Paradise Updated

While travelling I keep a journal. I write a lot in it, mostly reflections, notes on places I want to remember, and also a lot of quotes I want to remember that I pick up from books I'm reading, things people tell me, lines in songs I like, etc. No big deal, but I thought it would be cool to start my entries with one every time. They really are pretty random thoughts without any real topic, other than I felt they were worth remembering.

'A man's passion is like a fire in tall, dry grass, hot and furious but soon spent. A woman is like a magician's cauldron that must simmer long upon the coals before it can bring forth it's spell. Be swift in all things but love.'

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I've found paradise. Lots to catch up on. Hope I have the patience to put it all down here.

We took a ferry from Thessaloniki to the island of Santorini. It is the southernmost Cycladic island in the Aegean with only Crete further south than us. The island itself is a volcanic island with an active volcano that explodes every so often. It was originally completely round with the volcano in the middle. However, it erupted (the largest recorded eruption ever), and wiped out the Minoan civilazation and destroyed this island. The eruption was so big, the volcano collapsed upon itself sinking the middle of the island. Now, whats left of the island is very high cliffs overlooking the sea where it used to be island with blue and white villages clinging to the sheer peaks, and on the other side are beautiful volcanic beaches with black sand in spots, red, and white in others. The total population of the island is only around 7,000 but it gets packed with tourists, so there are lots of backpackers like us to hang out with.

Back to the ferry, it was really cool. Like a small cruise ship, with several restaurants, bars, a club, game room, etc. It took 18 hours so we were glad for the amenitities. It was absolutely amazing cruising through the aquamarine sea with islands all around us. Truly breathtaking.

We got to the island and got a ride to a village called Perissa, where the best beach is - a black beach (and yes many girls are topless). It is a small town and most of the stuff is closed since the season is over. We found a great room on the beach for about $8 each with bath and hot water. We leave our door open and get the breeze off of the water. It's the only hotel left open in town, so all of the backpackers are staying with us which is cool. There is a taverna open next door and we've become buddies with the bartender, Tracey. She's real cool. She came on holiday 5 years ago from Australia and has never left. Anyway we've hung out there drinking free beers and hanging on the beach. As I said, we've met a bunch of people here (nearly all girls in the hotel - go figure, but who's complaining). Well one night we had a bonfire (Jason and I and 5 girls from Oregon). I was talking to one of the girls who told me she was originally from Guymon, Oklahoma. I thought, that's odd, I dated a girl for about 6 months from Guymon while in college. Turns out it was her cousin. How very strange.

Today we rented a car (smallest car I've ever seen, I barely fit in it) and have been cruising the island. I found an area that I wanted to go rock climbing, so I did. Not too smart. Hardest I've ever done, almost killed myself several times. Very steep cliff overlooking the ocean. Several times rocks slipped out from under my feet and I was left holding on with only my hands. Now that I'm done, it was actually lots of fun.

Now we are in the town of Fira - the biggest town on the island (please remember these islands are very small with only 3 towns on this one and only 2-3 km apart). This town is on the cliff side of the island and is incredibly beautiful. It's also packed with backpackers and everything is still open. There are bikinis everywhere and guys with dreadlocks and tatoos all over. In fact, there are several American girls behind me right now in bikinis getting hit on (sounds like successfully) by a couple of Aussie guys.

Tomorrow we are going on a glass bottom boat cruise of the volcano and then moving over here for a couple of nights. Then I think we'll head to Crete. Unfortunately, with the tourist season mostly over, all the dive shops are closed, but the prices on everything are much cheaper.

Definately recommend this place to anyone.

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Unbelievable how time passes here. Feels like I've only been here a couple of days, but I think (not sure) I've been here at least a week. The weather has turned cold the last day or so, but it's still very pleasant.

The last few days have been great. Let me first set out the crew: -You got Jason and I, now two months on the road, so getting to be seasoned backpackers. -Tracey, the ringleader. She's the bartender at the bar we hang out at, Yazz. The Aussie who's been here 5 years and gives us all the free booze.

-Charlie (a girl), who is Tracey's roommate. A Brit who moved here a year ago and works at a local travel agency.

-Keith, a retired Brit guy. Real nice. Spends EVERY afternoon at Yazz's hanging out drinking beer and rolling his own cigarettes. Wife currently in England as he is now a great grandfather as of this week. Rides his bike down the beach to the bar daily and is tanned nearly black.

-Vesna, the young wife of the owner. Played volleyball on the Slovenian national team. Came here on holiday and met the owner of Yazz and married him. She's a blast, but doesn't get along with her husband currently, which means she spends most of her time with us.

-McColly(sp?), the young Greek owner of the bar, and Vesna's husband. Very nice, but hardly ever talks to us. Limited to mostly bringing us free tequila shots pretty consistently.

-Saundra - the tall, blonde Swedish girl who works as a masseuse here. Very nice and waiting to go to Sweden this winter to return next season.

Michelle - the quiet girl from Lichenstein who hangs out with us every day, but doesn't say much. -Amanda - the loud, wanna-be hippy, wealthy South African girl who we make fun of when she's not around.

-Josh and Marty - the two Australian backpackers we met and have been running with the last week or so. Cool guys from Melbourne who are aspiring film makers, who, like us, quit there jobs to travel for a bit.

-Stelio - the owner of the hotel adjacent to Yazz. Where we are staying. Nice Greek guy who is closing in a few days and is glad most everyone is finally gone. Real nice, his wife cooks meals for us, and he gives us rides if we need them.

There you have the gang. Usual routine involves, waking up, walking down to the beach, taking a swim for a while. Then drying off and eating breakfast. Then hiking for a couple of hours. Then back for lunch, a cold beer, and beach volley ball (unfortunately, team USA could not overcome the fierce challengers from Australia). Dinner consists of Gyros from one of the 2 restaurants still open. Then we retire to Tracey and Charlie's place to hang out and watch SATELLITE TV!!!! Pretty rough lifestyle.

Today we took the bus back to Fira (the main town on the other side of the island) and got a room at the youth hostel. Fortunately everything here is still open for a few weeks. Tomorrow is the ferry to Crete so we're planning to hop on that and check out Crete for a few days.