GREECE, Athens {Acropolis and Parthenon}

October 7th, 8th and 9th, 2006.

Train to Bari, Italy where I spent the night. Then overnight ferry to Patras, Greece. Left the ferry and caught the train to Athens. I am only spending enough time to see the Acropolis and the Parthenon and then catching the overnight ferry to Ios. I met an interesting man who is about 80 on the train and we still correspond by mail every few months.

GREECE, Ios

Tuesday, October 10, 2006

Another long ferry ride {8.5 hrs} but I finally arrived at Ios at 6 am. I finally found my hostel about 8am. Very uncomfortable ferry trip as I did not get a room, just floor space. Most people have left the island because the season is mostly over, but I was fortunate because it was justme and 8 girls from Australia at Francesco's hostel. 

GREECE, Santorini

 October 12-15th,  2006

I spent 3 days just enjoying the beauty that is Santorini. On Friday I took the bus to Oia which supposedly has the most beautiful sunset in the world. Over 200 people waited with cameras but unfortunately it was too cloudy. Santorini is all about money with jewelry stores and expensive restaurants lining the caldera overlooking the Mediterranean. One interesting fact is that the grape vineyards here do not put their grapes on poles but instead place the vines in a circle on the volcanic soil to help with the moisture. Lots of cruise ships arriving daily. 

GREECE, Santorini {Perissa Beach}

 Sunday October 15, 2006

Checked out of the hotel. I am going to Crete at 10 pm on the ferry. I am going to spend the day at Perissa beach. The beach has beautiful black volcanic sand. The water was cold but the sun was warm. 

GREECE, Crete, Samaria Gorge

 October 15th and 16th , 2006

Left Santorini on  ferry at 10 pm and  arrived in Heraklion on the boat at 12:30 am and finally found a hostel. I only got 4 hrs sleep and had to catch the 5:30 am bus to Chania which was 2.5 hrs away. I got there just in time to catch the 8 am bus to Samaria Gorge, which was the only reason I came to Crete. It is the longest ravine in Europe and starts off with a 3000 ft. drop during the first mile and another 11 miles after that. The hike takes about 5-6 hrs and eventually leads to a seaside town. Walking downhill on rocks is very painful and it reminded me of Kilimanjaro. Unfortunately, the pain was not completely over by the time we reached the beach town. The bus was full and I had to stand another 1.5 hrs. I am ready to leave Crete. The walk was a great trek but I am looking forward to Switzerland.

GREECE, Naxos

September 7, 2017

Naxos is one if my favorite Greek Islands. Much less touristy than Santorini and has true feeling of the Greek Culture.