Calle de La Compania...our quiet street that's close to everything!

Without even taking showers, we went out for some breakfast and did our errands. This pretty much consumed most of the first part of our day. We got home by siesta, which is 2-4pm, and we ate lunch and organized our things.

By the afternoon, we went to the university to enquire about their Spanish program for foreigners. Before I arrived, I had thought about teaching here during the summer. It seemed like a good idea because I had no problem picking up some tutoring hours when we were living in Madrid a few years ago. I thought I could do the same here.

I haven’t actively tried getting a job yet, but I think I’m already noticing some problems. First, I don’t think the language academies will want to hire someone for only a month. Second, I don’t know if I’d be able to get a “paycheck” job because I don’t have a working visa, and I doubt that the language academies would hire me under the table. Third, it seems like the only students here in the summer are the foreigners. The University of Salamanca is linked up with a ton of universities across the U.S. and Europe to become an exchange program host. That means that whenever a college advertises a summer-long study abroad program in Spain, it’s more than likely going to be at the University of Salamanca. It seems really quiet here in terms of Spanish-speaking students who are continuing their own schooling for the summer. Therefore, I don’t know how many people will be looking for English tutoring.

Calle Melendez...where we go for drinks, tapas, and internet!

Because of this, I’ve really thought more and more about just taking some classes here. The program that they offer for Spanish is really comprehensive. I would be able to take Spanish Grammar, Vocabulary, Oral Communication Skills, and even a Spanish Dance or Spanish Cooking course. All of this is offered over the course of two weeks or a month, and I really think I would be able to speak on my own (without so many problems) by the time I got back to school. This is good for me because I have SO many opportunities to use Spanish at school, and it would also allow me to renew my certificate for another five years, I think.

Blake and I went to the school to get a pamphlet about the program, and I think I’m going to enroll in the program. Besides, as the days go on (and we have less and less that we have to do,) I’m realizing how bored I’d be without doing anything for a month. This is a studying town, and if you have nothing to study and no job, I think you’d get really bored, really quick.

I think I’ll still try to advertise tutoring services anyway.

One of the cathedrals in Salamanca

Aside from going to the university, we caught another World Cup game and went home to make some dinner. We cooked pork chops, rice, and a salad. After dinner, we hit the town. We bar hopped a bit, then went to a Chupeteria (which is a shot bar,) and we ended the night by going to a dance club. Unfortunately, we didn’t feel all that normal the next day. Too much wine and mixing.

On Wednesday, we woke up a little late, which is completely normal to do here. I wouldn’t say I was hung over, but I wasn’t feeling 100%. We made pan con tomate (toast with grated tomatoes, oil, and salt) for breakfast. I took a shower, and we headed out for the day.

We were both on the hunt for some clothes. Until this particular day, it was pretty cold in Salamanca! I couldn’t believe it! I was actually walking around with goosebumps in the middle of the day! Because I only have one pair of pants, I was on the hunt for some warmer clothes. I don’t know if it was the slight hang-over, but I really didn’t feel that much like shopping. There I was at H&M, and I couldn’t really find anything I liked. Well, certainly not anything that I liked that was warm. Plus, it seemed like the temperature had increased by like 20 degrees, and now it was really hot outside. I just didn’t feel like spending money on something I didn’t know whether I’d need or not.

One of the many storks on top of a bell tower near Plaza Mayor, Salamanca

That night, we went home for a while to play some cards, and at about 8pm, we went back to the Irish Rover Theater to watch the Germany/Ghana game. The game wasn’t as exciting, and we didn’t meet anyone new.

When the game was over, we decided to just head home rather than go out and party. We cooked some chicken and pasta with pesto sauce, and we had a salad. Then, we just cleaned up and went to bed.

You know, I think we have to do something about this Spanish schedule that we’re on. I feel like whenever we eat, we rest right afterward. I don’t think this is good for burning calories at all! Hopefully things will change a bit when we get a little more busy.

Another view of Rua Mayor...the pedestrian street that leads to the University

I think tonight we’ll go out for a bit. Blake bought some groceries for dinner tonight, but there aren’t any interesting World Cup games going on, so we thought about going to a movie. I guess we’ll see. I think our life has finally worked itself into a routine here.

Blake had reserved us two seats on a bus to Salamanca at 11am the next morning, so when we woke up, we got breakfast and headed straight to the bus station. The bus was really nice, with leather seats and huge windows. The two-hour ride was really beautiful. It’s really interesting to see how much the landscape changes in Spain. The land in Madrid is pretty dry, and within no time we found ourselves riding through small forests, then green valleys, and then huge plateaus filled with wheat fields, green trees, and huge stone boulders.

Eventually when we made it to Salamanca, we decided to walk through the historic district to our hostel. (That’s right…back to bunk beds and dorm-style living.) I was able to see where Blake lived last summer and the university. We also walked through many of the pedestrian streets and by the monastery that was right next to our hostel.

The hostel was like any other one, and just as soon as we set our things down, we left to see the rest of the city. We found a doner kebap place, and ate lunch there. We also tried to get in contact with some of the people that responded to our apartment hunting ad.

I get the feeling that a lot of the older people in Spain are still trying to grasp the use of cell phones. It seemed like everyone we called on Sunday had their cell phone off. We got several messages that told us there wasn’t any service or couldn’t be called at that time. When we did get in contact with people, some couldn’t figure out how to answer the phone or what needed to be done to hang up. It was so frustrating! By the end of Sunday, we were under the impression that everyone in Spain just kept their phone off for the entire day. We couldn’t get in touch with anyone that had emailed us a week prior.

Part of Rua Mayor...one of the main streets in Salamanca.

The apartment was pretty nice, but it was on the outskirts of the city center. There was a German girl and a Hispanic guy that lived in the apartment. It was a decent size, but the double bed was a little small. We eventually just decided to think about it. The woman wanted 350 euros plus utilities for the place.

That same day, we also looked at another apartment which was a joke. One of the women that Blake had been in contact with over email, finally called us back. We arranged to see her apartment, which was actually just a dorm! She led us into a building and there was a long hallway with tons of rooms on either side. Of course, all of the rooms belonged to the students, but there wasn’t a kitchen, and there was a shared bathroom. The location wasn’t that great, and she wanted 350 euros for each of us! What an absolute joke!!! (We could have gotten our own apartment for that much money.)

By the end of the day, we were a little bummed out because we hadn’t gotten to see more. I was thinking that the world revolved around us and surely, every person with an available apartment would love to show us the place any time that was convenient for us on Sunday. No such luck.

In a last stitch effort to look at a few places that day, we started paying attention to all of the balconies in the city. Many of them have “for sale or for rent” signs hanging on the outside, so we started calling people from their front steps. We did have luck with one of the places that we called that day. There was an apartment with a “for rent” sign hanging from the balcony on Rua Mayor, (which is one of the best streets to live on in the historic district.) We called the number and spoke with Concha, one of the other tenants in the building. Apparently, the apartment for rent was a studio. It was actually Concha’s brother’s place and she was responsible for renting it out. She told us the price was 450 euros plus utilities. We went to look at the studio and it was absolutely beautiful. We would have had a window that opened up to a pretty pedestrian street, our own bathroom, an awesome kitchen that had closet doors to separate it from the rest of the living room/bedroom. The only problem was that when we talked to Concha’s brother on the phone, he wanted to charge us 520 per month due to the fact that we were renting for only one month.

Nobody wants to rent a place for only the month of July because the month of August is when things get really dry around here. Everyone leaves the city to go on vacation. So if a landlord has the opportunity to rent the place for two months as opposed to one, it’s a much better scenario for the landlord. Besides, since school hasn’t yet started for the summer months, I think a lot of landlords are optimistic that their apartments still have yet to be rented for both of the summer months.

After viewing the awesome studio that we didn’t get, we went back to the hostel and met a few people. Matt and his buddy, two Black guys from France, were traveling around Spain, and Ben, a British Asian midget, was traveling around the country as well. They were all really nice and we talked with them for about an hour. Blake and I ended up going to watch one of the World Cup games shortly after talking with them. We grabbed some food and some drinks, and we actually went to bed pretty early…about 11:30pm.

The next day, we had a little more luck. After eating some breakfast, Blake and I went to an internet café to look at some other apartment ads. I searched site after site and wrote down anything that looked appealing. Blake called all of the numbers on my list. Luckily, most people were answering their cell phones, but we came across a lot of landlords that didn’t want to rent for only one month.

During the entire day, Blake and I saw another studio in the shopping district of town. It was a great place, and the landlord didn’t have any problems with us only renting for one month; however, he told us that we couldn’t move in until July 1. We ended up letting that one go because we wanted a place to stay at that very moment.

Blake and I called a landlord that had posted his apartment on a website about a week before we got back to Spain. It was a studio right next to the University of Salamanca library, in a really great part of town. He wanted 390 euros per month, which included utilities, and he didn’t have any problem with us only renting for the month of July. Plus, the studio was available immediately, which was great for us! We made an appointment for 6pm to walk through the unit.

One of the women that emailed Blake the week before ended up getting in touch with us as well, and we scheduled a time to view her apartment that night at 8pm. Her apartment was on Rua Mayor (one of the best streets to live on,) and it was right across the street from the awesome studio that we didn’t get. The apartment was shared, and was a Spanish couple living there as well.

Blake and I liked the idea of having roommates, so we were thinking that this apartment might be the one, even though it was a little more expensive than the studio. The woman wanted 450 euros plus utilities; however, we thought it might be worth it to pay a little more if it meant that we would have instant Spanish friends.

We piddled around until 6pm, when we went to look at the studio. Exactly at 6pm, the guy was waiting with his wife at the bottom of the building. The studio was situated in an ideal spot…a quiet area and really really close to a bunch of Salamanca’s best bars and restaurants, and about 2 minutes to the university campus. We walked up a lot of stairs to get to the top floor of the building because there wasn’t an elevator.

When we walked in, the bathroom was to our left. It was a nice bathroom with a nice little shower and plenty of space. As you walked further back in the studio, there was a trendal bed, a few shelving units, a table and chairs, and on one side of the wall, there was a pretty nice little kitchen area. The kitchen even had a deep stainless steel sink and granite countertops. There was also a nice pair of window/doors that could be opened up to extend to a little balcony area. The area was really quiet, and looked out to the library and other residences.

The couple that were renting the studio were probably in their 40s or 50s. They were really nice and kind of quirky. Blake and I were sure that the guy was a professor or an engineer. I don’t know what the woman might have been, but she seemed like she could have been in the movie, “Beetlejuice.” They were both super cool about everything – very easygoing. In the end, we told them we’d think about the studio and let them know a little later.

We both wanted to see the shared apartment, so we held out until 8pm. Again, the couple that owned the apartment showed up to greet us at the bottom of the building. The place on Rua Mayor was in an ideal location (just as the studio was,) and it had an elevator. We went to the third or fourth floor, and as soon as the door was opened, you walked into the living room/kitchen. Like the studio, the kitchen counters were lining one side of the wall. The kitchen in the studio was slightly better than the one in the shared apartment, but the shared apartment had more furniture in the living room. There was also three separate rooms that came off of the kitchen/living room, as well as a bathroom.

Blake and I really liked the possibility of having roommates, but the woman who was showing us the apartment said that they are almost never at home. She said they never cook or anything. She also told us that they were in the hospitality industry. The room that she showed us has a great view of a cathedral. We would have had our own balcony, a double bed, a desk, and there were some shelving units for our clothes.

Blake and I liked the shared apartment that the lady was showing us just as much as the studio that we had just seen. Because of the possibility of having cool roommates to speak Spanish with, we decided to go with the shared apartment. We told the couple that we would like to rent the room that they were showing us, and as the woman and I were putting sheets on the bed, Blake was with the older man looking at the bathroom. The bathroom apparently had one of the devices to hold the shower head up, but it broke. The landlords were finding this out for the first time when we were there. The woman instantly started saying that we’ll do fine with just holding the shower head because we’re young. “It’s no problem,” she said. As the couple was talking back and forth about the shower head, Blake was starting to have doubts about the place. I think when he was in the bathroom, he noticed how little space there was for us. The other couple renting a room, (our roommates that would supposedly never be home,) had all of their bathroom supplies strewn on every spare inch of space in the bathroom.

We were going to let it all slide until Blake asked the woman about how much it would be to stay for the days left in June. There were ten days left in June, and without any thought, she said we would be charged half a month. “That’s very cheap,” she kept saying. In reality, we should have been prorated the amount of days that were left in the month. For the rest of the ten days, she wanted to charge us 112 euros each, plus July’s rent (450 euros,) plus our share of the utilities, (which would have probably been another 50 euros,) and she wanted a deposit of 450 euros as well. We would have been spending over 700 euros without even considering the deposit! It soon became apparent that she was trying to suck out enough money from us to cover her all the way through August, just in case she didn’t have anyone to rent the room after we left.

So…right then and there, we told her that we’d have to think about it. We changed our minds in the course of twenty minutes, and as soon as we left the shared apartment, we called the great couple that owned the studio and told them that we wanted it.

Our tiny building.

When we talked money, they didn’t require a deposit, and they ended up charging us less than what we thought we’d be charged for the rest of June! Then they told us that we could pay half now and half in July, which was nice because our bank only allows us to take out 300 euros each day. We had our own place right in the center of town in no time!

Our bedroom/dining room/living room combo!

That night, we went out to check out the tapas bars around us, and we felt like we struck gold. The tapas here aren’t as good as they are in the South of Spain, but they’re not bad. I think tapas bars are more popular here because it’s a college town. The only thing is that you rarely get a hot tapa…although, the other night, we were given hot ribs for free!

Our kitchen has granite countertops!

After having a few drinks and watching the rest of the World Cup Spain game, we went to bed and were very happy to have a place of our own.

The view from our balcony/window

Our bathroom

Just keep walking. We were very happy on the way up.

It’s funny…I always second guess myself about how bad these flights have actually been lately. Sometimes I think I’m just starting to get a flying phobia of some kind, but this one must have been bad because the whole cabin started clapping when we landed. I’m glad that we only have a few more flights to go on.

Once Blake and I grabbed our bags, we thought about going into Bergamo for a few hours. We were only a 20 minute bus ride from the city center, but when we asked the tourist office whether or not anything would be open at 2pm, they said “Probably not.” I guess during Italy’s siesta hours, even restaurants close down. Blake and I even started thinking about going to a shopping center right across the street from the mall, but we ran into problems when we started talking about our luggage. Not real problems…just small ones. I didn’t want to carry my backpacking backpack to the mall because it was too heavy. I thought it would be better to just leave it a the left luggage counter. It did cost 8 euros per bag, but I thought was worth it. Blake didn’t mind carrying his huge bag, especially since we had one of those luggage carts to wheel it around on. The baggage carts, mind you, look like shopping carts, and he was proposing to just wheel it over to the mall. Now, when I say the mall was across the street, it isn’t that simple. As soon as you exit the airport, you make a left and follow the street until it goes into a tunnel. The tunnel allows a pedestrian and other cars to go under the huge highway that we had to eventually get to the other side of. We didn’t know if there was a sidewalk or not, and Blake thought it wouldn’t be a big deal to just take the luggage cart (with his bags in toe,) out of the airport, through the tunnel, and into the mall. I, on the other hand, didn’t want that thing with us. In the midst of our debate, it started pouring down rain, which solved our problem. We ended up just spending the four hours at the Bergamo airport.

Blake and I got some lunch, (a Panini for me and some microwaveable pasta for Blake.) We read and slept a bit, and our flight to Madrid was eventually delayed by a half hour due to weather. After a long and boring time at the airport, we boarded the flight and had a fairly smooth ride into Madrid.

Back in Kos, baby

The ride back to Kos was as pleasant as it could be, I guess. The ferry ended up coming to Santorini a little late, and by the time we boarded the ship and found seats, we were so tired that we probably fell asleep within the first hour. I snagged a booth seat which allowed me to lay down. I didn’t sleep very well, but before I knew it, we were at the port in Kos. I believe we left the ship at 5:30am.

The good thing is that Blake booked us a hotel before we even got into the port. The hotel was called the Kosta Palace Hotel, and it was right next to the harbor. We were so tired by the time we got to our room, but we were pleased to find that the room we got was probably one of the best ones we had stayed during the entire trip. The friendly front desk rep. walked us to our room, and we were totally surprised to see that it was more like an apartment. There was a living room with two couches that could become single beds, a kitchen, a nice bathroom, and a bedroom with a balcony. The hotel rate also came with breakfast, daily cleaning, and the hotel had a rooftop pool. It was also in a pretty central location, and the breakfast that was served was great!

Blake and I slept for quite a bit of the first day back in Kos. We went to bed as soon as we checked into the hotel, and we didn’t wake back up until like 2pm. We walked around the town a bit when we did wake up. We took care of some errands, but that was about it. That night, we went to a restaurant that served food from Crete. It wasn’t that memorable, and they were a little peeved that we didn’t eat everything on our plates. Oh well. We really didn’t do a whole lot after dinner because we were both tired and wanted to get a good night’s rest.

The next day, Blake and I went to the beach. We hadn’t realized how close our hotel was to the beach – it was practically right across the street! On our way there, we came across a bunch of cool bars and restaurants that backed right

Swanky beach-side locale on Kos Town Beach

up to the sand. In fact, most of them used the sand for umbrellas and sun beds, so that they could advertise, “If you eat or drink here…we’ll give you a free umbrella and sun bed!” Quite a few of the restaurants tried to make the beach into a club scene as well. There were djs pumping music outside while the outdoor waitresses were barely wearing anything. I thought it was really fun, but Blake didn’t like it all that much. The sun beds were lined up and packed in like sardines, so there really wasn’t any personal space. Aside from that, there really wasn’t that much beach. The last sun bed was probably half a foot from the water, so you had to walk through everyone else’s stuff in order to take a dip. Still, I really liked the music and atmosphere. After a couple hours though, we left to go to our rooftop pool.

The pool was pretty basic but it was refreshing, and if you looked around, you could see the ocean and Turkey on one side of the pool and the mountains of Kos off in the distance on the other side. There was even a small rooftop restaurant that was part of the hotel as well.

When we had enough sun for the day, Blake and I got showered off, and we went to take a walk through town again. At about 5 or 6pm, all of the ships are back into port, and many of the captains and crew members stand in front of their boats to try to sell excursions to the tourists. All of the excursion boats are really beautiful. Most of them are wooden sailboats that look more like pirate ships than yachts. Every excursion is practically the same. The crew tries to load up the boat with tourists, and then they travel to three islands that aren’t far away. On the island of Kalymnos, you can walk around a small city and go through a sponge factory. (Sponges are HUGE around Kos. I believe Kos and the surrounding islands is where most of the sponges in the world come from. People scuba dive to find them deep in the water.) We were also taken to a restaurant for lunch on Kalymnos. One of the other islands that they take you to is called Plati. Plati is a small island that seems to be uninhabited. The water is really beautiful, so I think a lot of the boats just take the tourists there to swim and jump off the boat. The third of the islands that tourists are taken to is called Pserimos. Pserimos is a small island that has a tiny town and a shallow beach, for those who are too scared to jump off the boat in the deep water of Plati. Of course, people can walk around the Pserimos town if they don’t want to go swimming.

Lounging tourists taking a day-trip

Before Blake and I took a good gander before settling on one particular ship. We knew we wanted to book one of these excursions, but we didn’t know who to go with. Luckily, the crew members invite you aboard to check out the various boats. All of the boats were really cool. There were sun beds that lined the tops of the ships, (I think it’s called the bow,) and many of the ships sold cold drinks on the boat. Most crew members tried to sell the trip for about 20-25 euros. After seeing countless sailboats, Blake and I came across the only motor boat in the whole harbor. The thing was huge, and it even had waterslides! After a lot of thought, we decided to book with the motor boat company. We were scheduled to depart at 10am on Friday morning and we’d get back at about 6pm.

Hokey vessels take flight!

Fearless captian stirring up the crowd: "Dance to traditional Greek music or walk the plank!"

Main deck full of sunbeds. Very comfy!

Kos Town Beach from afar

Who are these two swarthy sea rats?

Where are we again?

Fine deep-water sponge, anyone?

Choices: Jump off the low deck, jump off the high deck, go down the water slide, or go down the water slide tandem with another person?

Later that night, we had a cocktail at one of the bars, and we went to eat at an Italian restaurant that was recommended in our Lonely Planet guidebook. The restaurant was called Avanti, and it was great! I think we were both getting sick of Greek food, and it seemed like Italian fare was a little less heavy on the ol’ gut. We had a great dinner, (pesto pizza for me, and pasta bolognaise for Blake,) and we watched the World Cup. After the game was over, we went back to our hotel to go to sleep.

Blake and I got up a little early the next day so that we could eat breakfast and get showers before going on the ship excursion. At 10am, we were aboard the boat, and right when we left the harbor, the captain blasted Greek music. It took us about 45 minutes to get to Kalymnos, so we just sunbathed and enjoyed the surrounding scenery.

The sponge factory at Kalymnos was just okay. A woman told us about the sponge process, but it was mostly just a spiel to get us to buy some. After the sponge factory, we were free to walk around for a half hour, and then we went to lunch. Lunch was okay, but I was still kind of cautious about eating. I ordered fried fish and I only ate half of it. Blake ordered roasted chicken.

After lunch, we boarded the boat again and headed for Plati. Jumping off of the boat was SO much fun! It seemed like we were really high from the top level. I’d say that we were about 30 feet off of the water. We also went down the waterslides, which was fun as well. The water was completely clear and a beautiful shade of blue.

The last island, Pserimos, was nice but a little too boring for my taste. We walked around the two streets that they call a town, and we went in the shallow water. I think too much time was dedicated to Pserimos. We spent about an hour and a half at the island. Luckily, we did have some entertainment.

I haven’t talked yet about the other tourists that chose our boat. It seemed like some kind of student group had booked an excursion with our tour company, and from the very start of the journey they were all drinking. At 10am, many of the guys were drinking Bacardi Breezers, and by the time we got to Plati, they were doing some pretty interesting things.

Many of the guys in the group looked like meatheads. They were really muscular, and would do almost anything to prove their strength. This fact mixed with a lot of drinking made for some interesting moments. When we were all jumping from the boat in Plati, for example, one of the guys decided to stand on the outside of the boat railing as if he was going to do a backwards belly flop. At that point, one of the other meatheads climbed on top of his shoulders and they both jumped from the boat. Someone could have broken their neck! There were also times when they would climb to the very highest point, which happened to be the antenna post, and they’d jump off the boat while trying to do flips.

When we got to Pserimos, they were making human wheels, which was their most memorable stunt. It started with a guy that was just standing on the beach. Then, one of the other guys did kind of a handstand and grabbed the other guy’s ankles in the process. The guy standing straight up (now with his ankles being held onto) grabbed the ankles of the guy doing the handstand. Once the bended their backs a little, they went rolling down the beach into the water for a good 10 feet! They must have been holding their breath pretty well while doing this, because they were both under water for probably about four rotations. We were even more intrigued when the tried to do the human wheel with four people. (It only worked for one rotation, but it was fun to watch!)

Blake and I were back in Kos Town by 6pm. Going on the excursion was a good way to spend our last day in Kos, and we were actually thankful that we were leaving the next day just because we didn’t want to take in any more sun. We went back to the hotel to get showered off, and we decided to watch one of the World Cup games in the hotel lobby.

I just love traveling in Europe during the World Cup games! It’s SO much fun! You get to go to bars and meet people while watching a great game! I think people are a lot more friendly and open when they are excited about something. Unfortunately, our bartender was a gambler who had lost 800 euros on the game that we were watching.

After watching the World Cup, Blake and I went to grab a drink at a different bar, and then we went to the same restaurant we had gone to the night before. That’s right…we ate Italian food at Avanti on our last night in Greece! The meal was amazing, and I don’t feel bad about not eating Greek food…not one bit! Greek food is good, but as I said before, it’s heavy, and after my food poisoning, my palate needed something new. We had to wake up at about 8:30am the next morning, so we didn’t stay up late on our last night in Greece.

The next morning was short and sweet. Blake and I packed our things, took showers, ate breakfast, and paid the 32 euro cab fare to the airport. Can you believe that???? 32 euros for a one-way trip to the airport, which took probably about a half hour!!! The cabs might be a little cheaper if they weren’t all Mercedes-Benzes. I wouldn’t be surprised if there was some kind of cab-driver racket going on in Greece…maybe like some strange little version of the MOB. Who knows…but with rates like that…something has to be going on.

Packed Kos airport

When we arrived at the airport, it was apparent how many tourists were coming and going. The tourist season was apparently in full swing, and we were just about to leave. The airport in Kos is chaotic. If there was a maximum number of people allowed in the airport, I’m sure the number was far exceeded. Blake and I just found an empty space on the floor and sat there until our flight started to board.

Now that we were leaving Greece, we were on to Italy and then to Spain about 9 hours later.

Heat on the black sand: Welcome to Santorini.

Blake and I arrived in Santorini just after midnight, and as soon as we stepped foot on Santorini soil, we had to pay 18 euros for a taxi to drive us across the island. The island isn’t that big, (it was only a 15 min. taxi ride after all,) however, transportation services are limited after a certain hour…so, it was our only choice. Since it was dark, we couldn’t really see the cliffs that you would normally marvel at as the ship comes to port. We simply got in our taxi and were driven to Perissa, a small town on the southwestern side of Santorini.

We heard that Perissa had a nice beach, and while we were in Kos, we made a hotel reservation at the Blue Palace Bay Hotel. The small hotel was pretty new and was right across the street from the beach. From the hotel, you could see the huge brown hills that separate Perissa from the rest of the towns on the island. On the top of one hill is a small church and some extremely old windmills. On the top of another hill is a monastery, and on the top of the third hill is Ancient Thira, which is the home of some ancient ruins.

The Blue Palace Bay seems above average, doesn't it?

The Blue Palace Bay Hotel was run by three teenagers…or at least it seemed that way. Blake and I spent four nights at the hotel, and we never saw an adult in charge! The three hotel workers were always standing by the street to persuade people to come eat at the restaurant, lounge on their beach chairs (it’s free of charge as long as you buy a drink from the bar,) or stay at the hotel. They were constantly bidding for business just like all of the other hotel/restaurant owners in Santorini. It’s just funny because they were all so young. I think two of the guys were brothers, and I doubt they were Greek. They seemed to be from somewhere else. Although, the last day we were there, Blake asked one of the guys where he was from and he said he was born in Santorini. He also told Blake that the hotel was his father’s place, and they just helped run it. The third guy seemed to be a friend from India who also happened to work at the hotel. It was hilarious watching them work because it was a little chaotic but they seemed to have everything strangely under control.

The hotel room was a few steps up from our bunk bed days. It was a large room with a double bed and a nice bathroom. We had our own outdoor porch and refrigerator, and the architecture of the hotel was modeled after the traditional Santorini architecture (rounded archways, etc.) The hotel also had a pool and restaurant that were pretty nice. Sun beds and umbrellas were free, as I said before, but you did have to buy a drink. We paid 35 euros a night for the room, which seemed to be a great deal; however, there were certain other fees that we incurred that we didn’t know about before settling on this hotel. It was an extra 5 euros per person per day for breakfast, an extra 5 euros per night to get the remote for the air conditioning, and you had to buy a drink from the bar in order to get wireless internet access.

Very chill beach in Perissa

The first day that we were there, we went to the beach for a big part of the day. Most of the beaches in Santorini are black sand beaches. I really love the sand!!! It’s like mini rocks! I mean really really small rocks. It’s isn’t like the typical version of sand…the kind that sticks to you when you get wet. The kind of sand in Santorini brushes off of you in no time. The only problem is that you absolutely cannot walk on the hot sand in your bare feet – you’ll scald them! Likewise, most people choose to lay out on sun beds rather than lay towels out…so that’s what we did. Once you get into the water, the sand turns into stones and because there isn’t any sand churning in the water, the water is extremely clear! The water was a perfect temperature. Colder than the Gulf of Mexico, but warmer than the Spanish Med..

Pretty beaches of Perissa

We spent a good while at the beach, but we decided to leave in the

Pebbly sand sticks to wet feet then falls off moments later.

midafternoon to take a walk. We wanted to check out the beaches elsewhere, so we started to follow the coastline. As we were walking, Blake and I stumbled into a nude beach! There weren’t many people there…just a few old guys…and we kept walking. The further we walked, the more unswimable the waters got. We actually rounded the island when we decided to walk on the road rather than the sand. We didn’t know where we were going, which made it kind of fun. Greece is so gosh-darn safe, so we weren’t worried. You don’t even have to worry about pickpockets here!

Walk through nudist beaches and economic fallout zones

Anywho, we walked through what looked to be a ghost town. There were all of these buildings that didn’t have windows or anything in them. Nobody was around and we kept walking. The road eventually took us to the foot of one of the three hills that we could see in the distance from our hotel. We decided to try to hike up to the small church at the top of the hill. Mind you…we were wearing our swimsuits and sandals. I was even in a dress! At the time we were thinking, “Why not hike up to the top of that huge hill???”

It really doesn't seem far away, does it?

We didn’t have a map and there wasn’t a trail, so we had to figure it out on our own. Blake and I ended up in someone’s farm and when the farmer asked us what we were trying to do, we told him we were trying to get to the church. He spoke a little English, and was able to help us out quite a bit. He allowed us to hike up his side of the hill, which was used for goat grazing. He gave us some simple directions, and led us through his farm to the bottom of the hill.

The walk up was fairly easy because the goat-grazing territory was all rock.

Just keep walking. We were very happy on the way up.

The only problem was that we were walking on goat poop the whole way up. It actually sounds worse than it is. Goats poop out small balls just a little larger than a tic tac. Not too shabby…and easy to overlook. We just kept on trekking.

When we got about halfway up the hill, the terrain changed from rock to dry grass. Again, it wasn’t difficult walking, but here you had to worry about stepping on thorn bushes.

Eventually we got to the top of the hill, (it took about an hour just to get up the thing) and the church was closed!!! We did have a fantastic view though, and we took lots of pictures. We also met a British couple who had hiked up there at the same time. They took a different route and were wearing proper hiking clothes. Actually, they were pretty impressed with Blake and I for managing the hike in sandals and bathing suits! According to them, we’re “posh hikers”!!! Ha, ha!

Small church or big sky?

Lindsey investigates an old, old windmill. Little seat inside- Nice one!

Once we got our fill with the view, the closed church, and the windmills, we started to make our way back down the hill. The British woman seemed to be a decent hiker who had hiked to the church using different routes, and she gave us a route to take back down. We followed her advise, but realized along the way that she didn’t have the slightest clue what she was talking about. She pointed out a ridge of terraces that we could follow to a road a the bottom of the hill, so that’s the route we took.

First of all, there wasn’t any rock to cling onto. The terrain was all grass, and

Can a donkey bite? Easy there, boy...

quite a bit of it was above our waists! There were also large holes in the ground. We didn’t know if they belonged to snakes or rabbits. We also had to maneuver around large piles of donkey poop at one part of the trek, because apparently we were on donkey-grazing territory. There were thorn bushes everywhere, and once we could finally see the road (we were probably within 100 feet of it,) we ran into a cactus patch!!! We absolutely couldn’t get down and it was slowly getting dark!!!

After trying to find a better way, Blake and I just resorted to going back up the hill in order to go down the hill the way we came up. Once we found our original route, everything went well; however, it was probably a three-hour event just to get down…then we had to walk all the way back to Perissa. I bet we walked about 10 miles that whole day. Thank God I can look back on it now as a good memory. We were both really starting to get nervous up there!

When we got back, we just took showers, had a drink, and went to dinner. I think we decided to call it an early night.

The next couple days, we spent our time at the beach and the pool. There isn’t

Comfy pool at the Blue Palace Bay

that much to tell you, except for the fact that the World Cup started, and Blake and I have been pretty religious in watching it. It’s great being on vacation during the World Cup! You can catch all of the games that you want to see. I still can’t believe the U.S. tied with England!!! All of the British people were totally silent in the bar that night. I think they were all distraught about the goal that was let through by their own British goalie.

Speaking of America, we have seen a ton of Americans in Greece! There were an absolute ton in Perissa! I think a lot of people from the U.S. chose Greece because of the economy. It’s probably about as cheap as traveling in the U.S. after all.

Edge of a gigantic caldera.

On our last day staying in Perissa, Blake and I decided to take an excursion to the caldera. Around 1600 B.C., the volcano in Santorini blew up and caused worldwide destruction. This was one of the largest eruptions in history. It spewed 30 cubic kilometers of volcanic ash and lava everywhere, and blew up most of the island of Santorini. Tsunami effects were felt as far as Israel, and some people believe it to be instrumental in the downfall of the Minoan civilization. Since the volcano eruption blew up the island of Santorini, what was one big island is now divided into smaller islands. The main island is Santorin (as we know it today.) The huge cliffs on one side of the island are attributed to the explosion long ago. Another of the islands is the actual tip of the volcano, and then there are a few other islands that are speckled around the caldera, which is the void of land that used to be in the place of all the water. I guess when the island blew up and the land was thrown into the air, the Agean Sea gushed into its place.

That's quite a hole.

During the excursion, Blake and I took a boat from Santorini to the tip of the volcano. We hiked to the top, and you can still see sulfer coming from holes in the land. You can even put your hand in one of the holes and feel how hot it is! It is HOT!!! I couldn’t even stick my hand all the way in.

Apparently, the volcano has had a few other eruptions since that time. I think the most current eruption happened in the 1950s. Also, because of the fault lines, the volcano is growing. There are earthquakes in Greece!

Blake in front of the huge hole

When we were finished hiking the volcano, we went to a different island to go into some hot springs. It was actually just an area that looked the same as the Mediterranean Sea. We were told to jump off the boat and swim into a cove. The closer you got to the cove, the muddier the water got. It was pretty disgusting! By the time we got all the way into the cove, the water was warm, but not hot, and it was shallow and had really thick mud on the seafloor.

Overall, the excursion was interesting but I wouldn’t do it again. The mud took a toll on my bathing suit, and the volcano hike was just okay. I know that with all of the history behind it, I should be more thrilled about hiking the volcano, but I’m not. It seemed like it was just a hill – much smaller than the one we climbed earlier!

Waiting for the water taxi

The next day, we took a water taxi over to another town called Kamari. Kamari is really close to Perissa but it’s on the opposite side of an even bigger hill than the one Blake and I climbed. We were SO pleased when we got to Kamari.

After holding Santorini up on a pedestal for so long, I was kind of shocked to find out that there were some negatives in Perissa. For example, the wind is really strong there. So strong that sometimes you want to leave the beach! Also, the mosquitoes are annoying!!! In fact, our second night in Perissa, Blake and I were trying to air out the room. At this time, we hadn’t paid for the air-conditioning remote yet. Anyway, in the process of using the front door to fan out the room, I must have let in like twenty mosquitoes, and at 4am, we both woke up and had an all-out war with the damn things. We turned on the lights, grabbed some bathroom towels, and started whacking the walls every time we saw one land. Oooooooo, I HATE MOSQUITOES!!!! We won in the end, but they still left me with about twenty bites!

Anyway, the air in Kamari is slightly cooler, and the breeze is just right. The

Some nice 'n tasty Kamari saganaki

wind isn’t as intrusive as it is in Perissa, and there aren’t any mosquitoes! The beach is much nicer, and is backed by more scenic hills. In addition, the restaurants are right on the sand. There are quite a few hotels and stores, and it’s really convenient.

Blake and I stayed at the Poseidon Hotel, which has an oceanfront. We had a basic room with a double bed and our own bathroom for 35 euros a night. This also included air-conditioning, but not breakfast. There was also a pool, but you had to pay for a sun bed and umbrella if you wanted one. We went to the beach the first day, and we were sorry that we hadn’t found Kamari earlier! This was much better than Perissa.

Lovin' Kamari

Awwwww

... yeah.

That evening, we decided that we wanted to stay in Kamari a little longer than we intended. Blake and I were going to celebrate our 3rd anniversary in Santorini, and originally, we had planned to go to Oia for the night of the 14th and 15th. Oia is another town that is named the prettiest city in Greece. It’s the one that you always see on postcards from Greece. However, we liked Kamari so much that we agreed to stay there and just have dinner in Oia one night.

We still wanted to do something special, so that first evening in Kamari, we walked to some really nice hotels and asked to see a room. We heard that there were rooms with private outdoor Jacuzzis, and we were on the hunt for one those! Blake and I settled on reserving a room at the Hotel Venus, which ironically, was right next door to the Hotel Poseidon. The room they showed

Private jaccuz'- that's how we roll.

us was beautiful! It had a really nice bathroom, modern furniture, and a private outdoor Jacuzzi – not to mention a great pool, oceanfront access, air-conditioning, and breakfast! We paid 150 euros. I know, I know…that’s not quite in our budget…but it’s not every day that we’re in Santorini on our anniversary! Besides, we didn’t get each other anything this year. We would normally go out to a really nice dinner and buy each other gifts, so instead we decided to just splurge on this one room and a day or two by their awesome pool.

After we reserved the room, Blake and I went to an oceanfront lounge called Oxygen. We ordered some drinks and some food for dinner. I ordered the chicken curry that I’ll never forget. After we ate and watched a bit more of the World Cup, we back to our hotel and went to sleep.

I’ll never forget that chicken curry dish because the entire next day – the day that we had that plush room for 150 euros – I had major stomach cramps. As the day went on, I got more and more tired and the cramps got worse. By about 7pm, I had diarrhea and by 8pm, I was throwing up! FOOD POISONING…on our anniversary.

The upside is that I had a really nice bathroom to use while I was sick, and that it only lasted about 24 hours. Although, I’m still a little leery about what I eat these days.

The next day, I felt much better and we spent the first part of the day by the

Hotel Venus' pool- Child-infested but very nice.

Hotel Venus pool. When it was time to check out, we packed our bags and headed back to the Hotel Poseidon. We were scheduled to leave Santorini that night, (the night of our actual anniversary – June 15,) and take a ferry back to Kos at midnight.

The ferries run on strange schedules here. They don’t go every day, so we chose to take the ferry at midnight on June 15th so that we would be back in Kos by the 19th in order to fly back to Madrid.

Anyway, we reserved a room at the Hotel Poseidon for day use so that we could use the showers and leave our things there while we went to the beach. Later that night, we also took a bus to Oia. Oia sure is pretty! It’s a small town that is built into a cliff. There are a lot of places in the city that offer 360 degree views, and you are almost completely surrounded by the ocean! All of the buildings have that traditional Cycladic architecture, and in Oia you can see the blue doors and domes. Oia is also the place you go to see the best sunsets in Greece.

Pretty woman waits for a bus

Blake and I went there at about 5:30, and we walked around the city for a while before settling on a place to eat. I didn’t realize how small the city actually is! The streets are narrow, and there aren’t that many shops. There are probably about 3 streets for shopping, but that’s it. I guess they really can’t fit any more because of the cliffs.

Oia is stunning.

Cliffside domes give way to adorable shoppes and eateries.

Anyway, we ate at a fantastic restaurant. It was a wine bar and bistro that was right at the edge of the main city. We had an unobstructed view of the sunset, and we had the best outdoor table in the restaurant. Everything in the place was white, and they played this really nice music to go with dinner and sunset

Happy anniversary!!

watching. I was still worried about food, so I ordered a rocket salad. Blake had some kind of baked lamb shank. We had a great time, and I hope I enjoy that memory for as long as I’m alive! It was glorious!!! The only things that tainted it a tiny bit, (or should I say…added to the memory,) was the early twenty-something girl and the forty or fifty-something sugar daddy American couple that were sitting right behind us, and the fact that there wasn’t a sunset that night! The sun just diminished into some clouds on the horizon. It was still pretty though, and the couple behind us were kind of entertaining.

Linds' salad- Safe and tasty!

Just as we finished dinner, it was about time to get back on the bus. We got back to Kamari at about 10pm, so we packed our things and took a cab back across the island to the port in order to catch our midnight ferry.

Blake's valiant lamb shank!

Back to Kos we went…with only three days left in Greece!

Linds catches some Z's on the ferry to Kos

Me enjoying a famous frappe

I admit that I am a coffee addict. I am not trying to quit, either.  Anyone that sees me regularly usually sees me with a cup of  ‘black lightning’ in my hand.  I love the stuff, dammit.

So accordingly, one of the most intriguing questions I like to discover about traveling to new places is: “How’s their coffee?”  Greek coffee is like an instant espresso with a chalky black mucky powder at the bottom.  Coming from the divine Italy and above-average Spain coffees, Greece’s sloppy take on my favorite morning beverage was utterly unsatisfying.  I thought I was really in for a struggle, people.  That is, before I found the frappe!

I discovered the frappe, really, before I tried Greek coffee. I remember we were finishing our first gyro pita and the shop owner shirtlessly walks out of the kitchen with a frappe in his hand.  At the time I didn’t know what it was (I thought it was Greek coffee, actually), but it looked awesome!  He drank an iced light brown beverage with about 4 inches of foam on the top with a straw.  So, I ordered a Greek coffee- my first and last.

I was determined to figure out what this tasty coffee-variant was that I looked around and found everyone to be drinking. So, I looked in our trusty LP and there is was in black and white: It was of course, the almighty Frappe!

I worship you, frappe.

Treasure Discovered

I ordered it, then ordered another, then another, then another.  I continue ordering them to this day and will probably make them when we get home to the States.  The frappe is everything its look promised.  A cool refreshing watered down coffee with plenty of sugar and some playful foam on top.  The quality obviously varies from place to place, but very little.  The average price is 3 euros, we’ve found.

What’s in it?

Mmmmm, froth

The basic ingredients of the frappe are this: water, Nescafe, and sugar to taste. Froth with a milk frother for a few seconds until it becomes really frothy.  Add milk.  Don’t mix.  What you have is a fantastic 3-layered Greek frappe.  Add vanilla ice-cream for an ‘ice-cream frappe’; use real espresso instead of Nescafe for an ‘iced-freddo’.

So, what have we learned?  When you come to Greece, try the “Greek coffee” but do so for cultural exploration and not sensory satisfaction; do so with full awareness that a sweet, caffeinated, foaming heaven awaits you.

Relax with tunes and a frappe- priceless.

Destination: Kos, Greece

Blake and I woke up as we were supposed to on Tuesday morning. I must have been excited because I woke up and checked the clock exactly one minute prior to our alarm going off. We were packed up already, so all we had to do was change clothes and head to the Como train station.

Our journey to the Milan/Bergamo airport was a lot easier than the one coming from it. Blake and I had a leisurely train ride into Milan’s central train station. We found the bus that we were supposed to be on without a problem, and we arrived at the airport with plenty of time to spare.

We ate our last brioches (the Italian pastries,) drank our last latte macchiato,

Last Italian snack for a while

and about an hour later, we ate our last slices of pizza which weren’t that good. Then, we made way for our gate, and flew off Italian soil.

The flight went well for the most part. The only part that didn’t was the landing. I guess it was okay, but my palms still started to sweat. It seems like the European pilots fly planes like they drive. If they want to stop, they’ll do it quick…even if it means speeding up until they hit the runway. I guess it could be all in my head…but that’s what it seemed like this time.

When we got off the plane, we were amazed at how arid the island of Kos is. There was a cool breeze that seemed to tame the heat. We happened to meet two other American girls that needed to get to Kos Town, so we asked if they wanted to share a cab to the city center. They were both from Seattle and were spending four days on Kos. We had a nice conversation with them and then parted ways.

Bike City!

It seems as though every taxi in Kos is a silver Mercedes-Benz. So far, everyone that we have met has been extremely nice. Kos Town is a the northern end of the island, and Blake and I just found out that what we thought was another island that we were looking out on, is actually Turkey. A really good swimmer would be able to swim to Turkey from Kos.

Kos Town has Greek architecture and all of the buildings are light stucco. Most of them are designed like cubes. Everything is very clean and there are tons of things for tourists to do.

Iconic Greek stuff... Yes!

The very average Koala Hotel

Blake and I are staying at the Koala Hotel, which is something that I booked online before we came. Our Lonely Planet book says that the summer months are Greece’s high season and that you should book rooms well in advance. I was worried about not having a room when we first arrived, so I booked the Koala about a month ago for 30 euros per night. It’s a basic hotel not far from the town center. It seems as though Blake and I have upgraded from bunk beds to two twin beds smashed up next to each other. Since the bed frames don’t fit perfectly, there is still a gap between the two. Still, the beds are do-able…however, the shower is not. Now, we did get our own bathroom, so I feel like I shouldn’t be complaining but every time we took a shower the bathroom would flood. The tiny shower in the corner of the small bathroom was probably 3’ x 3’. I’m not exaggerating. This might have been do-able if it wasn’t for the shower curtain

Tiny b-room- not fun but exhilirating nontheless.

that was too short for the height of the shower. Every time any portion of wet skin touched the short shower curtain, the curtain would stick to you and follow you around the shower. Therefore, it would never stay in place and keep the water from getting outside of the nonexistent shower stall. Thank God there was a small drain underneath the sink. We didn’t complain because it didn’t seem to be that big of a deal at the time.

When we checked into the hotel, we put our bags down and went for a walk. It felt so surreal to be in Greece. We were pretty set to come here in 2002 before Greece switched to the Euro, but our plans fell through. It’s great to finally be here.

We love Greek food, so naturally we wanted to eat. Blake and I stopped at a small gyro shop right across from the beach. Blake had a pork gyro with pita bread (you have to ask for the flatbread here…they don’t just give it to you,) and I had a Greek salad, (which actually doesn’t come with lettuce here…just tomato, cucumber, olives, onions, and feta!)

After lunch, we roamed around for a bit. We admired all of the beautiful restaurants and dock with all of the tiny multicolored fishing boats. We must have walked through all of the streets in the city center. As every first day in a new country…Blake and I crashed at about 5 or 6 and we took a nap. When we woke up, we got ready go out for the evening.

We asked the hotel owner where we should go for dinner, and he recommended a place called Hironyous or something like that. Dinner was great! Blake had some kind of Greek spaghetti (with shredded meat and pasta) and I had Mousaka, which is kind of like a Greek lasagna made of potatoes, eggplant, minced meat, and cheese. Both were really good, but I liked mine better.

Blake and I took a walk after dinner, and we must have passed a hundred empty restaurants. It was actually really sad. Greece basically declared bankruptcy because their economy is dependent on tourism and ever since the recession, the tourists haven’t been coming like they used to. I realize that there is probably more to their economic turmoil than that, but the tourism industry plays a large part. Anyway, Blake and I aren’t traveling in the high season, but there really aren’t that many tourists here. All of the vendors want business and they all stand out in front of their stores, restaurants, and even boats, to try to win your business. It’s just sad to see so many restaurants closing early because nobody is around. I hope that this is mainly because of the season. We did stumble upon a strip of nightclubs, and even they were only half full. Blake and I were too tired to dance the night away, so we walked back to our hotel and went to bed.

The next day we woke up without an alarm clock, and headed down to breakfast. The Koala Hotel serves a pretty good breakfast buffet. The Greek yogurt won it over for me. I love that stuff!

Tart and rich Greek goodness

We knew that we wanted to go to the island of Santorini, and the next ferry for Santroini left at 8pm. Therefore, we asked the hotel owner if it was possible to use our hotel room for a half-day price, and he agreed. We didn’t bother packing until later on in the day. Right after breakfast, we went to an internet café for a while, and then we went to one of the various bicycle rental shops.

Comfy bikes of Kos

Almost everyone in Kos rides a bike! In fact, I believe you can ride a bike around the entire island if you wanted. Much of the island is flat, and the roads are nice and wide. All of Kos Town has a two-way bike path, which makes riding extremely easy. Blake and I rented bikes for 3 euros a day per bike, and we rode at least 20 km. It’s kind of fun because most of the bikes have a large basket on the back so that you can fit any beach gear that you may have. Blake even got a hold of a bungee cord that we used to strap our umbrella to the basket.

We were in search of a nice beach, and I think we might have been too picky. We didn’t end up finding one! There were plenty of decent ones, but after coming from Nerja, Spain and after living near Siesta Key…let’s just say that we have high standards! The ones that we came across were pretty narrow and there was too much seaweed. The water was pretty and the weather was perfect for most of the day; however, we just didn’t have any luck.

Enjoying an imperfect day on Kos

Tasty gyro plate

When we started to get hungry again, we stopped riding and went to a taverna for lunch. The lunch wasn’t memorable and was a bit overpriced. After we finished, we went across the street to try out another beach. This one was still narrow, but we were going to ignore that. We set our beach supplies on a nice spot of sand, and once we were settled, the clouds came in and the wind kicked up. I was actually cold. We stayed for about an hour and then biked back into town.

Average pool at Koala

Blake and I went to the pool for a while before taking showers and packing upstairs. We must have taken longer than we expected because at the time we finished packing, we were supposed to check out of the hotel and start making our way down to the dock.

We stopped to get some dinner at one of the restaurants along the way. This time, we got some Greek tapas and tried some new things. We had fried cheese, a few dips, cod, and some type of chickpea mixture. Everything was really good.

Just as we arrived at the dock, we noticed the huge ship that we were about to board. The Blue Star is the cruise line that operates between most of the Greek islands. I always thought it was going to be a ship likes the ones they have in

It's not a ferry, it's a Bluestar

Thailand, where people’s chickens, cows, pigs, tractors, cars, and everyone else had to sit. I envisioned us having to sit or stand on the deck with all of the other patrons – some puking, some trying not to. The boat that I had in my head was a small rickety wooden one, and I saw myself sitting shoulder to shoulder with those really old Greek women that are dressed only in black. I think I had all of these things cooked up in my head because one of the Lonely Planet books alluded to such an experience.

I don’t know if the cruise ships changed much since 2002 or if I just dreamed about it, but the ones that operate now are awesome! Like I said, the ship that we were scheduled to board is HUGE!!! It came into port at the exact time it was supposed to, and it looked like a cruise ship on the inside. There were multiple floors that you could walk around on, and there were a variety of lounges that you could eat or drink in. The views were wonderful, and the four and a half hours went by extremely fast. Before we knew it, we were on the splendid little island of Santorini!

First Glimpse of the Greek Islands

We flew from an airport outside of Milan (Ryanair’s Milan-ish hub, Bergamo) to the Greek island of Kos with high hopes.  See, the Greek Isles is a trip we’ve had in our sights for a long while now- around 5 or 6 years, and we’re finally here!  It was really exhilarating to take the first step on to Kos’ ground.

We got off the plane after a scenic landing and quickly got our bags.  Standing in an information line regarding buses (the next of which being 2 hrs later, ouch!) we met some people with whom we shared a cab in to town.  Kos is a small island.  The airport is only about 24 km from the main town and the cab ride was 32 euros (contrary to what the LP said, 22 euros; maybe we got ripped off).  Anyways, we paid it because there were 4 of us and it wasn’t that bad.

90% of these vehicles are rented; "Look ma' no brains!"

Where’s the Hotel, again?

We got off the cab with a reservation, but no address.  With a very embarrassing understanding of Greek, we asked for directions and were kindly met.  The people here are so FREAKING NICE!  It’s great.  They will literally interrupt whatever they’re doing to help you out.  Most of them spoke some English too.

With a bunch of directions and about 45 minutes of walking around Kos Town, we were settled in to our very humble room and ready to take a stroll around.

Kos Town: Overview

Pretty flowers, quiet plazas, and iconic Greek architecture in Kos Town

Kos Town, I must say is a quite perfect touristy beach town.  It is chill, pretty, full of laid back touts (compared to other places, at least), and there’s plenty to do.  Kos has a lot to offer.  There are scenic beaches that you can access with rented bikes, day trip boats for around 20-30 euros per person, shopping, and night life.

In Kos there are content tourists whizzing about on bikes, and taking in the Med air on chic terraces.  The breeze is incredibly cool and refreshing.  We’re really excited to get to the beach.

Like I said, we had a reservation when we got to Kos, but I don’t think we needed one.  There is an abundance of accommodation here in Kos Town, pretty much everywhere you look.

Also, from Kos Town you can access other islands like neighboring Nissos or farther away, Santorini. Our first order of business was to buy our boat ticket there, actually; so, we went in to the first ticket vendor we saw.  It was a neat little family owned place and the manager’s cute daughters greeted us in English when we walked in.  The guy was super helpful, as we’ve found all Greeks to be, and before no time we had a ferry reservation for Santorini.

Gyro and Greek Salad, Anyone?

Contemplation in a taverna- "Don't bother me, I'm reading"

One of the things we were most excited about was the Greek cuisine.  I have long had fantasies about meaty tavernas, chilled ouzo, and fresh baked baklava. So one of our first stops was to a humble taverna for a little snack.

We ordered a pork gyro pita (pronounced ghee-ro) and a Greek salad (which Linds had really been looking forward to); in short, they were completely amazing.  The pure fresh-ness of the ingredients is a culinary dream.  The full-bodied taste of all the components rivals Italian produce and cheese.  It was really tasty and great.

Joyride

The first day we wandered Kos and got oriented.  We had the entire second day to enjoy Kos also, as our ferry to Santorini left at 8pm the following evening.  So, we reserved our room for another half day (half the price and we got it until about 7ish), and hit the Greek roads on bike.

Linds and her 'hog'

The feeling was pure freedom as rode and rode. The bikes were comfy beach-cruisers with 5 gears each and a cute (but very useful) bell.  We rode past beaches and along vast farm lands reaching over the hills of the island.  We finally found a relatively secluded beach and enjoyed it for a few minutes before returning home to get ready for the ferry.

Linds and our trusty umbrella

Imperfect but relatively secluded beach on Kos

It was a brilliant time, whirring about the Greek boardwalks with millions of other lobster-faced tourists like we were 15 again.

It’s not a ferry, it’s a Blue Star

Bluestar mark of awesomeness

Never having ever traveled Greek Isles, we didn’t know what to expect from the island-hopping experience.  From what we read in the LP, it was to be a junk ship type experience shared by commoners and farm livestock.  This was a complete fiction as we boarded our  Blue Star ferry.

The magnitude was what first struck us.  The titan floated up to the dock speedily and a parade of semi trucks proceed to board and disembark (simultaneously, I think) the 3 floors of garage space on the boat.  The passenger area was equally as impressive.  The boat sported 3 or 4 very comfy and fairly priced lounge areas.  There was wifi for a charge and plentiful electrical outlets.

Water-bourne dragon that breathes not fire but ebon exhaust!

The 4 hours flew by and we were in Santorini haggling for cab fare before midnight.  Greece is already better than we ever imagined.

View Greece Highlights in a larger map

Reflections on Santorini to come…

Picturesque Lago di Como, our favorite place in Italy.

Blake and I woke up especially early on Sunday, June 6. We were in Malaga, Spain staying the night at the Sol Backpacker hostel. Neither of us had a decent night of sleep the night before. We were sharing a room with a shy American couple and we had a small room with bunk beds. There wasn’t any air conditioning, so we had the large Spanish-style window open all night. The only downside was that we could hear everything that was going on in the restaurant across the street as well as everything that the other guests were saying and doing in their own rooms. We got barely a wink of sleep.

Still, we got up at 5:30am and were out the door by 5:45. Blake and I decided to take the city bus to the airport because calling a taxi would have cost a minimum of 15 euros. A city bus, on the other hand, cost 2.20 euros per person for the entire trip to the airport – not a bad deal! Our Ryan Air flight departed at 9:10, and we wanted to be at the airport with time to spare.

When we got on the bus, it wasn’t until we were halfway to the airport that we figured out that it was the bus driver’s first time driving the bus! Blake and I were the only ones on board except for this older woman that was sitting behind us. At one point, he was confused about which way he should go, so he looked in his large rear-view mirror and asked us if we could help him. When the driver realized that we had no idea which way to take, he asked the older woman and she helped him the rest of the way. We’re lucky because she was a flight attendant and probably took that same route often.

The Malaga airport is really nice. Of course, if the city is really rich…there will be a nice airport. We didn’t have that much time there because everything went smoothly.

Cramped Ryanair flight, preferred by cheap-o's everywhere

The flight to Milan/Bergamo was only 2 hours and 15 minutes. The flight went pretty well, but I have noted time after time that I’m starting to really dislike landings. After all of this traveling, I just can’t believe that I’m turning into a wimp when it comes to flying, but I can’t help it. It seems like all of the landings that we’ve had in 2010 were really bumpy, too fast, or it sounds like the plane is coming apart right there as we’re coming down! My palms start to sweat and I usually end up squeezing Blake’s hand really tight until we land. It’s kind of embarrassing to admit it, but what’s weird is that it happens to Blake too…on a lesser scale…but it still happens! Anyway, the landing in Milan/Bergamo was another bad one, but we made it through.

Waiting for the bus in Bergamo

Many buses between Milano and Bergamo

Bergamo is a town outside of Milan that I’ve really never been to. I saw many posters and pictures of it when I was waiting at the airport, but I’ve never walked the streets of Bergamo or Milan for that matter. I have only taken the bus from Bergamo airport to the Milan Central Station so that I can catch a train to Como. For some reason, Milan has never really interested me all that much. It seems like it’s just a city.

Milano Centrale didn't work for us

Blake and I got on the Central Station bus just fine, but when we attempted to buy train tickets to Como, we started to run into problems. Nobody really speaks English or Spanish in Italy. A lot of people can speak a little of one or the other, but I get the feeling that most people don’t like to. When Blake and I got to the front of the ticket counter, he tried to talk to the woman ticket agent in Spanish. She told us that the two trains that were scheduled to depart that day were both sold out. Unfortunately, that tiny tidbit of information took a long time to comprehend. After rolling her eyes and letting us clearly know that she didn’t want to deal with us anymore, she let us know that there was another train station and the trains leave every hour for Como. Again, this took us a long time to understand, but once we did, we quickly made our way to the Milan metro station.

The woman told us which stop the train station was located, but we had no idea which direction or which line to take. Blake and I looked at a map to pinpoint the stop that the woman mentioned. Then we waited in a ticket line, purchased tickets, walked to the train, and took a guess as to which direction we should take the particular line. Luckily, our guess was right and we got on the right train.

When we got off the train, we had to find the “other” train station that the woman was talking about. After walking in circles for a while, we finally found out that the train station was right next to the metro station. We then had to figure out how to purchase tickets, which train to take, when it leaves, and which track it leaves from. This is a lot to figure out when you don’t know the language and the only ticket that you’re handed is a yellow carbon-copy piece of paper that doesn’t have any pertinent information. Our solution to this problem was to just walk around until we found the right departure sign.

I got sick of walking around with my backpacks. I might as well mention that I was wearing my long jeans and three layers of shirts just so that my pack wouldn’t weigh that much. (Ryan Air charges you if your checked baggage is over a certain weight, which is why I decided to wear my heaviest clothes.) I was hot, sticky, sweaty, and in a bad mood.

At one point, Blake told me to sit down while he went to find the right train platform. As I was fanning myself off, he came back and told me that he had found the right train. It was scheduled to leave in a few minutes, so I gathered my things and we walked quickly to the correct platform. As time ticked, walking turned into running, and when Blake and I finally made it to the track platform, we found ourselves to be running after the train. It wasn’t going that fast, and we could have feasibly jumped one of the little open areas that lead to a cabin, but we decided against it.

Blake and I had to wait another hour and a half for the next train to Como. While we were waiting, we met an older couple from New Zealand that had been making their way to London to see their daughter. So far, they had been to Hong Kong, Munich, and a few destinations in Italy. They provided a nice distraction to all of the bad luck that we’d been having. Sooner than later, time had passed, and we were boarding the train to Como.

The train car was like a sauna

When the train stopped in Como, we walked to our hotel, which was another destination that we had to find. We walked in a few more circles, and when we unlocked the door to our tiny private room with bunk beds, the only thought in my mind was to get my heavy bags off my back!

Are we in summer camp or Lago di Como?

Blake and I stayed at the Inn al Rivo Lago. One of the main reasons that we decided to stay at this hotel is because there aren’t that many hotel rooms in Como for under 100 euros per night. The last time we were in Como, we stayed at a small hotel with a double bed for around 70 euros. Well, since 2005, that hotel has been remodeled and the rooms have all been turned into apartments. The apartments are rented out as hotel rooms, but they are way too expensive for us now.

We did think about staying at a hostel, but a lot of the hostels in Italy contain single sex rooms. Blake and I don’t really mind sharing a room from time to time, but we still wanted to be together. And what’s funny is that the shared hostel rooms aren’t cheap!

Needless to say, I looked around a bit and found the Inn al Rivo Lago, which is a small hotel that is really close to the lake. The staff seemed friendly enough, and the location was pretty central. Blake and I knew that we were going to get the bunk beds because that was all that was available, but for 57 euros per night, that’s not too shabby. (I’m talking about Como after all.) The room had a shared bathroom and it was pretty cramped, but the breakfast was great!

Italy at last! Let's make for the cafe; "Volevo due latti macciati y due briocci, per favore. Gratzi" (< bad Italian)

Linds blogging on the free internet at Sol Backpackers

For us, Malaga is a stopover on the way from Nerja to Milan.  We’re here for a few hours (17, I think) then getting on a plane.  We needed somewhere cheap and somewhat centrally located, and Sol Backpacker fit the bill!

How Much? Sol Backpacker is only 14 euros per bed.  Pretty good.  There is no extra charge for sheets; there are good rental services (towel 1.5 euros).  Very straight forward.  The only drawback is that at the time of writing this review, they didn’t accept credit cards.

How’s the Location? Good, not great. For Linds and I, the location is fine.  We are not really exploring the city or the beach as we have only one evening here.  On the upside, it has great access to major day and night lines to the impressive Malaga bus transport system.  To get to the airport it’s only going to be 4 euros for Linds and I. Nice one!

For those wanting to explore the city on foot, there may be better options. Today we walked down to the city center and it took about 45 minutes at a leisurely pace.  The bus was clean, cheap, and most importantly- cool. Ahh.

There is an average and homely beach across the street.  Nothing to write home about especially compared to the craggy paradise of Nerja.

How are the Facilities? Building is very nice.  Wood and old, it is definitely charming.  The room we’re staying in has only 4 beds and it has a big window.  You can, however hear everything that happens in the building- in our 1 night experience it was very noisy and we didn’t get much sleep.  This maybe should have been curtailed by the management.  Just a thought.

How’s the Staff? A nice dude named Federico helped us right when we got there.  He was attentive and cool.  He helped us chart the route to the airport and offered to call a taxi if we wanted.

OFFICIAL Sol Backpackers TBD Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars: Good and cheap, clean, helpful staff, not bad location make this a solid option for backpackers coming through Malaga.  The unfettered guests and the lack of credit card payment are definitely drawbacks, though.