HIGHTLIGHT OF THE DAY: I think I have finally shifted my Contiki cough after 4 weeks
BUMMER OF THE DAY: Getting a little too much sun and looking more like a lobster - RED
BUYS OF THE DAY: Cabana, cheese and bikkies for lunch – just like home….
WORD OF THE DAY: Fun Sponge
Well what did I get up to today? Not much and it was awesome. It was a free day till the afternoon when we went to Oia to watch a famous Santorini sunset.
Half the group headed into town this morning to ride the donkeys. Apparently it is quite traditional to do this in Santorini, as it has been done over decades. It is quite a thriving business for the locals and the donkey ‘men’ are apparently some of the most affluent on the island. I guess when the overheads are low, when feeding a donkey is the main outgoing expense, there would be a lot of cream for the owner. You catch the cable car to the bottom of the cliffs and then you jump on a donkey to take you the 526 steps back to the top of the cliff. Now I have ridden a donkey before when I was in Egypt and it wasn’t the best experience. Besides being a stubborn arse (literally), he ran off from the group with me still on his back and he just wouldn’t stop. It is funny now, but I was terrified back then. Just like when I fell off a camel in India, yeah, not riding one of them either for the rest of my life, he was a nasty piece of camel. Anyway back to the donkeys. My Egyptian donkeys back leg kept giving out as well, and for the record I was a lot lighter then, so not one to tempt fate I decided to pass on this excursion. The thought of going up steps, on an angle and the donkeys back leg giving out / slipping just did not appeal to me at all. Even after the group got back and hearing their stories, I was SO GLAD I didn’t do it. No regrets on that one.
Instead I decided to stay at the hotel and get some colour by the pool. I was the only one around for a while, so it was good to have some time to relax, just like I used to do around my pool back home. I was in the water for 3 hours just reading my book and swimming. Jess came and went for a while and when the others came back from the donkeys to hear their stories was hilarious. I should know better being a Darwinian and a Bisbanite about how strong the sun is, and the importance of re-applying sunscreen, but I took no head of my own common sense and got pretty much burnt to a crisp, well maybe not totally crispy, but burnt all the same. DOH - the upside – I’m preparing my skin for Morocco and Africa in 4 weeks’ time. See there is always a silver lining to some stupidity – right?
Man I will be in Africa in 4 weeks – shit – now there’s a realization I hadn’t really thought about. I have been so focused on my 2 months of Contiki, which I haven’t really thought too much further about my trip. I ‘tell’ people my itinerary all the time, but to actually be at that part of my itinerary is a little daunting. I need to get 3 visas in 5 working days in London and see Brazil about my Brazilian visa which no-one seems too keen to help me via email correspondence. Buggers. This bit will be stressful for me until I get it done, as they are visa’s that cannot be done on arrival. Crap, I will just have to do the best I can right. Damn visa’s…..
I did a supermarket run in the afternoon for lunch. Back home, supermarket shopping is a pain in the arse. But when you are on holidays, it is great to walk into one and just feel a little home sick / nostalgia maybe, sounds weird I know – but it’s the small things when you are away from home for so long I guess. Anyway I saw some cabana in the fridge section, so decided to have some snacks for lunch. I got cow cream cheese (which can be found worldwide this stuff, literally I have seen it everywhere), cabana, tatziki, some tomatoes and biscuits and then headed home for a little picnic by the pool. I finally got to use my Swiss Army knife for the first time that I bought in Lucerne, and man that blade is super sharp!
At 5.45pm we jumped on the coach for our 30 minute transfer to Oia. Oia is the most northern point of the island and is where the most spectacular sunsets are. Ed had bought some wine and nibbles and once we got there we had to walk around 15 minutes to get us to a great vantage point to watch the sun set on our third day. We got there super early, so we could get some good posies and around 8.20pm, we got a good sunset. I have seen better, to have a minor Debbie Downer, to name 2 was my second last day in Australia sailing out of Sydney Harbour on my booze cruise with my best friend and the other was the sunset in Darwin we witnessed the day my mum was laid to rest, this was probably the best, and maybe the hardest to beat with the sentimentality attached to it.
I am glad we still went though, as, like the rest of the island, the panoramic views from here were just amazing. We got some great shots of some blue roofed churches, houses on the side of cliffs, walking tracks and to see a little of Oia, which is the fanciest part of the whole island was really cool. It was certainly worth the trip. We had to be back on the coach at 9pm, as by law, all the coaches have to depart Oia by 9pm – no if’s, buts or maybe’s. But it is dark by this time, so besides the shopping we aren’t missing out on much once the sun sets.
We got a drop off back into Fira, for a quick dinner stop at a ‘roadside’ souvlaki and then walked the 20 minutes back to the hotel to have a nightcap with the girls before heading to bed around midnight. These early nights are starting to become routine, well for the last 3 days anyway. Once again we are recharging our batteries for Ios tomorrow for the next 2 nights, which I am guessing are going to be HUGE!!!
As explained in an earlier blog I have become the ‘mum’ of the Greek Posse. Once again I emphasize it is due to my organizational skills and having everything in order and on hand rather than my actual age (I’m hoping) So I should introduce my daughters and in no particular order:
Eldest=Kasey
Responsible=Dee
Angel=Lisa
Blondie=Bree
Dancer=Dannii
Sexy=Kaitlin
Trouble=Jess
Only 4 nights left on tour before I head to Morocco. I am going to so miss my Greek Posse. Some of us would have been together for nearly 5 weeks by the time we finish this tour. For the others who joined us on this trip and we only met, it feels like we have known you longer than a week and we have really clicked and I am going to miss you all. What a great group of gals, you all rock and you will not be forgotten along my journey. Love ya guy’s xx
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