Opa!!!! Santorini and Crete

And we’re back! So, we returned to the wonderful islands of Greece for another week of water and sun. Masters of Overnight Layovers, we first (of course) had to layover in Athens from 1am to 6:30 am. Strangely, the Athens airport seem to be suffering from a great overabunance of overnight travelers. Neither of us has EVER seen so many people sleeping on the floor as we did there (and please remember we were in India for 3 weeks), on couches, under tables, and along every bit of wall space. Happily we found a little hallway to crash in for a few hours. And when a security guard woke us up at 4:20am to kick us out of our hidey hole, we found the check-in counter was already open, so we checked in and promptly passed out again in the gate waiting area. Daniel is now an expert at sleeping everywhere and at anytime, needing no more than 7 seconds to fall asleep. Snoring included.

In Santorini, we were joined by Jack and Jayne, two friends of Tamara’s who were also ready to soak in the Greek sun and extra virgin olive oil. Santorini was WINDY, so the four of us opted to rent a car and we were soon exploring the windy roads of the island while DJ Jayne played an awesome driving mix off her iPod.

Santorini is known for its olive oil, wine, and volcano. Highlights of our time there included a winery tour (wine tasting included), dinner right on the waterfront of a small fishing, and a tour of the volcano.

Next we jetted over to Crete. We spent our first day exploring Iraklion (the major port city) and enjoyed soaking in their rich history at the Archeological Museum, as well as at the Minoan site at Knossos. We chose to stay in the middle of Crete and we criss-crossed most of the island in our car during our 3 days there – DJ Jack took a turn with his iPod and we rocked out while we navigated across gorges and mountains (beautiful views everywhere). We only almost ran out of gas once – not bad considering the lack of gas stations and our lack of attention to the gas meter! The next day we trekked to “Palm Beach” – a wildly overcrowded beach that became so claustrophobic that Tamara and Jayne eventually escaped to a less picturesque but almost empty beach, where they enjoyed jumping off small boulders into the water. Meanwhile, Jack and Daniel were left on their own to fend off the Greek ladies who now felt free to impinge upon their space right up to the edge of the towels. “Umm… excuse me sir, could you help me put lotion on my back? Oh! You’re American! How cool!” Yes….

Our last day together was in Hania, where we explored the beautiful old town by day. In the evening we settled into the Venetian Harbor, to have dinner and drinks while enjoying some serious people watching as they strolled along the waterfront. A lovely end to our time in the Greek Isles!

It was great travelin with another crew; they were fun and adventurous and just overall great travel partners. Thanks to Jack and Jayne!! We were sad to leave them and Greece, which remains high on our list of places to return!

Next stop: Paris!! We look forward to seeing how Daniel reacts to the food, the language, and the people – all of which he has been making fun of for the past 78 days. Oh boy.