Opa!

It has been quite a while since my last trip!  Martinique feels like it was both forever ago and just yesterday, all at once.  Hard to believe an entire year has passed since then... As a result, I was clearly long overdue for another world adventure!  It actually took me quite a while to decide where to go.  At first I was thinking Norway, then I shifted gears and tried to plan a visit to England and Scotland (both are trips I hope to do in the near future), but finally I settled on GREECE!  I'm so glad I did!  I have my supervisor to thank for allowing this trip to happen.  He gave me 2 weeks off right after Memorial Day! Those are prime dates for a vacation. I never would have even dreamed of asking for those dates (because that's smack dab in the middle of our busy season in the park) but it could not have worked out better.  The tourist season had not fully kicked off in Greece yet so the crowds were very manageable and the temperatures were PERFECT!  I don't believe it got above 85 the entire time I was there and the humidity felt very low as well.  

The trip was 12 days long.  On my first day in Athens, I met my travel mates from Contiki (the travel agency I booked my trip through). We met in the lobby of the hotel on the first evening after I had arrived and checked in.  I was really excited to meet these 20 other adventurous young people and they all, in their own way, helped make this trip special. We spent the first night chowing down for the first time as a group at a local Greek restaurant.  We learned quickly, the hard way, that the Greeks eat multi-course meals and that its important not to fill up on the appetizers, no matter how delicious they are!  This is a lesson we would carry with us throughout the rest of the trip.

Our first full day in country was spent exploring the ancient ruins of Athens and learning about the rich history of the city.  To wrap up the day we spent time swimming at the roof top pool before dinner. Pool time was multi-purpose, however.  On the first night our trip manager, Jacqui, gave us a long list of optional activities that we could sign up for.  She gave us a summary of each option and it all sounded amazing!  The only catch was that each option also cost an additional sum of money.  Well, after pondering my options for a day, I was supposed to know which ones I wanted to add on and which ones I wanted to skip.  It's hard to really know what you'll be wanting to do 2 weeks from any given moment but there wasn't any other option... and, not wanting to have any regrets, I signed up for basically everything.  C'etait tres chere! (It was very expensive!)

After leaving Athens, we took a ferry to our first island: Mykonos!  Mykonos is known for it's windmills.  It is the windiest of all the places that we visited on this island hopping excursion.  I was quite glad that the other islands were less windy... although the wind keeps temperatures down, it can be a bit strong sometimes. 

Our walking tour of Mykonos town brought us to the famous row of iconic windmills right as the sun was beginning to set.  I took the above panorama with my iPhone and I think it does a great job of accurately depicting the beauty of this island.  The deep blue sky, the shimmering waters of the Aegean, white washed houses, and a relentless sun.  

   

On the last day in Mykonos, I had the opportunity to visit the island of Delos.  This island is an active archaeological site and best known as the mythical birthplace of Apollo and Artemis, the Greek gods of the Sun and the Moon.  This was one of the optional excursions.  Because of the fact that it was largely educational, and involved no opportunities to consume alcohol, most of my trip mates decided to pass up this amazing opportunity.  I will admit, the island was very windy, the sun was hot, and if you aren't the type to enjoy a slow, guided, walking tour then this probably would not be for you.  Our tour guide also did not speak very loudly so if you wanted to hear her over the wind, you had to make an effort to stay close by.  But the artifacts were very interesting and the stories that our guide told helped to bring the place to life again.  I was glad that I went! An additional bonus to that day was a fresh seafood dinner in Mykonos town after we got back from Delos.  I have never tasted better lobster!!!

(On Delos, ruins in front of the Aegean Sea)

On one final note, I would be remiss if I did not mention the parties on Mykonos... I never went to one of them so I cannot speak from experience but that's a good thing, I think.  It became clear from Day 1 that I should expect to be surrounded by drunk and/or hung over people for the remainder of the trip.  It was a bit sad hearing the stories of lost personal items (i.e. phones, wallets, virginity, etc.) at breakfast every morning.  But the drama was also quite entertaining.  Let's just say that I will remember more details of this trip than anyone else will and I do not for a second regret skipping all of the parties!

There's still more to tell but this post is getting a little long... so hop on a ferry and meet me at the next post to read on about the rest of my Grecian adventures!