Santorini and Crete

Town of Oia, Santorini

View of the Town of Thira, Santorini

I have already been to Santorini once before, but I was convinced to go again with two beautiful Australians, and I'm so glad I did. Santorini was the highlight of my European travels two years ago, but I only had one day there which was obviously not enough time to see everything. This time, I managed to relax a lot more and see things I didn't even know existed on the island.

Red Sand Beach, Santorini

We rented ATVs one day and drove around orienting ourselves about the island. Another day, we went into the capital, Thira, and walked around the shops, had coffee, took photos and ate free samples of wine and olives. We visited both the red sand and the black sand beaches, and sailed around the smaller surrounding islands, climbed the Caldera and watched the sunset.

View of Sunset from Oia, Santorini

Coffee Shop in Thira, Santorini

Ever since I went to Santorini two years ago, I've been obsessed with the idea of going back to Greece and seeing the island of Crete. Luckily, I managed to convince both of my friends to join me there, and we caught the 4am ferry to Heraklion.

Crete is a very different island from the rest of the Cyclades not only because of it's size (it is much bigger) but because of it's history. The Minoan civilization is the oldest known civilization in Europe, and they resided on Crete. The interesting thing about them is that their destruction was the creation of the island of Santorini... when the volcano erupted creating the island, the Minoans were wiped out.

One Rock Beach, Near Plakias, Crete

I really enjoyed staying on Crete, but I feel like I didn't quite see everything I wanted to see. It is a big island and it is difficult getting around, especially on public transport because their road systems are awful. It is also a very mountainous island, and the roads weave in and about them.

We stayed on the south side of the island for 5 days on Plakias beach, and then myself and one of the two girls I had been travelling with headed North to stay in Rethimno for another 5 days. The Aussie friend we left behind had met a nice boy and wanted to stay in Plakias with him for a few extra days.

River Walk, Plakias, Crete

Plakias was beautiful, but other than going to the beach and climbing up the river bed, there wasn't that much to actually do there. So when we got to Rethimno we were eager to begin seeing everything Crete had to offer.

Samarian Gorge, Crete

Minoan Ruins, Crete

Matala Beach, Crete

Matala Beach was one of my favourite places. There were neolithic caves carved out of the sandstone on this beautiful beach, and in the 1960s they were inhabited by hippies. Stevie Nicks even lived there at one point and wrote a song about it!

Our adventures continue to the island of Rhodes, where we needed to wait for two nights in order to catch a ferry across to Fethiye, Turkey.

Corfu

Croatia was amazing, but getting from there to Greece was one of the most complicated things I’ve ever had to do. If you look at the two countries on the map, they are quite close, and originally I thought I wouldn’t have a problem getting to Corfu from Split. It’s just down the Adriatic after all.

I was wrong. No buses, trains or ferries go there.

After a lot of research I discovered that the cheapest way (and easiest, if you’ll believe it) was to take an overnight ferry to Italy, and then another overnight ferry to Igoumenitsa in Greece, and then another ferry from there to the island of Corfu. Two days later when I finally arrived I was (needless to say) exceptionally grumpy and tired as hell, and to boot I had no place to stay. The first thing I did was sit and have a coffee. Once I could feel the caffeine pulsing through my veins I managed to locate an internet café so I could find a hostel to stay at and how to get there. Luckily, I chose well, and Spiros, the owner of the hostel, came and picked my up in his beat-up old van at the dock and took me home.

My first impression of the hostel was not good, I admit. I had only seen couples around the place so far, and as a single traveller having a hostel full of couples basically means you’ll be doing everything alone and going to bed early. Granted, I’ve met some really cool couples who socialize and party with everyone, but the general rule is that they keep to themselves. On top of the couple thing, midway through my shower I noticed I was not alone. There was a massive, 4-inch long grasshopper in there with me. I got out of there pretty fast, and if anyone was around they would have witnessed quite the scene: Me, naked and soapy, running for my life out of the stall. After that, I decided a siesta was in order.

Things greatly improved when I awoke and met a girl named Lisa, from Melbourne. She assured me that the hostel was wonderful and that most people were, in fact, single travellers who loved to party. She was right, and as it happens, that hostel in Corfu became by far the best hostel I’ve ever stayed at. Magdalena cooked everyone in the hostel two authentic, organic Greek meals a day for free. Everyone ate together which meant we all got to know each other very well, and dinner was always followed by several drinks. The hostel itself is situated in the side of a rock-face, overlooking a perfect beach. This beach was virtually unknown by tourists, so it was quiet and clean. This also meant that there was still quite a bit of greenery and natural growth on the island so it felt very lush. On our daily hikes, we would pluck wild figs from the trees and eat them along with peaches and almonds and pomegranates and grapes. There was wild Thyme, rosemary and bay leaves growing everywhere, and some of the olive trees have been growing on the island for hundreds of years. There was also a nude beach near by, that was had clay-mud layered underneath the sand and we would make trips down to it and rube the clay all over ourselves and make our skin lovely and soft. I was lucky to have stayed there and I really felt that the hostel enabled me to experience the real Corfu and what it had to offer.

The day after I got there I met another lovely girl named Emma, and her, Lisa and I got on quite well and decided to continue travelling together after Corfu. They were both planning on going to Santorini, and I had already been, but they convinced me to go along and continue our adventures together!

Sail Croatia Adventures

Here is another installment peeps, but I am too tired to recount all the stories from the craziness which was my Croatian sailing tour, so I'm going to make a photographic blog. Here are some highlights with some brief commentary thrown in for good measure.

Omis

Spent our first night here. We were meant to stay in Makarska, which is supposed to be a big party city, but it was really windy that day so the Captain altered our route. It was a very pretty town, quite small and very few tourists. Went into town for dinner and drinks that night.

Mljet

Another sleepy town with a gorgeous National Park. We had dinner on the boat this night and plenty of drinks, after which I escorted a few people from our boat onto my friends boat. I had met this French guy in Split a few days before, and he was doing the same tour but on the super deluxe boat. So we had some drinks there, talked to some people, almost got kicked off a few times. Also, I had a marriage proposal from an Aussie named Andy.

Dubrovnik

One of the prettiest cities I've ever seen, although very crowded with tourists. This city was almost destroyed in the war not too long ago, but has been built back up to the point where you would almost never know. This was a hot day and I decided to take off on my own rather than stick with the group and I had a nice walk through the old town, stopping for some gelato. Lots of Italian influence in food in Croatia, as Italy is right across the Adriatic and they get a lot of Italian tourists. Later we had a fancy dinner by the ocean and drank too much wine.

Hvar

Posh, posh, posh. Yachts as far as the eye can see, and the most expensive island of them all. Gorgeous sunset, went out for dinner then went to a club that night in a old church. A few of us hooked up with some people from other boats and went to another place for cocktails. We didn't make it home until 5am, and the boat left at 6am so not very much sleep that night! However, we all napped on the top deck which helped our hang over and our tan.

Brac

This beach is one of the coolest I've seen. These small pebbles jut out into a peninsula shaped beach with turquoise waters. We had to swim out here from the boat as we were anchored just off the shore (you can see one of the other tour boats in the distance.) Laying out on these soft stones in the sun was like having a hot stone massage, and didn't hurt your feet to walk on. Just before this, we swam to a small island that you could only get to by water taxi. On it, we stumbled upon a gorgeous restaurant and bar with lounge couches and white, airy curtains just off the beach. Totally unexpected, it was amazing.

After the tour, we docked in Split and the next day I was on a night ferry to Ancona and then Igoumenitsa in Greece! Next installment: Corfu.

Yes, OK, I have had a fair few angry notes from people because I haven't updated this thing in a while. To be fair, I didn't even realize anyone actually read it. So here I am in Corfu, Greece staring at a computer screen rather than staring at the gorgeous sunset... but I'm sure none of you care that much about pulling me away from fun vacation time. However, you should.

Anyways, what have I been up to?August 10th was my first official day travelling alone. Mel and Amber left me alone at the airport hotel in London and I woke up in a slight panic at my situation. However, I took several deep breaths and thought about what I had to do one step at a time. 1) Shower. 2) Brush teeth. 3) Pack bag. 4) Find a hostel for two nites in London. 5) Figure out how to get to the tube.

So I found a nice, cheap hostel in Shepard's Bush and managed to get there unscathed. In my first five minutes I met a nice Aussie girl who invited me to the pub, so I left my bags and went out. Turns out Shepard's Bush is a sub-culture of Aussies and Kiwi's, and all that night I met tonnes of amazing travellers living at the hostel and working in London.

After that first night, I felt confident about travelling alone. The backpacker culture is amazing when it comes to meeting new people and doing interesting things together. People are usually in the same boat as you, or were at some point in their travels, and are quick to adopt you into their group.On the morning of the 12th, I left at 4am in order to catch my flight to Pula. Everything was fine, until I got to Pula town and tried to find my hostel... turns out one of the street names in the directions to get there didn’t exist, and I ended up wandering around in a town where no one spoke English. I managed to find the creepiest person in Pula to ask for directions. He didn’t know where the hostel was, or the street name but he still offered to drive me there in his car. I was a bit concerned about getting kidnapped at that point... he was very insistent about driving me there, so I just pretended I was meeting my boyfriend and ran off (with a heavy backpack in 35 degrees, mind you.) An hour later, I managed to find the hostel, sweating like I have never sweat before and relieved as all hell. Until I realized that no one was there, and all the lights were turned off. A little weird for for 2 0`clock in the afternoon at a youth hostel, yes?

I waited for an hour and no one showed up, so I made an executive decision to take the night train to Split that night instead of the next. I picked myself up out of my puddle of sweat and carried on right back to the bus station, where I started. Had to wait five hours for the bus. Arrived in Split at 6am with no arrangements for accommodation and no idea what to do with myself.

Luckily I found a place and it was niiiiiice! Air conditioned, plasma screen TV, free internet. Met some more amazing people and we went out the next three nights before I was due to leave on my sail Croatia tour.

Ok, Ive been sitting here for way too long, I will leave the rest of my stories for later. Heading to watch the Corfu sunset...

Wish you were here.

Can You Tell I'm Excited?

Goodbye Scotland

Jenna and I both woke up with homesickness this morning. I dreamt last night I was sleeping in my bed at home, and when I heard foot steps outside my door I could have sworn they were my mothers.

When I opened my eyes, I wasn't at home of course, and I had an overwhelming feeling of disappointment. This feeling will pass, as I've learned that my homesickness comes and goes. This time, it's probably the result of knowing I'll be leaving Edinburgh soon, and I'll have to say goodbye to Jenna who's the only real family I've had here. I've finally settled into this place and gotten to know the people, and now I'm leaving it behind me. I was surprised at how I've grown to love this city. It was a slow growing affection that has blossomed into true love. Many people I know love this city too, but not like I do. I will miss my beautiful flat, my friends and even the shit weather. I'll miss having to duck every time a double-decker drives past my window while I'm changing. I'll miss having to hide food from the mice. I'll even miss my shit job (but I'm sure I'll get over that quickly enough.) I haven't been a backpacker for the first leg of my trip which is how I planned it, but it was a very different experience from what I expected. I thought I'd make so many friends, meet handsome and exotic men, party all the time, jet set on the weekends to Spain or Portugal or where ever the wind blew me. Instead I've learned that I don't need any of that. It may sound silly, but this trip so far as mostly taught me that as long as I take it all in, what ever it may be, I'll be fine. The bad and the good; it's all part of the journey. I've been lonely and tired and bored and rejected, but it was all worth it. The bad bits make the good bits that much better.

So I'm taking off in a few weeks on the next leg of my journey, alone. I'm scared of course, mostly that I'll be lonely. But I've decided to revel in the solitude. I get to do whatever I want, all the time. If I want to take a ferry to this or that island, I can. If I want to park myself in Istanbul or Crete or Dubrovnik for a few weeks, there's nothing holding me back. I'm going to see and do things most people will never ever get to see and do. And when I get lonely and tired, which I will, I'll still take it in and live it. Just live through the pain. It wouldn't be the same experience without it.