Clear blue water, here I come!

Tuesday- March 20

This morning I opened my eyes at dusk, which was really odd because I usually sleep straight through the night. It was perfect timing though because when I looked out the window to my left the sun was a bright orange, red and yellow as it was rising above the horizon to start a new day. 

I was the last one to pry myself out of bed around 10:00. Since our hostel room has four people in one room and no living room, it's inevitable that I'm going to have to wake up since everyone else is. I tossed in bed for a little bit trying to go back to sleep, but decided to wake up when I realized I wouldn't be able to fall back asleep. 

I had bought corn flakes for my breakfasts for the week, but I quickly realized that the hostel didn't provide us with bowls and only one spoon, which one of us had already used. We also didn't have any way of cleaning them because we didn't have dish soap. So on that note I used a tiny mug and filled it with as much cornflakes as it would allow, topped it off with some milk, and ate it with a fork. I felt like my best friend Paige because she doesn't like using spoons, so she eats everything with forks. 

After we were all ready for the day we learned that the bus transportation would pick us up at the bus stop near our hostel at either 11:30 or 12:40. It was about 10:40 at the time, so we picked the 11:30 one. We were all up at the bus stop at about 11:20 but Jess. She was rushing around trying to get everything situated before leaving. 

Luckily, she made the bus because it was behind schedule. I was expecting a city bus or something, but it was a fancy coach bus with comfy seats, which was interesting. We walked on and thought we would pay right when we walked on, but we were shuffled to go sit down somewhere. A Greek man made his way back to us to get out €1.60 for the bus ride. The bus ride took about 15 minutes to get to the beach we were looking to find. First we stopped for about five minutes somewhere and we weren't sure what stop we were supposed to get off, so we stayed on. Then the man got back on and I realized we were waiting for this man to get his sandwich from a store nearby. We went about five feet and then the bus stopped again. We sat there because we weren't sure when we were really supposed to get off. We were going to ask him earlier, but he didn't seem too friendly. 

He looked at us sitting on the bus and basically shooed us off. It was the first unpleasant Greek I had stumbled upon yet, so I couldn't be that upset about it. So far everyone in Athens and on the island were very helpful and pleasant. 

All of us hopped off the bus and stood there as it drove away. We turned a corner and saw water not too far off form where we were at. So we walked down the abandoned street and eventually found the black sand beach. I suddenly was overwhelmed with happiness and jumping with joy because I was seeing clear clue water, something I've always, always wanted to see! 

We walked toward the water and I could see everything under the water: all of the rocks and sand. Kate was brave enough to put her feet in first and told us it wasn't that bad. So I followed suit and was surprised. It was still too cold to go swimming, but it wasn't numbingly cold. When I walked into the water I found out that there was a flat rock that went on for a while, so I decided to walk on it. I could see right through the water to my feet, almost like it was bath water. I was like a little girl and kept jumping with joy and squealing. I'm such a beach guru it's not even funny. 

As I was walking in the water I realized the rock suddenly stopped and the water dropped and I didn't know how deep it was, so I turned around and went back onto land. When I was walking on the black sand, which was basically just black rocks, my feet were aching in pain because the rocks were digging into my skin. I tried putting on my flip flops and walking, but they kept falling off with every step, so I had to brave it and walk the rest of the way to where Kate, Amy, Bethany and Jess were. Lydia was putting her shoes back on and was saying how the rocks were exfoliating her skin. HA! Beauty is pain then because my feet were not happy with me. 

All of the girls were sitting on the beach when Lydia and I reached them. I went and sat by Kate, unfolded my towel and sat down. I took off my shirt and laid out in my bikini, soaking in the sun. It was windy and probably only in the low 60s, but I'm a determined chica. Soon enough everyone else was laying out in their bathing suits too. 

I put in my ipod and accidentally fell asleep for probably an hour and a half. It was 1:30 when I realized I had fallen asleep, so I flipped to sleep on my stomach and ended up falling asleep for another hour. I woke up to the girls taking pictures in the water and then when Lydia realized I was awake she made hand gestures asking if I was hungry since my headphones were in. 

I had packed snacks to save money so I told them I was just going to stay on the beach while they went to go find food. While they were all gone I laid out reading my new book I bought on my Kindle. It was just the most perfect afternoon. 

When they got back Lydia said they had a surprise for me. Bethany and Lydia held out three different types of ice cream and they told me to pick which one I wanted. I thought it was SO nice, and I picked the chocolate covered cone with vanilla ice cream. 

Lydia then said she had another surprise for me and she pulled out two lemons. I started laughing. Yesterday I meant to look for lemon juice to lighten my hair but I had forgotten, so they got me two lemons to use. I have never used real lemons before and asked them how I was supposed to cut it open without a knife. She and Bethany laughed and said, "Yeah, that was the dilemma, but we figured you could figure it out."

After sitting around for a bit, Lydia, Amy and I went to adventure onto some rocks where we sat for about a half hour. It was so peaceful and beautiful to look down at the rocks underneath the water and to see the water crash into the rocks. 

When I looked back to the beach I saw the beautiful mountains that rose above the black sand grains and had another moment of "is this real life." Pictures I had been looking at for the past year had suddenly become my reality. Amazing.

The other girls waved at us after a while and told us they wanted to leave. We went back to gather our things and started walking to the bus station. Kate wanted to go into a store called Colors of Benedition to look at their bathing suits, but they weren't opening back up until 5 and it was 4:50. So we went to the bus station and went to wait there. A man in his 30s waiting there asked if we were looking for the bus stop because we looked lost. He was helpful at first with telling us about where we were, but after a while I picked up on the fact he really enjoyed talking about himself. 

Thankfully he was picked up by someone and I didn't have to listen to him keep talking about who he was and what he was doing. It was really funny though when he got picked up because this slick, black car with tinted windows pulled up and he hopped in and drove away. It was like from a movie. 

Kate, Lydia, Amy and I decided to go walk back down to the store to peruse because we had about 15 more minutes until the bus came and the last time it was late. When we got down to the store, it's doors were opened this time, but the lights were off and no worker was there. It was very odd. I looked around for a minute or two and decided to head out because it felt weird. Lydia and I were a few steps out of the store when we saw the bus coming down the street. We yelled back to Kate and Amy, who were still in the store, "BUS!"  The four of us sprinted up to the bus stop and turned the corner to find Jess and Bethany running to try to tell us that it was here. We all started laughing because it ended up being earlier this time instead of late.

The bus ride went pretty fast and before we knew it we passed our hostel. "Crap," we all said out loud, "I think that's our hostel."

The bus driver was distracted by talking with an elderly man who was sitting behind him. We weren't really sure before how to get off the bus because everyone who got off at a stop had just stood up and walked to the front. We all hesitantly did that, and eventually he saw we needed off. 

We had to walk about 10 minutes home, but we made it safely. We were in our room for maybe a minute when I heard someone talking outside. When I looked out our doors I saw the woman who owned the place waving at me. I opened the door and went out onto the balcony and she told me she and her husband wanted to give us something.

All six of us went over to the main building and she told us to sit down and then her husband brought over a type of pasta and a bean an onion side dish. The two of them had made dinner for us! It was so cute and I seriously felt like I was at home and my mom was cooking me dinner. The reviews on the hostel had said it had a real "homey" feel to it and I immediately got that when I was sitting there. 

After dinner I relaxed for the rest of the night and watched some new TV episodes on my laptop. I forgot how tired the sun makes me. After I showered at night I quickly learned how wrong I was about the sun today. I didn't think the sun would be that strong and chose not to use sunscreen because it was so windy and chilly. I was super-duper wrong. I was a lobster. I had a shorts tan line and my chest, stomach and arms screamed tomato at me. Everyone was really worried about me but I just laughed and said I have had it worse — and I have. I was red, but I knew it was going to tan by Thursday and I'd be fine. Thankfully it didn't hurt either, but I could see why they were worried because when I looked in the mirror all I saw was red, red, red. 

Monday- March 20

When my alarm went off this morning at 9 I had planned to wake up, shower and get breakfast, but I was too tired to get up, so I reset my alarm for 9:45 while everyone else got up and ready for the day. I showered, got ready and double checked to make sure I wasn't forgetting anything. Jess was running behind schedule, so Kate went downstairs at 10:30 to turn in the keys, since that was the check out time. 

I was out of the apartment by 10:30 as well, and I went downstairs and sat outside with Kate to wait for Jess. Amy, Bethany and Lydia had already ventured out to do some last minute exploring before we had to catch our plane. While I was waiting, I went to a nick-nack shop real quick to get a post card because everywhere I go I send Kory one.

Around 11:30 our whole group met up in front of our hostel and we headed to the metro to catch the line to take us to the airport. We were a bit confused on where to go after we bought our ticket, but luckily a nice man stopped by us and told us where to go.

After we got off the first line to switch to the correct one, the man saw we were confused again and was nice enough to lead us to where we were supposed to go. We then waited for about 15 minutes for our metro to arrive and then once we were on it, it took about another 30 minutes because we had to go through 15 stops to get to the airport. We found our terminal a lot easier than Kate and I had found ours in Rome, so we went in and checked in our bags. 

Afterwards we walked toward security and a police officer-looking man checked our tickets and let us through. It was odd though because there was no security and it was just like a mall. We were all thinking, "That couldn't have been security." Eventually we found where the real security was and realized that what we had just walked through was something that just let us walk into the mall area. 

I got through security quickly and only set off the alarm once because I forgot to take off my watch. When we found our Gate Lydia, Bethany and I went to a small stand to get food and a drink since I hadn't eaten breakfast all day. 

We only had to wait for about 30 minutes until we boarded the shuttle to take us to our plane. When it pulled in front of the plane I giggled because it was such a tiny one and it even had propellers. The flight ended up only taking about 25 minutes, which was really nice. We even got a free drink and salted nuts, which I wasn't expecting! I'm so used to flying on cheap airlines where all you pay for is your flight to there. 

The landing was a little nerve racking though. When we started dropping, we dropped a little faster than I would have liked and I guess I jumped without realizing it. Kate didn't even have to look up from her Suduko game to say "Caitlin, you're okay." I laughed at this. 

When we landed it was a little bumpy and I flew forward. I don't know what happened, but I started laughing so hard I was crying and then Lydia, Bethany, Amy and Jess thought I was crying because I was scared which made me laugh even more. 

The skies were beautiful and the water was even more beautiful and it was only a few feet away from me when I stepped off the plane. The Santorini airport was incredibly small, so it was easy to find where our luggage was coming from. A man from our hostel picked us up at the airport and stood in the entrance with a sign saying "Villamanos," our hostel name. He was very welcoming and led us to the van. He took our suitcases and piled them up in the trunk for us. The drive was about 10 minutes to the hostel and the entire way I was all giddy and happy because all I saw was blue, blue water. 

When we pulled into our hostel I was even more giddy. The buildings were so bright and Greek and the pool looked so serene against the green grass and blue water background.

He led us inside to the lobby where his wife welcomed us and gave us a general overview of the island. We paid for our stay here and then she led us to where we would be staying. There was one queen bed, which Kate and Jess decided to sleep in and four twin beds in the other room. I was a bit bummed when I learned we didn't have a kitchen to use, but for €8 a night I figured I couldn't complain about much. Plus the view from my balcony is breath taking!

-view from our balcony-

We ventured around the hostel for a bit, got settled in and went to sit out by the pool. Kate and I were jumping around all excited and then laid on pool benches waiting for the others to come out. We all sat outside for a while, enjoying everything around us. I had another moment when I thought to myself, "is this real life?"

After lounging for a bit we decided to venture into Fira, the capital of the island, which was supposed to be a 7-8 minute walk from where we were staying. We were going to look into shopping for a bit and then do some grocery shopping for the week since we at least had a refridgerator. 

We were going to go back into the office to ask the woman for directions, but an older man was sitting outside and he told us she was napping. He couldn't speak very good English, so he used the sleeping motion with his head tilted on his hands to show she was sleeping. It was so cute. He pointed us in the right direction, which was quite helpful.

Fira ended up being a little farther than we had thought it was going to be and Bethany stopped in two gas stations to make sure we were still going in the right direction. We stopped and got ice cream along the way and finally made our way into Fira, which was rather small. A lot of stores were painting the outside of their buildings white, probably trying their best to get ready for tourist season in a few months. 

We found a mini-indoor mall that we decided to go in to. On my way down the stairs someone I managed to roll my ankle, which of course is my bad one. The woman inside must have seen it happen because she was very helpful and told me I could sit down. I decided to wait for Amy outside while she finished her ice cream and thankfully my ankle started feeling better. The last think I needed was a sprained or broken ankle!

I looked around for any cute dresses or floppy hats for the beach, but didn't have too much luck. Bethany and I found a sunglass and nick-nack store and decided to take a look at the sunglasses. I had luck with that and they were only €7! I was very pleased. 

On our way back home Bethany, Lydia and I got take out and I got spaghetti. I was too hungry to want to try something new — I wanted something I knew I would like. When we were talking to the woman she asked us a question and I said "si," because I'm so used to saying it around Italy. She paused and then asked where I was from because she said she thought I was speaking Spanish. I laughed because I probably really confused her by speaking English and then answering in Italian.

Afterwards we met Kate and Jess at the supermarket, and we did some grocery shopping for the week. When the cashier was ringing me out, I was nervous it was going to cost for than €20 because that's all I had on me. Talk about luck because it ended up costing €19.74...perfecto!

When we walked back to our hostel we relaxed and ate dinner. Kate had a spontaneous idea to watch Hercules since we were in Greece. When the music came on, it brought me back to my childhood because I remembered watching it all of the time. We unfortunately only got halfway through it because it wouldn't fully load on Amy's computer. 

Since it wouldn't work I decided to get caught up with my blogs or attempt to and then I watched the latest episode of The Good Wife. I didn't get to sleep until 2 a.m., but I figured I didn't have much to do the next day considering we were just going to a beach! 

OPAH!

Sunday- March 18

This morning I was able to sleep in a little more. I didn't set an alarm the previous night and decided to let my body be my alarm. I woke up wide awake at 10:00 ready to go. 

Lydia, Amy, Bethany and I went downstairs to meet James and Claud. We were all going to go visit different monuments for the day because they were all free on Sundays. James was originally going to go to the beach, but he decided to join us. 

We made our way up to the Acropolis and went to walk in, but the man working told us we had to go and get a ticket even though it was free. I saw that there was a food stand and since I didn't eat breakfast I went and got a doughnut. It did the deed with satisfying my tummy, but it wasn't worth €3.50. Claud and James got our tickets and we headed back up to the gates. 

It was a little bit of a hike, but once we made it to the top the view was to die for. I thought the view from the rocks I had yesterday was amazing, but this was even higher and even better. We walked around the Parthenon and other ruins of buildings that were still standing. 

We went over to a ledge we spotted and all sat around hanging our feet over the edge observing our view. I am not afraid of heights, but when I looked down at the drop, my stomach did jumps and I quickly swung my legs back over to land. 

When we were standing on a lookout area we found Kate and Jess. The two of them were running late this morning, so they decided they would meet up with us later. Once we were all together we descended back down the hill and went to look at a structure that is still preserved in one piece. I found it amazing that something that was built hundreds upon hundreds of years ago can still stand today. 

By the time we finished up walking around it was 2:30 and a few people still wanted to go look at the other free things. At this point I was hungry and just wanted food, but I sucked it up and we started walking in the direction of the old Olympic stadium. It was about 20 minutes away and it closed at 3:00. I knew we weren't going to make it, but I let them lead the way. About ten minutes into the walk reality of time sunk in and everyone decided we should just give up and go find food. Of course I was more than enthusiastic on this brilliant idea. 

We went back to the plaza where we ate yesterday with the tour guide. I decided to try something new and I got a chicken gyro. Chicken is the farthest I will go for trying something new. I'm not much of a meat person and lamb is not yummy at all. 

The chicken with the cucumber sauce and tomatoes were excellent. Kate had bought fresh strawberries and bananas from a stand and after trying the strawberries, I decided I needed some for myself. Jess and I split a bag for €3. The amount of strawberries we received was ridiculous...there were so many! They were the freshest strawberries and were quite refreshing on a hot spring day. 

We walked in to a few nick-nack shops for about a half hour and then headed on home. I was dead to the world by this point because I had been walking around constantly for the past three days, so I decided to stay home and relax. 

James was leaving on a night train, so we all said our goodbyes to him. It was a bummer making a friend and then having to say goodbye so soon! The rest of my group went out to do a little shopping, so it was nice to have the place to myself for a while. I tried to catch up on my blog for a bit and then watched some TV.

Kate came home earlier than the rest and then we decided to go print out our boarding passes for our flight for the next day. After we successfully did that I went with Kate to the sports bar and hung out with her and Claud for a bit. I met two people who were with them who were from Scotland. I was only there for maybe five minutes when I saw Lydia and Amy on their way back and then Amy and Jess followed a few minutes after. 

We all decided we would go out for dinner instead of staying in to cook. On our way to dinner we dropped off Ouzo that James had accidentally left at our apartment off at his place. Along the way a dog started following us and Kate got very attached to it and called it baby. It was really funny to watch her chase it and play with it. When we had to depart, she was bummed. 

At the entrance of a restaurant a man started talking to us about the food at this place and how there was a live band. We decided to prices were reasonable from the menu we looked at so we went inside. We were the only table in there when we first got there. I said, "We have live music all for us!"

While we were looking at the menu, two men started playing music and singing. I really felt like I was in Greece. I ordered Moussaka again and it was good, but not as good as the first one I had. While we were there another big table came in and filled up the restaurant with chatter. They were Americans too and were from Oklahoma. 

After dinner Jess was talking about how she wanted to dance like the do at Greek weddings. Our waiter, an older Greek man, must have heard her because around the same time, he came up and pulled her onto the dance floor. They started doing the two-step and then kick Greek dance that I've seen in My Big Fat Greek Wedding. He then told all of us to join them and we all got in a big line/circle with our arms around each other doing the dance. I was laughing so hard and couldn't believe we were doing it in front of other people. 

This happened about three times throughout the night and eventually they got some of the other table to get up and dance. Twice throughout the night the waiters and singers pulled Jess up to sing with the other man. She had a really good voice! I never knew she could sing. 

In between the dancing our waiter brought us out fresh orange and apple slices. We knew that they all liked us there because we were the table who were clapping and saying "OPAH" constantly throughout the night. We were just having a good old time and enjoying our last night in Athens. 

Later, we were the only ones in the restaurant again and we decided we wanted to dance one more time. The waiter danced with us and we laughed the entire time. Before I knew it he pulled out a chair and somehow I was put on it and everyone danced around me while I danced on the chair. It was hilarious and I was having the time of my life. 

We got out pictures with the band and our waiter and said our goodbyes and thank yous. It was a perfect ending to a perfect day in Athens. I felt like I was in the movie My Big Fat Greek Wedding and I thought to myself, "I hope I have that much energy when I'm that man's age," talking about our waiter. 

When I got back to the hostel I got everything organized so I wouldn't have to do it in the morning and relaxed for the rest of the night by skyping with my Mama and Kory until I was ready to fall asleep. 

St. Patty's day in Greece

Saturday - March 17

This morning when my alarm went off at 9 a.m., I was pleasantly surprised at how awake I was. I climbed down from my top bunk and got ready for the day. I went downstairs with Amy, Bethany and Lydia for my free breakfast that was included with our stay. I got a piece of homemade bread with jam and a hard boiled egg. It wasn't much, but hey it was better than nothing. 

Lydia found out about a walking tour yesterday, and we all decided we would do that for the day. We had to be at the meeting point, which was Athens Backpackers, another hostel owned by the same company. We had to meet there at 9:55, and it was already 9:35 when we went back up stairs to get ready for the day. Lydia and Amy left at 9:45 to get there and Bethany and I left at 9:50. Kate and Jess ended up chasing after us. We weren't really keen on the directions to the place because Lydia was the one who really knew how to get there. She gave us general directions, but we didn't quite remember them to a T when we started walking there. It was already 10, so we figured Amy and Lydia and just gone with the tour and we would just do our own thing for the day. When we were walking up the main street we saw Lydia and Amy running down it and they told us they were waiting for us — the whole group. 

So we power walked it to where we were supposed to meet and the tour guide gladly welcomed us and led us inside to pay the €7. We walked back outside and everyone in the group went around in a circle to introduce themselves and where they were from. There was a couple from Canada, two couples from France, a guy from California and a guy from London. It was really cool to see everyone from different places in one group. 

The tour ended up lasting about five hours, when it was really supposed to be three, but the time flew by. The guide, who was very knowledgeable, led us around the entire city to ruins, Zeus's Temple, the Parthenon and the Acropolys. We weren't able to go in to any of them because you had to pay more to go in. We decided we would do it tomorrow because it was all free on Sundays. 

During the tour we had a 10 minute break where we could go get food. I was going to get a gyro, but then I saw the workers shaving off the meat to make it and my stomach turned a little bit. Lydia and I went up to a place called Ever Coffee where they also had sandwiches. I was very satisfied with my very average turkey, tomato and lettuce sandwich. 

Along our trip we ended up talking with the guy from London, whose name was James. He was "on holiday" as he said and was with his friend for the past two weeks until yesterday when his friend had to go home for work. He was going home on Monday back to work. Funny thing was that he was a journalist too and he actually ended up in publishing for the time being. I was very intrigued when he said he worked for the publishing company that publishes the Harry Potter books. 

Here's what I saw during my five hour tour:

-Hadrian's Arch-

-Zeus's Temple-

-First Olympic Stadium-

-Zappeio: old Olympic headquarters-

-National Gardens of Athens-

-House of Parliament-

-changing of the guards-

-The pigeon whisperer-

-Turkish mosque-

-Tiny Orthodox Christian church next to mosque-

-Library of Hadrian-

-ruins-

-view of the city from high up-

-Odeon-

After our tour I was exhausted, so I headed home and relaxed for a bit. After about a half hour or so I met Lydia, Amy and James downstairs and we went on a little adventure. I grabbed a snack from a nearby food stand and we were off. We decided to just take random roads and didn't pay much attention to where we were going, but that was the fun in it. 

It was really nice and interesting to become friends with someone outside of our group. James would do impressions for us on his perception of people in California or down south and they were hilarious. We also talked about differences between Britain and the U.S. and what he thought of our country. It was interesting. 

We stopped to sit down for a coffee for about a half hour and relaxed. I ordered a nes cafe iced coffee with bailey's irish cream and boy was it delicious. I drank every last drop!

Amy, Lydia and I parted from James at the sports bar directly below our hostel. We told him we'd join him later in the night. 

We went upstairs and relaxed for a bit and then all six of us went downstairs for dinner. I ordered the cheeseburger again just because it was that yummy. Unfortunately it wasn't as good as the first one I had, but it was still good enough for me. 

James came over while we were eating out dinner and then after we were done eating we made our way to the sports bar. Kate and I stayed there while the rest of our group went upstairs to get ready. I ended up talking with the Canadian couple who was with us on our tour guide earlier in the day. Their names were Melanie and Simone, and they were the cutest couple. They were 25 and 26 and were between jobs so they decided to backpack through Europe because they figured they would never get the opportunity to do so again. 

They started three weeks ago and were going for a total of three months. During these three months they planned on traveling to 19 countries...let me repeat that...19 countries! So far they've been to Madrid, three cities in Italy and were now in Athens and going to Santorini tomorrow. They were originally going to Santorini on Monday, but the Ferry workers were striking on Monday, so they had to bump up their departure date. 

Melanie said that she never really travels because it's so expensive to in Canada. She said flights are typically $2000! And I thought it was pricy to fly in the U.S.

We hung out with them, James and Claud, someone we met at the bar. He was from Oregon and it was his first of 18 days traveling throughout Europe. 

Lydia, Jess, Amy and I went out with all of them to an Irish bar to celebrate St. Patrick's day after being at the sports bar for a bit. There was a ton of Irish music playing and leprechaun hats everywhere. I decided to be irish and have a guinness, which was alright I suppose...not much of a beer drinker. 

-Jess and Melanie-

It was a great way to celebrate St. Patty's day. If I couldn't be in Ireland to do it, I may as well be at an Irish pub!