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!