Γειά σου!
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| Temple of Poseidon - situated on the cliff over the sea |
The oracle at Delfi used to say to visitors “know thy self.” Well, as crazy as it sounds, I think we all found ourselves on this trip. The ten days I experienced are going to be nearly impossible to convey to you – I myself am still sorting through it all. By the end of my trip, I had grown close with the group, stood where democracy started, reflected at the world’s most powerful sites, climbed a three and a half thousand year old city, and relaxed on the same beach as celebrities…
A real blessing, and what made the trip so memorable, was our tour guide, Ioanna. She really allowed us to get to know Greece as if we had lived there our whole lives. Not only did she know every fact in the book, but she was also fluent in the language, passionate about the culture, and showed us the way to make Greece our own. Ioanna had killer stories to tell too! She did her graduate work at Oxford, and is originally from South Carolina even though her family is Greek. Currently, she lives in the same little town her grandmother grew up in, writes books for the best publishing companies in the world, and is a historian in Athens. Ioanna is working on a book about a recent adventure she had where she walked alone for fifty-something days from Athens to Turkey as a message of peace. CNN covered her journey, and the prime minister took her out to dinner when she arrived – no big deal. She planned our entire trip for us, and knew all the best places to see, stay and eat because she had spent a year writing a book on things to do in and around Athens. I got to know Greece in a way no one else could in ten days. I am so thankful for Ioanna. She’s my idol!
Here’s a break down of the trip – hopefully I can fully express the magic of my experience (please forgive me for gushing)…
Day 1 - Traveling in the morning, Temple of Poseidon, and finally our arrival in Athens:
The flight to Athens from Rome is about two hours. Once we landed and retrieved sixty bags from baggage claim, we ran to get a seat on top of our double-decker bus. After about a thirty-minute drive through the countryside, we ended up at Cape Sounion where we ate a delicious lunch on the water. It included Greek salad, squid (glad I could pull the vegetarian card on that one), the infamous Greek honey cake, and of course they made us try some ouzo (yuck).
After that, we headed up to the epic Temple of Poseidon (dating back to 700 BC). It is quite striking, especially since we saw it at sunset. The temple is perched on a cliff overlooking the Aegean Sea. I was not feeling very well, so I ended up sitting on the edge with the temple to my right and the sea on my left. But sitting by myself actually allowed me to appreciate the setting even more with the sea breeze rushing onto my face and the ruins glowing gold as the sun went down. What a spectacle.
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| Beach after lunch at Cape Sounion |
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| Greek Salad! |
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| Walking down from the Temple of Poseidon |
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| Libby and I at the Temple, glowing at sunset |
Ioanna told us the history of the location on our way up to it. According to legend, Cape Sounion is the spot where Aegeus, king of Athens, leapt to his death off the cliff, thus giving his name to the sea. Aegeus, anxiously looking out from Sounion, despaired when he saw a black sail on his son’s ship, returning from Crete. This led him to believe that his son had been killed in his contest with the Minotaur. The Minotaur was confined in a labyrinth. Every year, the Athenians were forced to send 7 boys and 7 girls to Minos as tribute. These youths were placed in the labyrinth to be devoured by the Minotaur. Aegeus’s son had volunteered to go and attempt to slay the beast. He had agreed with his father that if he survived the contest, he would hoist a white sail. In fact, his son had overcome and slain the Minotaur, but tragically had simply forgotten about the white sail.
After chugging two HUGE bottles of water, I was feeling a lot better. However, my next problem was that I had just loaded up on liquid before an hour-long ride into downtown Athens. Long story short, I ended up making the entire bus stop for me while I sprinted across six lanes of traffic to hit up a random café’s restroom. Oops!
I quickly forgot about this incident when I saw the amazing city. Our hotel was situated right underneath the Acropolis (I could see it from my hotel room window). It was about 9pm, and we were given the evening free to find some gyros and explore. We ended up finding one of the main plazas where there is a metro stop, the big Athens flea market, the walkway up to the Acropolis, and some GREAT food. Courtney, Jess (my roommates for the trip), and I thought we would just keep it a small, low-key dinner so we ate by ourselves. They had the best gyros of their lives, and my Greek salad was to die for (HUGE chunk of feta). In addition to that, we ordered fries and tzaziki. After we’d already gotten the check we decided we had forgotten to try the Greek yogurt and honey. The waiter gave it to us for free along with some grappa (double yuck). It’s super rude to turn down drinks, but none of us could stomach it and there was no sneaky way to get rid of it. We felt bad, but we were kind of stuck leaving it untouched. We wandered a little bit with some coffee and chocolate, and then decided it was bedtime. Ioanna had told us the next day was going to be a lot of walking…
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| First view of the Acropolis at night (main square where we ate) |
Day 2 - Walking touring of Athens; The Acropolis, the New Acropolis Museum, the Ancient Agora, and the Athens flea market:
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| Court, Jess, and I |
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| The Parthenon |
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| Temple of Athena - women columns on the right |
I was a happy camper when I entered the breakfast room at the hotel. Love Roma to death…but the Italians don’t do breakfast (my favorite meal of the day). I had Greek yogurt, whole wheat with honey, peaches, and of course lots of coffee. We then set out for the Acropolis. WOW. Walking up to it I was so excited. This is what I had always associated with Greece – the most important place in ancient Greek history! And you really do feel powerful up there. You’re at the highest point in the city, and looking down you can see why the Greeks connected this place with the gods. The sacred place was dedicated to Athena and is the symbol of the city. The most notable of the buildings is the Parthenon. It is currently undergoing massive restorations, which is great! The new pieces they are adding seem to be a little too white but I trust they know what they are doing! On one pediment of the Parthenon you can still see pieces of the marble depiction of the birth of Athena (the rest we saw in the New Acropolis Museum later that day). The other side shows the fight between Athena and Poseidon over the city…Athena won because she gave the Athenians an olive tree which they thought was more impressive then the water that came up from the ground Poseidon hit. Anyways, we wandered around up there for a while, Ioanna gave us a little tour, and then we had some time to explore ourselves.
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| On top of the world! |
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| Aegean Sea in the distance |
After some fresh squeezed OJ, we climbed back down and saw the New Acropolis Museum. It was really well done. The dimensions of the top floor are exactly the same as the Parthenon, and the original art is displayed there, replicating the feel of what it must have been like in it's glory days (i.e. before a Venetian mortar hit it, it was looted, etc). When doing the foundation of the museum, ruins were found, so the floor of the museum is actual transparent and you can see excavations going on underneath you! Within the museum we saw the actual women columns, the replicas we saw on the Temple of Athena. Even the shadow the museum casts over the entrance looks like the form of a temple. It was really fascinating.
Ioanna then walked us through Athens, doing a big circle around the Acropolis hill. We saw the neoclassical parliament building and the main street of Athens. Before reconvening to go see the ancient Agora, we were given some free time. We got some lunch, did a little shopping (I found some gloves), and I chased some Greek women down who had Starbucks cups to find out where it was. With Chai tea and an Athens Starbucks mug in hand, we met back up with the group and saw the Agora. The Stoa had been reconstructed and was magnificent. This is where Socrates and the likes hung out! Inside, we saw really impressive things like Spartan shields and the stones used to cast votes. Ioanna walked us through the area and gave us a little lecture with a panoramic view of the Agora, the modern city, and the Acropolis in the background. The Agora was a really cool place. There is lots of greenery, a beautiful temple, the Acropolis above you…it really allows you to connect with the power and historical significance of the ancient times.
The group dinner was not until late, so we hit up the flea market. Jessica and Courtney got hair wraps – it was really funny because as I’m watching them get put in, the Parthenon is right behind them…gotta love Greece. I found an Olympics shirt at the flea market, we tried on lots of jewelry, and then we went back to the hotel to change.
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| Found Starbucks! |
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| Acropolis from the ancient Agora |
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| Ioanna lecturing with the Agora (that's the full view of the Stoa) in the backdrop |
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| Walking around the Agora in my tourist outfit with Starbucks bag in tow...embarassing |
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| Stoa - where Socrates hung out |
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| Hemlock was served in these cups for execution - what Socrates drank from |
Our first group dinner was wild. We were at a rooftop courtyard overlooking the Agora (the temple and the Acropolis were lit up and in plain sight). Then the dancing started, accompanied by the music of two Greek men…Ioanna kicked it off. She danced beautifully with a glass of RED WINE resting atop her head. TALENT. Slowly the entire room joined in, and by the end of the night, tables were being circled, “opa” and “llamas” were being exclaimed left and right, and people were officially excited for what was to come next.
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| Go Ioanna! First group dinner |
Day 3 - Athens Architectural Museum, then off to Delfi and Arahova (Greece’s top ski resort):
Another great breakfast at the hotel, and then we were packed and off to our next destination. But, not without a stop at the Athens Architectural Museum first. We saw the famous bronze Zeus, gold Mycenaean death masks, frescos from Santorini, and much, much more! I made sure to drink NO LIQUIDS before the bus, and we headed up into the mountains to Delfi.
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| Bronze Zeus |
We stopped at a small lodge-like tavern for lunch, and were supposed to then see the Delfi ruins, but it was raining (which no one was prepared for) so we went to our hotel. The location was incredible. Our hotel was on a cliff overlooking the largest olive farm in the world stretching out to the ocean. We napped, showered, watched G.I. Joe (surprisingly it was on TV in English), sat on our balcony, and then it was time to meet up with the group again. We went to the nearby town of Arahova which is Greece’s top ski resort, and had time to explore the amazing town. Ski towns are very near and dear to my heart so I loved exploring – they all seem to have a similar feel. I got a scarf at this great boutique (justified it because I was FREEZING), and found this great sweets shop for a pre-dinner snack. Then we hiked up lots of stairs to get to our little lodge for dinner.
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| Walking to our hotel in Delfi - up so high! |
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| Sweet shop in Arahova - classic ski town atmosphere |
We took it over, and it was probably the best dinner of my life (the pasta had this cinnamon/nutmeg/sugar concoction added to it that was delicious). Ioanna sat with us for dinner so we got to hear some great stories from her. She is brilliant. In a small section of her dissertation, she wrote that she believed this one Caravaggio painting on display to be a fake. Initially, the review board was not pleased with her making this claim, but about six months later they called and told her she was in fact correct! So she was the one to discover that this painting believed to be Caravaggio’s work was not, and they found the real one in this little monastery in France. Crazy. For dessert we had this delicious ice cream, and Ioanna had us try a Greek liqueur served hot with honey. Courtney and I were not fans, but it did help my sore throat!
Again, the atmosphere and energy level of the group was great. About halfway through dinner the dancing started again. In no time at all, the lights were out, music was on, and the tables were pushed aside to make room for the entire group to dance the night away. The tables even became dance floors themselves! We were exhausted by the time we got back to the room, but it was such a fun bonding time. I fell in love with Arahova. It’s on my list to make it back to for a ski trip J
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| Arahova group dinner |
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| Table minus Ioanna |
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| Alise and I being classy |
Day 4 - Delfi ruins, Byzantine monastery, and arrival in Nauplio:
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| View of the largest olive farm in the world from our room in Delfi |
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| Olives! |
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| Delfi - this spot was once thought to be the center of the universe |
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| Temple of Apollo - where the oracle was located |
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| AMAZING |
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| The crew |
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| Entrance to Temple of Apollo - where sacrifices and gifts would go |
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The next morning we packed our bags, ate some yummy chocolate chip bread and Greek yogurt, and headed to the Delfi ruins we had missed the day before. There was no question in my mind why this place was once thought to be the center of the universe. We made the same trek those heading to see the oracle would have made. We passed the marketplace where you would buy the gifts you were going to present (the journey there was so far you would not have been able to carry anything with you). Then Ioanna showed us the Athenian treasury – the different treasuries showed the wealth and power of each city/state. Continuing on up, we passed a huge wall covered in Greek writing. These were notes made to keep track of things, and they are still visible today! The Temple of Apollo was quite a site. This is where the Delfi oracle would have been. You would have placed your offerings outside (possibly a sacrifice), and then would go in. The oracle would be behind a veil, you would not see her, and then the high priest would translate her message. Interestingly enough, they have now found natural gasses below where she would sit, which would make a person high and hallucinate. Science mixes with legend. People could wait days or weeks to see her, so there were other things to keep one occupied like a theatre at the top. We could not go see the stadium sadly because of rockslides, but that would have been another source of entertainment. The location was just astounding. It is so striking, and the mountains seem to encircle the area so you do feel like you are at the center of it all. It is a majestic place. Far down below in the valley you can see the Temple of Athena, where travelers would first stop before continuing to their final destination.
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| Byzantine Monastery |
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| Inside |
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| Very peaceful |
Our next place to visit was a Byzantine Monastery – it is now one of my favorite places in the world. I found it so peaceful, and it allowed for some wonderful reflection time. It is a hard place to explain in words, and the pictures do not do it justice, but they help. As a souvenir I purchased some Greek honey made by the monks there. Walking away I did not want to leave. The atmosphere was unlike anything I’d felt before – I finally understood the appeal of that way of life.
Then started the longest bus leg of our trip – four hours (again, no liquids for me). We watched the movie “300” on the trip, and it got me very excited to see Sparta. Jess was probably very annoyed with me because I kept quoting all the lines before they happened. We finally reached the banquet hall/restaurant that we were having dinner at – we later realized it was right by the Mycenaean ruins, but at the time we thought we were in the middle of nowhere at a place that could host a wedding reception or something. Dinner was delicious. I love not knowing what is going to be brought out. We had tzaziki, cabbage salads, and a variety of different kabobs. For me, the oddball, I got a creamy pasta loaded with veggies.
Shortly after dinner, we arrived in the town of Nauplio, Greece’s original capital city. It was hard to tell at night, but it is right on the water, and just a gorgeous place. It was a planned city, laid out on a perfect grid. We checked into our room, and from out the window we could see the water to our right, and a magnificent castle on a mountain to the left. As tired as I was, we did a little bit of exploring around our hotel and grabbed some gelato (Ioanna said it was better than anything in Rome so we had to try it). It is made by an Italian couple, and they were giving out free samples of everything. I tried a chili-chocolate flavor and it was actually really good. I went with my classic dark chocolate and coffee mix in the end though. I still was not feeling too good, so after a cup of tea at this beautiful outdoor lounge, I left the group to go shower and sleep. The end of an epic day.
Day 5 - Propylaia, Mycenaean ruins, walking tour of Nauplio (original capital of Greece), hike to castle above city:
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| View from Nauplio hotel |
This hotel did not disappoint with breakfast either. Afterwards, we loaded onto the buses and I had no clue what was in store for us! After about a thirty-minute drive into the country, we arrived at an archeological site. Propylaia was a place that the ancient Greeks would go to when they were ill. It as a cult and healing center – a sanctuary where the god of healing, Epidauros, would cure the sick. We saw a humungous theater, which was used as some people’s treatment. The theater may be the best preserved from the ancient world, and the acoustics are remarkable. It is laid into the hillside and Ioanna stood in the center of the stage and demonstrated the acoustics. You can hear the clinking of a coin from the farthest part of the theater. We also had some members of our group sing for us, and it was quite a thing to experience. They said it was eerie hearing how their voice bounced around. This sanctuary also had public baths, schools, gyms, hotels, restaurants, and a stadium whose measurements are what we now use. You could see how this retreat would help people get better. We went on a nature walk and it is a beautiful, relaxing area to be in with mountains in the distance. One thing I found very interesting was the dream center. You would be paraded down to this place in celebration, and then sleep until you dreamed. In your dream, you would be shown how to be healed. They have records of these dreams. The healed would make stone tablets depicting the dream and how it was that they were healed. On one tablet, someone had a foot ailment, and a snake bit them in their dream.
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| Propylaia theater |
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| Ioanna dropping coins |
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| Found a Delta Gamma |
After this, we headed to the three and one half thousand year old city of Mycenae. Known for their gold treasures, and their fight against Troy, seeing the site was quite something. They were so advanced – I could not wrap my head around how old this place was! We walked through the infamous lion’s gate, and made our way to the top where we could see for miles around. On the backside, there was the maintenance root to the cistern they used. I started descending into it, but it was super slippery, steep, and all of a sudden it got pitch black. I decided not to risk sliding all the way down it, but a lot of my friends carried on. Poor Sophia did end up falling, but was stopped by a guy in front of her thank goodness. A little bit outside the main city was the treasury. It was a massive, tall dome building – the biggest dome until the Pantheon! The treasury was not discovered until recently when a little sheep that was grazing fell through a hole in the top of it – poor sheep!
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| Mycenae |
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| Lion's Gate entrance |
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| Jess and I at the top of the 3 1/2 thousand-year-old Mycenae |
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| Entering the cistern |
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| Treasury |
We were all starving when we got back to Nauplio, and were let loose to go grab some lunch (I was getting a little cranky). We ate in the main square outside – gorging on Greek salad and tzaziki. Ioanna was then going to take all those who wanted to go on a walking tour along the water, and then up the more then a thousand stairs to the castle at the top of the mountain. Of course we rallied, changed into work-out clothes, and joined her.
The walk began by us taking a James Bond style elevator up part of the cliff. We then walked along then edge getting a great view of the water, floating castle (where the executioner lived), rooftops, and perfect grid-like design. We wrapped around and then were walking along the water. A sign said, “beware of falling rocks – no pedestrians,” but we still did it. There ended up being a huge rock in the middle of the path that had fallen, which was a little disconcerting, but it was a GORGEOUS stroll (this is where Kelly Bing went on her morning runs last year). We ended in a park on the waterfront where Courtney and Kate took advantage of the swings. Then, it was time to start our accent to the castle.
I had prepared for it to take a lot longer than it did because it looked so high up above us. It was a major work-out though because we did the stairs so fast. All of a sudden I turned around and we were SUPER HIGH UP – made me a little dizzy. Once at the top, a worker told us they were closing and we only had fifteen minutes to explore. So we ran around the grounds, snapped some photos, and freaked out that some of the walkways had drop offs on both sides with no railings. It was definitely worth the climb though when we saw all the views. Then we turned around, and headed back to the town.
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| Floating castle - executioner's house |
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| Rooftops of Nauplio |
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| Castle we climbed up to in Nauplio (you can see some of the stairs) |
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| We passed Kelly's spot on the walk |
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| Walk along the water |
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| Me, Jess, Sophia, and Cat |
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| Made it to the top |
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| Great views |
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| Way down |
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| Back to sea level |
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| Worry beads! Mine are the green ones :) |
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| More of the castle |
Courtney went to hop in the shower first, so Jessica and I picked out our worry beads. It’s a thing in Greece – they are similar to a Rosary, but do not have any religious connotations. They are just something everyone there has for life, and plays with constantly. You’re supposed to pick the ones that call to you and roll around the best in your hands. Of course, the first ones that called to me were turquoise and 90,00 euro. I gave up on those ones, but found these great blueish/green ones that are a symbol of good health. The amazingly sweet and generous lady selling them to us told me they were her birth-month stone, and that today was her birthday! So, the ones I picked were also symbolic of the month of October – when I had my first visit to Greece! When purchasing them, the lady put three pieces of coral into our wallets and said: “with all my heart I wish you good health, happiness, and that your purse is always filled with money.” We loved the store and were so happy with our purchase.
After we all showered and got dressed, we still had a little bit of time to kill. When went back to the lounge from the night before and ordered some white chocolate hot cocoas. Dinner that night was at an outdoor terrace in the main part of Nauplio. Saunders – our loud, funny, tall history teacher, also from Oxford, who we call the “dutch wonder,” sat with the six of us girls at dinner. He got quite a kick out of our antics. He probably thinks we are all crazy now, but at least he was entertained. Probably the best story of the day was our friend Cat talking about this stray dog that followed us all the way up to the castle and back down. She explained how when we all reached the bottom the dog barked as if he was saying “woof woof – you made it!” Saunders could not believe what she had just said, and started calling her and I the dog whisperers. Too funny.
After dinner Ioanna and Saunders had told us about this funky little place called “The Wrong Bar.” So we all joined up there and it was quite wacky. It was full of random junk, you pushed buttons and lights would turn off, things would spin, change colors, etc. If you ordered a drink, they would give you a different “wrong” one, etc. etc. It was very silly. Ioanna tried to scare people, telling them stories about what happens when you flush the toilet in the bathroom and such. All a joke, but people’s initial reactions were great. Again, I called it a night pretty early to rest up.
Day 6 - Mystras, Sparta, Ioanna’s village Aryes:
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| Mystras |
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| View from the bottom |
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| View from the top |
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| Statue of Leonidas - Sparta |
Mystras was quite something. I had thought we were going to Sparta, so imagine my surprise when we pull up to this massive sight of fully intact Byzantine ruins. We were driven to the top, and then were told we could walk to the top of the castle towers, and then all the way down through the city to the bottom wall. It was a long walk. I do not know how they did it back then! It was definitely a very medieval place. It was built in that location, and with a big strong wall for protective purposes. The views were incredible. They were reconstructing a couple of the buildings and they must have been magnificent in their day. The cobblestone was ROUGH to walk so far on – I have an even greater respect for the people living during that time. We finally reached the bottom (a little grumpy), but there was a small stand with ice cream so we were immediately happier. The bus then drove us through downtown Sparta (now all modern). It was super disappointing that not much is left of the old Sparta – it has completely evolved. We did stop at the Statue of Leonidas (the Spartan king who lead them in the Battle of Thermopylae), which is placed outside a major athletic stadium.
Ioanna then introduced us to her own village, Aryes! Easily one of my favorite places - it is absolutely adorable. When we first got there, we immediately went to lunch/dinner (the best lunch/dinner of my life). Ioanna is beloved by the town, and thus we were beloved. Everyone was awaiting our arrival and opened their doors and hearts to us. Her friend let us take over his restaurant! We were served saganaki (amazing fried cheese), this delicious vegetable dish, the best lemon-spiced potatoes ever, and then a tender roast for the meat-eaters and a flavorful bean dish for me. Yum yum yum yum! We were then divided into two teams and sent on a scavenger hunt to see the town and encourage us to interact with the villagers (the population of the town is 300). We lost, probably because Jess, Soph, and I were taking in the quaint sites and chatting with the little kids.
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| Wine barrels in the basement |
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| Tomas! |
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| Governor and Ioanna |
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| Main square where we had Greek coffee and spent the evening |
Our team then sat in the main square, and the three eateries in town teamed up to give us free Greek coffee (Ioanna had set it up in advance). It was a slightly chilly autumn day, and sitting in the square with everyone sipping coffee (and green tea with amazing honey in my case), felt great. Afterwards, we switched places with the other team and went to Tomas’s (Ioanna’s dear friend) basement. He makes his own wine, and his basement was lined with barrels. Two had been tapped: a two-month-old one, and a one-year-old one. Each had a distinct flavor meant to eat with food – so of course we were given more food. Dried figs, honey, bread, cheese, and olives were provided. I was in heaven. We would put the honey on the bread and cheese, and it was a taste sensation! Everyone was loving life. Thank you Tomas!
We wandered back to the main square after around an hour. But we couldn’t pass up the bakery. I bought a big jar of honey there – and of course the owner was such a sweetheart. Before she even knew if we were buying anything she was giving us tons of free samples. She had been the one to make Jackie’s birthday cake presented at the lunch earlier that day! The lady did not have exact change and felt awful despite what we said, so she gave use pomegranates. So generous, like everyone else in the town. We concluded the night in the main square, where we ate even more. Ioanna got us all the traditional dessert - doughnuts with honey syrup called Loukoumades Me Meli. They melt in your mouth. Two older women in the town were making mine right in front of me. The outdoor atmosphere and socializing with the townspeople was a blast, but we got really cold so some of us went inside one of the eateries and huddled around this little fire. A Greek soap opera was on, and this little group of ladies told us they come there and watch it every night. She we chatted with them and they filled us in on the complicated plot. It was silly but really fun to talk with them and hear their stories. On our way out of town, the future governor came in because he wanted to see Ioanna (of course, who doesn’t?). So I met the governor – I shook his hand but then it turned into an awkward hug (clearly I didn’t know how to do a normal Greek greeting). Everyone saw and thought it was hilarious…
Anyways, we passed out on the bus. It had been a fun, extremely active day that we never wanted to end – but our bodies gave out on us.
Day 7 - Korinth and the ferry to the island Mykonos:
At last, it was time to leave Nauplio. We had a later departure then normal so we went for a morning walk around Nauplio. We then left for Korinth, where we saw the ruins of the ancient port city. Ioanna showed us the Temple of Apollo, the baths, the marketplace, and the main street, which would have continued all the way down to the water. We also saw the ornate main stage where political announcements would have been made in the central location. The Temple of Aphrodite was in the backdrop on a huge mountain called the Acrocorinth. We also toured the museum, which provided great examples of the famous pottery Korinth is known for – black with red figures or red with black figures.
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| Korinth |
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| Marketplace |
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| Roman baths |
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| Canal |
Lunch was right by Korinth’s isthmus canal – the narrow land bridge connects the Peloponnese Peninsula with the rest of mainland Greece. The first attempt to make the canal as a passageway for ships was in the 7th century B.C.
From there we drove to the Port of Rafina, where we got on our five-hour ferry ride to Mykonos! It was long, and a lot of people got sea sick, but we had stocked up on snacks and reading material, and reached the island soon enough. We were shuttled to Hotel Poseidon (amazing!), and then did a little bit of exploring. Mainly, I just wanted a gyro. But, we ended up finding the famous windmills, walking the white alleyways, and then sat on the water in silence until we got too tired and headed back to get some sleep.
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| Ferry ride |
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| Sunset |
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| White alley |
Day 8 - Island of Mykonos, Platys Giallos:
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| View from our hotel window |
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| Hotel Poseidon |
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| Our 1st Mykonos beach, Platys Giallos |
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| My swim |
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On our first full day in Mykonos, a group went to the island of Delos that is entirely an archeological site, but we decided to get a little extra sleep and have a slower paced, travel-free day. The breakfast at Hotel Poseidon was the best I have had my entire time of being abroad – I can never get enough Greek yogurt, honey, and chocolate chip bread! Courtney, Jessica and I then got into our bathing suits and hopped a bus to one of the three main beaches: Platys Giallos. It was your classic Greece beach. We rented lawn chairs for only 2,50 euro (it’s now the off-session so lots of things were shutting down, lowering prices, or already closed). The temperature was perfect, and we spent the morning relaxing, reading, and swimming in the Aegean. We got lunch at a beautiful hotel on the water for a very reasonable price, and it just ended up being an exceptional morning/afternoon. The trip had been amazing thus far, but before our beach day we really had not relaxed or rested much. It was needed. At around 4pm we headed back into town, bought some evil eye bracelets, and got a better lay of the land.
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| The well-known windmills! |
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| Mykonos has over 1000 churches built on it |
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| Got our drinks |
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| Walk back at sunset |
We ran into Laura, Sophia, Sarah and Cat, and Jess and I convinced Laura to hike up to the Starbucks with us (yes, I’m way too excited when I see a Starbucks). It was quite a journey, but well worth it. The store was at the highest point so walking back down with our drinks, we watched the sunset over the entire island. We then showered and changed for our group dinner. We went to Blue Myth, which was at the same beach we had been to earlier that day. It was here that we really learned to Greek dance. Two of the workers showed off, and then started pulling everyone up with them. Eventually, there was a long chain of people with their arms around each other dancing their way outside, down to the beach, and eventually back into the restaurant. Ioanna did her incredible dance with a wine glass on her head again – and of course Sanders joined in. We were not ready to stop dancing when the shuttles came so we went exploring in the main town and found a place to dance for a little while. Mykonos is so cool at night because everything, including the streets are white, so the narrow alleyways are glowing as you wander around. To add to it, the city layout is like a labyrinth. We found our way back to the hotel pretty easily though!
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| Ready to dance! |
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| Blue Myth - Greek dance lesson |
Day 9 - Island of Mykonos:
It was a little stormy when we woke up so instead of going straight to the beach, we went into town for some more exploring and shopping. We ended up getting a mani/pedi at DG Spa (yes, that was the name), walked around the port, and found Mykonos tank tops. Sophia left her bag of everything she had bought at the spa, so on the way to retrieve it, I got a Haagen Daas milkshake which ended up being 9,00 euro (I didn’t know until after it was made). So we realized we were in the VERY nice part of Mykonos (Dior, Cartier, Sephora stores surrounded us). We talked to one of the shop owners, and he told us that Lady Gaga had just been in town a few days ago…so we were in quite the elite place – celebrities love Mykonos.
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| Port |
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| Pre-spa |
We then hit up a small little beach by our hotel, and had it all to ourselves. Saunders later joined us but quickly fell asleep. We spent a couple hours lounging and watching the ships coming in and out of the port, and then went back to relax by the pool and get ready for our final dinner. We could not believe the trip was coming to and end!
Dinner was very swanky. It was one of the nicest restaurants in town. Ioanna said this is where the prime minister is taken when he's in town. So, we were all dressed up, ate our weight in the delicious food (I had maybe 5 stuffed tomatoes), and of course concluded the night in dance. Sophia, Sarah, Laura, Cat, Jess, Court and I all got really close over this trip, so it was great having a table to ourselves to reminisce and talk and laugh. We never wanted to leave. Ioanna and Sanders made really touching toasts, stating that this was, and I quote, “the best Greece trip ever.” We may have teared-up a little bit.
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| Cat, Sophia, Sarah, Jess, Me, Laura, Court |
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| Roommates! |
Day 10 - Mykonos, Port of Rafina, Athens airport:
My last Greek yogurt (until I buy up Trader Joe’s supply back in Seattle) depressed me. We then were shuttled down to the port where we had an beautiful last view of Mykonos. Laura, Jess, Court, Cat, Soph, Sarah, and I told Ioanna we already have a five-year-plan of making it back to Greece. We want to do Athens, Santorini, and Mykonos. Ioanna told us we are always welcome with her, and we are going to take her up on that offer!
The ferry back to the Port of Rafina was more of a high-speed cruiser and I felt SO SICK. It hit every wave. But, it got us there in a fourth of the time so I could not complain too much. We then split up at the port to get a tasty last meal in Greece on the waterfront, and to glimpse the fresh seafood being solid (tentacles and all). The bus then picked us up, and we caught our flight out of Athens.
I cannot fully explain why, but this was really a very life-altering trip…more of a reflective retreat where you learn a lot about yourself and your friends then a “vacation.” Saying goodbye to Greece and Ioanna was really hard. It’s amazing how much can change in ten days - life is funny that way…
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| Molly, Me, Libby and Sam waiting for the boat |
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| New tanks |
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| Port of Rafina |
Αντίο!
