Santorini

Every day here seems to last an eternity…in the best way. Last weekend was the long awaited trip to Santorini. Even though we only spent one full day there, we did as much as I might expect if we had AT LEAST a week. The ferry ride only took 3 hours. As we approached the island the cliffs of brick red, and gold shimmered above the turquoise waters. After driving the never ending switchback up the cliff we arrived at our little pastel colored Villa Popi in the town of Fira. Of course Brittany and me ended up with the only room with one bed, it seems we always end up in strangely romantic situations. I guess its just unavoidable no matter who you are with in Greece. After a little exploring, the whole crew went out to dinner. The fava melted in my mouth, the best I have ever had.

Saturday was the epic day. We started out walking down the cliff on a rock and donkey poop switchback. The donkeys don’t seem to notice if anything or anyone is in their war, or they just want revenge for having to carry oversized people up and down the mountain all day, and plow right by you. When we got to the bottom we boarded a boat that looked like a pirate ship with Mama Santorini as our guide.

Out first stop was the Nea Kameni volcano, undoubtedly still active from the smell of sulfur and the smoke rising out of various crevices. As we struggled to follow Mama Santorini up the rocky mountain she assured us that she was no super woman, she had just been up the volcano 3000, knew every rock, and happened to be a mountain goddess. After stomping around the volcano for a few hours we boarded our pirate ship and headed for the hot springs. Since there was no port, we jumped off the boat and swam to the springs and their glorious, smelly, brown mud. All of the sights are breathtakingly powerful, feeling pity for anyone who doesn’t have good enough eyes to see everything I left my glasses behind at the bottom of the Aegean Sea for a nearsighted mermaid. I can only handle so much beauty.

Our stop for lunch was Thirassia, another small island left abandoned after the volcanic eruptions. We decided this was the place for our donkey ride; we hoped on and rode to the top. My donkey seemed to be racing and would not let any other pass him. We got back onto the pirate boat one last time to head for Ia, the city of the sunset.

Barbed wire, and do not enter signs are really just suggestions. So, under the barbed wire and over the fallen rocks to go cliff jumping we went. We had to swim out to the cliff and climb up with the choppy water crashing you into the rock. From the water and even from the top of the cliff it really didn’t seem that high. Like jumping off the high dive right? Wrong, the fall seemed to go on forever, it was fantastic!

Walking up the switchback from the water to Ia was exhausting, no donkeys this time. Too salty and exhausted to do much we went back to our hotel to shower. Second wind! After waiting for more people to get back and shower me and some girls went out to eat around 10 to a little place on a rooftop. After dinner we decided to go out. Every bar we went to, it seemed to be the Greek thing to not be Greek. There was an English bar, a Scottish bar, and all kinds of places that just play music you would have heard in American clubs…about 5 years ago. It was still fun. We ended up at the Tropical Bar where I danced with a Greek named Nicolo for the rest of the night. It must have been the sweet Santorini air, or his adoring eyes, but I felt like I could dance all night. Eventually, about 3:30am, we went back to the hotel where we jumped in the pool for an early morning swim before collapsing into our beds.

I have not even been in Greece for a month, but as I walked off the ferry in Parikia towards Jimmy’s apartments, I felt like I was going home.

Delos and Mykonos (19/9/10)

It is fascinating how different some of the Cycladic Islands are from one another. Sunday we went to Delos and Mykonos. Delos is an extremely sacred place to Greeks, being the birthplace of Apollo and Artemis. They myth goes that Artemis and Apollo were born on Delos because their mother, Leta, was the victim of Hera’s jealousy. Hera’s husband, Zeus, became obsessed with Leta and convinced her to have sex with him. When Hera found out Leta was pregnant with Zeus’ children she kidnapped the goddess of childbirth and threatened anyone who offered Leta any help giving birth. One myth claims that Poseidon felt sorry for Leta and stuck his sword into a rock he fetched from the bottom the ocean forming Delos Island for Leta to give birth on. Artemis, knowing that her mother could not give birth without help emerged from her as a grown woman, proceeding to help her mother give birth to her brother, Apollo. In the 5th century all of the graves were dug up in one of the steps taken to purify the island for the proper worship of the gods. To this day it is illegal to be born or to die on the island.

Delos is an island of ruins, with a spectacular view of the surrounding islands from the top of Mount Kynthos where it is believes that Homer went to to write. On the top of the mount there are numerous small rock sculptures, of course I had to get in on it too and left my mark.


Mykonos was another bustling town with even narrower winding streets than Paros. Supposedly there are pelicans there that can get over 200 pounds, but none that I saw. There was, however a spectacular line of old windmills on a bluff. We walked the winding streets exploring the little shops before
boarding the ferry back to Paros.

my new home - Parikia, Paros, Greece

Paros is a sanctuary. It feels so good to be somewhere with less noise and hustle and bustle than Athens. My room at Jimmy’s apartments is in the port city, Parikia, and is more than I could have hoped for. Then again I would be ok with a tent as long as I’m still in Greece. The room is like a one room studio with a small kitchenette and a patio with a lemon tree. After getting my bags to my room I immediately found my swimsuit and walked the two blocks to the beach. The sea is a wondrous thing. Later Sarah, one of the professors, took us on a walking tour of Parikia. The HISA studio for paining and sculpture are in wide-open rooms on the winding old market street. A little further up, and a hard right at the pirate bar and there is the main HISA building. The one classroom has a long rectangle table in the middle. The idea of only having as many people in a class as can fit at a dining room table is incredible. After introducing themselves the whole school, all 27 of us, went to eat at Christo’s restaurant and then to the tavern next door for drinks, on the professors.

Sunday we took a tour of Paros Island.

Out first stop was Kolibithres beach tucked in a cove between Parikia and Naussa, overlooked by the Ancient Mycenaean acropolis. The smooth granite rocks have slowly taken shape with the lapping of the waves from Aegean Sea, giving the beach a serene and secure feeling. The water is calm, clear, and a brilliant shimmering turquoise.

Our next stop was Naussa, another port town but smaller than Parikia. Fishermen quietly sit on their boats fixing their nets, while other natives and tourists relax and socialize in the numerous seaside cafes and fish taverns. On one pier lies a 17^th century Venetian fort. Just off the pier is a restaurant called Barbossa with a pirate flag snapping in the wind, a steady reminder of the previous inhabitants that also developed the labyrinth of winding roads in the island, pirates.

After Naussa we visited Lefkes. Even though it was once the capital of Paros, there are now more people buried in the sloping cemetery behind the Agias Triata church than there are living in the town.

Finally, we finished off our tour with a few hours in Piso Livadi sunning ourselves at the beach.

Athens (7/9/10-10/9/10)

Never did I think that my life could be so affected in such a short time. Before I even left the US I knew Greece was exactly the place I needed to be. I found my seat on the place next to a picturesque old Greek man and his wife. He was wearing pine green suit, maroon tie, and white cap. At one point the place hit some significant, and I looked over to see the woman whimpering and kissing her cross. Her husband held her cooing to her and kissing her the whole time. I knew at once that that is the kind of love and devotion I am searching for. Not necessarily a religion or a person, but something…

I arrived in Athens on the 6th of September after an 11 hour flight, got my passport stamped, got rid of my American dollars and my adventure began. I opted for the metro to get to the Dioskouros Hostel, wanting to be engulfed by the city and the people. I got off at the right stop and eventually found the hostel after wondering the wrong way for a while. I was ready to get away from my bags but eager to get back out to explore Athens. I recognized some girls I thought were a part of Athena Abroad introduced myself and had lunch with them. That night we went out to a fancy restaurant for appetizers and wine before we went out for dinner. The charming Greek waiter gave us each a glass of free wine. The most gratifying part was seeing people’s faces as they ate food they had never had. Many felt as if they had never really tasted before. The restaurant brought all of their small dishes for you to choose and share at the table, foreign to some, but felt like home to me.

Only having a few days in Athens, I made the most of every minute I had. My first day started at the Acropolis. I was a little disappointed by the herds of tourists at first, but forgot all about them as I gazed in amazement at the monument I had learned about but only ever saw in pictures. The view from the lookout is a breathtaking panoramic of all of Athens. Our next stop was the few remaining pillars of the temple of Zeus. Then we managed to live crossing a few streets to get the original Olympic stadium. We kept our clothes on, but kicked off our shoes and ran on the track of champions.

After lunch and a short rest we ventured out again. We made our way through the national gardens to the Parliament building to see the changing off the guards. Guarding the tomb of the Unknown Soldier is an honor and it showed in the guards as they stood completely still in the hot sun as crowds of tourists gawked at them and took their picture. As the new guards were marching to take their post a tourist, not realizing they were walking directly toward her, got kicked by a guard. I would probably do a lot more than that if I had to put up with what those guards do. That night we went back to the same restaurant for dinner with 16 people. Two of the professors arrived as well as more students. The professors started off dinner by buying everyone ouzo...still not for me, but maybe i'll learn.

Pulled my Chaco straps tight and set out for day two of taking in as much of Athens as I could. First stop was the acropolis museum, just as breathtaking as The Acropolis itself. The top floor is set up in the same way and with the original dimensions of the Parthenon freeze on the wall, and the freeze with the metopes and triglyphs above. They even have the pediments set up with some original pieces and some reconstruction. Seeing the set up only added to my amazement of the immense scale and detailed craftsmanship of the temples and sculptures. We sat in the café and I had some Greek coffee, gritty and bitter, I think I’ll stick with espresso.

A short hike from the museum is the Ancient Angora, resembling more of a rocky tree scattered field than a once bustling market, and the birthplace of Greek democracy. Similar to the other ruins I visited, there was beauty in the mystery of what could have been and the attempt to preserve what little is left. Venturing further from the Acropolis we visited the ancient cemetery. The cemetery, however, was quite alive…with turtles.

After fulfilling the art historical dork in me, I got to see more of contemporary Athens culture. I watched a street performer blow enormous bubbles for gleeful children, scavenged for treasures at the flea market, and walked through winding back streets as the sun started to set on my last day in Athens. That night over 20 people from the abroad program had dinner together. Then a few of us ventured back into the winding back streets to a little restaurant where there was live music and people dancing. We met a crazy Italian that tried to make us all dance and drink ouzo and invited us to come stay with her in Milan. Then there was someone not much older than me dancing with someone who was old enough to be her grandfather, it was no longer an innocent dance when she made out with him…he looked pleased with himself and just went back to working the restaurant. Once the music was done we found a bar down the street with a sprawling outdoor space in the back. I met a man who does photography, and used to teach French in California. I think it is unavoidable to fall for Greek men. 4am, back at the hostel with enough time for a one-hour power nap before getting up to catch the ferry to Paros.