Santorini, Greece

Santorini...where to begin. A three hour ferry from Crete and we arrived. I must say, it is worth all the hype...it is a pretty cool place. The island is small, and in the shape of a donut that a cop took a bite out of. It formed when an ancient volcano exploded and then sank leaving the donut and a 1,000 foot deep crater in the middle (full of seawater), with a small volcano still in the very center. Anyhow, through some now finely tuned haggling we got a hotel room for dirt cheap, saw the sun rise, and then got some much needed sleep. The next day we rented a four wheeler and started cruisin' all over the place...which was pretty easy as you can get from one end to the other in about 30 minutes. The island is completely surrounded with winding roads and perilous cliffs...very exciting for me, but Krista has some white hair now.  We have tried all sorts of tasty stuff and eaten more gyros in a week then one should probably eat in a lifetime.

Some stories worth mentioning:

 Tonight we drove out to one tip of the island to see the lighthouse. On the way back we saw an open cafe with a nice view of the caldera that looked like a genuine family run place, so we decided to stop in. A sign out front said, "Low prices, complete meal with local caught and fried fish...enough for 2, only $6." I thought that was an unbelievably good deal, so I told the waitress that we would have that (I have been craving fried fish). What soon arrived was a huge platter of what appeared to be fried bait. Staring me in the face, literally, was a pile of little fishes that looked strikingly similar to the sardines that we use for bait, deep fried whole. I quickly realized that I would have to find a way to eat this so as not to look like a total jerk. This was all too much for Krista, who is only slowly overcoming a general dislike for all seafood. She helped me to de-bone them as I ate to get it over with more quickly and to make it look like she had eaten some also. Appearance aside, they were actually pretty tasty. We stopped again on the way home and got her some dinner...

Unrelated but hilarious:
 It is spring break apparently and so small groups of adventurous spring breakers have been turning up here, looking a bit displaced as it is low season and there is not much of that sort of fun to be had yet. As we were settling in tonight, a knock is heard at the door...Krista answers..."Um, Hi...we are three Americans who are just randomly knocking on doors to try and meet some people to try and find something to do, but, um, you look a little older...do you have any recommendations for something to do in the area"? Krista (who has recently been on a bit of an "I'm getting old and woe is me" kick) in response: "How old do you think I am!?" 19 year old spring breakers: "Um, your 20's I guess"... Jared in the background "he he he he"
Good times...

Headed to Santorini

We found cheap ferry tickets to Santorini, Greece, and so somewhat spontaneously (apparently the ferry schedules change randomly) we are on the late-night ferry headed to what is supposed to be one of the more unique and beautiful islands. Again, we are a few weeks ahead of the season. In Greece this does not just mean that things are slow...it means that almost everything is closed and transportation is sparse. But, it also means things are cheaper and the crowds are smaller; so there are advantages as well. Everywhere we go we are being jokingly told that we are the first tourists of the season.

We are a bit ready to get to our next HelpX...it is nice being on our own, but the money goes very quickly when you are traveling traditionally. We feel like we are "bare bones-ing" it,  but it seems like there are holes in my pockets. Food, entrance fees, buses, bottled water (apparently water fountains don't exist in europe...actually I am sitting next to one as I write this, but it's the only one I've seen)...it all adds up really quickly.

On Santorini we plan to get a mo-ped and cruise around on that...should be interesting so long as the ridiculous winds the Greek islands have been getting settle a little (reminding me of your neck of the woods, Dad)

Till next time...

South Coast of Crete

We have moved on to the south coast of Crete and found a little sun! Different scenery down here...lots of gorges and cliffs sweeping down to the sea. We are at an awesome hostel in Plakias, Crete and plan to do a hand full of day walks in the area without our packs to see the area (did a 6 hour hike today!). Next we are off to some of the other Greek islands...Rhodes, Milos, Santorini...not really sure, but we are liking it here. The tourist season is still a couple of weeks away for the area, so a lot of things are still closed...but you can see a little more local culture that way, and less of the crowds. We might not have Internet for a while, so I will probably be a little out of touch until we make it to Italy, but all is well! Pictures at the next easy Internet access spot...

Crete, Greece

Crete was not exactly the Mediterranean paradise we were hoping for...at least in terms of the weather. I guess escaping winter is a little more difficult than I thought. So far we have seen snow, sleet, freezing rain, etc...all carried by gale force winds. The people here say they can't remember it ever being this bad...just Greece's way of saying hello! I guess. Anyhow, the last couple of days it has warmed up and dried out, and I almost have all the mud off of my shoes. With the clear skies I can now see the north coast stretched out in front of me, and huge snow covered peaks in the distance. The nature park we are helping at is perched up on top of the hills, about 15 minutes from the coast and the views are incredible; unfortunately the photos will not even come close to showing it.

 Here at the park we have been  feeding the animals, building some things and just helping to get ready for the season and the guests. ( Jake, I would like to get on the video chat and show you how I feed the chameleons, but I think mom would not be too happy because you would want one for sure!)

When we arrived the Carnival celebration was getting started, which was really interesting to see...a huge street party and parade. The best part was that there is no theme to it at all. There are thousands of people in groups of 50 or so dressed up in costume, and they ranged from Mario Bros to Scottish Kilts to drag...tried to get some of it in photos. Other than that we have been exploring the old and new towns. Plenty of traditional life still going on, and plenty of traditional dishes. The local liquors are raki and ouzo. Ouzo is like having your brains smashed up in a bowl with ten pounds of licorice. The raki is like being beat up and mugged by a bunch of grapes when you turn down the wrong alley on the lower east side. They are both reasonably priced.

We will be doing some sightseeing for a couple of days on our way to the port, and from there we will be catching a ferry to the island of Santorini to have a look at where they take all of the postcards for Greece...then on to Italy!

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Added photos from Portugal and Athens!

Made it to Crete...

Hi All,

Made it to Crete OK after many hours of traveling. Getting settled in and will hopefully be posting some more pictures soon. It is Carnival today, which is a huge party (catholic thing), and it is a big deal on Crete...we're heading down to the town to check it out. I have heard from a couple of people that the blog has been down some...I don't know what the deal with that is, but if it continues to be a problem, i'll switch it to another address so please tell me if you have any more trouble with it. 

Yasas!

Portugal

Hola,

Our time in Portugal is about up. I am now on my way back to Madrid on the overnight train to catch a flight to Athens...next stop Greece! The next 24 hours or so will not be easy, but will certainly leave plenty of time for traveloging.  The town we were in was called Valenca...it is right on the Minho River that divides Portugal and Spain. Our job was to help out at a holiday retreat called Yavanna so that they would be ready for guests in the Spring. Some of our work included: building a fence to support raspberry vines, stacking chopped logs, removing a huge pampas grass (don't ever plant a pampas grass),  burning brush, trimming ivy...to name a few. In exchange we stayed two weeks in one of their great rental houses in the good company of the owners, an English couple, Eunice and Mark. Eunice was a professional chef in past years, and joining them for the occasional meal or frequent "tea time" was a real treat. It was also refreshing to hear English being spoken, something I had not anticipated missing. The region is an interesting mix of old and new, ancient architecture and age old traditions are everywhere you look, as well as all of the modern conveniences...the church bells ringing out the hours can be heard throughout the entire valley.  Local wines are made by almost every family; it is hard to find a house that does not have at least a couple of grape vines for this purpose, although few sell it commercially outside the valley. These wines are available at the central cafe' for about .50 a glass, making for fun afternoons and interesting bike rides. Every local town does a big "market" on a different day...we checked out a couple of these and were amazed by the size of them and the great prices. I drooled over a tent selling beautiful new copper stills in every size, but decided the chance of passing immigration with one was low.
 Already there has been some adjusting and settling, but Mark and Eunice's place was so comfortable we have had an easy time of it. It can be trying to be in a place where you don't speak the language or understand the customs; even the simplest tasks are difficult and everything takes twice as long as it should. It is a strange thing to go all day without understanding a word anyone says...to give an over-dramatic example, it is like watching a movie...whats going on is familiar, but you can't really interact with it. That said, everything is exciting and new and it all feels very adventurous. Hopefully our generally good luck will continue and we will get more used to being in such unfamiliar surroundings. In a couple of days we will be in Crete, Greece, and from there I will try and post some pictures of Portugal.

Adios!

Random Observations....

Before I recount my time in Portugal, I want to share a couple of random observations.  If this sort of thing bores you, then you are so warned, and may want to skip ahead...I may have skipped it myself, but I have a 6 hour wait in this train station and am particularly bored...
People here are very particular about where they sit: The first time this occurred to me was in the bus station in Spain. We were waiting to catch a local bus to Portugal. The entire bus station was empty...a big open room with tons of benches and lots of different seating ares. We were between arrivals and so we were the only people there, except for one other lady. I went wandering off to try and find info on our bus, leaving Krista with our bags. I came back about 10 minutes later to find this woman sitting in the seat immediately next to her, our bags encroaching on her space somewhat.  No attempts at conversation were made...she just sat. Also, Krista was in an end seat, which would have made it particularly awkward should I have tried to rejoin her...luckily the bus was about to pull out, and we ran off to catch it.
The bus itself was also very empty...The seats were not  large, so we each sat in an isle seat across from each other.  At the first stop, a group of older women got on and walked back through the empty rows to where we were sitting. They stood there, half looking at us and half looking around as though trying to figure out what to do... he driver was looking at them as well.  After what seemed an eternity, I got up and sat with Krista, mainly out of curiosity. They immediately filed into the seats where I had been and we were off for Portugal.
Finally (yes the ramble does have an end) as I sit here in the train station, what brought this topic to mind: I have a headache and have a long wait for the train, Krista is off in town shopping. I am sitting in a corner of the train station with 6 benches, all empty except for me. I decide that it will be safe to lie down on one for a little while. Wrong. On the edge of sleep I am approached by a security guard followed closely by an older woman. He tells me that I can not lay on the bench, I say excuse me; she stands behind him watching.  As I sit up, she sits down next to me...all other benches remain empty.  A few minutes later we are joined by two of her friends, all other benches remain empty. I wonder if I am missing something here, and secretly wish to my self that breakfast had consisted of beans, hard boiled eggs, garlic , beer,  and bran flakes.