A great big adventure....

So it's been awhile since I've posted anything substantial, therefore this is going to be a pretty big blog. I will try to keep the words down, and use pictures, and hopefully that will make it more entertaining.

Our last full day in Agios Nikolaos, we went for another walk around town, and tried to get some pictures of the environment. We got Greeks, and tourists... and cats. There seem to be cats and dogs everywhere, but they aren't always strays. It's hard to tell, because they can look a little ratty, and indistinguishable from the strays.

I won't bore everyone with pictures of Hotel Mikro Village or Maria's Place (where we are now in Santorini), and just skip to the adventures.

This guy was fun. I guess oranges are in season on Crete, so he must be making a delivery. These people are scooters are crazy enough, so I wonder if all those bags of oranges makes them safer, or more dangerous drivers?

What a good day to soak up some rays... half in the shade, half in the sun, so he/she won't get too hot or cold.

The church in Agios Nikolaos. It's really pretty with all of it's decorative tile. You can see the gold tile very well because the sun was shining perfectly at this time.

I have to admit, some of these streets and roads I'm scared to walk down, just because they aren't fashioned as nice as a lot of the streets I'm used to. But while Brandon and I took a street down to the ocean, we came across this sweet little old lady tending her garden. It was like stumbling into a dream.

 So after this everyone knows about our sea sickness escapade. I think it triggered headaches in me because I curled myself up in as tight of a ball as I could during our ferry ride, and therefore I had my necked kinked in all sorts of crazy ways. This lasted for a few days, but during that time Brandon and I have been able to explore Oia a bit, which is where we are staying. It's a beautiful town, and I hope to get some first rate pictures of it before we leave. Plan on it.

We have gotten almost every sunset since we've been here. The weather has been kind of cold, dark, and windy, but there has been a sunny day or two in there. The clouds really seem to move in during the evening, and while it has made some nice sunsets, one sunset was so overcast all it did was turn darker and darker grey. Oh well.

This was our first night in Santorini, and our first sunset! Love the vineyards and countryside!

We woke up the next morning to find these couple and their photographer already feasting on the day! It was a little chilly that day, but how fun is it to get back into your wedding dress on your honeymoon? We have seen soooo many honeymooners here on Santorini. We haven't gotten a picture of all of them, just a few. (All those pretty dresses makes me want to get back into mine!)

We found a little buddy while we were walking to get a picture of the rainbow! He wasn't very big, so he was still a puppy. He reminds us of Charlie because as soon as Brandon reached up to pet him (I was too short) he started gnawing on him playfully. I think he would have loved going for a walk with us... we just don't know if his owners would find that helpful....

How pretty is that! We had to walk out of the hotel in order to find a spot with no power lines, but the effect turned out really nice! It was a complete rainbow, but the other side didn't show up very well because of lighting and other effects of the scenery.

It was cold, cloudy, rainy, and windy that day (as proved by the rainbow), so we stopped at an expensive little cafe to watch the sunset and warm up with some Greek coffee and tea. At every place we've been to we also get a little treat. This was an amazing cookie with melty chocolate inside! It's been my favorite treat so far....

Here is another bride getting pictures in the sunset. I love her dress....

Here is the view from our little cafe. The sunset itself wasn't anything special, but before the sun got really low it was just blue, bright and pretty. It was the clearest sky we had that day.

We have a full kitchen in this hotel! Brandon made some chicken with wine, onions, cucumber, tomato and black pepper. Very tasty!

Here we are watching the sunset from our balcony. The colors were so pretty that night, and it was so picturesque to see this sailboat.

While we watched the sunset we made some friends. There are four cats, three like this one, and one black one. This one and the black one spent the evening with us, and we played and pet them while we took pictures of the sunset, and consequently, the cats.

This is the same sunset, only with the sun in view. So beautiful. We should watch a sunrise sometime, don't you think?

We decided to take a four hour hike from Oia to Fira. We walked all the way to the end of Oia looking for an ATM before we headed out. It was a nice sunny day, and it wasn't hot, or cold, but the breeze itself was chilly. Sometimes I had to take my sweater off, and sometimes I had to have it on. And other times I wrapped it around my ears to stay warm. I'm glad Brandon didn't snap a picture of that. Anyway, this boat was at the start of our hike.

This is Oia!

Part of our walk was on these really nice path. There were a lot of plants and shrubs, which made the walk itself very pleasant.

These geckos were everywhere! Some had tails, and some didn't. This one was nice enough to pose for a picture.

A quick little picture break. There is a monastery at the top of the stair, which we didn't go up. There were many on this path and we have some pictures of them.

Look how far we have walked! That's Oia!

And we have so much farther to go! That's Imerovigli. Fira is behind it, which we can't see because of how the land juts out and covers it. We want to make it all the way to Fira!

In Imerovigli we saw this herder with his herd! I wonder if they go on the same trail we were on, because we definitely saw some excrement that would probably fit a donkey's profile.

After four hours, with breaks, we finally made it to Fira! We walked around for a half an hour looking for a place to eat, and decided to stop at Dionysus in Atlantis. We got some tzatziki to start, and it was delicious!

I got Moussaka, which the waiter congratulated me on claiming, "It's the best, it's the best." I certainly wasn't disappointed! It's the best Moussaka I have ever had! Admittedly I have only had two different kinds... the one that Pauline and I made together, and the one at Alyson's graduation. I will definitely have to try and few others so I can compare. Brandon loved my Moussaka so much that I ended up splitting it with him so he would stop picking at my plate.

Brandon had Mama's Meatballs with rice. It was good, but not as good as my Moussaka. When we split our dishes I ate my meatballs first so I could enjoy my Moussaka last.

We took the bus back to Oia, because as much as we enjoyed our hike to Fira, we weren't about to hike back. When we got back we laid next too the pool, and I did some mending (I tore a dress), and Brandon did some reading and swimming. Again, it was a touch cool, but without the breeze the sun could warm you right up. After awhile, our peace was disturbed by all these fire crackers, which turned out to be guns. There were three of us couples out by the pool, and one young lady went to tell Anna, our hostess, and she came out and was really happy to tell us it was a traditional Greek wedding. There was a fairly large procession of people walking to the church, and some capable men who I guess shoot in celebration.

You an see the bride and the groom here. They look really happy. Anna said that because we are more in the country they are able to do a traditional Greek wedding, where the whole family walks to the church. In the city you can't, because there are too many cars and other traffic for walking.

Anna's father-in-law and her husband made some dessert wine, which they shared with us yesterday evening. It was sooo good! Probably the best dessert wine I have ever had. This wine was made by red grapes, and I will have to get a picture of the grape bushes, because it's so different from ours at home. Anyway, after the excitement of the Greek wedding, we read a little, sipped on wine, and played "tavla" or backgammon. We're getting better at it! There is more strategy that I originally  thought!

Yesterday was one of the haziest days so far. The island of Ios was shrouded in mist, which made it look like a mystical land.

This was the sunset. We stayed out for a long time, but it was cold by the end of the night. It isn't the best sunset, but it hasn't been the worst either. The colors were lovely.

Today is a very grey day. It's a touch warmer than yesterday, and a little less breezy, but I don't think the sun will come out to warm us up some more. Too bad our days in Santorini can't be slightly more pleasant. Oh well.

Today we are planning on driving around, doing window shopping at random towns, and doing some wine tasting. We might go see the archaeological site and museum as well, but if that's the case, we better get going.  I will update again, and sooner than before!

Until again!
Everyone knows about our sea sick escapade, and I think that set off a chain reaction for my headaches. I think it's mostly due to the crazy ways I was curling up my neck to stay in tight as a ball as possible. It took a few days for those to subside, but I decided it's time to get up and do something, instead of lay around, hoping it will go away.