Santorini, Greece - June 27th - June 29th

My plan was to end the trip in Santorini, because I had heard it was so ridiculously visually stunning and I thought that a couple days in the Greek Islands...well you cant end the trip better than that.

And I underestimated just how true that would be. On that note -

I took the 5 hour ferry ride from Greece. I mis timed the distance to get to the port thought and literally got on the ferry as the passenger gate was closing! Right behind me was Ryan, who I met the day before in Delphi. He was with his buddy Brian who lives in California. I ended up hanging with them the entire weekend and they were way cool and I cant imagine me having as good of a time as I did if we didnt hang outand party the entire time! Being solo on the island would be fun but this turned out to be epic of mass proportions.

The 5 hour ferry ride passed the different Cyclade islands, and Santorini is actually the furthest one. It is a volcanic island, so as we arrived to the port we could see the volcano and then the main island. Words dont begin to describe the scene on the island. The postcard views of the white homes, churches, shops on the mountain side. The crystal blue water. We hadnt seen the beach yet, but Ill talk about that in a sec.

The 3 of us took a bus to the top of the island - VERY STEEP CLIMB - and arrived to pandomonia as we got off the bus. In Greece, everything is negotiable and here it was multiplied by 10. Probablz 30 different hotel hawkers are trying to sell rooms at their little hotels. This one guy showed us a nice picture of a room, and said it had 3 beds. 50 EURO for a night. We said great!

We got there and there were only 2 beds. We asked where the 3rd bed was and he said after we paid him he would bring it. We asked to see the bed, but he declined to show us. We asked where the pool was he promised us. He said it was temporarily removed! Whatever...so we found this awesome little hotel - Hotel Summertime - that overlooked the island, had 3 beds! - and was 50 EURO for each night.

Sold.

We dropped our stuff and headed to the beach via bus, which takes about 15 minutes. There are MANY beaches and ALL are volcanic beaches. The beach is stunning because it is black...a black beach with blue water. Just awesome. This beach wasnt as much sandy as it was black little rocks. We found an area by - of course - some topless women, and grabbed some beers and laid in the sun for a couple hours and of course went in the water, which was so refreshing.

After that we got some dinner right on the water. I had lamb chops, which were phenomenal. We then showered and got ready to party for the night. We had a beer at this bar that overlooked the partcard city views in Fira (we stayed in Fira, the main town on the island and the one that has the most scenic views) as the sunset.

We then found the best bar Ive been to all month! A bar where the main server is from America, but its a Greek bar that has a reputation for locals AND tourists to come to. But its not touristy, and a bar on an island this beautiful where people are on vacation. Well..people come there to have a good time! Great happy hour, and we had their 2 EURO tequila shots. A lot of then. And plenty of beers...we hit it hard and stayed there until about 2am. I then ate 1 streetside Gyro - FYI, the Gyros are so good. Tons of garlic and paprika, thez are better than mexican food late night! I had my lamb gyro, walked back to the hotel and then did a u turn to get a 2nd gyro -- pork. I went to bed full and a little wobbly.

Sunday we woke up hung over but then proceeded what I literally think is the best day Ive ever had.

Words dont do justice and the pictures might try, but anyways we rented quads - 4 wheeled scooters - to take us all over the island. Best idea ever! We drove to about 5 beaches. To get to the 1st one, we drove up along the cliffside of the island, where we could see miles and miles of scenic volcanic coastline. We then headed to Perissa beach, which is a black volcanic beach that is a bit more sandy than the one we were at on Saturday.

The views were outstanding, and the little village over there was very chill and little huts were all over the beach. We hang out there for a couple hours and had a beer.

We then drove to the most ridiculous beach Ive ever seen. Red Beach. Seriously. The volcanic red beach has red rocks and sand and the side mountain is red as well. The blue water against the red beach...we got some great pictures and it was surreal how cool it was. Had another beer on the beach for an hour or so, and got some pictures also of these cool rock formations that locals have made there.

We then drove to a couple litte beaches and then went to the lighthouse on the most southern end of the beach. There we could see most of the entire island. Very cool.

By the way, hauling ass on a quad on roads and on dirt paths and towards the beach. Ridiculous!

We then found this restaurant nestled into a cliff overloking the water. Its a family owned little quaint restaurant. I had the best meal of the trip! I ordered sea bass...they brought a whole bass (not filleted...the whole fish, head and everything) with a fresh butter and pepper seasoning. Came with carrots and potatoes, and the best couscous Ive ever had. the couscous was fresh and served in a lettuce wrap.

As an appetizer we had vegatable in a sauce with fresh cheese and bread to dip it in...Wow.

10 out of 10, just awesome. Ryan had grilled calamari and Brian had the salmon pasta, and we tried a little of each plate. Its crazy how good it was!

We agreed that this island is the place to bring a girlfriend or wife for sure, and we thought and I very much agree that a honeymoon should be here.

We then drove back full, and showered up to go out again. We had a couple beers at 1 bar to watch the USA and Brazil soccer game, and then we went back to the same bar as last night. Tropical Santorini, thats the name.

The bartender thanked us for coming back in and bought us some complimentary shots and we proceeded to really go as hard as the night before! I dont think on an island like this it matters if its Sunday or Saturday, every night is the same!

We had a gyro again before stumbling home, and seriously. I cant top that day, and its the best way to end the trip by far, hands down.

I took a flight this morning to Athens, and then flew to Munich, where Im staying tonight in a hotel (my own room!) before heading from Munich to Amsterdam tomorrow am, and then Amsterdam to Seattle tomorrow pm.

This is my last blog, and this trip has been everything Id hoped it would be. Far exceeded my expectations. Learned a lot about the world, history, and people. My biggest impressed was how similar everybody is despite all the differences.

I learned about different cultures, found out a lot about my family when I visited the Gloudemans in Amsterdam, and learned a lot about myself actually. Best 30 days ever...Im ready to download the pictures!

Thanks for reading...Im going to download the pictures now only on facebook but instert them in this blog so I and others if you want can re read and actually see what Im describing.

Cheers...Prost...Yammas! (Cheers, Cheers, Cheers)