Mad dash to freedom

So today was insane!  Yesterday (Sunday) after we left Mytilini we decided to take a walk to the beach by our farm for the afternoon.  Then we had to climb a mountain for 2 hours to get back to the farm, after already being exhausted from the weekend. We ended up leaving around 7:30pm, and didn't get back until around 10pm.  It was already dark by the time we got back.  The walk was quite interesting in the end, because we couldnt see anything!  It was absolutely beautiful though because we got to watch the sunset on top of the mountain with absolutely no one else around for miles.  We hung out with our friend Fokion the whole afternoon, and it was a really great time.  When we got back we found out that all the buses might not be running on tues, when we were planning on leaving, because it is a big holiday. We also found out that two other people were leaving on Monday (today) so we decided we would leave with them.  Of course we had to still wake up early and work in the morning today, even though we didnt really want to.

So today, we got up at around 7:15am, walked up the mountain to go to work, and all we did for 5 hours in the blistering sun was shovel rocks from one side of a road to another.  It was horrible horrible work, and really tiring!  The whole morning we were also waiting to hear if Kosta would drive us down to the bus stop in the afternoon, and we were sorta depending on it, cause otherwise we'd have to walk, and we weren't packed.  So then after we were done, and a little pissed off cause it seemed like we were the only people working, we ate a delicious lunch with everyone, until finally Kosta told us he was driving the other 2 people at 6 or 7pm, which was way too late to catch the bus to Mytilni so we would have to walk!  By the time he told us this, it was already 2:30pm, and the last bus leaves at 4pm.  It also takes around 40 minutes to walk to the bus stop without giant back packs, and we still had to walk down the mountain to our rooms, and pack all our stuff. So when he told us this, we said the quickest goodbyes ever and ran down the mountain to our room.  We packed all our stuff in less than 15 minutes (amazing! especially since everything was strewn all over the village!) and dashed out of the town.  At this point it was 3:10pm so we figured we'd be able to just make it to the bus, and if we missed it, we would be stuck there until wed. So then we had to hike down a huge mountain with all our stuff in at least 100 degree weather.  It was the most draining experience ever! I can't believe we didnt die!  Finally, we made it down the mountain without any mishaps though Jen's hands had swollen to twice their size.  After we took a wrong turn in the town with the bus stop, we finally made it to the bus stop and talked with a nice man from Australia who assured us that we didn't miss the bus.  Sure enough we were 10 minutes early for the last bus to Mytilini, so everything worked out fine.  Our rest gave us enough time to recover and then we got to hang out in an airconditioned bus for an hour.  Finally we made it to Mytilini, though we didn't have any concrete plans from there.  We wanted to explore the island more before we left Lesvos on Wed. night at 10pm, so that is why we decided to leave the farm a few days early.  Plus we were so sick of being dirty and hungry all the time.  So we arrived in Mytilini with plans to either catch a bus to the other side of the island the next day if they were running, and if they weren't to rent a motorbike or car and drive ourselves.  Though the second option might have been fun, it would have been really expensive and tiring so we were really lucky when we found out that the buses were still running.  Then we needed to find a place to sleep in Mytilini for the night, and we couldn't find one for 2 hours, until finally we went to the place we stayed last weekend, and they had 1 room for us! Yay!  We also made reservations at another hotel in Skala Eresou at our next stop, so everything we needed to do worked out!  It is a miracle!  We are amazing.

So now we have the evening all to ourselves, and even though we will be spending more money than we would have had we stayed at the farm, it is totally worth it!  FREEDOM!