Back to Athens - then home

I had never been to Greece before. Rita had, but it was in the winter and cold. We’re here right before the beginning of tourist season – which is good and bad.

We enjoyed celebrating Easter here. It’s something to experience, but it can’t beat being home with family. After our days on Crete, our plan was to do some island hopping. Since we were already on an outer island, we made our way by overnight ferry to Rhodes and worked our way to Samos via Patmos. Samos is just an hour ferry ride from the place in Turkey nearest the ancient city of Ephesus. Being the shoulder season, it wasn’t a problem finding places to stay and we pretty much just walked around asking where rooms may be available when we arrived on an island. Most museums and tourist sites are open, albeit on a shorter schedule. The taxi drivers, restaurants and other places are happy to see some U.S. tourists.

Unfortunately, it’s still quite cool here. Temps probably range from the 60’s or low 70’s when you’re standing in the sun and sheltered from a breeze. Step around the corner into the shade and the temp drops 10 or 20 degrees as you’re buffeted by chilly Mediterranean winds. Not an issue, but you’re constantly layering up and down during the day. The clear skies give us a glimpse of what the Greek islands must be like during the summer… they’re breathtaking. Not since New Zealand had we had the urge to stop so often to simply gaze at a beautiful vista. We stand at the water’s edge - in wonder of the clear emerald and turquoise waves, wishing we could jump in, but it will be a few weeks before the beaches will be filled with people. We’ve felt how cold it is. Even the locals aren’t swimming yet.

Once done island hoping, we boarded a 1hr flight (vs. 10 hour ferry ride) back to Athens. There are still a few sites to see, like the Parthenon, before we fly back to reality. Greece has been interesting – not as friendly as I thought it might be. Yes, their economy is in trouble, so maybe they thought we caused it. People on the islands (rural) went out of their way to make us feel welcome, but not so much in Athens. Anyway, as Rita said in her recent blog, we’re looking forward to getting home.

Jeff