Corfu
From the ferry from Brindisi, Italy to Corfu, Greece was an overnight adventure. I had never been on a Greek 'cruise ship' or any cruise ship in fact before this, and I tell you, strange. They keep birds. Not sure if it is because it is good luck, just the love of birds or maybe they were used as an early warning system for toxic gases such as carbon monoxide or methane.
We arrived in Corfu at 6am, and went directly to the Pink Palace for 3 shots of ouzo. I think this was the glue that we needed to stay here for 1 week. It was a party every night, with singing and dancing, more ouzo shots and lots of smashing plates. and yelling OPA!We spent out time here relaxing on the beach, swimming in the pool and riding around on mopeds. Have you ever rented mopeds? It seems that getting into accidents, hitting stuff, falling off is just the norm. I have done that... faceplant on the beach, but not here (I kept that for the USA). But, Aimee flew off and Chris sideswiped a wall. But both survived, and no pictures to show for it! Good thing there is always ouzo!
Santorini
We cruised from Corfu to Santorini in just a few hours, and settled at Perissa Beach. A quiet little town (at least it was in '95), and rented the top floor of a hotel for the group of us. Since it was a sleepy little town, the owner of the hotel was so greatful to be renting his place for a whole week. He pointed out a restaurant called Anna's that was linked to a rundown hostel. We ate there every night. Free ouzo! OPA!
I have to tell you about another moped story. You would think we would learn, but this is the cheapest way to get around the island.
It all started off with Smith running out of gas. While the guys siphoned some gas from one moped to the other, some local kids between 7-10 years of age came to hang out. They wanted to get on the mopeds, but of course, that was not an option. The next best alternative, revving the gas on the handlebar. They thought this was just too fun! Vicki came to meet us after doing a little bit of grocery shopping. She didn't know about Smithy running out of gas, nor the kids playing revving the gas on the mopeds. One little guy came running up to Vicki and revved the gas on the moped. Wouldn't you know it... Vicki, the little boy and the moped went flying. Not too worry, everyone survived without injuries, which is a good thing because we were all laughing so hard, not sure if we would have been able to help otherwise.
I have to tell you about another moped story. You would think we would learn, but this is the cheapest way to get around the island.
It all started off with Smith running out of gas. While the guys siphoned some gas from one moped to the other, some local kids between 7-10 years of age came to hang out. They wanted to get on the mopeds, but of course, that was not an option. The next best alternative, revving the gas on the handlebar. They thought this was just too fun! Vicki came to meet us after doing a little bit of grocery shopping. She didn't know about Smithy running out of gas, nor the kids playing revving the gas on the mopeds. One little guy came running up to Vicki and revved the gas on the moped. Wouldn't you know it... Vicki, the little boy and the moped went flying. Not too worry, everyone survived without injuries, which is a good thing because we were all laughing so hard, not sure if we would have been able to help otherwise.Milos & Cankiwos
Some of you might be thinking "ok, I have heard of Milos, but I have never heard of Cankiwos... and it doesn't even sound Greek!"
Milos is a great island. Small towns with fishing and local farming being their main industry. In the peaks times of the year, they do gets tourists, but mainly Germans, and not many wanting to camp. We walked a bit of the island looking for a place to sleep for the night, but finally went to ask a local travel agent where we can stay on the island. What she said was "No camping, but free camping." OK, whatever that means, we took it to say we could camp, and that is exactly what we did. We found a nice beach on the otherside of the island, within a few steps of a small restaurant called "The Blues". As it turns out, what the "No camping but free camping" meant was NO Camping. The local αστυνομία (police) came out for a visit. They told us we were not allowed to camp, but soon felt bad and left us alone.
Milos is a great island. Small towns with fishing and local farming being their main industry. In the peaks times of the year, they do gets tourists, but mainly Germans, and not many wanting to camp. We walked a bit of the island looking for a place to sleep for the night, but finally went to ask a local travel agent where we can stay on the island. What she said was "No camping, but free camping." OK, whatever that means, we took it to say we could camp, and that is exactly what we did. We found a nice beach on the otherside of the island, within a few steps of a small restaurant called "The Blues". As it turns out, what the "No camping but free camping" meant was NO Camping. The local αστυνομία (police) came out for a visit. They told us we were not allowed to camp, but soon felt bad and left us alone.
Since there was no other restaurant around, we became 'good friends' with Jim, the owner. He said if we wanted to go stay on a deserted island, he would take us on his sailboat. OK! I know what you are thinking, we are crazy. Yes, we were. I can not deny this. But 8 of us packed our bags and headed off on Jim's sailboat to a deserted island. Our plan, just stay for for 3 nights. We sailed for about an hour and finally arrived on an island with no name, at least no name that we knew of. Because we were planning on staying here for a while, we needed a name. Cankiwos sounded good (combo of Canadians & Kiwis). There were no trees on the island to shelter us, no 
where to hide our food/water away from the blazing sun, and most of all, no people. What we did find on the island were donkeys, and pregnant ones at that. Being on a deserted island, there is not a lot of stuff to do. We went exploring... found an old house/shack that had 1908 carved into the door, but mostly, we just hung out. We slept on the beach, in the open, watching the stars. I think we were the first people to view Hale-Bopp Comet, even though scientist say you could not view it until March of 1996. Hogwash. Remember Jim? Well, a good guy that he is, he did come back. He did so everyday... bringing us food & water/pop/beer. And, he did come pick us up at the end of our 3 day adventure... couldn't wait to have a shower.
where to hide our food/water away from the blazing sun, and most of all, no people. What we did find on the island were donkeys, and pregnant ones at that. Being on a deserted island, there is not a lot of stuff to do. We went exploring... found an old house/shack that had 1908 carved into the door, but mostly, we just hung out. We slept on the beach, in the open, watching the stars. I think we were the first people to view Hale-Bopp Comet, even though scientist say you could not view it until March of 1996. Hogwash. Remember Jim? Well, a good guy that he is, he did come back. He did so everyday... bringing us food & water/pop/beer. And, he did come pick us up at the end of our 3 day adventure... couldn't wait to have a shower.Athens
We arrived in Athens and immediately checked into our hostel. We needed showers and clean clothes! A couple of us walked around Athens, taking in the sites. We decided to walk to the Acropolis, up the big hill, in the heat, only to find it was closed. The next day we had another go, this time successful. Wow! Amazing! Just being there knowing that people from the Helladic period 2800-2100 BCE (and earlier, really) walked on the same land, maybe even the same marble stairs as me.Our time in Greece was soon coming to an end. We purchased our train tickets to go from Athens to Istanbul, Turkey.
It seems to be a common thing between 2 countries. A love/hate relationship. Canadians and Americans have this type of relationship. Canadians don't want to be branded as Americans when we travel, but yet, we love travelling to the US. Australia & New Zealand have a similar feeling, my rugby team is better then your rugby team. Greece & Turkey are not excluded from this list, as we will discover on the train.
Stay Tuned! Turkey is the next entry in the 'Europe on LESS then shoestring.
It seems to be a common thing between 2 countries. A love/hate relationship. Canadians and Americans have this type of relationship. Canadians don't want to be branded as Americans when we travel, but yet, we love travelling to the US. Australia & New Zealand have a similar feeling, my rugby team is better then your rugby team. Greece & Turkey are not excluded from this list, as we will discover on the train.
Stay Tuned! Turkey is the next entry in the 'Europe on LESS then shoestring.
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