Greece lightning! Eating our way through the country and being charmed by everyone.

Sunday May 7-Athens

Arriving in Athens was great. we stayed in an awesome little Airbnb with a view of the ocean just outside of the main town in Artermios. We were really spoiled in this place: self contained and comfortable with complimentary homemade Greek wine, snacks and herbal tea.




I never knew much about Greek bakeries, and as it turns out, I am going to eat everything I can from every bakery here. Inexpensive, beautifully decorated and delicious. We ate a bueno chocolate filled donut for 80 cents, unbelievable! Some of the best baked goods around indeed are in Greece. 



 

Everyone here  is working hard for business since the recession hit Greece. Our air bnb host works 6 days a week and was only able to get Sunday's off because she has a child. Nonetheless the people of Greece really do seem to want to help and appear very passionate and overall very happy. I gave a kangaroo pin for a lovely couple strolling their baby who called our airbnb host to help us with directions. When I offered something gold, they stepped back until realising  that it was a little Kangaroo. We ate local fish by a nearby restaurant, no English here which adds to the charm. Also realising quickly that delicious bread is complimentary in Greece and you don't need to be afraid of being given small portions.

 
 

 I jumped in the ocean believing that the Mediterranean sea is never cold. The water is as cold as the water at the South Coast in Australia right now, but I always think you should jump in to any Ocean, at any time, on principle.

Pondering: it's freezing, do I get in? Say yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah!

Monday May 8- Santorini

We are staying in a Villa in Katerados, just out of one of the main towns 'Fira' in Santorini. I love it here. Have a look at this doggie who watches all the comings and goings of the town each day:




  Now that I surf, I'm always looking for waves. No waves here, but just being by the ocean is great. My soul feels invigorated by the sea.

Tuesday May 9-Santorini

 We hopped on a boat and went on a Volcano Trek. Unless if the volcano is active, you can't really go wrong with them.






 

We ate grape homemade icecream here at this cafe, up about 400 stairs, overlooking the volcano.

Our new friend Mario from Mexico.

 

Our boat then took us to the Hot Springs 'Nea Kameni'. Our guide Tania on the boat was very intense, a little like an aspiring Eurovision song contest host who never made it, and bring the tour guide of the boat was the consolation prize. Tania said that it was optional to swim from the boat to the hot springs, but only to swim if you knew how to, as it was a pain in the arse to rescue people, which they had to do often. Dana, myself and two Russian guys were the only ones who didn't need assistance from a buoy or the boat. I feel as though Tania should probably inform the tourists that it is in fact a 200m deep water swim each way;which on the way back is against the current....

We have made a new friend Mario, from Mexico on the boat. Mario is studying renewable  energy sources in France, as he wanted to practice his French and got tired of Engineering.

It's a little disappointing that tourism can be a bit 'tight' here, and I appreciate that this is the case in different areas all over the world in different capacities. I just feel that you could probably include water on a day trip on a boat yeah? It's an interesting comparison to when you dine in a local restaurant here, and the waiters give you free dessert, bread wine and sometimes shots; something that I have never experienced before.

At the end of the day we walked to Fira, upon advice from a waiter that people in the main square would be watching Eurovision. It turns out that no in in Greece wants to watch Eurovision except for Dana and I. However, as always, we were fed amazing food and wine. One of the waiters told me that his friends own a Greek restaurant. I love conversations like this, as you are reminded about how small our world is. Mario came over and squished up on our single beds to watch Eurovision on my computer. He also brought over cheesecake. We like Mario.



Wednesday May 10-Santorini

*I speak to Mum on the phone and she informs me that 'Oman' the middle Eatern country where we went snorkeling, is one of the countries listed as 'DO NOT VISIT. I think of when Ed, Dave and I drove from Broome to Perth and told everyone how great it was to have the whole beach to ourselves when we swam each morning. The locals then told us that the waters along that coastline were shark infested. Better to know these things afterwards I think.

We tossed up between hiring a scooter for the day or getting a four wheeler.


I'm happy we picked the four wheeler as the roads here are disastrous. No surprises that we got told after we hired the ATV that it was empty and we needed to fill it with fuel. Travel is good because it teaches you to be patient and try to let go of expectations.

When traveling you will:

-Be surprised at the sheer generosity of people
-Be appalled at how tight or unhelpful people can be on another occasion
-Feel totally alone
-Feel totally embraced by the world and it's people
-Love something you never saw coming
-Not enjoy something you thought would be awesome
-Have your plans screwed when you plan
-Have things work out when you give up or ease up
-Be suprised at how cheap things are
-Be shocked at how expensive things are
-Be forced to get out of your comfort zone most of the time
-Learn to say yes, most of the time, even if it doesn't sound like a good idea; you might not be able to experience it again and if you don't do it, you'll never know what you could have experienced
-Learn that it is okay to take it easy and watch 'Parks and Recreation' as you feel is appropriate


This four wheeler works nothing like a scooter, people on the road drive pretty terribly, the roads are full of holes and uneven, the road signs are hard to understand and you need to drive on the right side of the road;killer combo! Although you get covered in grit: a mix of sunscreen and diesel, the four wheeler is a lot of fun. Dana and I took turns being pillion, to be able to experience the thrill of driving and then being able to enjoy the view. We got really lost and ended up at the black beach (cool) when we were meant to go to the read beach.



And with a lot of wrong turns and vague directions, we made it to the red beach.




 The sound of the water moving back over the rocks as the tide goes out sounds like pop rock candy, it's so meditative and I wish I could take that sound with me everywhere. 



For dinner, Mario met with Dana and I at 'Kira Niki Tavern'. This is our favourite restaruant in Santorini. The owner, who knows me as 'Canberra' and Dana as 'Melbourne; kept filling up our glasses with 'Smittaki' which is like the Greek version of Grappa. Why not. By the end of our time in Santorini, Dana and I plan to have tried every dish at Niki's. I caught out Mr Niki speaking with Mario in Spanish about how pretty we were and asking Mario what his preference was. I told Niki in Spanish that I also speak Spanish, he got a bit embarrassed. The men here are charming, but I wouldn't say it's creepy. besides, I am being given delicious bread!





Thursday May 11 -Santorini

Every day  so far, I have been doing 100 squats and a 5km run, this is me cutting down on my normal exercise regime dramatically, but I want to focus on enjoying the traveling part, being in the moment and also not screwing up my delicate knees. It's a way for me to feel some balance while I travel. Running in new places is great, because you get to see the landscape and take photos while you sweat profusely. My run is Santorini is bliss; rugged and 2.5km downhill with 2.5km back uphill.

Today, Dana and I wandered around Fira.

I love the island catties and doggies.

We have been putting purple colour in our hair and painting our nails in preparation for Eurovision. We head to Kiev, Ukraine tomorrow.

I won't miss the bottled water but I love Greece, the landscape but especially the people. Thank you Greece 'Ευχαριστώ' (Efharisto). I'll finish off my entry today with some photos of what my morning run looks like.


















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