Greece

Ahhhhhh, the Greek Isles! Need I say more?

When I first started planning my trip, I knew that I wanted to go to Greece, mainly to see Athens and all the historical sights. I also knew that travelling for 4 months was not going to be easy, and that I would need to schedule some down time into my trip. So I decided a week in the Greek Isles was a great way to relax!

From Athens I caught the ferry to Naxos. At first I wasn't sure which islands I was going to go to. I knew I wanted to go to Santorini, but I wanted to see another island or two also. Managing ferry schedules and hotels is actually pretty difficult on your own (ferries change weekly, sometimes daily), so there are a lot of travel agencies to help you figure it out. The travel agent I went to suggested going to Naxos, an island close to Santorini (both are part of the Cyclades island group) but completely different than Santorini. Is was a beautiful island, and really quite big. It would take a long time to explore the whole island. Most of the inland area is not inhabited -- either dry brush or farmland. I didn't rent a car, but I did take the bus around the west coast of the island. The beaches in Naxos were great -- considered some of the best in the Cyclades. And there really weren't that many people out on the beaches. Naxos is not nearly as popular with tourists as Santorini and Mykonos. I spent a great day laying on the beach, swimming in the turquoise waters of the aegean and soaking up the sun. The girls from LA that I met in Athens recommended a restaurant overlooking one of the beaches and I had a wonderful dinner there. Sitting overlooking the sea and the beach, eating shrimp and olives and sipping ouzo -- this is the life!

I spent part of my time exploring Naxos town, the main town on the island. It is situated around a harbor and winds its way up the hillside. The buildings here are just so beautiful -- whitewashed, blue domed, cubist -- exactly what I was imaging when I pictured Greece. Lots of beautiful old pedestrian streets forming a maze through the old town. I really enjoyed just walking around the town. I had heard that tourism in Greece is way down this year due to the financial crisis and less people traveling. Unfortunately for Greece, tourism is their main industry. I did notice plenty of shops and restaurants that looked like they recently went out of business. I couldn't help but wonder if this is a normal process in a tourist driven economy, or if it was worse because of the global financial conditions. I met a couple of female high school students who were studying for their exams. It was fun talking to them and I learned a lot about the island. They are hoping to become engineers and move to Athens. They both said that life on Naxos is driven by tourism, and that line of work is too uncertain for them. They said that most people have to earn their entire living in 3 months, and if for some reason it doesn't happen, you really don't have much to fall back on. I was glad I spent a couple of days in Naxos because it gave me a much different perspective than Santorini.

Santorini was absolutely beautiful! This is the island everyone thinks of when they think of the Greek Isles -- stunning cliffs with buildings built into the hillside, towns dotting the top of the caldera rim, donkeys carrying people up the long staircases. It really was incredible. I spent 5 days in Santorini and it was so nice to just be in one place and relax for a little while. It was really quite hot already and I can only imagine how hot it would be in August! I spent most of every day lying by the pool reading a book, then walked around some of the towns each night.

Santorini is incredible because most of the island is situated on the rim of a volcano caldera. The volcano exploded thousands of years ago and water rushed into the caldera creating the dramatic landscape. Some historians believe that Santorini was the mythical Atlantis before the volcano exploded. Fira is the main town and is basically just a tourist destination now. Multiple cruise ships stop in the port every day and the streets are filled with people wanting to spend their money. I stayed in the town of Imerovigli, a short 20 minute hike along the caldera rim from Fira. The town I stayed in was mainly residential and only had a couple of restaurants and shops. It was perfect -- quiet but still close to everything. I spent a day exploring the island and visited Oia and Kamari. But of all the towns, Imerovigli was by far my favorite. I had a wonderfully peaceful, relaxing week!