I'm over this sick thing

Wednesday- March 28

The past two days I've had a pretty bad cold and cough, so I've just been laying low. Monday I laid on my couch all day, watched One Tree Hill and went to bed early.

Tuesday I did some school work and tried to get some things accomplished and then relaxed for the rest of the day.

Since my family comes tomorrow, I wanted to be over being sick by the time they got here, so I figured by resting that would help.

Thankfully it is! My cough is nearly gone and I barely have a runny nose anymore. I'm hoping it's all gone by tomorrow because in 24 hours from right now (2:10) I will be at the airport picking up my family! I am SOOOO excited! :)

Travels

Saturday March 24 and Sunday March 25

During these two days I didn't do much beside travel. I wasn't looking forward to my way home since I booked it because I knew I was going to be in the Athens airport for nine hours.

Poppy's husband drove us to the airport and we got there at 7:30. Our flight was boarding at 7:55. We thought we were going to be late, but her husband told us we would be fine. I figured since he drove people to and from the airport a lot, he would know a lot about it. 

Since the airport was so tiny, only one plane flew out of it at a time, so the only people in the airport were the people on our flight. No wonder her husband said we had nothing to worry about.

We got into the Athens airport around 9:00 and it was nine more hours for Kate and I until we were on our way to Rome. The other girls stayed with us until 1:30 when they left to go through security for their flight. 

The more the day wore on, the more I felt like crap. Lydia looked like hell in the morning and said she wasn't feeling well either. 

I could feel sickness overwhelming, so the last two to three hours dragged. 

Our flight was delayed a little, which was a pain, but we eventually made it to Rome. We took an hour bus ride into the city, which was quite bumpy because our driver was the worst Italian driver I had ever seen. There was a lot of honking coming from him.

We made it to our hostel and I just wanted to be at home in Florence. Only 10 hours left and I would be on my train home. 

The hostel was exactly what we paid for: cheap. I didn't get a top sheet cover and I only was given a ratty, old comforter, which made me gag because I knew they don't wash these things. I had no choice, so I attempted to sleep. Kate and I shared a room with two men, one who seemed to be a lot older than us, which also creeped me out. Every time I heard a creak in the floor, I woke up. 

It was also daylight savings time tonight, so we lost an hour, which was fantastic for this situation. I kept waking up and looking at my watch praying it was 7:30 and time to go.

Our train left at 8:25, so Kate and I left our hostel around 7:45. After I left the building I realized my book bag still had my locks on it, since I lock all my stuff up at hostels, and my key was still sitting under my pillow. I knew there was no way I could get it back, so I just prayed my spare key was at home. It was either at home or in my purse, which was locked in my book bag. 

Thankfully, when I got home I found the key. If I didn't I was going to have to either break the lock or wait until Thursday for my mom to get here and have her bring my other spare keys. 

I was really glad I didn't have to deal with that though because everything was locked in my book bag. My lap top, money, purse, Kindle, ipod, etc. So imagine how relieved I was when I found my key.

Lydia and Jess had gotten home last night because their flight flew from Athens to Zurich, Switzerland to Florence.

When I stepped into my apartment I was thrilled to be home and it smelled like the first day I walked into the apartment January 9, which made me smile.

I thought I would crash in my bed when I was home at 10:30, but for some reason I was wide awake, so for the rest of the day I did laundry, cleaned and blogged. It was a nice day to rest up before classes started. 

last day! :(

Friday- March 23

An alarm went off way too early for my liking. Why, you may ask. Because it went off before the sun was up. Bethany and Lydia wanted to see the sunrise from our balcony, and I wish I was a morning person to be able to do that. However, it looked just as pretty through the window from sitting in my bed. I rolled back over and drifted back into my sleep. 

Probably about an hour or so later I heard the girls rustling through their things, showering and getting ready. It didn't seem like it was time for me to wake up, so I went back to sleep. 

About and hour later I was shaken by Bethany to wake up. It was about 9:00, and it was finally time for me to wake up. I learned Lydia and Amy had met Erika and Kelsey to ride the quads to the red sand beach since we couldn't find it the other day. I forgot Lydia said she was going to ask me, but then decided not to because she knew my answer would be no. Glad she knows me. 

Fun fact: I have officially scared my friends from waking me up in the morning or talking to me. It makes me laugh. I told them I'm not a pleasant person in the mornings and to not take what may come out of my mouth for real. I'm not a morning person, and I really don't like being woken up, unless it's by an alarm and I have time to relax. I also don't like talking right away — just how I've always been.

Well throughout the whole week Bethany would tap me a little and then say "it's time to wake up" and not talk to me. She told me later that she would wait for me to sit up and then know it was semi-okay to say something. When I would smile and say good morning, she would realize I was awake.  I've never had people afraid of me, with me being a 5 ft 5 in. blonde girl, so I enjoyed it. 

After I smiled at Bethany, she said good morning and I got ready for the day. I wanted to get coffee from Poppy, the villa owner, because Bethany and Lydia had it most of the week and said it was good. So while I finished getting ready, Bethany went to go order her coffee and my coffee frappe. 

After I had everything packed for the day's adventures, I went outside to sit with Bethany and wait for our coffee. It was a gorgeous, sunny day, with little to no clouds. It was my last day in Greece, and I really didn't want to leave.

Kate and Jess came outside with their helmets and asked us if we were almost ready to go. It was 10 and we were supposed to meet Lydia and Amy at the quad rental place to return our quads. We still hadn't seen Poppy come out with our coffees, so we told them to go ahead of us, and we would meet up with them as soon as we finished our coffees. 

We were starting to get nervous about time, but soon enough Poppy emerged from the kitchen inside and brought us our coffees. Mine was quite refreshing, but I knew it wouldn't end too well since I had to chug it based on lack of time. 

After we finished our coffees, Bethany and I packed up our quad. Of course since we were rushed on time, the storage case wouldn't lock. After a few minutes of messing around with it, we got it. As we were driving on the main road Bethany slowed down to let someone turn into a parking lot. Then our motor shut off. In the middle of the road with traffic moving along. I nearly crapped my pants. "Bethany...why is our quad off?"

"I don't know."

After Bethany kicked-started it a little, it roared to life and we hurried along to meet our friends. Then Bethany passed the turn. A lot of roads are one-way roads, so we had to turn around to go back to it. This day was starting off quite well, and I just kept laughing to myself. 

We drove up through Fira and down the road to the quad rental. We passed Kate and Jess walking up and Lydia stood up from an outside cafe where she was sitting with Erika, Yelena and Kelsey. 

Bethany and I returned the quad and helmets and walked back up the street. Lydia said Kate and Jess already started walking down to the port. We were supposed to be there at 10:45, and it was 10:30. Lydia said it would take 30 minutes to get down to the port, so we started power walking. 

The stairs were steep and winding. As I was trucking my way down the stairs I was avoiding donkey crap and trying to hustle. Then a cramp came on. "And there's the coffee," I thought to myself, but I couldn't waste a second. Lydia and Amy had fallen behind Bethany and I, and Bethany and I eventually caught up to Jess and Kate as we were essentially booking it down these stairs. "Thank goodness I wore shorts and a light shirt," I thought. 

At first when we made it down to the port we thought we were at the wrong one, but an older man told us we were at the right place. There were a few boats situated at docks, and we spotted a boat starting to load people.

I got really excited because the boat was so cool looking and I couldn't believe I was going to ride on it.

Lydia and Amy caught up to us just in time for us to board. We handed a man our tickets and he helped us on. There were probably about 15-20 people on the boat total ready to go climb the volcano on the island the ferry was taking us to and then jump into the hot springs.

I couldn't believe how clear blue the water was either.

As the boat led us to the mini island, I looked back at the hill I just climbed down. I couldn't believe that was what I just ran down. It was massive!

Santorini today is what remains after the volcano erupted many, many years ago in B.C. It caused the lands to crumble and, therefore, the volcano sits on it's own on a tiny island in the middle of Santorini.

Here's a view of the map of the island

The volcano sits on Nea Kameni Island and the hot springs are off of the Palia Kameni Island coast. The past two days I drove my quad to both ends of the island. 

As the boat pulled in to the dock of Nea Kameni, my friends said, "Caitlin, is this the type of water you wanted to see?" I jumped in excitement. It was teal-blue water to the max, and I could see it changing from the darker shade of the Aegean Sea.

After we docked the captain told us we had until 12:40 to explore and then we had to be back on the boat. That gave us an hour and 20 minutes. More than enough time!

As soon as we stepped on land, Kate was off like a speed demon. We called her our little adventurer because she was always the first one off to explore. 

Bethany and I followed, and Jess, Lydia and Amy fell behind. 

As I hiked up the steep, dirt hills I saw volcanic rock all around me.

I was good at hiking until I started losing my breath. Not exercising will do that to a person. I kept pushing through my huffing and puffing and every time I got to flat land I was thrilled to rest my legs. Kate kept leading up farther up because we all wanted to see this volcano, which last erupted in 1950.

There were a few steep ditches that we thought would be the volcano, but we eventually found a massive one that had steam coming out of rocks everywhere.

We were 99.9% sure this was it, and I couldn't wrap my head around it that I was climbing a volcano. It wasn't on my bucket list, but it was something cool to be added to it!

Lydia, Amy and Jess kept catching up to us and then falling behind again during the hour and 20 minutes. When I reached the highest point on the island I could see everything.

I also saw where I thought the hot springs were, and I was excited to head over there to swim.

We descended back down the paths, thought we got lost for a bit, but eventually made it back to the boat 10 minutes early. Jess, Lydia and Amy cut it close and had us worrying, but they made it. 

As the boat made its way to the hot springs I was starting to get nervous and excited. I didn't really know what to think, actually. Here's the thing. We weren't jumping right into the warm water. The hot springs were too shallow for the ship to dock up close to it. SO it would dock about 20 meters away from it and we were going to have to jump in to the water and swim to it. Well...in March, the water is pretty darn cold. When I had my feet in the water on the black sand beach, my feet eventually went numb. I mean, it was bearable with just my feet, but I didn't know what to expect my body to do.

Kate was starting to tweak our and get nervous. All of us but Amy were doing it because Amy forgot her swim suit. We were pretty sure we were also one of the only ones on the tour doing it. A couple in their 60s said they were going to do it, so I thought to myself, "If they can do it, I can surely do it!" 

Once the older woman learned that the boast wasn't docking right in the hot springs though, she started doubting whether she was going to go through with it. 

When we docked 20 meters away we started stripping down to our bathing suits. It was starting to get a little cloudy, so it wasn't exactly warm sitting in my bikini. As we were all getting ready, we were all tweaking out saying, "are we really going to do this?!"

Then we heard a splash. And then another. A couple a little older than us jumped in. It was time. Lydia started walking from the front of the boat to where we were supposed to jump. Kate followed, then me Bethany and Jess. 

Lydia seriously didn't even think. She didn't even stop while walking to the edge. She just walked and then jumped in. "Crap, I can't even think about this. I just have to do it," I thought. 

Then Kate jumped in without even a blink. I couldn't just stand there and contemplate when I was going to jump in. My heart was racing and I couldn't believe what I was about to do. It wasn't like I could even dip my toes in to feel how cold it was going to be. 

In those very few seconds those thoughts had time to wrap around my head I did just what Lydia and Kate did. I just jumped right in without even thinking about it.

As soon as my body went into the freezing Aegean Sea, my body froze and I tried pushing to the top for air. The water was ice cold and my body went into minor shock. When I got to the top for air I couldn't even breathe in because I was such in shock. After a few seconds of terror I breathed and started swimming as fast as I could to the hot springs.

Lydia and Kate were in front of me and Bethany and Jess were behind me. Somehow Kate seemed like she was miles away from me. She was like a speed demon. 

The only bikini I packed was my strapless one. Problem. When you swim the top falls down. If I doggy paddle it does not, but if I wanted to make it to the hot springs fast, I had to actually swim. I swam with it falling down and figured I would fix it later. I forgot a very important detail. The water here was clear. Well, as I swam past the front of the ship, everyone got a good view of me. 

As I was swimming I felt like I was swimming through schools of minnows. I don't know what I was swimming through but I felt tiny things hitting my hands constantly, which made me swim even faster. 

Bethany and Jess caught up to me and we caught up to Kate and Lydia. As we were swimming I could slowly start feeling the water getting warmer. I started doggy paddling and fixed my top. Kate stood in front of my and I realized I was doggy paddling in two feet of water. I tried standing up and then fell right back down. The rocks on the bottom were incredibly "slippy" because of the algae on it. It was all slimy and disgusting so I kept swimming, despite the fact I could walk.

If you should know one thing about me, I hate feeling odd things, especially if I can't see it and I hate when things stick to me. My mom laughed when I told her about the algae because she knows how I am. I also hate it when sand sticks to me when I get out of the ocean. It's a pain. 

The farther we swam into the spring, the warmer it got, but it was only in certain spots. If you swam away from those spots, it would get a little colder, but not as cold as the 20 meter swim in. You also couldn't see the bottom because it was all muddy, which made the water foggy.

When we were all the way in I went to try to stand and put my feet down. When I did I sunk a bit into this squishy algae. There were no rocks, just this squishiness. It was like quicksand of something, without the fact of it sucking you up and killing you. I immediately squealed and went back to floating in the water. 

My friends asked what happened, and I told them what the bottom felt like and immediately we were all doggy paddling around and floating. 

I soon found a spot that was warm and floated in it with the sun peaking through the clouds onto me. It was wonderfully relaxing. 

The couple in their 60s ended up jumping in and were swimming toward us. I was very impressed and thought to myself, "Wow, I hope I can do that when I'm their age."

Everyone but Bethany and I decided to head back to the boat. The two of us just kept floating until we were interrupted by the boat honking, telling us we had to get back. We only had a total of 30 minutes at the hot spring, which included the swim to it and back, so I was in the hot springs for maybe 10 minutes. The older couple had just gotten to it when we all had to turn back. 

This was the hard part. At least I didn't know what the temperature was like before I jumped in, but now I had to go from warm water to ice cold. Bethany was in front of me and when I saw her stand I knew we were back at the rocks where I had slipped and fallen. She started swimming out into the cold sea.

I slowly could feel the warm water slipping away from me as I began treading water. Without any warning the rocks dropped and I had to swim. The water was back to being ice cold, but it wasn't as bad as what I thought it was going to be. I think it was because I knew what to expect this time. As I swam back to the boat I could feel those tiny things again, but the more I swam the colder it got.

When my hands or feet fall asleep and I have to "wake" them back up, it feels like needles are poking me. That's what it felt like all over my body. It wasn't painful, but it felt really weird having a needle-like feeling poking me everywhere. 

We reached the boat and Bethany climbed up the ladder first. She was trying to fix herself before hopping up on deck, which left me treading water. "Bethany, I'd like to get out too!"

She hopped up, and then I pulled myself up and darted to Amy for my towel. She had to pull it out of my book bag, which of course was at the very bottom. Finally when I wrapped it around myself, I felt warmer.

I asked Kate how they heck she swam so fast to the hot spring and she said it was shear terror that made her swim so fast, and I just laughed.

The ride back to the port was a bit chilly, but at least my hair was drying.

When we docked a man came up to me asking me if I wanted something. At first I couldn't understand him, and then I realized he was asking if I wanted a donkey ride up the hill. I had no interest and I knew the girls had done it yesterday down the hill, so I said no thank you. He was a little pushy, but eventually left us alone. 

We decided to take a cable car back up the hill, but had to wait 25 minutes until the next one at 2:30, which was fine. The time flew by anyways, and before we knew it we were back up in Fira. 

For the next two hours we walked around Fira and did some souvenir shopping. It was nice to just walk around and enjoy our last afternoon in Santorini.

The downer to not having our quads anymore was that we now had to walk 20 minutes to get home. So when it started getting close to dusk, we started heading home. By this time we were exhausted from our long day and I was starting to feel a sore throat coming along. I knew what it was from. I always get colds when the temperature changes in seasons and since I jumped into the ice cold water and went in a hot spring and then back into the cold, I knew it was only a matter of time before I caught something.

Our last night in Santorini I packed and we all hung out. Lydia was extremely slap happy, and one would probably have mistaken her for being drunk. It was entertaining to say the least and before I knew it she was passed out in her bed. 

I went to sleep a little earlier because I knew I had an early morning and a long day ahead of me. 

The beautiful Oia

Thursday- March 22

I heard everyone in my room getting ready for the day, but I couldn't bring myself to open my eyes and start my day as well. I rolled back over and fell back asleep. When I woke up it really wasn't that much later. I figured it was about 8 because I knew the girls wanted to get up and go find information about riding a donkey. I, however, had no interest in riding an ass, so I made plans with Kelsey, Erika and Yelena to go to the black sand beach. We planned for them to come to the hostel at 9:30 after they rented their quads. 

When I pried my eyes open I looked at my Kindle to check the time. "Crap, it's 9:20."

I got out of bed and got everything ready. The girls ended up not coming until 9:50, so I didn't need to rush after all. When they arrived they came in and ate their breakfast they had bought on their way. 

Kate was originally going to come with us to the beach and we were going to take on of our quads, along with Erika's and Kelsey's with Yelena on hers, but Kate changed her mind in the morning that we wanted to ride the donkey after all. So I was going to go on Erika's quad, but Erika said the renter said she could only have one person on it because he just fixed a part in the back. 

So after trying to figure out what to do, I took squirt with Erika and Lydia took Erika's quad to the donkeys. Erika, Yelena, Kelsey and I drove back to their hostel because Kelsey wanted to get her bathing suit and Yelena needed food. On the way we stopped at the gas station to fill up squirt because I wasn't sure how much gas I had used yesterday. It ended up only costing €8 to fill it all the way up, which was fantastic. 

After the side trip to their hostel we made our way to the black sand beach. I was driving and leading the way since I had been there before — however, when I had been there I was either on a bus not paying attention of sitting on a quad not paying attention. Regardless, I was leading and knew the general direction, but not the specifics. 

I got us down the main roads, but once we hit the smaller roads and turns, I vaguely remembered my way around. We got lost a bit, but I knew we were in the right direction because I could see how close the ocean was to me. I stopped and asked an elderly couple where the black beach was and they pointed since they didn't speak English. 

After a couple turns here and there I finally recognized where I was and soon enough we pulled up to the beach. 

It was about 11:30 when we got there and we made plans to meet the rest of the group at 2 after they took their donkey rides. So I had about 2 hours with the beach, and that made me more than excited. 

When I go on vacation to a beach, I don't like to plan. I just like to go to the beach 9-6 and then do things after, but unfortunately that's not the kind of vacation I had this week, which was fine, but it was different. The whole week I really missed my mama because she's my beach buddy. Her and my version of vacation are the same, and I can always look forward to relaxing. But at least I had my two hours to lay out today. 

While I was laying out, Erika, Kelsey and I were talking about how we cannot get over how fast time is flying by. It feels like we just got here, but at the same time it feels like January 9 was so incredibly long ago. Kelsey said she feels like her life has peaked because she doesn't know what she has to look forward to now. 

I feel the same in some sense. I still have a lot to look forward to with my life, but I've been saving up for this trip and looking forward to it for four years. Once May 4 comes, I don't know what I'm going to do. I also don't know what I'm going to do May 5 when I wake up in my own bed. About three times I've had the same dream where I wake up in my bed at home and I think to myself, "Wow, I'm already home? That trip flew by!" When I actually wake up I think to myself, "Oh thank goodness, it was just a dream." What am I going to do when I actually wake up in my bed in a little over a month? I can't say "phew, it was just a dream!

Erika and Yelena decided to go riding on their quads while Kelsey and I laid out on the beach for another hour. 

I didn't realize it was time to leave until I opened my eyes and saw Kelsey gathering her things. She let me know that Yelena and Erika were back. I was completely out and in a deep sleep, so I was so confused when I woke up and we were leaving. 

We drove for about 15 minutes to meet the others at a parking lot. On our way a vespa went in the opposing lane and passed Erika and I. Erika leaned over and said "You know you're going slow when a vespa passes you." Poor squirt. He was like the little engine that could when we went up even the slightest of hills. 

When we turned into the parking lot we parked at last night, I saw a ton of busses lined up and a man started telling us that we couldn't park in here, but he was saying it in Greek. I said "OK," but he kept yelling at us. When I had to say okay a third time I may or may not have yelled it because I was very annoyed with the Greek man yelling at me after I said okay and had to keep repeating myself before we peeled out. 

We drove into the town of Fira right up the street and parked where we saw a few quads and vespas parked at. We had 15 minutes until we were supposed to meet the others so Erika and Kelsey got gyros and then we sat outside of the shop where I had bought my hat the previous night, while Yelena looked around in it. 

Around 2 we walked back down to the parking lot so that the girls would see. Not having cell phones isn't too much of an issue until moments like these. At home i'd at least be able to call them and tell them we weren't allowed to park there and to meet us up in the town. It's like the good old days before cell phones existed. 

While we waited on the opposite side of the street, busses started filing out of the parking lot. These big coach buses started taking over this entire street and then I realized why we weren't allowed to park there. We would have been run over. 

Every time I heard a motor come up the street my head darted in the direction hoping it was the girls. I knew if we missed each other even by a minute, there would be no way of finding each other. The big problem too was I forgot my camera and money at my hostel and Lydia had the key. So if I couldn't meet up with them, then I would have no money for the day and I wouldn't have my camera for the sunset in Oia at night — the place I've been dreaming of traveling to.

Finally about 10 minutes after 2, three quads came around the corner, and thankfully it was them. I told Lydia I needed to run home because I forgot a few essential things. She gave me Erika's quad since it only allowed one person on it and since I was the only person going home. My helmet was back with my quad at the top of the city, so Lydia gave me hers — which was too big for my head.

Jess and Kate had to fill up their quads with gas and so did Bethany and Amy, so I followed them on the way and then went back to the hostel. I ran inside, changed out of my bathing suit, got my camera and money and tried to make it back fast enough not to hold everyone up. Of course it was one of those moments when I kept setting something down and forgetting where I placed it only five second later. I eventually made it back to the house and met up with the four girls at the gas station. We then rode back up to Fira and met up with the other four girls. 

Lydia said we had to buy our ferry tickets for our adventures tomorrow, so I gave her my €20 for the ticket for her to get it and then I went over with Yelena and Bethany to get food. I ordered a chicken gyro and it was even better than the one I had in Athens. This one had french fries on it with delicious spices and the cucumber sauce was out of this world...all for €2! 

I ended up having to try to finish my gyro really quickly because Lydia had already bought all six of our tickets and everyone was ready to take the drive to Oia. I hopped on the blue quad and everyone else shared their quads. We all peered out of the parking lot and headed toward Oia. I really felt like we looked like a gang because you could hear us from far away rolling up into town and then all you would see are five quads crusin' on through. 

We drove through a ton of winding roads and traveled up mountains. It was like the winding roads we traveled on yesterday, but this was on the opposite side of the island and there was a lot of nature it seemed over on this side.

Lydia saw a great opportunity for a lookout picture point, so we all pulled over to the lookout view.

Someone had a genius idea and said since we looked like a gang we should take pictures with us on our quads or in front of them with everyone in it. It was hilarious trying to move all the quads into place and get everyone situated. Jess got her camera and situated it on a rock to fit us all in the frame.

It had a 10 second timer and every time she would hit the button she would race over to her quad to get in the photo. We did this about 5 or 7 times, and it was hilarious when cars or vespas would drive pass and honk their horns.

After we took our pictures we hopped back on or quads and peeled out on to the main road. It took about another 10 minutes to make it to the town of Oia, where they filmed The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants.

This was the part of Greece I have always dreamed of seeing. I always thought the white buildings and blue tops with the bright blue ocean in the background was beautiful. For the longest time I had a picture from the internet of it on the background of my computer, so when we passed an opening where I could see the white houses on the hill, I mentally freaked out and couldn't believe I was actually seeing it.

We parked our quads and walked back to the opening. I stood at the top looking down and just stared in amazement. It felt like I was standing in one of the pictures I always looked at for so many years, and it was unreal that I was actually there. It was my number one spot on my bucket list, and I finally got to see it.

While we were standing there taking our pictures, a cat appeared and Yelena got really excited. Everyone was petting it and giving it all the attention in the world. I thought it was funny because it's always the smallest things in life. We're standing at the gorgeous place and a cat, something we have at home, is milking up the attention.

After about 15 or so minutes we walked back to our quads and decided to drive farther into the town. After parking again we began roaming the streets. I could see many blue tops to houses and different shaded blue doors around the town.

The walkways were narrow, but because it was offseason, it wasn't congested. 

We ventured down to a lookout point where we were recommended to watch the sunset.

It overlooked a hill of white houses and the famous windmill in pictures. 

While we were sitting there a dog came barreling down the stairs and then a few minutes later another one appeared. Kate fell in love with the one and called it Maximus.

Soon three girls appeared and we asked if the dogs were theirs, but they said they had followed them down to the lookout point.

We ended up talking to them for a little bit. Small world again because one of the girls was from Pittsburgh too and was studying in Florence. I love when I meet people from home.

We had about an hour and half until the sun would set, so we roamed around a little more and went closer to the windmill, where we sat and enjoyed the view for a while.

While we were walking around, all of a sudden a ton of people came around the corner. I turned to Kelsey and Yelena and said, "Is this Bus2Alps?" And they both said yes.

There were so many of them, and they were so obnoxious. One of the first things I heard was them saying, "Where's the vodka?" I looked at my friends and said "I'm glad we booked our trip on our own. I would have been annoyed the entire trip."

I understand drinking can be fun, but you don't need to do it every waking minute. You're at a gorgeous place and you want to drink? Like, what is wrong with you?

After my annoyance, we pushed through the crowd and made our way back to the sunset view because we knew everyone from Bus2Alps would be there, and we wanted a prime spot. On the way Lydia popped into a restaurant and asked if we could make a reservation for nine people because we weren't sure if it would get busy after the sunset.

When we made it back to the lookout point, it was congested with a ton of people. We found a place to sit at least and got situated to watch the sunset.

While I was sitting an older man was walking up the stairs and looked at me and said, "Goodness girl, you have major goosebumps! Aren't you cold? I would offer you my jacket, but I need it too!" I laughed and thought to myself shorts were a bad idea. Even though it was warm out during the day, once that sun set, I knew I'd be chilly. I definitely wasn't looking forward to the ride back on the quad.

Bethany and Yelena were sitting down farther than me, so I decided to join them and get a better view for the sunset. Poor Yelena though.

She's deathly afraid of heights, so she wouldn't sit on the edge with us. She did for a picture and a few minutes later she just randomly jumped up and said she couldn't sit there anymore because it freaked her out too much.

The sunset was gorgeous against the blue waters and the way it set on the white houses was stunning.

 I looked down the hill and saw a mother with her two little sons sitting on their balcony on chairs watching the sunset. It was so cute, and I said to Bethany, one day that will be Kory and I watching it.

After it began to get darker out, we walked back to the restaurant where we made reservations. We walked in and were going to sit inside, but then the old, Greek man who Lydia spoke with led us to the outside terrace, which had a gorgeous view.

Luckily, it had plastic tarps to keep it warmer out there. He was so sweet though because he already had a table set up for us with candles. After we sat down Maximus must have followed us and sat under the table. The owner didn't seem to mind at all, and he sat with us for the entire meal.

The Greek man ran us through the menu and I made my decision on eggs with fetta. He said it was a Greek special, so I figured I would try it. A lot of us were going to get it, but when we tried ordering it, he said it was for breakfast only. We were really confused because he pointed it out to us. I ended up getting tomato pesto spaghetti. I didn't have much time to order so I just picked the first thing I saw.

He was out of a lot of food, so a lot of us had difficulties ordering what we wanted. The man must have been the owner of the place with his wife, but his wife spoke no English. He was helping translate the entire time and he was the waiter and the cook. We felt so bad because he was running around everywhere and we could tell he was stressed. More people kept coming in, and you could see him mentally freaking out.

During dinner I also tried Vinsanto, which is a Greek wine Santorini is known for. It was good, but extremely sweet. I could only drink it a little at a time.

After dinner the man gave us freshly baked brownies, which were delicious. It was such a tease because the pieces were small and it made us want more!

After dinner we headed back to our quads. Maximus followed us all out, but Bethany, Kate, Jess and I somehow got separated from the rest of the group. None of us were too sure on how to get to where our quads were, but after about 15 minutes of being lost, we found our way back. Kelsey and Yelena were sitting on their quad and said Lydia, Amy and Erika went to go look for us. While we were waiting for them to come back I saw Maximus was still hanging out with us. He was so cute. When Bethany walked up a hill to see if the girls were coming back a dog at someone's house ran out and barked at her. Maximus immediately ran up to, what we think was, to protect her.

He trotted back toward us with Bethany, and every time that dog would bark, he would run at it barking. Every time a vespa would drive past us too, he would chase it. It was entertaining to watch.

The other girls finally came back and we all started our quads. Maximus started barking at the loud noise. I felt really bad for having to leave him, but I knew there was no way we could take him back with us. We all started driving and I didn't see Maximus in sight. I figured he left and went around in search for new friends.

About a few minutes into the drive I saw him running in front of Lydia's quad. She was two quads in front of me and I had two quads behind me. It was so cute to see him running with us. I figured he would run with us for a minute or two and then get tired. We were nearing the outskirts of the town when I thought he would stop, but he kept sprinting.

We were now on the dark, winding road outside of the town and he was still running. I couldn't believe it. He was a smart dog too because every time he got tired he would dart in front of Lydia and slow her down so he could jog slower. She kept honking at him, but he kept running.

It was probably one of the saddest things I have ever seen. He kept running as fast as he could to stay up with us. For a while I thought he was going to follow us the entire way home. Every time a car would come around corners Lydia would honk and flash her lights so they knew there was a dog. I prayed every time a car breezed by because I didn't want him to get hit.

I was seriously on the verge of tears because the poor think seriously wanted to go with us the whole way home. About 10 or 15 minutes later he finally got tired and I could see him slowing down. Lydia passed him, then Bethany and then I was nearing him. I yelled, "Come on puppy! Come on Maximus! You can do it!"

I ended up having to pass him and not look because it was too sad. Kelsey and Yelena passed him and then when I looked back Kate and Jess were no where to be seen.

When we got back home Kate and Jess said they slowed down with him to keep him going. They said he was panting so hard, but he kept going alongside them. They said he finally was too tired to move on and they stopped. They said it was the absolute saddest thing they had ever seen. He looked up at them with his sad puppy eyes and they could see he couldn't go on anymore.

If I was able to live there I would have kept him. We figured he had an owner somewhere on the island though because he had a collar on him. Dogs here seem to do whatever they wish, so we were hoping he could find his way home. 

Four wheelin' it around the island

Wednesday- March 21

This morning I woke up a bit earlier than yesterday to the girls getting ready for the day. A few of them went to go get coffee from Poppy (the owner of the place) and to ask her about how to rent vespas and quads. While they were gone I got ready for the day and had my corn flakes in a cup again. 

Poppy told the girls she would call the place who rents out quads and vespas and have them come pick us up. We all waited outside by the pool for someone to come. A small car pulled up and we all said there was no way all six of us would fit in it. The driver asked who the drivers were going to be and who all had licenses. Amy and I were going to share a vespa and the other four girls were going to get two quads to share. It was a bit confusing because he said he didn't care if we were going to switch off and on with the driving, but he needed three licenses and he would take those three people first. 

So Kate, Lydia and Bethany hopped in the back seat and he drove off with them. Amy, Jess and I waited by the pool a bit confused with what was going on. We weren't sure if he was coming back to pick us up or if they were just going to drive the two quads and vespas back, but about 10 minutes later the tiny car once again pulled up and he told us to get in. On the way to the rental store he asked if we could wait a minute while he ran into a store. After he left I laughed because I thought to myself, wow, Greeks really do do things on their own time. They are very relaxed about everything and get to things when they want to get to them.

After a five or so minute drive we pulled into the store. The three girls were in the shop trying on helmets when we walked in. The driver of the small car led us into his office. We had to wait for a couple to return their quads and then we got down to business. I was bummed to learn that I wasn't going to be able to drive a vespa because I needed a scooter license, which I guess is the same as having a motorcycle license in the states. So we rented three quads to share between the six of us, which was only €30 for two days and split two ways.

After we paid we went back out into the garage and another man took a quick look at Amy, Jess and I and automatically knew which size helmet we needed. It made me laugh because he could tell the size of my head in one, quick glance. 

The man then led us outside to where three quads were lined up. He put Bethany on a blue quad, Lydia on a yellow one and Kate on the red one. The three of them had practiced driving the quads for a little bit while Jess, Amy and I were waiting to be picked up earlier, so they knew more about the quads than we did. 

I hopped on Lydia's, Amy on Bethany's and Jess on Kate's. They all started the quads and before I knew it we were off onto the main road. I kept squealing with excitement because I had never been on one before and I couldn't believe we were doing this. 

The worker at the rental shop had told us we were going to have to fill up our quads with gas as soon as we hit the road, so we stopped at a gas station. We all pulled up to a tank and people came out to fill it up for us. It was like the olden days when they did that in the states. It only came to €13 to fill our tank up to full, so splitting that by two made that cheap.

We drove along the island to the black sand beach where we were yesterday. Kate led us with Lydia and I behind her and Bethany behind us. We all said we felt like a gang riding along the main roads on these quads. Since the quads could only go so fast, a lot of the time cars and trucks would go in the opposing lanes to pass us. Cars were pretty understanding and when they could they would just pass us. 

When we finally found the beach, we parked and walked around for a little bit. 

We stopped in a grocery store for Lydia to ask the cashier if a store we were looking for was open. She didn't have much luck inside, so we pulled out the map to try and figure out where we were at in relation to the entire island and how to get to a restaurant in another city we had heard was really good. 

While we were walking back to our quads, Lydia asked if I wanted to drive. I said I would wait a little bit because quite honestly I was tid bit nervous to drive on the main roads with cars, especially because I had never worked a quad before. 

Kate led the pack out of the tiny town we were in and we went in search for this one road that would lead us to the town we wanted to go to next. We had to turn around in a parking lot because Kate had missed the turn, but once we found the road we started climbing up this windy, massive hill. Lydia and my quad seemed to be going slow while going uphill and was making noises like it was really trying. Lydia said, "We need to name it!" I said, "How about squirt?" It just came to me really fast and it fit our quad, so we started yelling, "Come on squirt, you can do it! Come on squirt, you got this!"

I really enjoyed sitting on the back of the quad while Lydia drove because the view on the windy road was breathtakingly beautiful. Everything was so green and I could see Greek-looking buildings scattered everywhere or clustered together. The best bar was you could see the calm, teal/blue water that looked like it went on for eternity. 

When we finally reached the city at the top of the hill we parked out quads. Since it wasn't tourist season, the town seem absolutely dead. It seemed like nothing was opened and I only saw a few people here and there. Kate had to go to the bathroom, so along our walk she found a "water closet" —that's what restrooms are called here — and as soon as she walked in she came out and said she would wait to find something else. We started laughing because the WC was shady on the outside, so one could only assume it was the same on the inside. 

We found a mini convenient store that I dropping into to ask if this restaurant we were looking for was open. The older woman at the cashier couldn't speak a lot of English, but luckily a man in there did and between him and the woman, they were able to tell us it wasn't opened today, but it would be tomorrow. We were bummed, but figured it might have been a possibility it would be closed because a lot of things were.

We walked across the street to Johnee's cafe, hoping to get some lunch inside, but while I waited outside, a worker on the inside told the girls they were only serving coffee. I needed a something to eat so I went back to the convenient store again and got a very big ho-ho. I thought it would be cut up into pieces, but it was like a giant cake and everyone started laughing when I was eating it because it looked like I was just eating this big cake. 

When we were in the grocery store we asked if any restaurants were opened that we could get a good lunch at. They directed us down the street to a place called Mythos. When we got to the restaurant, no one was there eating, but a guy came to the door and led us inside to sit down and eat. 

I ordered a chicken gyro, which is actually pronounced like "euro," which was hard to get used to because I always use the g to say it. I find it really interesting when I learn how words are really supposed to be pronounced. Like in Italy, bruschetta is actually pronounced like bru-sketta. I'm tempted to go home and be that schmuck who orders food and pronounces it like the actual culture and have the waitresses be like you mean this? And be like yes, but you say it like this. My friends and I laugh about that.

Bethany was told by someone she met on the plane ride here that she should try tomato doughnuts, so we ordered that for an appetizer. They were basically deep fried tomatoes. It was...different. I love tomatoes, but it wasn't the best thing I've ever had. 

-view from where we had lunch-

-chicken gyro-

-tomato doughnuts-

The waiters that were taking care of us were so helpful and the older Greek man was so cute. After finishing our food, the waiter brought out a dessert for us to have. I looked at it, looked up at Kate and started laughing. It was the same dessert Kate and I were given for free in Athens our first day there. It was the one Kate hated and the birds were attacking us for. 

Kate's faced looked disturbed and she said she wasn't going to eat it. I didn't mind it, so I tried it and it wasn't horrible. Lydia and Amy didn't mind it when they tried it either. It's really the texture that is the weirdest thing about it. 

After lunch I had to go to the bathroom, so I went where my friends directed me. I walked in one door and went to the bathroom to the left. The light wouldn't turn on and I couldn't figure it out for the life of me. I looked out into the dining room and a guy who worked there must have seen my dilemma and he came over to help. I asked him how to get the lights on and he walked over to the other bathroom and turned it on for me. I was in the men's bathroom and he probably watched me try to figure this out for the past two minutes. Just lovely, I thought. 

After lunch I decided I was ready to take on the quad. Jess and Amy also decided they were ready to drive theirs as well. Lydia showed me how to start it, where the brakes were, where the turn signals were and where the accelerator was. We were in this tiny parking lot and it was probably funny to watch because Lydia was teaching me, Bethany to Amy and Kate to Jess and we were just driving around. 

Amy and Bethany's bike was different than ours because they had to kick start it. Amy was hilarious because she kept trying to kick it and nothing was working. Then when she finally got it to start, it began moving and she sat down so fast and looked terrified. I couldn't stop laughing. 

We began descending down the hill opposite of the side we climbed up before lunch. We were now heading to the opposite side of the island. 

I was flying down the hill with the wind flying past me and hitting my face. It was absolutely thrilling and I felt on top of the world driving this quad that I couldn't stop smiling because it was so much fun. I felt pretty badass, not gonna lie. 

We were on the hunt for the red sand beach and the white sand beach. I was beyond excited to see the white beach and was intrigued that I was going to see a red beach. A sign directed us to the red beach down a dirt path. Jess turned down it, so I followed and then Amy. At this point I really felt like I was driving a quad because the gravel made the ride so bumpy and dirt was flying up everywhere. 

Along the way we passed a couple cars and I only got nervous a few times. I was following Jess and I soon realized Bethany and Amy weren't behind us anymore. I figured they stopped to pet the donkey we had passed a bit earlier. 

The road was not wide at all and I had to be very careful where I was driving because if I made one mistake, it was off the cliff for Lydia and me. That only made it more thrilling for me. I thought we were going to keep descending down the dirt path toward the water, but Jess and Kate stopped. They were worried we weren't going to be able to make it back up the hill because it was so windy and steep. We agreed it was probably a good idea to turn around and find another way on a paved road. We heard Amy and Bethany coming so Kate ran to the bottom of the hill and yelled to the top for the to stop and not come down the hill.

I started my quad and hoped for the best that I would make it up the hill. Lydia and I turned it around to face this steep, dirt path and I just pushed in my accelerator has far as it would go in and gunned it. I knew if I slowed down even a little, it would make it more difficult. Thankfully, I made it up with no problem. Next was Kate and Jess and they made it up without a problem either. 

I asked Amy and Bethany what had happened to them and they said their quad got stuck and they had to push it for bit. Then they said when they were driving they got stuck in a crack in the road and as they were driving it was leading them to the edge. Bethany said they stopped right before the edge of the cliff. I said I would have peed my pants if that was me and she said she was about it. Thankfully, no one was 

hurt. 

We headed back to the main road and kept going the way we originally were going. On our way we stopped at a look-view and parked to take picture. 

The view was gorgeous. You could see almost the entire island and the beautiful blue water surrounding it.

Kate found a path that led closer down the the edge of the cliff, so we followed and my stomach dropped a little when I looked over the edge. I've never had a fear for heights, but I'm finding the more I see steep drops, my stomach goes. Despite the drop, it was a gorgeous view on a gorgeous day. 

When we made it to the very end of the island, we parked our quads and were getting ready to do some hiking. While we were waiting for all of us to get ready I saw a couple walking towards us. I turned to Lydia and said wouldn't that be funny if that was Melanie and Simone, the Canadian couple we had met in Athens. The closer they got to us, the more it looked like them. Then I realized it was them! They came up to us and we all started laughing and saying we couldn't believe we actually ran into each other again. Melanie said when they were walking towards us she said to Simone, "Those look like the American girls we met in Athens" and Simone said, "What American girls?" He said then he saw us and said, "Oh them!"

They said their stay in Santorini so far was good, but they were already leaving tomorrow for Romania. We talked for about 10 or so minutes and then we said our goodbyes. They hopped into their tiny smart car they rented and we started venturing up the hill. There was a car full of mid-aged people and a few older people who asked us where we were from because we were speaking English. We told them and then they said they were from Vancouver. They were extremely nice and I still find it really fascinating to meet people from all over. They told us a good place where we were to climb for a great view. We decided to do that after we first climbed the way we were already going. 

When we got to the top we climbed some rocks and followed a dirt path, which led us to the top of a cliff. I could see everything and beyond. The water looked like it went on forever and I could see a house that was situated on a big, black rock. 

We took some pictures while standing up there and before I knew it Kate sounded like she was miles away yelling our names. I quickly learned she is quite the adventurer and likes to climb a lot of things. She had found her way out to this cliff that stood out farther into the water than where we currently were. She looked so minute standing on the edge of the cliff that it looked like I could fit her in the palm of my hand.

Amy and I stayed behind while the rest joined Kate. While they started walking down I heard them all calling out Kate's name because she wasn't on the rock anymore or anywhere to be seen. I didn't panic because I knew if she had really fallen I would have heard a scream or something. Regardless, it was kind of nerve racking not knowing where she went because it was a huge drop. She finally responded to her name and we learned she had found another path that led closer to the water. 

Amy and I sat up top and relaxed while they all venture. I was getting more and more tired the more we kept going, so I was fine with sitting. While sitting, Amy got extremely excited when we found a lizard crawling along the rocks. She started following it, but then had to stop because if she kept going she'd be off the cliff. It was entertaining to watch to say the least. 

Bethany climbed back up to where Amy and I were and we waited for the others to join. We started getting impatient because they were taking a while. We called their names and Lydia responded, but they didn't come up. We kept waiting and then after another 10 minutes we called their names and no one responded. We had no idea how far down they had walked and figured they couldn't hear us. Thankfully they appeared about five minutes later and they hiked back up to us. 

We started back the path we had walked on and passed the lighthouse, which was situated at the top of the hill. We went up the hill the people from Vancouver had recommended to go and boy was it a good recommendation. The view was spectacular. From this point I could truly see the entire island. I could see the volcano as well that was situated off the island. I knew what the outline of the island looked like because of seeing a map, but to see it all in person was something really cool. 

I climbed as far as I wanted to, but Kate and the others kept going. Bethany sat with me for a bit until the others came back. I just wanted to take in everything that I was seeing. It's great having pictures, but it's something completely different having mental images. There's things I remember to this day of what things looked like when I was a kid. I don't know how my brain does it, but I find it amusing. This view was something I wanted to remember for the rest of my life. I am in love with oceans and beaches and all I've ever wanted to see was blue, blue water and I was seeing it now from a crazy view. 

While I was sitting there with Bethany we saw a cruise-like ship moving toward the island. It ended up docking at a port toward the middle of the island, and I said wouldn't that be funny if that was Yelena, Erika and Kelsey's ferry?  They decided to do Greece for spring break too, but did it through Bus2Alps. We were going to do that, but Lydia found a cheaper way to do it on our own. Yelena, Erika and Kelsey stared out in Corfu then went to Athens and then were coming to Santorini today. We were planning on meeting up with them at some point and hanging out. 

After the girls were done climbing we went back to our quads. Lydia drove this time and we all decided to try to find the red sand beach again. We said if we passed a turn that we thought it was, we were to honk so the others would know to turn. We passed the same dirt road we were on earlier, but Lydia was convinced it was a different road that led to the red sand beach. We were honking at them for about five minutes but all four of them didn't hear us. Unfortunately, Squirt was a little slow to catch up with them, which made it more difficult. 

When we finally got their attention they stopped and Lydia told them she found the road. I told her it was the same dirt road we were on earlier, but she said it wasn't. I looked at Bethany and Amy and said "it is," but we turned around anyway. When we got there she realized it was the dirt road we were already on and I couldn't help but giggle. 

We turned down a paved road that led to a church where we parked. The Canadian couple had told us of a way to find the beach, and we thought this was it, but we couldn't figure out how to get on the path. We stopped and asked an elderly Greek man at his house, but he didn't speak much English. He tried pointing in the direction we needed to go because he at least understood what we were looking for. When we started driving off again we passed the man and his puppy sitting on stairs near a cliff. It was so precious and I wish I had a picture of it. He smiled and waved at us as we drove by. No matter what language you speak, everyone is human and a smile is a smile. 

We drove through a small town and down a hill. When we hit water we realized there was no beach, but the road just ended at the water. We decided to cut our losses and head home. I drove back from there up the hill and back down again. My favorite part about driving on the quad on the main road was when I could see water on both sides of me. The island got skinnier at the end, so it was like the road was the only thing there and water on both sides. 

During the drive I kept racing Kate and Jess. Their red quad was the fastest out of all of ours, so it was always hard to catch up to them. At one point I gunned it on the straight road and passed them. Kate was so shocked I was going faster than them. As I passed I was laughing at them as I stuck my tongue out and yelled "Suckers!"

On our way home we stopped at the supermarket to get a few snacks. I ended up buying a bottle of Oyzo, a Greek liquor. The bottle was small and cute and I figured I could use it as a souvenir too. I also figured I had to try this Greek liquor while I was in Greece. Just like I had to try Italian wine while in Italy. 

When I got home I made myself a turkey sandwich for dinner and hung out for a while. Lydia was Facebook messaging Yelena and planning on when we could hang out. They said they were going to go out for dinner and then would be free around 8:00. We decided we would go shopping for a little bit while we waited for them to eat dinner and then we would pick them up on our quads. Luckily, too, they were staying only 10 minutes from where we were staying.

Bethany, Lydia, Amy and I drove up to Fira, the capital of the island — which is quite small — parked our quads and walked up to where we were shopping a few days earlier. I had seen floppy, beach hats earlier this morning when I was in the tiny car being driven to the rental shop, so we went there. Bethany and I wanted one really bad for our Greece spring break trip.

I found my perfect hat. White and floppy with a brown bow wrapped around it with polka dots. Bethany had luck too with her floppy hat. When I walked into the store I found sunglasses and had to try them on. They were the pair I was looking for everywhere that resembled my favorite pair I had broken a year ago. I had to get them, and I did.

After we did some shopping, we went home to drop Bethany off, and then Amy, Lydia and I went to go pick up the girls. We went to their hostel and waited for about 10 minutes. We were already late before so Lydia walked around the place to see if they were waiting somewhere else. When she came back empty handed, the girls emerged from inside the main dining room. They came running out and Erika jumped Lydia. We all hugged, and it was like we hadn't seen each other for years. They said it was like we were whisking them away by the night on our quads because they couldn't stand the people on this trip.

They said there were 140 college students on the trip with Bus2Alps and all they liked to do was get drunk every night. It was the typical American spring break. They said they were annoyed with the people most of the time. After hearing them complain about the people, I was really happy we decided against going with Bus2Alps. I would have been annoyed the entire time.

When we got back to our place we all sat around and hung out. Bethany, Amy and I tried a shot of the Oyzo. Bethany tried it before I did because I chickened out. I had been told by many people that it was the most disgusting drink they had ever had. After seeing Bethany bolt for the bathroom, I got more nervous. I had to work myself up to do it and Yelena kept saying, "oh, just do it," after she had just said when she tried it, it was the most disgusting thing she had tried.

When I smelled it, it smelled like black liquorish, which is disgusting. Amy said she would do it with me, so when we counted to three I finally did it. It wasn't horrible per say... but it wasn't the best thing I had ever had. I think because I had it worked up in my head that it was going to be this horrible, disgusting drink, it ended up not being as bad. The aftertaste, however, was horrid and I bolted to the bathroom for water like Bethany had done 10 minutes earlier. For some odd reason, Amy actually liked it even though she said she hates black liquorish. Interesting.

After two hours had quickly passed by Lydia, Bethany and I took the girls back to their hostel. Erika, Yelena, Kelsey and I made plans to go to the beach in the morning while the other girls went to ride donkeys, so I said I'd see them in the morning.

When I got home, I was pooped and hung out in my bed and relaxed for the remaining of the night.