The Greek Isles of Santorini and Naxos

I left Athens and traveled first to the island of Santorini with 3 of the people I had met in Naxos. Upom arrival there, we got checked into our hotel, changed into bathing suits, and immediately headed for the beach. We decided the best way to see the island would be to rent some scooters. One of the guys with us had driven 2 wheel vespas before, so him and I got one of those and shared. All I had to do was hold onto the back and navigate. The other 2 girls we were with got a 4 wheel dirt bike that is completely safe, but a bit slow. We headed down to a Red beach that was jsut amazing! The cliffs look like the red cliffs of Sedona and the sand is the exact same way. The water there was absolutely stunning! It was so extremely clear with this beautiful turquoise and teal color. I could not believe that swimming out to where I was treading water, I could still see clear down to the bottom. The water was so refreshing and nice, but very salty.

After that, we headed up to a lighthouse on one of the cliffs and checked out the view before heading up to the monastary that is the highest point on the island. From there, we watched the sunset over the water and could view the entire island. Because it is a volcanic island, it is a bit barren, but there are grape vines growing all over for wine. The buildings in the towns are whitewashed and the roofs are all blue. Many of the towns are perched up above the cliff with amazing views of the water down below.

We headed into the main town on the island which is Fira to grab some dinner. We went to this Greek restaurant recommended by 2 of our guidebooks and our server was definately the highlight of the meal. He was so stinking sarchastic with us and asked us a bunch of questions but as soon as we would ask a question, he would not really answer and then walk away. It was great! We had to wait for a table, so the guy with us went in and the server stopped him and asked "What are you doing?" He tells him "I am going to check out the menu (which is written on a chalkboard at the back of the restaurant completely in Greek)." The server just looks at the him and tells him he can't understand the menu. Mathias, the guy with us, says he speaks Greek (which he does not cause he is from Brazil). Our server jsut laughed at him and gave him such attitude after that. The meal was awesome though. I had this amazing stuffed zucchini that was so yummy.

The next day, we got the scooters again and headed off to explore the northern part of the island. We went to the very tip down to this one beach that did not have many people in it. From there we hiked to some rocks a bit out. We jumped in the water and swam out about 50 meters to the rock island there. After climbing up, we climbed up it some, about 3 stories, to where they have this old platform you can jump off of. After contemplating because we did not want to plunge 3 stories straight into rock and we could not tell exactly how far it was to the bottom, another couple came up there and the husband had jumped off before. He went off and then, I went after him. It was sooooooo much fun and amazing to have that freefalling feeling and then plunging straight into the blue water down below. I loved it. The second time I did it, I had been laying on the rocks on the island so I was dry and that felt so refreshing it was great!

We went up to another little town to watch the sunset that night on the horizon and it is just a beautiful sight to see. The town we were in there, was definately touristy but nice. The scooters were great because we could just zip from town to town. It was also nice because it felt so good to ride into the wind with no one else on the road and your hair streaming out behind you.

The next day, the 3 of us girls headed on to the island of Naxos, while the guy we were with headed back to the mainland. Our ferry was delayed 4 hours due to weather so by the time we boarded it was crowded. We met this great Greek woman from Naxos on board who was embroidering the whole time a beautiful and intricate pattern. As we arrived in Naxos, she got really chatty with us (in Greek) and between hand gestures and stuff, we communicated.

We got picked up at the port by the place we were staying at along with another couple in their 20's. The hostel is run by a family so we went with the dad who is in his 70's. We got there and he had us come in and put our stuff in the main room while he showed the other couple their room. Then he motioned for us to follow him up to our room. He tells us "You put your stuff down. Then you come down and we drink. I looked at the people I was with and we were not too sure about that. He was so sweet though and gave us some fresh olives, fresh tomatoes, fresh cheese, and some red wine. All of which was homemade from his own garden. It was amazing.

The next day, all 5 of us who arrived together rented a car because they were so cheap to see the whole island. We headed off and explored all of the little towns scattered throughout. Some of them, you really felt as though you were stepping back 400 years. They are so quiet and life just goes on as it normally does. I bought a small painting and had to bust out a few pages I had torn out of a book on how to communicate with people because this person did not speak one word of English, and the only thing I know in Greek is thank you. We did just fine though. The best part is that many of these small towns have men just cruising around on donkeys in the street and I loved it!

The drive was very pretty and we saw the amazing island. It felt very quiet and surreal almost. It was more of an authenic Greek than Santorini was. There were some beaches we came accross that were completely deserted and very picturesce. We kinda felt like we were in a Greek movie cause we were the only car on the road and we could not pick up any English radio stations so we were listening to our Greek music the whole time. That was fun. Then, in the middle of the road, goats and pigs will just cruise accross it that are wild so you just have to stop and wait. It is great!

The food here had been amazing and so far has been my favorite. We have had mosaka, which is kinda like lasagnia without noodles, gyros, stuffed tomatoes, stuffed peppers, eggplant dip, stuffed grape leaves, greek salad, baklava, fennel and cheese dishes, aubergiene dishes, there has been so many good ones, words cannot even begin to describe them.

Today, we explored the older part of the town we are staying in. There are these winding alleyways with houses that are hundreds of years old that families still live in. It is a sight to see. There is something about this island that is so peaceful and nice.

Today, I am off to begin working my waz towards Croatia. I have to take 3 ferries and spend the next 3 nights on ferries so that will be fun! Stay posted for more to come...