| Island Hopping In The Agean Sea Spending the Summer in Greece |
| When we planned our big "around-the-world" adventure we never thought our path would meander through Greece. That truely is one of the beautiful parts of back-packing with a flexible schedule, falling victim to the winds of change and diverting this way or that on a whim. Leaving Budapest was a chaotic mess. We found ourselves running around trying to get out of the cold Hungarian weather to the warm and romatic Greek Islands. The last few months through central Europe where very interesting and incredibly educational but they were also cold. We didn't expect central Europe to be so chilly and we were ready to ditch our recently purchased hats and gloves for beach towls and sunblock. We tried to plan our timing so that we only had a day or two in Budapest before flying South. We arrived via bus mid-afternoon on a sunny, spring day. The flowers were in full bloom, birds were chirpping away and couples walked past smiling and giggling, enjoying the nice break in the weather. But, things didn't seem quite right, what was it? Then it occured to us: Bank=closed Internet cafes=closed Restaurants=closed Our travel agent holding are tickets=closed What the hell was going on?? Answer=It's May Day May Day? Wait, that's several days away. Well, apparantly not. It turns out that while chillin out lake side in southern Hungary we let a few days slip by...sounds crazy but true. The reason everything was closed is that is was nearly 3 days later than we thought it was and now we were supposed to leave the next morning to the island of Crete. Ooops. We woke up bright and early the next day, wanting to be a the ticket off the moment it opened. When we arrived we found our agent making coffee for the day. We shot her smile, but she didn't smile back. Something was wrong. You may have guessed it, our flight and tickets were cancelled. Since they could not fill the flight with enough people they just cancelled it. She put her hands in the air, said sorry and returned our money. Now we were in a pickle (weird saying I think)...we searched around looking for other flight options but we were informed by every agency that it was going to be almost two hundred dollars more and we would have to fly out nearly a month later. Frustrated and in a slight panic, we dashed back across town to let the hostel know we were not checking out and that we would, infact, be staying for awhile... The people running the place immediately noticed our somber attitudes and asked if they could help. We explained our situation and they were quick with assistance. After a phone call they gave us directions to a travel agent on the other side of town and scribbled a name to ask for when we arrived. Once we reached the office we walked in and did as they requested. A lady walked up and informed us that we were being issued student tickets and that we would just need an ISID Card (International Student ID Card). We each had a card but both of ours had long since expired (by nearly a decade for one of us..he he he). The women behind the desk let a little giggle slip out, rolled her eyes, gave a sly smile and whispered, "No problem". About 10 minutes later we were set. We are once again students at Syracuse University and UC Santa Barbara. She handed over our tickets, now to Athens (not sunny Crete, but hey it's Greece), and 24 hours later we were on our way to one of our dream destinations. We were attracted to Greece by the images we had seen in travel magazines of white-washed buildings with dark blue doors and shutters, endless mazes of back streets always offering a new surprise, and the vibrant Mediterranean sun causing bright sparkles to dance on the deep blue Aegean Sea. The level of excitement we both held was most felt by the elderly man who scored the window seat next to us on the plane. He was a little put off with us since we litteraly climb on top of him to get views during our descent into Athens from Budapest. We arrived just a few days before the Greek Orthodox Easter (celebrated about 7 weeks after Roman Catholic Easter). The whole country was exploding with energy....women were running frantic to grab last minute supplies (olives, feta, a variety of yogurt sauces) while the men walked by carrying skinned lambs (which were gross) and flaunting dynamic toothy grins as they visualized all the food and ouzo that would be shared in just a few short days... On Good Friday we walked around the Placa district, deep in the shadow of the massive Acropolis. Walking through such a historic area ignited a fantastic sense of wonder in both of us. The area is littered with delicate Byzantine churches, small shaded squares, totally random curvy alley ways, and countless excavation projects. We wandered around all day, dodging people selling tourist crap (which we did buy), investigating this and that, and just loving being in a fresh new place. Before we knew it night had fallen and we were ready for a few drinks. The Placa district is packed with pubs and high end restaurants but drinks were totally out of our budget range. So, like travelers, we stopped in a little shop, bought some beers, and made our way to a park in the center of the action. Once we arrived we were happy to find out there are other travlers doing the same so we had a cool place and good company to enjoy the evening. Around the midnight hour, there was a commotion at the far end of the cobblestone street. Everyone in the park as well as people at the restaurants stood up to see what was going on. We watched tradition unfold below us...an individual walked by in silence carrying a full size cross. The hordes of people instantly became quiet and bowed their heads in respect. Following about 20 feet behind was a priest from the Orthodox Church carrying a shiney silver bucket. He passed us in solumn fashion, showering us with holy water. Everyone around made the sign of the cross, in unison. Once he passed, he was followed by a few boys carrying inscense bowls. Directly behind the clergy, there was a beautiful glow of light. As if he had gathered the whole universe behind him, there was a brilliant dazzle of stars as people walked by in reverence proudly displaying their Easter candles...true magic. We had good luck on Saturday, all of the major attractions and museums had "free entry" because of the holiday, some of sweetest words a backpacker could here. Our first destination was to the Acropolis which is impressively located on a massive bluff in the city center and is the focal point of Athens. It was constructed during the golden age of Athens around the 5th century BC. Standing supreme over the ancient sight is the Pantheon, which symbolizes the greatness of ancient Greece. It was pretty awesome sight to see something as old and impressive. Mid-afternoon the city began to close up. Everyone was going home to prepare for the big Saturday night worship and the joyous Sunday to follow. Heeding the advise of some locals we had met, we made our way to the main church appropriately named the Athens Cathedral, the center of the Greek Orthodx faith (like the Vatican for Catholics). There were thousands of devoted followers who swarmed around the outside of the church. We joined along and waited patiently to see what was going to happen. Then an eeire moaning started flowing out of the church and was then amplified on massive speakers hidden somewhere in the large croud. The masses bowed their heads and started chanting and mumbling along. This went on for what seemed like ages. We started wondering how long the people could do this continously. Then, just before midnight, the croud started to grow a little restless, a sense of anticipation. People started becoming more and more excitied as we encroached on the hour of the lord. From inside the church an elderly, full-bearded man walked down the red carpeted stairs with a large lit candle. A middle-aged women walked up and lit her small candle and, in turn, lit the persons next to her. With no verbal communication, only the sound of continuous chanting to break the still air, the candle flames spread like a magical wave of light. Then there was an explosion of energy. Church bells from all around the massive city began chiming in unison and fireworks began exploding in the clear night sky. Smiles from children and adults could be seen everywhere. Easter had arrived, Christ has risen. After a few days we moved on to the islands. There is so much to do in Greece that you really must focus on a certain area. With help from friends, reading travel guides, and browsing websites we chose to travel among the Cyclades. The Cyclades are a group of islands scattered over the deep blue waters of the Agean Sea, South East of mainland Greece. Named after the notional circle which they appear to form around the sacred island of Delos, they are the quinessential Greek islands with a fusion of stone, sunlight, and the sparkling sea. As we slowly sailed the deep blue water we shared the beautiful horizon with the handfull of other tourist who had arrived early to miss the high season crowds. We passed island after island, each one amazingly different and original. The diverse outlines of each as they drastically protrude from the sea, bathed in dazzling sunlight and embellished with little white houses made us smile at one another. We knew we were where we wanted to be, and that is a beautiful feeling. Our first island, Sifnos, is considered to be one of the most traditional islands of Greece. It is often skipped over by tourists who only have a week or two for vacation and want to see the other, more famous locations. It was an extremely quiet island with a brown and rocky terrain littered with countless spring flowers. The terraced hillsides were breathtakingly picturesque and the few small villiages were oozing with local activity. We made it around most of the island, usually on foot, thankful to be in warm weather once again. We came across about half a dozen beaches and an endless supply of walking trails (used by local farmers and their donkeys) that escorted us through the rocky terraine. We developed a routine quickly, packing our "day-pack" early in the morning with water, feta cheese, bread and just started walking. We ran into beautiful windmills which used canvas for their sheets (and NO it didn't hurt to run into them), countless goats wanting to talk, and warn donkeys looking for something to do. Every so often we would come across the occasional Greek farmer wondering what the hell we were doing so far away from any of the villiages. There is an amazing number of chapels on the island, usually only as big as a standard living room. In fact, there is a church for about every 10 people who live on the island of Sifnos. A week passed by in the blink of an eye. At this poing we only planned to spend 4-6 weeks in Greece so we didn't want to spend all of it in one location. So, we lugged our packs down to the ferry landing and hopped a ferry boat over to the island of Naxos. Naxos is the largest of all the Cycladic Islands but still rather quiet. We found rocky mountains in the north with majestic cliffs that dropped in the sea and medows bursting with wild flowers in the South. The beaches were some of the most beautiful we had seen anywhere in the world. The sand stretched for miles and we were virtually all alone enjoying paradise. The empty white sand beaches which impressively contrast with the deep blue sea made us feel as if the Gods created this perfect spot just for us. The few people we did see were some of worlds wealthy and Europes wild ones and could be found between sand dunes working on their "all-over" tans. No reason to be shy in Greece. With another stoke of good luck we landed a simple room on the roof of a large Greek family. It was a perfect setting to admire the fiery sunsets as the day came to a close in a brilliant explosion of color behind the island of Paros. We enjoyed dinner and sipped the local retsina (a white resinated wine) or a cold Mythos Beer. We were located in the town of Hora, home of the islands main port. Being close to town offered a pleasant mix of tourist ammenities like markets and cheap fast food (usually a Gyro or Greeks salad...Yum) but also offered lovely little back streets which eventually led us to the acient Venetian Kastro, a fortified castle that helped protect the dramatic harbour and its people from the occasional attack in ancient times. Nine days, five books, and one full bottle of sunscreen later we left the island for the short ride across the narrow strip of water to Paros. This time we decided to avoid the main port town of Parikia. This town is the main hub for ferry boats reaching some of Greece's more distant islands. For that reason, it feelt a little bit like an airport, everyone just coming and going, only staying if they had too. Instead we got a ride from a local in his truck to the North East corner of the island to a fishing villiage called Naoussa. It was still realtively quiet, being a full month ahead of tourist season still so we once again recieved a bargin on a room. The villiage was a labrynth of narrow alleys where you could hear some of the older men debating politics or a move in backgammon in boisterous frenzies. Just around the corner you could find squares filled with plastic tables surrounded by tourists laughing and a little flush in the face from too much red wine. We enjoyed window shopping and watching the motion of the fishing boats and yachets in the small harbour. This easy life made time irrelevant and days slipped by, faster than we wish they would. Days never seem long when you are enjoying what you are doing, another way of stating that time flies when you are having fun. We took in most of the island through walks and on motobike, strolled some of the beaches and shot photos of the stunning sunsets. Another week went by before taking a ferry to the grandest of all the islands Santorini. The island is one of the most famous of the cyclades due to its incredible geographical morphology, the results of a massive volcanic explosion that devistated the island many years ago. The island, known as Thira by the Greeks, was once circular and called Stonili. About 1650 BC, after repetitive earthquakes, the island exploded in what is considered to be the largest volcanic eruption in the history of the world. During its eruption it blew out everything it had on its inside blacking out the sky for three days. Now hollow on the inside, the shell of the volcanoe collapsed on itself. The sea rushed in to fill in the massive crater. The result was a tidal wave that flooded the shores of all of the Eastern Mediteranean. In fact, this explosion is what many consider the natural cause and explination to the lost continent of Atlantis. The explosion totally obliterated the population of the island. The land sank into the ocean and the tidal wave anniliated all the costal people living on Crete. All though, who is to really know. Anyway, Santorini is absolutely stunningly awesome. The western side of the island has towering sliffs and sweeping views of the caldera. There is a black volcanic island in the center call Nea Kameni (which means New Burnt Island) where jets of hot steam and sulpher deposits remind the locals and tourists alike that there still might be some more changes in the not so far future. It doesn't seem to bother the locals though because they build their houses, cafes, and hotels with swimming pools on top of one another trying to get the best view possible, literally living life on the edge. We were blessed with a visit from our friend Paula. We had a fantastic time cruising around the island in a jeep, staying cool with more cold Retsina Wine on the islands black sand beaches, and exploring the narrow streets of Fira, the new capital of the island. The narrow alleys weaved back and forth on each other in a tangled spider web of pubs, restaurants and souveiner shops. We made it out on the town a few nights and woke up with a few wicked hang overs. As it always seems, she had to go long before any of us were ready. We had such a great time with Paula and feel lucking to have a friend like her. Thanks Paula. Well, the adventure continues on in Greece and the days and nights even get longer and more wild with stops in Ios (where we got engaged...yup, you read it correctly...engaged), long big time party nights when a group comes from to visit from San Francisco, and we get spoiled with a surprise birthday visit for Summer from her mom. As you might have guessed, our four to six weeks turns into nearly three months when we are forced to take off before running out of Visa time. |