Maggie and I rented an ATV and I can honestly say it was top 5 for my Greece trip experiences. The thing was blue and it was a trip to drive. We started out driving over to Kamari Beach and then up to Ancient Fira. After the first jaunt the road turned into rough stones, but Blue handled it just fine. Coming down was another story.
At the top we met a man who had just hiked up the mountain from Perissa on the other side. He set off as we stayed on top and took more pictures so he had a bit of a headstart but we caught up with him on the way back down. I didn't want to burn the brakes out on the ATV so I put it into neutral and coasted down. But this man was running down the hill and beating us on the ATV. He was my hero.
After that, we headed over to Akrotiri where the ruins are. But 2 years ago Akrotiri had a serious accident and I believe killed 2 tourists. So the sight is shut down at least for the season. After that, we tooled on over to what we thought was this really cool lighthouse. Turns out, not so cool of a lighthouse and then the gas light started flashing. We then headed down to the Red beach, black beach and white beach. I was concerned we weren't going to make it out considering there are hardly any petrol stations on that side of the island. The whole way after the trip to the red beach I was really concerned we would have to walk to get gas. Maggie said I became really quiet and got nervous. We ended up pulling in and filling up the tank... for 7 euros. And it was full for the whole next day. Thank god for small engines!
We then decided to do some wine tastings, but the really cool places were closed for the season. We passed a Mexican Restaurant named Senor Zorba's on the way down and decided to go back and have dinner there. We walked in and saw a small plaque stating this was the location of the World's Highest Man Man Cactus as certified by the Guinness Book of World Records. Only problem was, there was no cactus to be seen.
We ordered bean burritos and hoped for the best. I went to the bathroom and noticed inside the walls were covered in Colorado license plates. I asked the cook why they had them all the way in Santorini and he told me that his boss was originally from Colorado. Bingo, insert great tasting Mexican food all the way in Greece. And it was amazing!
We sat and watched the sunset and then headed back into Perissa to get cleaned up to go out. After a bottle of champagne between the two of us, we caught the bus into Fira. As of 3 weeks ago, Perissa was packed. Now, on a Saturday night we were the only 2 people on the bus. We weren't expecting much for the night. We decided to stop and have a drink on the way to Koo club, where the waiter from the previous night had recommended we go. We stopped at this bar called the 2 Brother's and had sangria. Not 10 minutes in were we sent over shots of Ouzo, yes, thanks, from 2 guys. I am pretty sure the guy talking to me had a tooth, but I couldn't be certain. Maggie's worked for the Port Authority and could have stepped out of SuperTroopers. We hiked it out of there and headed to Koo.
Wow, what a scene. Maggie and I marvelled where all these good looking, seemingly wealthy young people had emerged from. A night of dancing (I asked the DJ's bouncer if I could request a song and his reply was, No.) and then we headed back down to the bus at 4:00 am.
We got up the next day to check out and hang out around Perissa. Artemis lovely told us wherever we go for breakfast would be good. Same shit. (This quote stuck with us from our taxi driver in Lefkada who could have been Gene Simmons from Kiss, we aren't sure)
We spent the day hunting for my Bust that I wanted to send home and shopping in Fira. Getting the bus back to Perissa was a mess because we didn't hear the man eating the Pita Gyro say Perissa.
After that, we headed to the port at 9 to catch the ferry back to Athens. Apparently the only seats left were Business Class which is why it was so expensive. So Maggie and I, worn and weary from our adventures, slept in the BC cabin which was no different than coach except for it's fancy name. At 1 am we rolled up to Piraeus in search of our hotel. I was bound and determined to walk to it instead of taking a cab. But after we walked for 20 minutes and ended up in a sketchy ghetto area, we wanted to take a cab. Problem: nobody knew our hotel. Problem: we were too close for cabs to want to drive us. Problem: we had no idea where it was.
Finally this crazy cab driver (after getting yelled at by a car full of cops) picked us up. He had no idea where to go, or what the English language was. Dimotiko we kept telling him. Round and round he kept driving. Uugh, I was so pissed off at damn Greek cab drivers by this point I just wanted to get out but we had to make it to the Argo.
Finally we made it. Just enough time for Mags to shower in my room, head back to the airport and for me to get 3 hours of sleep. I woke up the next morning and headed for the hour long bus trip to the airport. Everybody in Greece had the same idea as me though and I had to stand the whole way, meanwhile trying to avoid puking from motion sickness and puking from the horrid B.O. somebody near me was emitting.
I made it to the airport, long story short. Then, I landed in Egypt. (Isn't it amazing how much faster it is to tell the story as opposed to living the story) I was supposed to get picked up by a man who lived in Rockford and now lives in Cairo. But I didn't see him. And I am a white, western girl traveling alone in Egypt. Smart, I know. After 30 or so Egyptian men approached me for a ride I made a friend. Not hard to do. I guess I semi-trusted him and so got a cab to my hotel. An hour later... we were still no where to be found. The name of the hotel was Pharoah's Hotel. I got dropped off at Pharoah's Egypt Hotel. After the cab driver left, I figured out it was the wrong one.
So, I got in another cab to my correct hotel. Get excited, my cab driver was straight out of Mrs. Frisbee and the Rats of Nimh. He was quite eccentric and his car was even worse. Whereas my previous cab had air conditioning, doors and seat belts, this one had windows that wouldn't close, half doors and a smoking driver. 20 minutes later I was dropped off in front of the Pharoah's. I went in to check it was the right one before letting him leave.
Phew.
So here is where I am. Cairo, connected with my Mom and so psyched to see the Pyramids and other ancient things I have waited my whole life to see. It is bloody hot and everyone has a friend/uncle/cousin who has the best deal on paintings/jewelry/internet. It's like Bangkok all over again...
Artemis quotes
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