Day 31 - Dubrovnik

After a fantastic nights sleep under a table in the onboard casino, I went to the deck to watch the sunrise and take my first look at Croatia as we sailed into the port. I was impressed immediately by the beauty of Croatia and I knew that I would love it. The water, the trees, the buildings and houses, even the people were amazing to look at. This is one of the photos I took from the boat as we entered the harbor.

I got off the boat and made it to my hostel by about 9. I walked in and was greeted by one of the owners, Milka, who immediately sat me down at the table for breakfast before even checking me in. She had made some Croatian cheese pastry and French toast and coffee. Once breakfast was finished, Milka's husband came around to check me in and give me the scoop on Dubrovnik, which took about 30 mins and included 2 detailed maps and a welcome shot. A shot of very strong Croatian liquor at 930am is a real eye opener...

After breakfast I tagged along with some British and Kiwi friends to a beach nearby. The beach was a rock beach with medium sized pebbles and the water was beautiful. Dubrovnik is every bit as gorgeous as Greece if not more so. We hung out there for a few hours and then back to the hostel for some more food before a snorkeling excursion.

The couple that owns the hostel have a son named Ive (pronounce Eve and is short for something else long and Croatian) who took us about 30 miles outside Dubrovnik, almost all the way down to Montenegro, to a good snorkeling spot. He took some great pics with his underwater camera.
When we got out of the water he took us on a drive around the area to show us some of the countryside and locals:
and to the top of the hill where I took this neat photo of the old town:


That night the crew from the hostel went out on the town and ended up taking a late night dip in the ocean before we came home. They were a fun bunch.

Day 30 - Bari

My ferry arrived in Bari at 8:30am. I went straight to the ticket office to buy a ticket for Croatia but it didnt leave until 11:30pm. Gross...

Bari is not a tourist destination, it is a port town and that's it. There is nothing to do there. I know this because I walked all over the whole town. I sat in an internet cafe for a bit and had some coffee. Around lunch time I saw a giant sign that said "Pizzeria" which sounded amazing to me right then. So I go inside and get a menu and there isnt a single pizza in the whole restaurant. It's a pizzeria that only serves pasta? Mostly seafood pasta? I ate there anyway...

Walked and walked and walked

I came across some kids playing soccer so I sat and watched that for a couple hours. I finally boarded the ferry and found a cozy spot on the floor of the casino to sleep that night.

Day 29 - Athens & the ferry

I was up early to head to the bus station to go to Patras. I opted for the bus this time instead of the train. It was much quicker and cooler. I got some bad directions (again) from the guy at the hostel and was quickly lost (again) in Athens. Did I mention Athens is hot as hell? Especially with a backpack on. I was lucky to find a sympathetic and English speaking (sort of) bus driver who let me on his bus for free and dropped me off at the appropriate bus stop to get me to the terminal.

Once in Patras I didnt have to wait long for the ferry back to Bari, Italy. Again I had only a deck ticket so I set up camp on a nice bench.

Day 28 - Mykonos & Athens

I got up early to get checked out and head to the port. I had to walk quite a ways from the bus stop to the port. This was a long ferry as well, almost 8 hours back to Athens.

I arrived in Athens at about 8:30pm with no accommodation booked. I knew where a supposedly good hostel was located so I headed in that direction, hoping they would have one bed free for the night. I had the directions written down and they let me down. I still claim that the road doesnt exist. So, I was a bit lost. In Athens. At 10pm. (I may have mentioned this before, but Athens is dirty, dodgy, and hot.)

I was at the point where I was about to sleep in a park when I spotted a sign in the distance, down an alley. If it was any smaller, I wouldnt have been able to read it. "Hostel" So I walked in and asked if they had a bed for me. They did, and it was only 15 euros. Deal.

When I walked in to the room, I was punched in the face by heat and odor. It was a 6 man room and I was man #6. There was no A/C, only one small window, and several spiders. My bed had no sheets or pillow. I went straight to bed. It was the worst excuse for a hostel I had ever seen.

Day 27 - Mykonos

Today I licked my wounds on the beach all day. I think I could just live on a beach chair for the rest of my days. I met some Brits on the beach and we hung out that night as well. The party culture of these two islands is catching up with me...

Day 26 - Mykonos

I made it to breakfast by 10 and met up with some Aussie girls that I had met on the bus the day before. We hung out on the beach all day, it was another beautiful place. That night we went dancing at the club that was on the beach and I fell off a table, it was not alcohol related, just a misstep, I was not injured.

Day 25 - Mykonos

So you already know that I got home in the very early morning and basically got right to packing up to check out and head to the port. Needless to say, I didnt feel so hot. Actually, I felt TOO hot. The bus ride through the winding roads to the port almost ended in disaster but I was able to keep it down. I must have drank a gallon of water at the port while waiting for the ferry. This trip to Mykonos was only an hour and a half so the boat was passengers only, no cars, and super fast.

The mighty seas were high that day my friends! I was fast asleep when we hit the first wave and it scared the bejesus out of me. I believe the driver was also taken by surprise because after everyone and everything hit the roof, there was a noticeable reduction in speed, much to our relief. I was sure I was going to puke and to this day I still cant believe I never did. Once the initial shock was over, the crowd rejoiced that we were now moving at a more appropriate speed over the waves so it felt more like a roller coaster than sky diving.

Then el capitan over here decides he's Dale Earnhardt Jr on water and floors it. So once again there were 150 people bouncing all over the boat. Food and drink went everywhere. All I could so was cower in my seat like a little girl and weep openly for the next hour.

Once I got to my campsite on Paradise Beach I crashed and slept through the night.

Day 24 - Ios

The nights and mornings keep getting later and later...

I slept til 12:30 and guess where I went? Wrong. I went to the beach this time. Most of my friends had left so I spent the day alone with my ipod. That evening I met the guys in the camp next to mine and the 4 of us went out for dinner and drinks. This time I think I made it to every bar or club on the island and partied until 6 am. Ouch... I crashed for about a minute but then had to get right up and check out so I wouldnt miss my next ferry off the crazy island...

A note to family members and concerned friends: It's no secret that I enjoy the occasional adult beverage, but I assure you that I dont live like this. I was on holidays and remained responsible throughout. No interventions necessary. I calm down, read on.

Day 23 - Ios

Up at 11am and straight to the poolside. It was another lazy day around the pool and beach. I hung out with my new friends and made a few more. The evening was almost a repeat of the previous one, only this time I made it to a few more places and got home at 4 (?)

I have no pictures from this day because that would have required more effort than I was willing to give...

Day 22 - Paros and Ios

On this morning I said goodbye to Jeff and Stephanie. They headed to Crete and I headed to another island called Ios. I had a morning ferry so I was up and around while they waited around for their evening boat ride.

In Ios I had reserved a "bungalow" at a campsite that was right on the best beach on the island. When I got there, they gave me the key and I quickly found out that bungalow=doghouse in Greece. What did I expect for 11 euros a night? The door came up to about the middle of my chest but I opened it anyway, only to find it occupied by 2 hungover Italians. Back at reception, mass confusion. I'll spare you the details but basically I sat around for an hour and they ultimately upgraded me from a doghouse to an overgrown port-a-potty. But at least I had the WHOLE thing to myself. It was sweltering hot inside this thing. On the bright side, it did have a light and a decent view...



I went to the pool and met some friends, mostly Aussies, and we enjoyed some strawberry daiquiris all day while in and out of the pool and ocean. The beach was literally right across the street from the pool. After a shower I watched a movie with everyone at the outside bar. Shortly after we all caught the bus into town for a bit of a pub crawl. This would be my earliest night in Ios, I came home at about 2.

Day 21 - Santorini

We were up and around by 10 and headed to Kamari Beach. It was a black sand beach, the first one I've ever seen, and I have to say its pretty neat. All the rocks and sand were black and the beach was bordered on one side by a giant cliff.
The water was great and the beach wasnt too crowded so it was very peaceful and scenic. I stayed there for most of the day while the other two wondered around the island. Once I finally dragged my lazy bones off the beach, I returned my scooter and had a shower at the hotel. Later we all walked into town and had a nice dinner and wandered the streets a bit.

Day 20 - Paros & Santorini

Our ferry left Paros at 12:30, so we had to get up and get checked out in time to have breakfast and get on the ferry. This boat ride was only 3 hours and someone from our hotel was at the port to pick us up. Santorini is more volcanic than the other islands and you can see it in the rocks. The port is at the bottom of a steep hill and there is a winding road up to the top. We sat our stuff down in the hotel and walked over to a scooter shop to rent some wheels. I got a scooter and Jeff and Steph got a 4-wheeler. We got on the road and headed for a town called Oia, which is know for its spectacular sunsets. We stopped at a restaurant along the way. Oia is a really neat town built right into the cliffs. The sunset drew a pretty big crowd, but I wasn't as impressed as I hoped I would be. Even so, I got some neat pics and the city at night was amazing. Two of my favorite pics came from here:



After the sunset we scooted on back to the hotel and hung out at the pool for a bit before crashing.

Day 19 - Paros

We walked into the town and had breakfast and then headed to the bus stop nearby. The destination was a beach on the other side of the island, about 45 minutes away. The beach was great, perfect sand and water. There were quite a few wind surfers in the water and we had great views of some smaller surrounding islands. We had a nice lunch at a little beach side cafe and got the bus back to town at about 5. After a shower and a rest we went out to dinner. After asking around we decided that the best bet would be to catch a short bus over to a town called Nassou for some nightlife. The town was busy and we walked through the shops of the winding streets before reaching the harbor. There were plenty of bars and music but the drinks were far out of our budget so we ended up buying some cans from a shop and sitting on the pier. We could still hear music and watch all the people. It was a nice night and we headed home at about 2.

Day 18 - Athens

We slept in a little and then headed to the port to get ferry tickets to the islands. We had tickets by 11 but the ferry didnt leave until 5:30pm, so we had some time to kill. It was a Sunday so there wasnt much going on and we werent very motivated to go very far from the port. We walked through a bizarre flea market that had EVERYTHING you can imagine. There were people yelling back and forth, wheelin and dealin. We ventured a little ways back into town to an internet cafe and killed some time, booked a hotel, and had some food, then headed back to the port and waited it out. The ferry was neat but long, a little over 5 hours. We arrived in Paros late and the hotel was a pleasant surprise. The lady who operated it was very nice and welcomed us with a beer. Town was still hopping, so we walked around and had a late meal before going to bed.

Day 17 - Athens

After breakfast at the hotel we headed to the metro station to get to the Acropolis. There is a lot to see here so we went in the morning to try to beat the heat as much as we could. It didn't do us much good, Athens is sweltering. The entrance to the temples is through the temple of Athena Nike, which I am disappointed to say was entirely covered with scaffolding as part of a restoration process that appears to be taking decades. The Parthenon also had quite a bit of scaffolding, though only on 2 sides and all through the middle. There were at least a few parts that you could see. The views of the city from the top of the hill were amazing. We walked down the hill and over to Ancient Agora and the Temple of Hephaistos which was remarkably well preserved. Around the corner from this we went to Hadrian's Library, which was a mess, and the Temple of Olympian Zeus which still has many pillars standing. On our walk back we stopped and had lunch and then headed to the Archaeological Museum. Everything that used to be in the temples and the ancient cities is kept here. Countless sculptures, statues, pottery, jewelry, weapons, and art. It took over 2 hours to walk through. Afterwards we headed back to the hotel, hot and weary. That night we walked a few blocks over to a nice restaurant and had a good dinner.