It was a real planes, trains and automobiles kind of day. Long, entertaining, and tiring; a good way to see a fair bit while in transit. Here's what we've done since then:
SAMOS
One of the larger islands of Greece, it's remote and little visited except for day trippers from Turkey (we only came through here as it was substantially cheaper and faster than booking flights back through istanbul). It's also most famous as the home of Pythagoris (the guy responsible for why you know how to calculate the hypotenuse of a triangle) and Epicurus.
It's funny that I said I had zero culture shock in turkey - sometimes it's not until you leave a place that you realize how much culture you were actually immersed in. The contrast between turkey and samos was stark and surprising given it's not even fully beyond the peninsula from kusadasi. The mosques and crescents are replaced with abundant churches and crosses, blue flags replace red, the ambiance feels immediately more liberal and European, and the tea cups regain a proper size. The prices also push you hard and square in the groin. Same number amounts, but the currency is 3 times more valuable. It quickly broke my addiction to Magnum ice cream bars, although that's since been firmly replaced by frozen greek yogurt. Oh my goodness! How did I not know about that before?!?!
We had a few hours to kill here so decided to rent a car and explore. Not until after I paid did we remember that almost every car in Europe is a standard. Opened the door... Oh... Riiiiight.
I had forgotten both (a) how much fun that is to drive and (b) how to do it. Comes back quick though and I'm proud to say I never stalled her once. I disavow all knowledge of frequently squealing tires.
We dipped our feet in at a smooth, stony beach, hiked along a babbling brook, and dodged buses on narrow, windy, mountainous roads across to the south side, then left the car in the airport parking lot unlocked with keys in for the rental guy to find later. Seemed weird, but I guess car theft from an island isn't a straightforward or common proposition.
MYKONOS
After overnighting in Athens, we caught a bright-and-early ferry for our cut-too-short trip to Mykonos. It was good enough for a sampling though. The town is easy to walk through and beyond gorgeous: thin cobble stone foot paths meander directionless through spotless whitewashed buildings with bright blue and red windows and doors; cliffs were spotted with both new and ancient windmills. We spent the afternoon strolling here before catching a bus to lounge at one of the "beautiful" beaches. It was nice, but thailand's beaches have ruined my frame of reference. It was here the wind picked up and the clouds rolled in and put a damper on our "beach vacation". Apparently the first rain they've had since April according to our hotel driver.
I should add at this point that the Greek hospitality has been incredible. By far the best I've experienced anywhere in the world. Not sure if it's just the little family run places Jaimie found, but it's felt like we were welcomed into the family and our every need was anticipated and attended too, with the hotel owners even driving us from and to the ferries themselves and rejecting tips as unnecessary.
NAXOS
Naxos was recommended as a quieter, more authentic greek experience. It did seem to be that, but it was hard to fully appreciate it as we were literally blown away here. 70-80 Km/h winds required a stiff lean in just to stay upright, sea mist occasionally felt like accupuncture, and watching the ferries come in practically on their sides made me a bit nervous for our ride out. I've found it amusing, although admittedly it's made it hard to really get outside and fully enjoy the island. I think Jaimie in particular was disappointed as it hasn't nearly lived up to her expectations. It seems she was really looking forward to scootering around, lounging on beaches, and ogling six packs. Mine was gonna dissapoint her there regardless... Fat Greg is making a comeback.
Jaimie, regretting Greece amidst the rain storms. Same look when she sees my beach body.
Nonetheless, one of the highlights of the trip for me at least was renting a car here and discovering that Naxos is apparently the world's most impossibly large and curvy go cart track. I feel bad for her that she can't drive stick cause it wouldn't be near as much fun riding shot gun, but it was a thrill to test my newly re-acquired skillz in such incredible beauty.
We drove first to the cute little town of Halki, where the local 120 year old distillery still brews Kitron from citrus leaves, a delicious spirit unique to Naxos. We waited out a down pour in a great little cafe that seemed to act as a farmer's market store front for selling all the hand made goodies from the distillery, bakeries, and jammeries in the surrounding square. As the rain lifted we also walked a short trail to a 1200 year old byzatine church, then gassed up for what we assumed would be a little, hour long drive around the northern loop of the island.
Commence go kart drive.
Hair pin turns that somehow exceeded 180 degrees and often required dropping into 1st to climb up. Steep drops off every side, and guard rails that, if they existed at all, were placed at an effective height to flip your car on its roof for the ride down instead of trying to stop it. I wouldn't take a squeamish passenger here, but boy is it fun to drive. Made the highway to Hana on Maui seem like a joke.
And the views... Oh the views! Even with the poor storm visibility, they were among the best I've ever experienced. The first part was otherworldly, climbing up rocky mountain peaks spotted with bits of greenery that I can't readily compare to anything else I've seen before. The backside was far wetter, greener, and equally majestic. Jaimie tells me it reminded her of Scottish highlands but larger and better. I'd always thought of Greek islands as small and dry, so really wasn't expecting anything like this.
By the time we cut through the mountains and could see a coast line again, it was already getting dark. As much as I enjoyed it, my nerves were a bit frayed and I was not wanting to have anything to do with this road at night, so it became a race against the sun to see who would touch down in the old Chora town first. The roads "straightened" enough I could finally get up into 4th on occasion and we covered ground as rapidly as possible. We lost the race, but at least came close enough to feel the safety of some street lights before darkness set in.
Complete success. Unless you were just the passenger (poor Jaimie).
Ignoring the dirt path, this is all 1 road
The "straight" part of the highway
ON TO SANTORINI
We've been surprised at the size of the islands and the distance between towns. What you'd assume is a 10 minute drive is often closer to an hour and crests a mountain or 2 along the way. The islands are also a lot closer together than we thought, and you almost always see at least 2 others from any seas side vantage point. Where I had pictured more isolated lands and open seas, I'd actually describe it more as if the Rocky Mountains had simply dropped chest deep in to the ocean, separating peaks by only short boat rides.
We're pulling into Santorini now and it looks very, very different than the other islands. Should be a good few days here, then back to Athens for a day before we fly back to normal life.
Apparently I don't get sea sick anymore. The winds are still 40km/h so we've been rocking a fair bit but I typed this all the way and feel fine. I still haven't gotten over this cold though. I don't feel awful, but I would really enjoy a day without a ton of coughing and sniffling.
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