Athens & Delphi

Day #1 of our mainland tour, Becky and I hit all the hot-spots of Athens in about 5 hours and then hopped in the car to visit Delphi. This day was the culmination of so many things that I'd studied as a kid- ancient mythology, Athens, greek drama and philosophy, roots of democracy, even architecture styles! it's truly amazing what influence Greece has had on the western world.

I will admit that standing outside the Parthenon made me tear up. it is such a majestic building - so old, and such a work of art. Everywhere you go in Greece, there is something ancient - whether it's the origin of a word or a piece of marble toppled from a majestic palace on the side of the road. It's a bit hard to describe the wonder of it all - so here are some pictures to take you back in time with me.

the Gorge

Becky and I decided to hike the Samaria Gorge, 4 days into our trip- the longest gorge hike in Europe- that's right. It's not that we're hard core, but when you have two options and one of them is called 'the Lazy way' and the other is called 'the Long way' - what would you choose?

The bus picked us up at 5:10 a.m. (still dark in Greece), and drove us up into the White Mountains. It was incredibly beautiful to watch the mountain range shimmer in the sunlight- they went from a dull gray color to pink to white. We had this cute little tour guide, Ingrid, who spoke about 7 languages and told us to look for her on the hike - she would be 'the one wearing Ferari red!' The bus stopped to give us a chance to eat breakfast, but Becky and I were already WAY prepared with snacks, breakfast, and about 2 gallons of water/gatorade. The hike begins at the top of the mountain range, and you climb down a couple miles into the gorge and then hike along the bottom of the gorge until you get to the beach. Pretty much the best way to end a hike. The whole thing is 12 miles, and takes about 5 hours.

Everything was very barren and dry- yet at the bottom of the gorge was a stream of crystal clear mountain water. There would be tiny pink or blue flowers every once in a while - again I could not understand how they survived the wretchedly hot sunlight. The texture of the rocks was also very beautiful - as the water wears down the limestone over thousands of years, it creates patterns and shapes on the rocks. But I think the most wonderful of all was the sheer immensity of this ancient, natural landscape. It was so big - all around us, totally engulfing. We are so small in this big world- just tiny people with so little effect on a planet that doesn't even seem to notice us. That gorge didn't care if we came, went, or just sat on our bums- but we got to appreciate its beauty. They say if you hike the Samaria Gorge, you have conquered the isle of Crete - I don't think that's true.... more like if you hike the Samaria Gorge, you get an amazing 5 hours of nature, crazy sore muscles, and then you get to spend the afternoon on a black pebble beach.

Santorini

mmm, how do you start writing about the most beautiful island on earth? it's a lot of pressure! Santorini was beautiful from the first moment we drove away from the port - up, up, up the mountains into the town of Fera. It's the Greece you see on postcards - those blue rooftops and whitewashed buildings built into the mountainside. Becky & I arrived on Saturday afternoon, did a quick drop off of bags at the hotel, and busted a move to the bus station where we hopped a bus to Oia ('eeea') for the afternoon and evening. We soon discovered that we had arrived during the HOTTEST part of the day (about 2 p.m.), and there is not one square inch of shade on the island. No matter, we wandered the winding streets, took innumerable photos, and drank in every possible view. There are so many beautiful things - really, everywhere you turn - a door, a gate, a little wall covered in creeping vines. It's the simplicity of the buildings (very simple lines and architecture) and the solo use of two colors (which by the way are the colors of the Greek flag) that makes everything else stand out. I still marvel at the flowers that could survive in such brilliant sunlight - Becky and I almost withered! We weren't sure we would make it to sunset, but what a good thing we ducked into a tiny bakery shop and scarfed down some snacks and sweet treats to hold us over.

The second day we public-transited ourselves to the ancient ruins of Thera. The island is prety compact, so it only took about 15 minutes to get there. We arrived at the ruins at 10:15 a.m. - already the sun was scorching hot, so we did a SUPER SPEEDY tour of the ruins. (I think this was the place where Becky made me give a fake tour-- and then we kept finding signs that told us exactly what each thing really was, and how misleading my tour was. not that my tour group of 1 really cared.) The view on top of Ancient Thera was wonderful, which we very much expected by day #2 in Santorini.

The rest of our time on Santorini was spent wandering the little town of Fera where we were staying (wait for it - our little guest house was called 'Villa Popi'). We stopped by Mama's restaurant (Mama is the aunt of our mainland friend Chris), and she made us some concoction of pasta with tomatos and feta, and all was right with the world.

Santorini is idyllic and timeless. I understand during tourist season, it is pretty much gridlocked (gross), but with good reason. My favorite moments were those hours of sunset, where the whole town was lit up in golden light. It's not possible to describe it fully- I guess you all just need to buy plane tickets and get over there!

I guess my other favorite thing was this Greek gentleman's courtship of Becky from his open window above where we were sitting. It was quite romantic- Apostolos, if you ever read this - you might just want to put out the cigarette next time.

Navigation

Well, I guess I should just admit it. I know everyone has known this for quite some time now - but here goes: I am American, and because of that fact - there are some things I just don't know how to do. phew.

When Becky and I decided to go to Crete (many thanks to Aunt Chris for helping us find a great place to stay) - we were immediately and overwhelmingly told that we needed a rental car. No big deal, right? Wrong. a. Neither Becky nor I knew how to drive manual transmission, b. we had no maps. However, we were fully confident in our navigational skills and my ability to quickly learn stick shift. My younger brother, Calvin, started giving me lessons on his truck (I think it's a 1990 Ford Ranger Sport - old, rusted, and hence we lovingly call it 'the smuck'). Calvin is a very patient teacher, and I think he should probably go into that business someday. After 3 lessons and many, many stalls - we had done parking lots, neighborhood streets, and the terrifying town of Fairfax - I didn't think I was entirely ready, but Calvin had faith that I could do it. Lots of pep talks - even a pep text at the airport, and I had a do-or-die attitude. Becky, meanwhile, was all prepped - she knew her role was to be 'very, extremely calm!!!'

We land in the port of Heraklion after 20 hours of flying, a few layovers, and a 7 hour ferry ride. It's dark, and we couldn't find our vehicle or our rental company. Panic ensued. But after 45 minutes of searching, we called up our Greek buddy, Chris, who immediately got on the phone and helped us connect with the Sixt people. We signed some papers (who even knows what), got vague directions to the highway (oh yeah, still no maps), put our bags in the car, and got into our tiny, grey Nissan Micra.

I took several deep breaths, put in the clutch, and we were off. I won't lie and tell you that it was an incredibly smooth ride. But we only stalled a couple of times, and this little car was SO much easier to drive than the Smuck. (definitely a good way to learn - start with the toughest, and then everything else is EASY) Well, we found the highway and started driving up, up, up the mountains of Crete. Back and forth, so many switchbacks. Maybe Becky knew that Crete was mountainous, but I had no idea - so that was a fun surprise. Meanwhile Becky is telling me, "Abigail, um, can you see around that bend? Because I can't." subtle. yes, ok, I will turn on the brights. What a blessing that it was dark and we couldn't see the sheer cliffs that we drove on!

Have I mentioned yet how much I was praying? pretty much every second. this was ALL God's grace to us that we were safe on the road.

So, after about an hour we arrived to the area where our hotel was. We drove, drove, drove searching desperately for the street signs or ANY signs. All the signs in Greece are in Greek - can you imagine? They typically have English underneath, but that's really only the case on the highways. We were unable to find street signs anywhere once we had left the highway. Not even one. Well, being smart ladies - we stopped to ask for directions. The locals told us, "Go straight, only straight, very straight." Ok, that sounds easy enough. Nope, the road forks once, then twice, and then we are lost yet again. It's much easier to drive stick on highways than in little towns, so of course I was flustered. Finally an old gentleman told us, "It's just around the corner, come I will ride my scooter, and you follow me." What a blessing. The hotel was literally down a sign-less alleyway, about 500 meters. We might never have found it. Again, God was so merciful.

Finally we are 'home,' and all we can do is fall into bed thanking the Lord for his kindness. The rest of the week we drove only when it was easy to find where we were going- why add extra stress to our vacation by trying to navigate the narrow streets of the tiny beach towns? We took lots of public transportation (which by the way is much cheaper than paying for gas in Europe, and I would say- we navigated just fine. Props to Becky 'the navigator' Verno and Calvin 'instructor extraordinaire' Griffith for their contributions. And really, praise the Lord that we had no accidents. Also praise the Lord that he kept us safe on all those public buses - there were lot of harepin turns, and a few times we thought we were going into the pretty blue water.

Overall, though, I found it quite fun to learn a new skill and adventure our way across the island. I sort of miss driving manual now... maybe Calvin will trade me for the Smuck every couple weeks - how will I ever convince him?

Creta

I'm standing in water - crystal clear, blue as the sky, the waves are lapping up around my elbows, and the wind is gently caressing my face. I'm on a sandbar off the island of Crete, and everywhere I look is beauty. To my left I see rocky crags of the island - many shades of brown, but they are shimmery in the intense sunlight. There is no shade in Greece - which Becky and I find out to our delight and consternation. To my right, the beach town built into another mountain. Behind me, the combination pebble-and-sand beach sparsely decorated with beach chairs and umbrellas. Becky is asleep in the sunshine, and behind our stuff is a tiny beach restaurant where we ate a giant greek salad for lunch. I think to myself, if heaven is like this - then I am in. In front of me, the water and sky converge in a lovely, confusing mixture of blues, turquoises, and greens. There is not a cloud to be seen.

Becky and I have alternated beach-days with site-seeing and excursions. Each day is its own adventure. We have already hiked the longest gorge in Europe (12 miles, see another post for that story) and tomorrow we will visit Knossos, the 3000 year old palace. Crete is a study in fascinating terrain - it's located on a fault line, and over centuries the island has been crumpled by multiple earthquakes creating beautiful mountains. The beaches switch between rocks and sand, and vegetation pops up in the most surprising places. We have visited the towns of Chania ('hanYA') and Rethymnon, explored the ancient ports, shopped, eaten SO much food, and just generally relaxed. For me, this vacation was the perfect combination of activity and rest - Crete was FULL of places to explore, but when we wanted chillax days - they were easy to come by.

More posts to come, but here are a few shots of Crete: free shots and dessert,

getting on the ferry,

and B exploring the ancient port of Chania