So I'm on my own again...Carolyn caught a ferry to Athens two days ago (to fly home) and I caught one to another Greek island, Naxos. Needless to say it was a very teary goodbye!!! I think I cried (not tear trickling but actual crying) for the first half hour of my ferry. Once I started it just didnt seem to stop...I got hit by my first real wave of homesickness then too (but it passed thankfully!). Our last week in Santorini SPED by. We did a lot of exploring the island on Atvs, sunset watching and donkey riding. We also hiked up Santorini's active volcano and swam in the hotsprings that were lukewarm at best and stank like rotting eggs, not the most pleasant experience. Riding a donkey up a hill was however worth every penny! For whatever reason my donkey had a real competitive streak and every time it was passed be another donkey it would literally run until it was in the lead again. I should mention that it didnt seem to care whatsoever about its driver during these moments and would plow my legs into the walls or other donkeys.
Naxos is a very picturesque island. It is also entirely Dutch and German. I would bet money that I am the only Canadian here. It has beautiful white sand beaches, really shallow and really blue lukewarm water and very friendly people. But after three days here I'm ready to leave...its a little boring in all honesty. Other then go to the beach or spend a ridiculous amount on boat tours there is really nothing else to do. I've been trying to take advantage of the slow pace and relax but I've had just about enough beach bumming after Santorini. Today I went to the beach, sat in the shade and read my book for about 5 hours...I wont go to the beach if I cant find a nice shady spot to sit in...lying in the sun just doesn't interest me anymore! Plus...this really is the worst time to be here. All the Greek people are out-numbered by European vacationers and you really dont see ANY Greek culture. Just Euro culture with Greek buildings on a Greek island. I chose to come to the Greek islands to recharge and take a break from the crazy whirlwind that is backpacking but...I feel like I've done that now. Plus the first week of August I will be on another Greek island (Kiffalonia) with Ben and his friends Stef and Con. So all this contributes to my decision to head into mainland Greece for the next week. Its more then a little impractical (money and time wise) but I want to see Moteora and some other smaller Greek towns, which according to all the Greek people I've met is much more the "real" Greece. I also have a new mission (given to me by these two awesome American friends we made in Santorini) and that is to crash a Greek wedding. Haha I will keep you updated on how that goes!
On another note...I have successfully completed the two requirements of "Julia traveling on her own" 1. To get utterly and hopelessly lost for a significant period of time and 2. Have dinner with a very nice middle aged man. I didn't really realize how bad my sense of direction was before traveling. Yesterday I decided to take a quick walk before breakfast...aand found my way back 2.5 hours later. It's embarrassing how lost I was! Maps don't even help me thats how bad I am. I need my navigator (aka Carolyn) back! As for the dinner...every time I go for dinner on my own I end up in a conversation with someone (usually older men since they seem to be the only ones who go for dinner on their own). Last night I met Yannis, a Greek highschool teacher who actually used to teach in Montreal. We had a really interesting conversation about Greek words (how every scientific word has a greek orgin: My big fat greek wedding anyone?) and about the differences between Greek and Canadian school systems.
So! Tomorrow I am back to Athens and then to mainland Greece...I will let you know how it goes! Miss you all...sorry that these blogs aren't more personal but its challenging to keep everyone updated. xox
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