Greece: Ancient History, Island Hopping and Gyros

I debarked the ferry from Mykonos and immediately noticed a cloudy haze surrounding the port of Athens. The sun was about thirty minutes from falling below the horizon, but the soft, sunset glow remained absent from the sky. Rather, a muted mixture halfway between blue and grey hung over the city. As the crowds of people descended on the port, about 80 percent of the passengers knew their exact destinations: anxiously awaiting family members, taxis, their own cars. Because I was one of the first off the ship, I scanned the warehouses hoping for some sort of recognizable image. I did not see any familiar pictures, so I approached a police officer who kindly directed me to the Metro.  

I exited the train at the designated stop and ascended the stairway toward the street. When I walked through the open doors, I was bombarded with activity (I found out later that I was standing in Athens’ version of Time Square). There were children screaming, young adults mingling, street vendors hassling and tourists struggling to make sense of the immense commotion. As my eyes quickly scampered left to right to left to right (both to gather and process as much information as quickly as possible and to combat potential pickpocketers that can camouflage themselves in the chaos), I saw a soft, golden glow in the top right corner of my right eye. The Acropolis! Towering over the city, illuminated by lights strategically placed throughout the rocks, it looked like a majestic beacon overlooking the crowded city. The iconic image was as awe-inspiring in the chaotic town square as it was in the textbooks from grade school.

One unfortunate takeaway from Athens is the plague of graffiti littering the streets. Markings (a local Greek shared that most of them serve zero purpose) are present on every sliver of real estate at or near ground level. These defacing marks nearly ruin walking around the city.

The view from the terrace at the hostel.

The Parthenon at Night

The Parthenon during the day.

Overlooking a portion of Athens from the Acropolis

Typical Athens street... graffiti everywhere.

$2.50 Gyro. Terrible picture... I couldn't hold it and take a photo.

Sunset Paradise - Santorini, Greece

Istanbul was gorgeous at night, but Santorini ups the ante even more. Santorini is world famous for its sunsets (which are stunning), but the town of Oia (where I am staying) is picturesque 24 hours a day. The sky-blue accents from the doors, window seals, fences and roofs effortlessly complement the snow-white buildings. The cobblestone and marble streets are only wide enough for people, so the beauty is unobstructed by motorists of any kind. The sun, while powerful, is tamed by the constant sea breeze coming from the Mediterranean and the locals could not be friendlier. If you are in Greece, Santorini needs to be on your list.

I was in Santorini for two sunsets. Both were incredible!

Around every street corner, a photo opportunity presents itself. I took more photos in Santorini on the first day than I took in all of Turkey.

(I met 5 more Aggies. 2 for 2. Turkey, check. Greece, check. We are everywhere—and we love to represent.)

Bartering in Santorini

I arrived in Santorini at 1:10 AM on a ferry from Kos with the intention of heading straight for a beach to sleep for the night. When I departed the car-loading area of the ferry, I looked around and something became astronomically apparent—my plan was not going to work. The moon, while hindered by the clouds, provided enough lighting to illuminate the massive, rocky cliffs lining the shore. I glanced around hoping to find public transportation, because I was in no condition to scale these roads. “Great. Nothing,” I thought. Among the handful of the shops lining the port, I saw two travel agents positioned one right next to the other. Options. Nice. Time to have some fun. I chose to approach the closer of the two shops first. This way, I would not have to backtrack if my bartering skills were unappreciated by the locals. I was strangely confident considering my only options were to get housing from these agents or to sleep until morning on the concrete dock. I attribute the confidence to knowing that either they sell me a room or it remains vacant because we were the last ship for the evening.

I walked into the first travel agent and a gentleman on my right asked if I needed a room. Perfect. I mentioned that I forgot to arrange housing for that night, but I only really wanted a bed to sleep until morning. He proceeded to offer a nice hotel room (even showed me a few pictures) with a price tag of...25 Euros. The rest of the conversation is below:

Me       “I only need a bed so 25 Euros for 8 hours is way too much.”

Him     “20”

Me       “15 is my max”

Him     “Ok. 15”

Me       “And you will get me there?”

Him     “Of course. Of course.”

That was easy. It was a NICE hotel too...off season has its perks.

Turkey - Final Thoughts

The cultural differences are still tremendously foreign to me. Each morning, before the sunrise, every mosque (and there are quite a few) broadcast individually sung prayers, all at basically the same time. This procedure occurs five times throughout the day and based on the number of mosques in the area, there can be overlapping sounds singing the same prayer (although using different harmonies). I had never been exposed to this behavior (except in movies) until I arrived in Istanbul.

The bus system, while expansive, is confusing when you don’t speak Turkish. Their systems seem chaotic and unorganized; however, every single time everything manages to work out. The trick is to say your ending destination at every stop. After the second time you do this, the bus driver motions to stop worrying and he then ensures you exit at the correct location.

It has been quite hilarious to travel around this country as simply “William” for the past two weeks. Everyone else has two names; however, my last name is never included. I do not know why, but it makes me laugh every time.

Their paper is longer than ours—both printing and toilet.

There is an anticipatory aurora around this country. Every town seems like a runner anxiously awaiting the starting gun for the upcoming summer marathon. Apparently next week everything is going to explode with tourists, and it is evident when traveling that something massive is on the horizon. You can just feel it in the air.

Pamukkale - Travertines left by flowing water 

Some ruins about 600 yards from the travertines

Candles outside the House of the Virgin Mary - Ephesus, Turkey

Ephesus's Famous Library of Celsus

Ephesus Stadium

Ephesus Library in the Background

Turkish Pizza - This entire meal was $6

The route I took around the country.