Greece
My tour of Greece began in Athens, a metropolis filled with modern shops, combined with ancient artifacts dating back hundreds of years before Christ...sometimes around the corner from each other. It’s definitely an interesting mix of culture and convenience. From Athens I took a short flight to Santorini for a few days basking on the black sand beaches, then concluded my stay with some partying on Mykonos. It was definitely a fun filled 2 weeks.
Only having time for a full day in Athens, I took off for the much needed down time in Santorini, but I didn’t quite realize that is was the honeymoon island. I ended up staying at this beautiful hotel 5 minutes from the largest black sand beach on the island, which was delightful to say the least. I made my way down there for the first few days enjoying the sunshine, cool water and relaxation. Finally I decided it was time to explore what else this beautiful island had to offer and booked a full day trip of the island. The tour started by heading up to the mountain of Profitis Ilias, where you can see for miles around the island. From there we headed out by boat to the volcano island, just off the coast, which was full of lava rock and provided some beautiful views of the “white house” towns across the water. Next we headed to the natural hot springs that got up to 95 degrees in certain spots. It was crazy to jump off the boat into the brisk ocean and then swim into this canal that steamed from the sulfur springs of the volcano. Nature is amazing. After our little swim we sailed over to the island of Thirasia and wondered around there for a few hours hiking up the 150 steps to the top, which seemed to be inhabited by what I would consider an older retirement community. I couldn't help but wonder how they made the trek up and down every day, considering I was out of breath and sweating profusely after our ascend, but I guess if you have everything you need on the top of the hill, there is no reason to leave.
The next day it was time to say farewell to Santorini and I took off on a ferry over to Mykonos (aka "The Party Island") for a few days. Again the beaches were perfect and most attach to restaurants that provide you with lounge chairs and umbrellas as they serve you mojitos. Amazing! Downtown Mykonos was windy maze of shops, restaurants, bars and ice cream parlors that literally had me doing circles around them. It's a beautiful island covered with cobblestone streets, restaurants on the water, and beach resorts that turn into nightclubs when the sun goes down. It was perfect way to end this beautiful tour of Greece. I have a feeling I'll be back again someday soon.
