Sorry for the delay in getting this post up. I've been out and about enjoying the British sunshine before we hibernate for winter. Thanks to Flo for keeping me on my toes...
Don't tell my husband, but I am in love with Greece. Everything about the country is beautiful-the people, the culture, the food, the beaches-even the flight over had great scenery. I am in the process of culling through 700 photos to put together the best album summary of our trip. Until I get that uploaded, please enjoy my story and then see if the photos match your imagination.We boarded a 6:30am EasyJet flight out of Gatwick, which meant not much sleep the night before. Aron and Lilly caught the 2am bus out of Oxford and met us at the airport. Gatwick is surprisingly crowded at 6am with everyone catching the early budget flights. We left right on time and I was pleased with my EasyJet experience. It was my first time on a European budget airline and I began to see what made it budget...no complimentary drinks or snacks, no on board entertainment (unless you count the nice view through the window), and for some reason we got a plane whose seats didn't recline.
We arrived in Athens and grabbed a cab to take us to our ship, which happens to dock in the yacht port. It was very comical to gaze wondrously at the P. Diddy/Big Pimpin' yachts as we strolled the boardwalk and then arrived at the EasyCruiseOne ship! A big orange and black cruise ship. I'm sure the international billionaires love us docking next to them. ECO is a very basic cruise ship holding about 250 people. It is not your typical cruise ship as it is only supposed to be a floating hotel. It has a hot tub (which we made good use of), a bar (which we made good use of), and a small DJ booth. The top deck also held a small workout area so you could get your treadmill run in while gazing at the passing islands. The on board restaurant was also very good and reasonably priced.
Our first island was Milos...where the Venus di Milo was found! We took part in our one and only "shore excursion" here. We saw three amazing beaches, each only completely different. The last beach looked like a lunar landscape with smooth white stone shaped over thousands of years of waves crashing.
Ios is known as the third largest party island behind Mykonos and Santorini. After a day on the beach and island exploration via scooters, we hit the town. Lucky for us, it was the last night that many of the clubs and bars were open for the season. Drink specials and fun abound and I never thought I would have to worry about missing a boat that departed at 7am! We kept close tabs on our watch as we danced all night long and made our way back just in time to see the sun come up.
After staying out all night long, Amorgos was supposed to be a relaxing day on the beach. Far from it...this was the windiest place I've ever been. We rented 4 wheelers and were almost blown off the road as we rounded the switchback corners and made our way from one side of the island to the next. But it was worth it. The vistas at the top of the mountains were breathtakingly beautiful.
Naxos proved to be the perfect beach day. We rented a Jeep Sidekick and set off for what was considered the best beach on the island. On the way to the beach, we passed a stoplight that seemed to be in the middle of nowhere. Upon closer inspection, it was revealed that our road crossed the island's airport landing strip. So I guess the light turns red as a plane is landing or taking off...never seen that one before!
Siros was a slight detour from the schedule. Folegandros was supposed to be our stop, but the weather was too bad to allow for our docking. We had so much fun on this island. The beach we chose to hang out on had not only paddle boats for rent, but paddle boats with a slide on top! You better believe we rented that thing! This was also a great place for snorkeling (we snorkeled on every island). Lilly even saw an octopus! Octopus are very common in the Greek Islands and one of their main dishes. You see them hanging around on lines at many restaurants. I can't say they were the tastiest things, but it was cool to see the tentacles come out on the plate, complete with suckers still attached.
Serifos was our last island. It was the perfect last day. Great beaches, beautiful snorkeling, and warm sun and water. If you've ever seen Borat in his line green body thong, well, Aron has an exact replica...I'll let you think about that one. It just might have made an appearance on this island.
We decided to spend an extra night in Athens so we could take in all the sites in this amazing city. We made our way up to the Acropolis at dusk-less crowds and less heat. What an awesome experience to walk among ruins built in the 5th century B.C. In fact, there are ruins everywhere in this city. When we sat down for our first lunch, we were gawking at the ruins behind the fence next to our table, thinking it was so cool. The more we wandered around, the more we found out it's hard to walk more than 100ft. without coming across some. The British Museum has some controversially acquired pieces from the Acropolis. I travelled to the museum with Trey a few months ago and saw them for the first time. Edgar and I just went this past weekend to see them again and put all the pieces together. I have to say that I learned much more history from the British Museum than the Acropolis. There is absolutely no signage at the Acropolis explaining any historical facts. So if you decide to go, read up beforehand or get an audio tour.
I am still carrying the remnants of my tan...yes, I got a tan, big shocker! We are already planning our next trip to Greece. Hopefully we can fit a few more islands in before our time here is up. While we have said we will not visit the same place twice, we just might make an exception for the Greek Islands.
