatoes and cucumbers.  When we ordered Mojiots just last night, we got carrot sticks and a bowl of peanuts.  At meals, Greek restaurants seem to bring chunks of watermelon out afterward along with glasses of Raki or Cipro.  Raki is head and shoulders better than Cipro, by the way, bearing a much closer resemblance to Ouzo than anything else.  I have now learned that Ouzo is a drink for before the meal, while Raki and Cipro are for afterward.  

Anyhow, the restaurant brought out melon and Raki, along with some fresh cherries and a desert that can best be described as a Greek doughnut with cinnamon. It would have been rude to say no, so we were just trying to have good manners.  

There are only two other couples on this trip with us, and one of them is from Australia. They are like the super-fun devils on our shoulders when it comes to turning in early.  They are a blast to be around, and they are not particularly shy about ordering another drink.  We sat with them after the meal and made sure we weren't insulting our hosts by leaving the Raki unused.  The Australians wanted to go out for more drinks on the way back to the hotel.  We were seriously thinking about it, too.  In the end, we decided to turn in.  We have a rather early morning tomorrow.  We head for Santorini in the morning.  I am so excited about Santorini and Mykonos that I am almost without words.  

Time to turn in, though, and get ready for the next leg of the journey.  In the meantime, Here is a snapshot form the sun setting as we were walking to the restaurant this evening.  

Beach bums

The boat ride to and the one back from our cooking class were probably eight or nine hours apart, and there's a good chance our group may have run the place out of wine.  It was pretty late when we went to sleep, and my inexplicable need to wake up early was something I wished I could turn off this morning.  Nevertheless, I was awake at 7:30 am.  I spent a little time washing out some clothes in the sink and hanging them to dry. I took a moment to organize my luggage a bit. I finally probably woke Cas up just by moving around.

Once we were up, we headed for breakfast, then on to the place that rents out kayaks.  I had never kayaked before, and there's no better moment for a first time than now.  

It was a fun time.  I actually thought it would be more arduous and less rewarding, but I could see that we were really making progress.  I hate the feeling of working and working without any visible signs of motion, but this was perceptible.  Also, I took a selfie of us kayaking.  Enjoy: 

Apparently, I am better at kayaking than I am at hiking.  Either way, both things resulted in me arriving where I wished to be.  

After the kayak ride, Cas and I stopped for lunch.  I had some particularly flaky and wonderful sea bass, and he had octopus.  I tried a bit of his, and he tried a bite of mine.  I was the clear winner.  The sea bass was strikingly good.  

Following that was a trip to the only bar in town that had cider.  Cas is a big hard cider fan, so when he saw yesterday that this place served hard cider, we immediately planned a trip there.  After that, it was actually nap time.  We slept for an hour or two, then we decided to wander about until dinner time.  There isn't a long way to travel in this town, so we walked up the main drag and back.  When we were near the end of town, we saw a mojito bar.  They were growing their own fresh mint out front.  Why not?  

I have to say it was amazing.  

Following that, we walked back to the hotel by way of a place that sold wine.  We bought a bottle, took it up to the hotel roof and opened it up.  The stars were so pretty last night that we needed to verify they were still there.  They certainly were.  I think the whole group may have had a bit more wine and a few extra mojitos in this town. It's a very relaxing place, and we didn't have anything we needed to do early in the mornings here. After the gorge hike, we were all ready, I think. 

Anyhow. Tomorrow, we go to Irakleon.  I think we will be going to the palace of King Minos.  I'm not entirely sure at this point. But I will keep you posted.  Until then, good evening.  

Moussaka

The morning in Agia Roumeli was beautiful, but at this point in the trip, it would be strange if a place wasn't.  After breakfast, we walked to the pier where we boarded a ferry boat.  That took us to Loutro, where we will be sleeping for two nights in a row.

We walked around and checked the place out for a little bit, but that was a quick process.  It's such a small place that I didn't see motorized vehicles.  Everything was pushed up against the coast, and there was one little walking path in front of it all. 

We put our luggage down and went to lunch with our group.  I had swordfish souvlaki, certainly a new one on me.  It was amazing. 

From there, we had just a few moments to get ready for a trip in a small boat to a small place just up the coastline. All sixteen of us were learning how to make a traditional Greek moussaka from scratch.  It was a bit crowded in the kitchen and I didn't stick around long, but we had a good time.  Here is Cas frying up some eggplant with me. 

We made the meal in shifts, so the only thing I really figured out how to do was prepare the eggplant.  If you want to know about the meat, the potatoes or the béchamel cheese on top, you're on your own.  

While that was cooking, a few of us went for a walk along the beach.  Again, it was a rocky beach, but it was a really pretty walk.  Besides, I am getting pretty good at walking on rocks.  

When it was time to eat, it became a multi-hour endeavor.  Greeks start their meals late in the day by American standards, and thy don't end them with any deft speed.  We sat for dinner at the super early time of 7:30 and got back to our hotel after midnight.  

On the way back, we were on a small boat again.  While we traveled on the sea at a safe pace (considering the boat was at capacity with half of the tour group), we looked up.  I don't know if I have ever seen that many stars.  I have been to some beautiful places and some remote places.  I have been to Alice Springs, Australia in the middle of nowhere.  I have looked skyward from Hawaii.  I have never seen so many stars in the sky all at once.  We had a clear view of the Milky Way, the likes of which I have only seen in a planetarium show.  It was breathtaking.  

I am pretty tired, but I wanted to close with the image we saw as we got back to the place where our hotel is.  This is Loutro: 

I know, right?  Anyhow, good night, everybody.   

Rocks, stones and pebbles

Agia Roumeli has a rather interesting beach.  I didn't have time to explain that part last night, but it's really something.  The Greeks have divided the Mediterranean Sea into different parts, and the town we're in as I am waking up this morning is on the part of the Mediterranean they call the Libyan Sea.  

Cas looked at a map and saw that we're about as far from Libya as we are from Athens at the moment, so it's not exactly like we can see it from our hotel balcony.  What we can see from the balcony (and what I am seeing as I sit and write this) is a beautiful beach. When we first arrived here, I thought it was black sand. When we got to the beach after the hike yesterday, we discovered it was black pebbles.  Of course.  Everything here is rocks, stones or pebbles.  The streets are made of stones.  Let me tell you, that was a harsh surprise after yesterday's hike, when all I wanted was a nice, flat sidewalk with no bumps at all...  

Though hot to walk on at first, the pebbles ended up feeling pretty good on our worn-down feet.  We figured the whole beach experience was a bit like a spa treatment for our weary legs.  When we walked out into the water, the pebbles swallowed our feet.  We had what felt like a hot stone massage (with pebbles) and a salt water scrub in the Lybian Sea.  It was the perfect thing to do after a hike like we had.  

Last night at dinner, everyone else was talking about the difficulty of the hike.  Aha!  So it's not just me.  People who are on this trip with us all agreed that it was a very hard hike, and several of our traveling companions are avid hikers.  We all have a late breakfast coming, and I don't think anyone has a problem with that.  The group could probably use the rest.  

My alarm isn't due to go off for another 30 minutes, and I have already been awake for 30.  I am just up earlier than Cas- for no reason whatsoever- and I came to sit out on the balcony.  I mean, why sit in a room with the curtains drawn, when this black pebble beach is your view from the balcony? 

I think I will take a moment to get my luggage organized, but not right away.  I think I will stay on this balcony and enjoy the spoils of waking up early for a few more minutes.  See you in Loutro.  

Gorgeous Gorge

Somehow, in the back of my brain, I remember hearing that there was a professional wrestler named Gorgeous George.  I Googled him just now- he died in 1963, so any memories I have of him were reruns or retellings of a story.  Nevertheless, the stage name popped into my head today.

We hiked through Samaria Gorge.  It was a gorgeous gorge.  In total, it was about a 10 mile hike, and I am fully capable of walking ten miles.  The trick is, Samaria Gorge is never just walking.  When they say "hike" on Crete, they mean you walk on mostly stones, and a majority of those stones are not all that flat.  Having the limited hiking experience of a three mile stroll in Hot Springs National Park earlier this year, I feel I was ill prepared for this hike.  I also feel like it was my first REAL hike.  Hot Springs was a literal walk in the park by comparison.  

Everything was beautiful, but I hate the feeling of being bad at something.  I was the dead last hiker to finish, though when I told people that it was my first real hike, they seemed amazed.  Apparently, this isn't exactly the bunny slope of hiking.  I managed not to need the emergency personnel to take me out.  I left on my own power.  Good thing, too, as evacuations are done by donkey.  

Cas stuck with me the whole way.  I imagine he could have gone faster, but I doubt that would have made him happy.  When we got to the end of the hike, it was only a few miles to the hotel.  By the time we arrived on foot, we decided the wisest course of action was to put on our swimsuits, walk into the water, get back out and drink some Ouzo.  

The water felt amazing, the drinks were extra-delicious, and the shower I just had was just about as therapeutic as a shower can be.  I think Cas felt the same way about his shower.  

We leave Agia Roumeli tomorrow by ferry for Loutro, where some local folks are supposed to teach us to make Mousaka. We actually have a cooking class.  How cool is that?  

Anyhow, We're exhausted and in need of more Ouzo. And some dinner.  Here's a gorgeous gorge for you- Cas has more in the album.  Go look.  

Island time

When we arrived in Chania, our tour group went to the hotel.  It was before 8am, so our rooms were nowhere near ready.  We went just to drop our luggage off and establish a home base for our walk.  From there, we walked to a good restaurant by the pier and had breakfast.  Following that,we had a little more time to walk around while Charlie showed us points of interest in the town itself.  

There are a lot of parts of the city built in different times under different rule.  Parts are still present from the Ottoman Empire, while some things are from when the area was dominated by Venetian traders.  There are some buildings that look ancient, with modern portions.  Lots of the stuff on the Greek mainland has been preserved as world heritage sites or as archaeological sites, but it appears Chania is just good at incorporating what was there already into the place it is now.  It seems, too, that they've always done that.  

When we split from the group, Cas and I headed back to the hotel for a moment just to apply sunscreen.  We had been so dazed and exhausted from the rapid departure from the ferry this morning that we had failed to apply any.  We needed it, too, because our next move was a walk all the way out the light house at the end of the pier.  

It was absolutely beautiful, but there was no shade whatsoever.  No matter, though- here is the aforementioned lighthouse: 

It was pretty cool, and the view was amazing.  The water was gorgeous, and we plan to find some time to get in it soon.  

We're checked into our hotel now- they mercifully let us in early- and cleaning ourselves up.  I just had a very welcome mid-day shower, and Cas is taking his now.  After that, I think we may take a little ride on one of the boats that goes to a prime snorkeling spot.  We may do that, or we could go to the beach.  We may walk around or take a horse-drawn carriage.  Not sure yet- but we plan to have a great time.  

We have a long hike through a gorge tomorrow.  It's the Samaria gorge, and I didn't know this, but for people who like hiking, it's supposed to be a thing they put on their bucket list.  I have some tennis shoes with me, and so does Cas, and we've been told that will do the trick.  I'm pretty excited.  Wish us luck! 

Disembark

The ferry was a good deal fancier than I suspected it would be. Since space is limited, we were assigned four to a room. Cas and I were placed with the other married couple on the trip, a teacher and an engineer from Australia. 

We got on, checked in and went to where they served food. Partially due to low expectations, we had brought apples and snacks with us. The food on the ferry looked pretty good, but we opted for a cheese pie (basically a flaky pastry with light colored cheese of some kind in it) and the apples we had brought along. 

After that, we shared a bottle of wine with our new roommates on the top deck of the boat, then brushed our teeth and went to sleep in our bunk beds. 

The ferry was supposed to have an alarm that sounded 30 minutes before we were to meet our group. That did't happen. One of our roommates set a backup alarm 15 minutes out. That was the winner. We had just enough to time to brush our teeth and swipe on some deodorant. No wardrobe change. Needless to say, we're hoping for an early check in at he hotel. 

Check out what it looked like when we disembarked: 

We're in Chania (pronounced con-ya) now. More to come. 

Off the mainland

Cas and I left the first fortress and headed immediately for the second one.  That fortress is in the middle of the water, so a boat trip was in order.  

The second one was not as well maintained, but it was interesting nonetheless.  Cas has some really great photos from both of the fortresses in the album he's keeping.  

After we left there, we walked around and found a place to eat lunch.  The food has been good in every moment of this trip so far, and we have been promised that the islands will be just as good, though the seafood will be even better.  

We wandered through the street market as all the vendors were closing up for the day.  Apparently, there is a farmer's market or a street market in Nafplio every Wednesday and Saturday.  

When we finished the walk, we had a beverage in a nice, shady street cafe, then we went to a grocery store to get some apples and a few granola bars.  

We have just spent two hours on a bus, and we have boarded our very fancy ferry boat in Athens. Time for dinner and a little wine as we leave the mainland and head for Crete. 

999 steps

Cas and I just climbed down 999 stairs from the Palamidi Castle. At one point, it was a fortress used for defense. In another moment, it was a prison. Now, it's a tourist attraction. Things evolve that way. 

There are beautiful views on all sides. 

There are worse places to be incarcerated. 

We have time for more exploring today before we leave Nafplio. We get on an overnight ferry to Crete this evening and wake up in Chania on the island of Crete tomorrow. 

We've made a quick stop for some thoroughly necessary refreshments. We may head to the street market next, or we may visit the "floating" castle out in the water. A lot depends on how functional our legs are when we stand up. 

The play's the thing

Hey, everyone- I appear to have fallen asleep waiting for this post to publish.  I think it would have been up eight or nine hours ago, but alas, we were exhausted, and the Internet around here is not optimal.

So, here it is, written last night:

This morning, we left Delphi and got on a bus to Nafplio. Our particular tour probably works out better when it's not the dead center of summer, though, because we arrived just in the worst part of the day's heat. We keep doing that. It would be so much better if we could come early and get in a walk around the place we've arrived before noon.

As it happens, we keep having a quick walk around in the middle of the day. Today's quick walk took us to a gelato place. Cas and I each got a sorbet that was half lemon and half strawberry. 

We took a pit stop at Isthmos Canal in Corinth today. It was a real marvel of engineering in digging it out and making a passage for ships. 

It was that stop that put our arrival time at around 1:15. 

We had a half hour to shake off the drowsiness from the bus and get ready for a walk.  Charlie took us through the city, showing us some of the things we may wish to explore on our own. Her walks are brisk, and often punctuated with pauses for shopping recommendations or tourism suggestions. I would love that a lot more if those suggestions were being made in the high 80s, not the high 90s. 

I paid just a little bit of attention.  Not much.  After our brief orientation, Cas and I elected to stay behind as the rest of the group went back to the hotel.  We stayed at a restaurant and had what turned out to be a really big lunch.  

We wandered around a little bit after that, ending up at a bar for a small piece of time until our wine tasting event.  Our local expert had us try two white wines, three red ones, a small amount of Ouzo and Ciporo.  I thought the first white was too bitter, the second one was okay, and I liked all three reds.  The Ouzo was fantastic, and the Ciporo (nobody told me it was the same thing as Grappa) tasted like what I imagine fingernail polish remover would have tasted like.  

In the end, we decided to purchase a bottle of red for our ferry ride, and leave the Grappa for someone who needed to remove furniture varnish.  

The final event of the day was a Greek play in the Epidarus festival.  It was a production called The Bacchae written by Uripides in 400 BC.  I have to be honest, I kept falling asleep.  The heat combined with the exhaustion of the day and the fact that the play was hard to follow was about to lull me to sleep right there in my stone seat.  The play was in Greek with English subtitles.  They did this by projecting the English words on these small horizontal screens to the left and right of the stage.  Looking back and forth was dizzying.  It made things a little more taxing than my already worn out attention span could do.  Still, it was great to see a play with a chorus in a real Greek amphitheater.  they used no audio equipment, and we heard every footfall.  Those old Greeks knew what they were doing.  

It's time for bed, for sure.  I am only staying up long enough to post this last photo from our seats, then it's lights out!  

Is good goat

Turns out the wifi at the Delphi Archaeological site is free.  There goes our big question to the Oracle.

There are two actual streets in Delphi worth mention.  Our hotel is on one of them, and the Archaeological site is on the other one.  We walked there.  Although the distance was not that great, I think a lot of people in out tour group are looking forward to the cooler island temperatures later in the trip.  

Our visit to this place started with a guided tour through the museum.  We had a bona fide art historian talking us through the place, and we could all tell that she had a firm grasp of the subject matter- above and beyond some of the other tour guides.  Many of them read from paper.  Some of them were clearly new to it. Our lady spoke of the statues like they were old friends she had known for years, and she spoke about the site as though it was her childhood backyard.  She was very good at her job.  My only complaint was that she wasn't at all aggressive in quieting down less well-informed people.  I guess it's tour guide courtesy.  

Here was a particularly decent Delphi selfie with some good background: 

Cas and I made it up all the stairs and saw many things in their states of disrepair.  There had been some great effort made to restore the treasury building from the old city, and you could tell they did the best job they could do.  

It was about 95 degrees with plenty of direct sunlight, and we climbed a lot of stairs, so when we got back to the hotel, it was time to scrub our feet (we have some pretty great walking sandals, but the feet get dirty).  After that, we went to the hotel lobby and grabbed a glass of Ouzo each.  They are 2 Euro, which is about $2.20 with the current exchange rate, so our bar tab was under five bucks.  Unheard of.  After that, we went to join the group for dinner.  We had a beautiful meal.  I had goat.  

When Cas and I got married, he joked that he wanted a dowry from my parents.  Nothing big- just a goat and a few chickens.  This became a running gag.  My parents placed flat cardboard barnyard animals on our house while we were off getting married, and we we got back to our house, there were two chickens, a cow, a donkey and a rooster.  No goat.  

Cas remarked at the lack of goat.  

No goat.  

When we had our reception, Mom made a card for him with a picture of a goat on it.  There was an old Eastern block looking woman in a head scarf saying, "I know you wish for goat.  Here is goat."  Open the card, and viola- a goat.  

Cas retaliated.  He wrote out a thank you card like you do after a wedding.  I delivered it personally to my parents.  He wrote, "Thank you for goat.  Is good goat."  

So, when I ordered my meal today and the plate arrived, I tried the goat.  I looked at Cas and said, "Is good goat."   

He was amused.  

Anyhow, I pretty much had to stay up late enough to tell that story.  I can will my eyes to stay open for something I consider a good laugh.  

On to Nafplio tomorrow.  More then.  

Off to see the wizard

Or the Oracle.  Or something. Today, we head out to see the Oracle of Delphi.  We have been thinking of questions we could ask the Oracle.

We could ask about profound things like the meaning of life or the true nature of mankind.  We could attempt to have it estimate the ability of a woodchuck to live up to its name.  In the end, though, I think Cas wants to ask the Oracle, "Hey, Oracle- what's your wifi password?" 

We just went for a walk around Kalambaka for a cup of coffee with a view.  It was really pretty out, there was a light breeze, and we were up early for no real reason.  

It's pretty much our last shot at seeing these oddball rocks.  They are outside the balcony window of our room, too, but when we get on the bus to Delphi, that's it.  

On the way to Delphi, we are scheduled to stop at Thermopliae for a brief visit.  It's almost time to pack up and head out, though, so I will leave you with this photo of the view just outside our balcony: 

Monk pants

Today, we climbed a whole lot of stairs to make it to the Great Monastery, higher up than anything else in Meteora. In total, there are seven Monasteries and nunneries built on top of these rocks, which, we've been told, came up this way when the European tectonic plate and the African one shifted against one another.

The Great Monastery is the biggest and highest up, ad in order to enter it, we had to be modestly dressed- a tall order in Meteora in the summer.  I had to borrow a skirt at the door (about half of the women did) because women had to wear skirts, and those skirts have to cover the knees.  Cas had shorts on, so he had to borrow a pair of long pants.  Men are not to show their knees, either.  He was calling them his "monk pants." 

I will not be sharing any photos of monk pants or my nun-approved skirt.  Just know that borrowed skirts and pants from a Monastery are about as pretty as you imagine.  

From the first Monastery, we had the option to see two more, but when we asked if the next two were particularly unique, we were told no.  They were pretty much like the first one.  We learned yesterday that all Byzantine churches have the same frescoes in the same places.  Over the door, they have the scene of the death of the Virgin Mary.  On the left and right sides of the doors are always the same row of saints and holy men in the same order. Lovely though they are, if you've seen one, you can make a lot of inferences about the rest of them.  We decided to save ourselves from the weather a little by seeing the greatest and grandest Monastery and leaving the other two on the list to the imagination.  

Good thing, too, as we got back from the bus stop, went swimming, took a nap and headed out to purchase more sunscreen before we saw the folks walking back who had been on the full day tour.  No thanks.  They were walking back to the hotel at 5pm, having headed up with us at 9am.  There are no restaurants atop the mountains, and I am sure they packed a lunch, but I don't think I could have spent that much time marching about in the sun today.  The nap was pretty great, and the pool was very refreshing.  

The Monastery itself was impressive.  They had museum pieces in rooms for everyone to look at, but most of those rooms forbade photography.  Here was an outdoor copy of some of the indoor frescoes, albeit this one was newer and in much better shape: 

I was taken with the old kitchen: 

Of course, you can't beat the view:
 
Cas has lots more photos in his album (in case you need the link again,) here you go: https://goo.gl/photos/zxmxAmDBqhc4hPHD7

Monks must really hate people

This morning, we left Athens for Kalambaka, which is the actual city at the base of the most interesting rock formation I have seen all year, Meteora.  

It turns out that July 11th was the day last year when Cas and I visited Uluru (Ayer's Rock), and today, we saw the monestaries on top of the large stones here in Greece.  

A sample: 

It looks like the buildings grow out of the top of the rocks.  Pretty amazing, and certainly hard to visit.  It's probably easy to be devout in your worship when you are so split apart from the rest of the people.  We actually went inside a nunnery and an extremely old Byzantine church, but one of the rules in these places was that you are not allowed to take photos inside.  Enjoy the garden just outside of the nunnery, as it was the last thing we could photograph before entering: 

We went from there to a Byzantine church,  Our tour guide was a local guy with a big personality.  He was baptized as a child in that very church.  The thing I kind of knew in the back of my brain but nearly forgot was how completely gaudy and fancy the Byzantines were.  There was so much gold leaf and so much gold-thread embroidery.  It was all beautiful in its own way, but not my speed, exactly.  I don't even wear that much jewelry, and what I do wear has been chosen for its ability to achieve beauty in its simplicity.  

After a lot of marching about and some serious perspiration (it was over 100 degrees here today) we got a treat.  We were able to watch the sun set over the rocks.  There is a lookout point that is actually pretty crowded, but there was room for us among the tourists and the couples doing their bridal photography.  

We have a hike to go on tomorrrow, though Cas and I aren't ruling out the option to skip it and jump in the swimming pool.  In the meantime, though, enjoy a susnet: 

Ticket to ride

This morning started out with breakfast at the hotel in Athens, followed by a brisk walk to a metro station. I was not aware that the city sat atop such a robust subway system. We finally have our whole tour group assembled, so it was seventeen people (one of whom is our guide) wheeling and carrying luggage to the station, on a commuter train, then to the station that shares its location to the larger, over-land trains. I'm writing from a passenger train on a five hour trip today, though I won't have wifi to post any of this until we get to our destination.

Today, we are headed to Meteora, where we are supposed to see monasteries and a great Byzantine church.  I go really have no idea what to expect on this one.  I know it's the manifestation of the poor student in me from my younger days who didn't do homework or learn a little about the destination in advance, but I'm hoping that it's good to be surprised.  

I do know that we have signed on for a sunset tour this evening, at which time we are to see some form of nunnery or church.  Tomorrow should be the "hanging" monasteries, which are very high up in the mountains- hence the name.  

Anyhow, this has been a really pretty great ride so far- we're over halfway done with it, but there's still time to go.  Meantime, enjoy a few photos. 

The Metro Station:

Cas on the commuter train: 

A really pretty mountain outside the train window on the scenic route to Meteora:

That's all I have for now!  On to Meteora. 

There were many steps and columns; it was most tranquil

I't's just after 5pm here, and we're exhausted.  Cas and I joined our tour group at 8:30 this morning for what promised to be an hour and a half long walk.  We went past some of the important sights in the city, starting with a statue of Pericles, who is credited with being the impetus behind the Athenian city state and many of the areas of focus, such as art and philosophy.

Good going, Pericles!

After that, we walked over to a spot where three buildings with neoclassical architecture were constructed n more modern times.  The three buildings from the 1800s were the National Library, the University of Athens and the Academy of Athens.  Guarding the Academy in statue form atop the building are Athena and Apollo.  

Farther down the road is the parliament building, checking in as downright youthful, having gone up in 1934.  That building is protected by two guards, which Charlie told us are called evzones.  They look a little like the Swiss Guard at the Vatican, in that they have funny shoes and pleated kilts, but this is entirely different.  Evidently, this is an old style military uniform, and there are 400 pleats on the kilt- one for each year of Turkish occupation.  

From there,we walked trough Syntagma Square and up- way up- to a viewing area where we could see the Acropolis just a bit higher than us and the whole city below.  After that, we were back down in the main square where Cas and I had lunch yesterday.  That ended our walking tour.  Cas and I were on our own from there. 

We decided to have an iced coffee for a moment before heading back up to the Acropolis.  

That was our starting point.  We went from the cafe to a street vendor who sold hats, then up, up, up to the Acropolis.  We did have to utter a few lines from Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure, as they went to someplace just about like we were visiting to pick up Socrates.  There were many steps and columns; It was most tranquil.  

I tried a selfie.  Cas usually takes our selfies, but this isn't bad: 

Here's my best angle on the Parthenon: 

Cas has plenty of other photos in the album he's keeping, and he posted a link when he jumped on here this morning.  

We went from there to the Acropolis Museum, which had air conditioning (hooray!) but didn't allow us to take photos (boo!).  We tried to eat in the attached cafe, but after reading menus for 15 minutes with nobody bothering to see if we were hungry, we decided to try some other local restaurant.  Good call, too, as we ended up with some really nice sandwiches and a glass of Ouzo each.  

We kind of needed to have the Ouzo.  There is no more Greek beverage I could think of but Ouzo, nor is there a more Greek thing to go and see than the Acropolis.  

After that, getting back to the hotel took a bit of work. We got turned around a little, and the weather wasn't cooling off.  

We have each just had a shower.  Totally necessary...  I think we may lay flat and relax before making any firm commitments about dinner this evening.  Tomorrow, we take a train to Meteora.  Certainly, I will appreciate going somewhere via a different mode of transportation than our feet.  

Photo album

Καλημέρα y'all!  Here's a link to some of our photos.  I'll try to keep it updated, but the wifi is going to be a bit sketchy in places.  Enjoy!

https://goo.gl/photos/zxmxAmDBqhc4hPHD7

Cas

Banana juice

Once everyone arrives, our tour group will consist of 16 people and a tour director.  We're not entirely sure how, but we've got ourselves another French woman in charge this time.  It was Brigitte in Australia and New Zealand, and it's Charlie here.  Seems that we are destined to be guided around by French women who are living away from their homeland.

After we checked in and showered, Cas and I had a pretty substantial nap.  That got us ready just in time for the orientation meeting and the welcome dinner.  The meet and greet was good, and this group is a bit different than our crew last summer.  Last time, we were in the company of nothing but Americans, and this time, we have a German woman, three Australians, a Canadian native and a Canadian who spent her childhood in Greece.  There are 16 total people in the group, and only three of them are men.  Unusual balance.  

The welcome dinner was pretty great.  We had lamb roasted in parchment paper with potatoes.  We had grilled pieces of Greek cheese for an appetizer, and we had Sangria to drink.  If we had not selected Sangria, I may have ordered the most confusing menu item I've seen in a while.  They were selling glasses of different fruit juice, and one of the fruits they claim to be able to extract juice from is a banana.  They had banana juice for sale by the glass.  I have no idea what that would look like, nor do I know how one would go about extracting juice from a banana.  Alas, it remains a mystery.  

Maybe we'll try it out if we see it on a menu again.  

For now, we've walked around in Athens twice, eaten here twice, and we're about to fall asleep for the second time.  Not bad for one day...  

Here we are in the restaurant: 

And while we walked back from the restaurant, this was our view of the Acropolis all lit up at night: 

We do a walking tour tomorrow, so there is more to come from this city before we head to the next destination.  More soon, friends! 

Checked in

Okay- I had to drop that little note in earlier just to let anyone who was awake and wondering  know we had arrived.  There was wifi at the restaurant where Cas and I shared an appetizer.  

But now, we're checked in to our hotel.  It's a small room, though it is clean and features pretty much everything we need.  Having just thoroughly appreciated the shower, I can tell you it's fully functional.  It is one of those European style showers I had seen before with a small, square area featuring a shallow lip around it and a drain in the middle.  They did have a curtain, though.  Nice touch.  When I finished, the floor of the whole bathroom was soaked.  Europe, am I right?

But, before we got back to our room and took a very necessary shower, we walked around a little bit.  My impression of Athens so far is that the city itself is large, dirty and kind of smelly.  There is graffiti on nearly everything you see.  If I lived here, I would invest in a store that sells spray paint.  

As for the aroma, I guess I forgot how many people in European countries smoke all the time.  I used to work in a bar where there were ashtrays every five feet, but it's been a few years.  It's very common here.  That was the most dominant smell, but occasionally, I caught a fragrance that I can only describe as "barnyard."  

Between the long stretch of time we had spent in the same clothes, the summertime heat and the aromatic nature of the walk, we were both really happy when we got back and the clerk at the hotel said our room was ready.  Hooray!  Cas was a true gentleman, so I got first crack at a shower.  I feel a thousand times better, now, and maybe I can start to appreciate this as art: 

Walkabout

Just a quick note to all who may want to know- we have landed safely. We got to our hotel just a little early for our check in time, so they are holding our bags.

We went for a quick walk to find a cafe and found ourselves at the entrance to their downtown flea market. I'm enjoying a cold beer, you may enjoy a photo: