Santorini, Wednesday

The last day in Rethmynon was truly amazing! I would have never guessed parasailing would be such a profound experience. Ok, maybe the parasailing in itself is not profound, but there is just something about letting go, about feeling fear and doing it anyway! Challenging your perceived dangers and survivng them!

Belynda, Betsy and I ventured down to the beach and paid €50 to parasail. Whoever runs this operation must be making some major bank! Anyway, the beach boy ran us out to the speedboat on a waverunner, where a couple of German girls were waiting to parasail for the first time as well.

After getting geared up and waiting for another customer, we were underway. The German girls went first, and I must admit that watching them get swept off the back of the boat and way up into the air alarmed me... I really wasn’t sure I wanted to do this. The girls were watching as well.

Several minutes later, the winch was operating to pull the Germans back onto the boat. They sat down confirming it was amazing and it was time for Betsy and I to get into the harness.

Getting whisked off the boat was a bit scary at first... then it was truly amazing. Looking around at the island, the sea, and the boat below was breathtaking! I’m not sure words can relay what we were experiencing at that moment. All we did was look around and talk as we soared over the sea for several minutes. Everything else went away... and it was so peaceful. I may have even found my smile up there!

Finally, we noticed we were descending... our turn was up. However, I must admit the beach boy was right, I definitely wanted to go again. Would it have been worth a second €50 bill? Perhaps, if I had the money to invest.

After Belynda and the Swedish girl went, the speedboat headed back towards shore.

We later road the banana behind the boat and spent the rest of the day together with Emily and Annie. Everyone ate Cantonese food, the girls did some shopping and we all agreed that our break was worth any wrath we might face for missing class.

Hopefully journaling about the experience will help. I believe I learned something about myself by actually facing both my fear of heights and fear of water in one fell swoop... and finding out that the experience is awesome!

What can I do next?

Tomorrow, we leave Santorini. This is a nice island, but far from my favorite. Part of me would find the volcano awakening beneath the island exciting, but I imagine most people in the group might not. Being on a volcano reminds me of my fascination with Sir William Hamilton and his obsession with Vesuvius. I suppose being so close to something that can practically erase a spot of the map is awesome. Surviving it would definitely provide something to talk about!

I managed to spend some time on the beach. This beach isn’t quite as nice as the one on Crete... there are rocks instead of sand, and beneath the water is a mossy stone floor. Nothing terribly impressive, but the lovely sun worshippers manage to distract me from this beach’s downfalls.

Last night, a group of us hung out at a taverna to watch the Greek soccer team play. It was a fun bonding moment with the consumption of beer, nuts and gelato (this stuff is everywhere!). Sadly, the Greeks lost the match, so there was no local madness to partake in. After experiencing Lawrence, KS after one of the March Madness wins, I was curious to see how crazy the Greeks get... but tonight wasn’t the night to find out.

The walk home was amusing. A small dog adopted our group, and appeared to be leading us in the direction of our hotel. The highlight of the walk back was when it darted across in front of a car, which braked and the dog barked at it... as if to say, “See, you’re not so tough!”

This morning began with the hike up to Ancient Thira. Of all of the sites we’ve visited, this one was my favorite... and quite literally blew us away. As we passed the ¾ mark scaling the mountain, the wind was gusting well enough to dry our sweaty clothes and keep us cool. Jets were landing at the Santorini airport, and we were getting some amazing shots of the tops of jets over the ocean and the city of Kamari.

The civilization at the top of the mountain was spectacular. To think of the ancients moving so much stone and building an entire city... complete with a movie cinema and a pita shack. Ok, maybe not, but we had fun imagining. The “city hall” had carved stone that resembled the poster frames one finds outside of a movie house.

Unfortunately, a few people didn’t get to see the entire site... a combination of fear of heights and the fierce wind at the top. However, plenty of pictures were shot, so we’ll have to share.

Finally tonight, we took the express bus into Oia for the legendary sunset on Santorini. Since we arrived about 90 minutes before sunset, many in the group wanted to find something to eat. I think the plan was to find a restaurant with a view of the sunset and the sea for some people to watch from. So, again, we find ourselves wandering through an old city as a group.

Somehow, Betsy and I were separated from the group, and I notice she has stopped to read a menu. Her, knowing my cravings for Thai food, told me I needed to check the menu out at this place called Karma.

Needless to say, we stopped at Karma, ate Shrimp Phad Thai in their dining garden... complete with goldfish pond and gorgeous flowers. The group eventually walked by, so we knew which direction to find them after dinner.

After we picked a spot with Linnzi and Annie, I popped over the hill to shoot some photos of the Caldera. Finally, I managed to get a photo of my own that resembles the first photo I saw when image searching Greece. I still cannot get over the way they build their cities into the hills and mountains.

The sunset was nothing short of spectacular! The way the sun just simply disappeared into the sea as if being extinguished was very beautiful. It was an awesome ending to a pretty great day!

I do have to wonder if I could live like these people. As Americans, we are so spoiled and have acquired so many things, to which we have becomed very attached. What would it be like to give it all up and live a simple life in a simple flat.

Flickr: Santorini | Greece

Rethymnon, Sunday

Rethymnon is amazing! The beach seems to run for miles, and is dotted with blue and green umbrellas. The room is the most modern we’ve seen yet, but there is only one outlet in the room for charging devices. The view from our boxed balcony is tremendous though... although several of the girls have much larger balconies. Such a treat after the dreadful ferry ride.

Traveling from Mykonos on the rough sea took a lot out of everyone, including those who didn’t spend a great deal of the voyage in a little baggie. The stressful voyage left everyone fairly shredded the following day. I suppose my sea legs were better than I expected, but I cannot say it was an easy voyage for anyone.

Saturday, we were left alone with plans to meet in the afternoon to depart for our feast, but it was a low activity day due to sea voyage recovery. Belynda wants to go parasailing and has approached me about joining her. It is something I’ve never considered doing, but I think it sounds fun. Emily and Betsy are interested in going as well. We’ve been running a pretty tight schedule, so we’ll have to ask to miss an activity to do it. As much as I am enjoying the sites, I wish we had more free time to experience Greece as it is today. I, for one, would be interested in seeing how Greece of the past has influenced modern day Greece. Of course, there is the double-edged sword called tourism, which gives Greece its much needed revenue to do what they are doing, but at the same time all of the people and shops and street vendors and wandering gypsies really pollute how tranquil it must have been.

Tourism aside, I’d like to go into the everyday stores where the Greeks shop, and maybe visit with a contractor or home builder (perhaps their version of Home Depot?). Since we landed, I’ve been fascinated by all of the marble used in their construction, their interior designs, their fashions (it is good to be a guy here... the women all look amazing, and I’m sure their sexy little dresses aren’t cheap!), and the nightlife. Naturally, I could live in a club.

The Saturday night feast was an interesting time. Lampros was our host, and showed us all around the area. We toured some old churches and his family met us at one of them with fresh fruit (the cherries were yummy!) and some Rakhi (sp?), which I can only describe as tasting like jet fuel. Sure, I had a couple of shots and ended up finishing Betsy’s. Later, Lampros led us down to the pens to milk the goats, and Shanna was lucky enough to play the role of milk maiden carrying the pails back. One of our Germans, Peter, experienced the joy of herding goats... at least insuring that the older goats eat feed and the youngers stay away.

I’m afraid I’m a terribly spoiled American. There are some elements of a simple life I would enjoy, but I’m not sure farming is one of them. Of course, I have no way of knowing unless I try, right? I must admit I feel an extreme admiration for Lampros and his family for their zest for life... it is enviable, I must rediscover my zest for life when I return home. Hmmm, I wonder what that will entail.

The feast consisted of several courses: Greek salad, some wonderful bread, goat meat, potatoes with an amazing herb seasoning (which I am told can only be found on this island), lamb meat, fresh fruit for dessert, and finally wine, pressed from his own grapes. We did not get to participate in any grape pressing, so no “I Love Lucy” anecdotes..

Personally, I did not care for the wine, although I was amused as Betsy was trying to convince me it got better, followed by a face that betrayed her words. I did, however, appreciate the meal and the experience. After the meal was the Greek dancing. I had so much fun photographing it I did not participate... a mistake? Perhaps, but regardless a fun time was had by all.

Today, we toured the Venetian fort at Heraklion, which was amazing. These Venetian forts never cease to amaze me: the amount of stone that had to be harvested, carried and stacked to create these massive structures which still stand hundreds of years later. Quite simply amazing!

Tonight, we finally enjoyed food at a wonderful Cantonese restaurant next to the hotel. Odd I would come to Greece and consume some of the finest Oriental food I’ve ever had. Now that I’ve had that fix, I’m beginning to crave Fig Newtons. So far, I haven’t found any at the stores here.

Tomorrow, we are going to opt out of the group activities in Phaestos, for it is our last chance to parasail on this trip. I am deeply conflicted about this decision, yet I believe that the experience of doing something I would never have done before is equally as valuable, perhaps even more.

Flickr: Crete | Greece