After a couple of disappointing days in Athens, I was hopeful for our next two stops. They definitely didn’t let us down.

Mykonos: underwater fun, and twin peaks peeks.

So Debbie and I ditched everyone else in Mykonos and went scuba diving.  I hadn’t been diving in several months, and I didn’t bring any of my equipment with me, so I was a little worried about everything going okay.  I was excited to get in the water, though. A few days prior, we had gone to a beach in Cephalonia and went swimming. It was magical, and I couldn’t wait to explore the underwater world.

The water in Greece is incredibly clear and beautiful. The beaches are sandy, but it’s not a fine sand that you would find in Hawaii or the Caribbean; it’s fairly coarse. This didn’t bother me until I had to walk across it with bare feet with 40 lbs of scuba gear strapped to my back.  It was quickly apparent that I didn’t do a good job of building up the calluses on my feet this summer.

Two things that worry me while scuba diving are sharks and stonefish.  Do you remember the scene in Blue Lagoon where Brook Shields’ character steps on a stonefish and almost dies?  Well, that stuck with me over the years for some reason, and I worry about meeting the same fate.  And as far as sharks go…well, Jaws ruined me forever.  The more I dive, the less I worry about being some big fish’s dinner, but the fear is still present.  So when our dive master said that sharks are never a concern in that area, I was elated.  Of course, she followed that by telling us the only thing we had to worry about in the water was stonefish.  Are you frickin’ kidding me, I thought.  She warned us not to put or feet or hands on any of rocks or ground without looking closely first.  Wonderful.  I was sure there would be an excruciating envenomation in my future.

I’m happy to say that no neurotoxic spines pierced my flesh, and I must’ve seen three dozen stonefish (mostly small juvenile ones) during our dives.  Once I spotted the first one, my eyes were able to quickly recognize them settled on the rocks, and I found it quite easy to avoid them.  The fear of these nasty fish abated, and with no worry of sharks, I was able to completely relax during my dives.  And because the area we were diving had weak currents, Debbie and I had to exert very little energy, so our air lasted much longer.  We were out almost an hour and a half during our second dive, which is longer than recommended, but our dive master was busy finding our third octopus of the day (all three of which inked us), and a cuttlefish, which I told her was my favorite marine animal.  She ended up finding one, but my attention was drawn elsewhere, so only she and Debbie were able to enjoy it.  Oh well, maybe next time.

After our first dive, we walked back up the beach, and I was surprised as I walked by a woman in a lounge chair, clad only in bikini bottoms, looking like a melting cheese loaf, her gigantic nipples peeking out from her armpits.  I made my best attempt not to stare, but Debbie and I were being lead through the middle of a grouping of chairs that were placed closely together, so I just kept my eyes pointed directly down and tried not to drip any water on anyone.  Once we were through, I mouthed, “Oh my god” to Debbie, knowing that there was no way she missed the spectacle.

Once Debbie and I sat down for lunch between dives, we started looking around the beach and noticed that there were several people airing out their junk.  As I ate the delicious grilled Feta and pita bread we ordered at the bar, I watched some bloated man in a micro speedo dance to a song playing over the speakers like he was at a club back in the 80’s when he was probably in his prime and better able to fit in those Barbie-doll sized shorts.  We tried to find anyone on the beach who warranted such scantily-clad looks, but there was nary a single one.  We wondered what kind of resort we were at.

Santorini: magic on the mountain.

Santorini has to be one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever seen.  I had images in my mind of the whitewashed, blue-roofed houses, but the complete picture was so much more majestic.  One thing I didn’t realize was how high the houses are settled into volcanic mountains that make up the island.  The mountains themselves are also vibrantly colored, with streaks of bright red and black rocks making up the steep cliffs.  There are two main towns on the island:  Oia and Thera.  We tendered into Thera, but then immediately got on a boat over to Oia, after which we bussed back over to Thera and made our way down to the tender pickup.

Riding the boat over to Oia, I was revisited by the same emotions I felt when looking at the Icelandic landscapes; a lump stuck in my throat, and I had to keep the tears at bay as we got closer to the towering, colorful cliffs.  This was another perfect example of where the pictures I post won’t come close to demonstrating how wonderful the sites are.  Talking to Debbie later in the day, she said she felt the same way.

After a quick bus ride up the mountain into the town, we were given a couple of hours to explore Oia before it was time to go over to Thera. Our walk around town began slowly enough, but after realizing there were too many amazing things to see in such a short time, Debbie and I ditched Kevin and Donald, and zipped around town like two kids in a giant toy store.  We were both so excited and overwhelmed by Oia, both of us realizing that we had totally underestimated how we would feel about Santorini.  As we ran around, I kept hearing Debbie saying, “I can’t believe we’re here; it’s so beautiful.”  The two hours went by in a flash, and we were sad to have to get back on the bus.  Because we skipped lunch in order to be able to explore more, we unwrapped the tomato and feta tarts we bought earlier at a small bakery, and wolfed them down, neither of us realizing how hungry we actually had been.

Thera was also wonderful, but not as visually stunning as Oia.  We spent our time exploring the dozens of little shops, taking our time, Debbie and I not worrying about having to hurry as much.  Kevin wasn’t in the mood to shop, so he headed back to the ship to get ready for a little cocktail party we were hosting on our balcony later in the day.  There are two main ways to get down from the town to the water:  a cable car or a steep winding road on which you can walk or ride a donkey down.  Kevin took the cable car, but Debbie, Donald and I decided to take the donkeys.

We didn’t have to look for the signs leading us to the donkeys, we just followed our noses.  At the top of the road, dozens of donkeys are tied up, waiting to be rode down.  As we approached, we were greeted by a man who just said, “You want donkey?  How many?.”  After paying him 18€ for the three of us, he yelled down to his colleague, pointing to us, letting him know we had paid.  As we walked up to the other guy, he sized us up and selected a donkey for us to ride.  And this is where Europe is so different than the U.S.:  at home, we would be required to sign a release form, and read an instructional handout on what and what not to do on the ride down.  In Greece?  You’re shown your donkey, the stirrups are pointed out, and you’re told to get on.  Figure it out, and hope you don’t fall off.

After getting on our donkeys with no assistance offered, we watched as a young woman in her 20’s got on her donkey, and was assisted with careful attention by our donkey wrangler.  He apparently thought the best way to help her into her saddle was to grab two handfuls of her backside and lift her into position.  As we were all commenting about what a dirty old man he was, we saw his karmic payback play out with an elderly, husky woman who was having a difficult time getting into her saddle.  As she was screeching, unable to hoist her leg over the donkey, he came up behind her, probably hoping he would only have to give her a nudge, only to have her plant her big butt right on his face as he came up behind her.  He looked panicked, trying to come up for air, as his arms visibly struggling to lift her back up.  He eventually got her into the saddle, but he didn’t look happy about it.  Serves him right.

The ride down was incredibly fun.  I hadn’t been in a saddle since I was a kid, and it reminded me how enjoyable it is.  I think that was the best 6€ I spent on my entire trip.