Cruise part 2

Mykonos

After Izmir we sailed to our first Greek port. Greece was my main reason for wanting to go on this trip, I was so excited. Mykonos was everything I ever imagined Greece to be and more.. Mykonos is quite small and is very easy to navigate on scooters and ATV's, so we rented some and set out. Me and Russ were on one, with him driving. He kept getting mad at me because in stead of holding on with both hands I kept trying to take pictures. Whoops.





We made it to a beach and parked our rides. The beach we went to was in front of a tonne of restaurants and had beach/lounge chairs lined up in front of all them. Each restaurant had their own set of chairs for customers to use. So we chose our restaurant and sat down and ordered drinks. We spend the afternoon swimming, reading and relaxing, and eating a Delicious lunch. After we drove around the island more, then back to the ship


Santorini
Next day was Santorini. We had a late night the night before so we decided to take our time getting off the ship. Darcy and Patti joined us. We were tendered there so after a quick boat ride we were at the bottom of a huge cliff. The city was perched above us, and there was only two ways up ....by Tram or by Donkey.
How often do you get a chance to ride a donkey up a narrow, winding steep cobblestone road? I just couldn't pass up the chance. So the four of us paid our 5 Euros and hopped on. First Patti, then Russ, then Darcy and finally me. My donkey must have been a little tired of transporting tourists up this hill, because he decided to lag behind. The rest of the group was at least 15 minutes ahead of me. My donkey kept going from one side of the road to the other, then stopping and waiting for awhile, then back over to the cliff side to dangle my legs over..... (he must of known I wanted some fantastic cliff hanging pictures.) Finally he got his act together and managed to pick up the pace, only to stop and "park" himself in a row of donkeys that were already done. I had to get off and push my way through donkey butts to finish off the journey. Russ came down and helped me through, what a nice guy!!!

We walked through town, and sat and had a drink (and some yummy saganaki (fried cheese for those of you who have not had the privilage of trying it), then decided to go back to the ship. Darcy and Patti stayed in town to go to a museum and see some more sites.

We chose to take the tram back down, no need to go through the donkey thing again.


Crete

The Third port in Greece was Crete. We decided to rent a van (8 people) and drive down the coast to try and find a beach. Drivers there were crazy. Driving on a road similar to the sea to sky hi way, but only two lanes the whole way. If someone behind you wanted to pass, you had to drive on the shoulder to let them go by. I turned around a few times and saw cars almost touching our bumper. Poor Jim, our friend who volunteered to drive took alot of abuse during that ride, but he actually did a fantastic job of driving us. Sorry Jim, and thanks.

We (ahem finally) made it to a beach and got some chairs. The waves at this beach were crazy. It was fun to stand in the surf and ride the waves. We ate lunch here, but unfortunately they didn't really have any Greek cuisine, just hamburgers and chicken burgers. (And French fries, which seems to be the national dish of Greece, we were served fries with every meal!!!) I don't think my chicken was quite cooked. Yuck.
After we ate and went to pay the bill the bartender/waiter asked Russ how many shots to pour. He then pulled out a bottle that looked like a washer fluid bottle and poured a clear liquid into each shot glass. Everyone was brave enough to try it (except our dear driver Jim, who doesn't drink anyways) I'm pretty sure whatever it was killed off any bacteria I may have got from the uncooked chicken.... That was wicked stuff. I think it was called Raki.

The ride back to the ship was alot less stressful after that shot of Raki, well for some of us anyways. Me and Cheryl and Sandy entertained everyone with songs the whole hour drive back. I'm sure everyone appreciated it!!!

The next day was a day at sea, just relaxing on the boat.
This is a picture taken on formal night on the ship .

Next..... Egypt and the Pyramids....... to be continued