A Long Travel Day to Crete

Here we go, the final chapters of “Living the Dream”, or LTD as we’ve nicknamed it. I discussed the origin of this abbreviation with my closest friends, since it was with them that I originally coined the phrase. One insisted that he brought it with him from a friend who used to state it back home, the other thinks he may have come up with it... I’ve said it before, damn my twenties and all of the lost memories! I don’t think we’ll ever truly remember exactly where it came from, but one thing stands true: I owned it for myself, this blog being an extension of me, and have now publicized it as my own creation since I was in fact living my dream - whilst before my cohorts and I would just visit it on vacations from our daily grind. What’s amazing is that so many others out there utilize the phrase for themselves, including the abbreviation. Within the Twitter world #LTD has been trending for years, and probably will be forever. Google it and you’ll find it’s not just a popular blog title, people use it to describe their fantasies around the world. The best creations are usually taken which just reiterates how great of an idea it is in the first place, c’est la vie. I’ll never stop living my dreams individually, but I have stopped living it constantly which is why these final chapters have been so hard for me to write. In a way I’m putting my childish obsession to bed for hopefully someday my own son to awaken, and realize he himself can do whatever he puts his heart to. I’m now taking on a new challenge, a purpose other than make money and have fun. I’m living a life that has so far been an adventure, and I think will be one constant state of discovery for the rest of my days; Fatherhood: Our son is due to arrive sometime in May, roughly two months from now, and although I’ve been procrastinating finishing this project since returning from our honeymoon in August it’s time I do so. I don’t foresee myself all that concerned with this former life of mine once Junior arrives, and I’m guessing my inspiration will be towards new goals for self satisfaction.

Returning Scooterini

I left off with our last day on Santorini, it was simply supposed to entail us traveling from our Villa back to the port, jumping on a ferry to Heraklion, Crete, and finding our way to an all-inclusive resort on the Libyan Sea. The day started with my wonderful new wife bringing me breakfast in bed, exactly the motivation I needed to finish our packing. She had enlisted the help of our hotel to get her back to the port, while I strapped on as many bags as I could fit onto the scooter for one final ride, it was time to return it. We bode farewell to our friends and I made my way back down to the islands main harbor. I arrived with time to spare and into the ferry office to confirm our tickets.

The truly disappointing part is, I've done this before. Pretty much every country in the world, except the grand ol' U.S of A works in military time... We'd missed our ferry, apparently it left at 1:25 AM, about 10 hours prior, and since we'd missed it our 60 Euros was wasted. I promptly dropped another 100 Euros on a second pair of tickets which would not be departing till 17:55, about seven hours later. I sat down at a cafe awaiting my wife’s arrival, and wondering how we would kill time till our ferry arrived. When Dorothy met me her only disappointment was the lost savings, she had worked hard to find that discount fare and it was all for naught, we grabbed a few beers to take the edge off and pondered our next move. We decided that staying at the port would be the most financially guilt free option, although this was a honeymoon we were still traveling on a budget, a budget we had already seriously gone over with our first move of the day. Leaving the port would cost money, and then returning would cost more money.

Thira Port

The port was was boring, extremely hot and not very scenic - we did our best to make due. Our scooter rental agent agreed to store our bags while we wandered the area looking for shade and observing the various ferries coming and going. Our main focus was to stay out of the sun, and hydrated - we joked about my prior travel errors, the big one being that missed flight to Korea 18 months earlier... a trip I’d packed for weeks prior to eventually making the same mistake between AM & PM. One would think I’d learned a lesson.

The heat was pretty unbearable, so we went to the ports edge where we found a small cave next to the water, and I jumped in. Rinse, repeat, every hour or so we’d wander back to a shop and fill our water bottles... and then back to the cave to cool off. It was the opposite of the dreamlike state we’d been floating in since arriving in Greece, but we didn’t have a choice, and we knew that once we toughed it out we’d have comfy seats on a pretty quick boat to our next island. At least we were able to swim... finally our ferry, the “Flying Cat IV” arrived and we were able to board. This was our first experience with a hi-speed hydrofoil style ferry, and after waiting all day all we wanted to do was get on with our trip.

Flying Cat IV

Getting off of Santorini was just the beginning, we still had some complicated traveling to do since public transportation was not very active at night on Crete. Three hours later we arrived in the capitol city of Heraklion, hustled a few block to the bus station and sorted out our next move. We had to wait just under an hour to catch a bus to Rethymno, an hour ride to the east and only half of the way to Plakias, the closest village to our final destination. We found out some more disappointing news, the next bus servicing that area wasn’t till morning - if we were going to make it to our already paid for resort that night our only hope was to find a taxi. Awesome. We got dropped off at the Rethymno Bus Depot and made our way to what seemed like a cab stand, unfortunately the only taxi we saw was already taken but we still asked him if he could call us another.

Now the story turns around - I knew you were waiting.

He could not in fact enlist the help of a fellow cab driver, we were apparently going way off the beaten path. After a short conversation with his current passengers they obliged that the American honeymooners could join them to their drop-off point which was a short distance, and on the way to ours. We found out our co-passengers were Germans, and after a brief exchange of pleasantries they were dropped off at their hotel and we turned south starting up the ancient volcano/mountain that is Crete. Our driver was taking an obscure path, and we started to realize this guy seemed a little nuts. He was chain smoking cigarettes and driving as fast as possible, I just kept my eyes on my compass verifying we were heading in the right direction. He was taking back roads, which I’m usually a fan of but not necessarily this late at night in completely unfamiliar territory. But whatever, we were getting an OK deal, 30 euros for the one hour ride - and honestly we didn’t have much choice. Twisting, turning, zipping through the smallest villages past countless monasteries and farms, it really was an amazing ride. After 45 minutes he found a few “friends” we guess, hanging out on a porch, so we stopped. He gestured for us to get out, which was shady as hell but we didn’t want to offend and so far, other than some crazy driving, he hadn’t steared us wrong yet.

After Shot #1

His friends had set us up with some chairs, and immediately he retrieved a clear bottle of what we found out was “Especial” - a Greek Liquor, and several shot glasses. The Greeks, as we’re finding out, are tremendous romantics, and celebrate love at any opportunity. So we toasted to our new marriage and did our first of several shots. Our taxi driver then disappeared, and drove the cab out of sight? This freaked me out since our luggage was in the trunk, but apparently he was blocking the road and needed to keep it clear. All of this was getting explained to us by a man name Stafylos, the proprietor of this establishment who spoke near perfect English having attended NYU in his youth. Our driver returned and we probably did three more shots each emptying the “Especial” having toasting to everything from this serendipity, to the weather. And then, just like that, after handshakes from each of the older men, we were off back into the night with our driver bummin’ more smokes from me and seemingly re-energized after the shots.

I know what you’re thinking, and trust me we were too, but we were at his mercy praying that our karma would carry us through this one. He made one more stop, apparently looking for another place to celebrate, this place was almost dark and from what we could tell the inhabitant had recently broken a leg, so we did NOT do any more shots. (We were already pretty buzzed, and sure our driver didn’t need any more) Our ride crested the mountain and began its descent down to the north side of the island towards Plakias. (from this vantage we could see the African coast twinkling in the distance) More winding down crazy guard-rail-less roads high over deep what appeared to be bottomless ravines. About an hour later we took a quick run through the village where his mother ran a gyro shop hoping for some food, but sadly everything was closed for the night, so we went over one more hill finally passing through the gate of the “Kalypso Creten Village” - our home for the next seven days. We paid our driver and thanked him for the perfect end to a long day, checked in, scarfed down our courtesy plate of food (the kitchen had prepared for us knowing we would be arriving after it was closed) and collapsed onto our bed. It was time to end this day, we would explore our first all-inclusive manana.

I’ve opted to share this as it’s own blog post, and apologies for the lack of pictures. As you can guess pulling out the camera was the last thing on our mind most times, we were moving too fast and more concerned with protecting our electronics than actually using them. More to Come!

Santorini Beaches & Wine With the Cooks

Boarding the ferries in Greece is crazy, there isn't much organization. 

They just keep everyone back till the boat is almost tied to the dock and eventually the sea of oncoming people collides with the stream of passengers and vehicles exiting the vessel. Somewhere along the way we showed our ticket and were directed to a concierge that provided our key, and showed us to cabin #157. It was much nicer than we had expected, on the front corner with windows facing fore and port, we immediately discovered even the shower was awesome and washed Athens off of our weary bodies.

I hadn't traveled like this, my bag was not my backpack, we were both rolling luggage and checking in as tourists before doing anything else. Of course I still perceived everything as a backpacker, so I was curious how all the backpacks with sleeping pads that boarded the ferry with us were spending their night. When we explored our floating hotel I realized it was really more of a floating Hostel, the backpackers had rolled out their sleep systems in the hallways, under stairways, pretty much everywhere hoping for a night in AC. These ferries had only topside outdoor amenities and focused on accommodating indoors, very cool that they encourage this type of passenger, they paid about a third what we did for a ticket. (I was still pretty happy about that shower.) We familiarized ourselves with the ship's layout and made our way back to the cabin, it was time for a little sleep.

According to the intercom, the boat had docked briefly in Milos and we were departing again. The color streaming through our thin curtains was enough to roust us out of bed, and onto the deck. We took pictures of the rising sun and our approach to "Thira" (the ancient volcano now known as Santorini, the Jewel of the Mediterranean) - the views were amazing and knowing we would be above these bright red cliffs most of our stay we milked our vantage for the maybe once in a lifetime brilliance. Our ship motored into the huge crescent that is the Santorini group of isles, between the northern tip of the main island, and Thirasia, one of the smaller members. The white buildings of Oia seemed surreal perched on the cliffs reflecting the early golden light. We continued to experiment with our camera snapping shots in every direction as we trolled past the center of the caldera, it's hot springs and steam vents evidence that this only erupted 3500 years ago.

Eventually we made our way back below deck for some tea and packing, it was time to vacate our quarters and make our way through the disembarkation chaos onto our home for the next three nights. We rolled our bags down the gangway and I immediately knew what I wanted to do for transportation: Scooter! This island had mass transit but not frequent enough, for 15 Euro/day I could have my own wheels, Budget Backpacker Jason had departed with the ferry! It was time for some practical fun, our only challenge was getting our luggage up the steep hill, into the main town and delivered to our Villas. Rena's Villas to be precise, we obtained an island map from our rental agent and found a cafe for my baby to wait - our plan: she would enjoy a coffee while I took the first load up the hill.

Ferry Port

She blew me a kiss as I putted away, I was feeling weighed down wearing a 50 pound duffel on my back and a backpack on my front, yet the little red scooter kept on truckin' up the switchbacks. Sometimes larger vehicles having an even harder time climbing would pull over for me to go around and after ten minutes we (the scooter & I) were looking at the amazing view from the top. It made me think of Dorothy, Shit, Dorothy! I verified on the map that I needed to keep going north, made it into the town and started looking for signs. I continued to look for signs and ask around with no luck, after almost an hour away from my love I gave up and found an abandoned house to stash the luggage in, I needed to bring her up the hill so we could figure out where this place was together.


Once reunited with each other, and our gear, we (Dorothy, the scooter & I) made our way into the center of town. Trying to navigate safely with all the luggage was impossible, Dorothy chilled with the bags under a tree while I continued to look around with no luck. I searched the village of Fira up and down several times, hit back roads and asked every taxi driver and concierge I could find during the "siesta" portion of the day. I had lost the paperwork I'd printed stateside that contained the contact info, so an internet cafe gave me some sight, but not a tangible address!

When we finally found an attendant that understood our English she contacted Rena's to come get us, she shared that they usually instruct their guests to call when they get to town, they don't usually direct people to them as it's so difficult to find. Right, we had gotten the reservation from the friends we were meeting, and had never corresponded directly with the Villa's figuring "How hard could it be?" About three hours from arriving on Santorini we were picked up & ferried to our Villa's, checked in with a glass of white by the pool waiting for Nora & Roy who were arriving from Paros - Dorothy's college roommate and her new husband were touring Europe for their honeymoon and we'd coincided our Santorini time.

Our Villa

I was really starting to appreciate a certain part of college, a part I rarely remember, pledging Phi Kappa Theta. My Junior year I became a Fraternity Brother, and that membership required I know the Greek alphabet. 

Wine Run

Learning that meant I could read here, and I couldn't help myself, I felt like I was six trying to sound out every character I could decipher. Dorothy had no idea, surprising since English is her second language - the character names usually were how they sound so I could take what was described to me and hopefully find it on a map, or a menu.

Share the Road

I was explaining this to Nora & Roy at dinner, we were pretty fired up having intercepted each other so far from home. They had arrived earlier and after briefly catching up, Donia & I checked out the sunset while they unpacked and got cleaned up. Before dinner the four of us downed some incredibly cheap wine and made our way to Dionysus, a traditional taverna, and after a few more carafe's of Santorini White we were plotting our next move. We wandered the narrow streets during the high part of the night and eventually got spit out on the western edge looking down and across the caldera & the Aegean Sea, mostly entranced by the lights up this side of the cliff.

This place was all color & energy, everyone was so enthusiastic and happy, usually eager to answer your curiosities and helpful if you were confused - really in Vacation... actally Honeymoon-land were we expecting something else? They coupled things like the historic Donkey rides & hand-made crafts with fresh fish & veggies to create the traditional Mediteranean ambiance that we had come here for.

We strolled back towards our Villa stopping by the crowded Murphy's Pub before returning home, a few more hours of sillyness and what will always be remembered as "The Hat Party," we finally called it a night promising to get up early for our self-guided island tour.

Today is July 18, 8 days married, 4 days in Greece, 2nd day in Santorini, we woke up and the Cook's had already handled their transportation by renting a 4-wheeler, awesome. We stopped by a market to grab supplies for lunch, you know, basics like feta, salami, tzatziki, olives, a few beers :) We were livin' Greek. I was the navigator, a job I enjoy, utilizing my map, compass & road signs to get us to "Kokkini Paralia," one of the unique beaches we planned to see today. We parked our rides and found an interesting sun-dried tomato vendor in the lot, for like 2 euro we could have a bag of these tasty treats I'd never seen sold fresh before. I bought a bag and added it to our lunch menu.

A short hike later the beautiful contrast of red cliffs over blue sea was our reward, we made our way down through the forest of umbrellas and found a comfy spot for the four of us. We'd found the only red beach on the island, and so had most everybody else. The water was refreshingly cool and the red pebble beach was hot, the girls sunned themselves in European fashion beneath the magenta walls. About two hours later we packed our bags and made our way north towards Perivolos Beach, reputed as Santorini's "Best." Frozen cocktails were in order, and would feel better than more time in the sun. Our decision: the "Best" beach could do better, and continued north towards the last village on this side of the island, Perissa.


"Best" referred to the size & population, the beaches on the south-facing shores were all connected creating miles of black-sandy coastline, naturally drawing an attractive Bohemian crowd. We motored slowly past the afternoon dance party eventually coming to the end where a mountain dropped down dividing this side of the island from Kamari. Road end, time to turn around. Our party was going back to the villas, the sun was getting to be too much, an hour at a time in bathing suits on a scooter had worn us out and it was time for a nap by the pool. Some down time was in order since we planned on hitting Oia tonight for dinner.

Navigating the island had been easy so far, so once freshened up we looked at the map and decided back roads would be our best route to the northern tip, things moved a little faster than we liked on the main road. We wound our way north on the outside apron of the ancient volcano keeping an eye out for a nice restaurant. Soon the road was ascending towards a village which didn’t offer much hope so we continued through and began dropping into the crater towards “Ammoudi Bay”. We rounded the corner and discovered several restaurants at the base of a switch backing stairway, we had found Oia’s waterfront and the dining opportunity we’d been hoping for.

“Excuse me sir.. Sir!” A woman was beckoning for me in English, I glanced beyond her up the steep hill noticing a Peugeot perpendicular to the retaining wall across the road. “Can you help us?” She continued to explain that none of her party were very experienced with stick-shifts and they hoped to find help before something bad happened. One wrong move and they could have ended up over the edge, they were between a rock and a drop, not 10 feet behind their bumper the cliff fell into the sea. I obliged and maneuvered their vehicle into a safer circumstance, understanding their paranoia when it comes to driving alien vehicles.

We wandered through the restaurants noticing “reserved” signs on each of the waterfront tables, you see, the sunset was the primary draw at these establishments and we were lucky to find a spot with such short notice. We settled on a tapas place, the cats were mellow on the rocks in front of it. The fable says if the cats, an inevitable sight in Greece, seem well behaved the kitchen cooks have treated those strays with respect, therefore hopefully prepare their food with that same compassion. 

Best Feta Stuffed Pepper EVER!

So many cats in Greece, we quickly learned to appraise their appearance when deciding on a taverna.
 Sunset, Vino, a short hike by the water and we were back on the scooters. (That sunset, by the way, is the image at the top of this blog) We could see Fira, its lights twinking in the distance seemed to spill into the sea. The wind was cool but not cold as we glided through the night along the craters rim, we were heading back for some gelato before stocking up on supplies and heading home. We were living the dream on a Grecian isle, once the scooter was safely parked we drank some Retsina, a traditional Greek drink, and celebrated. 

Aphrodite & Zeus acting
out some tragedy

Our evening ended with the four of us in togas having adopted Greek nick-names, I was Poseidon, my wife Athena. Good times.


The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes. — Marcel Proust


I had been day-dreaming, everything today up until this point had been auto-pilot, if one could actually engage that feature on a scooter, or their mind. I was going about 40 mph and the first thing I noticed was the stop sign, it was located about 30 feet to my right.


Time slowed down, I thought "Why is that sign so far off the road?"
And then I thought, "How did the street get so wide all of a sudden?"
And then, "I hope nothing is coming on my left..." as I shifted my eyesight there it was, an enormous "Limo" bus was bearing down at approximately the same speed.
The driver and I noticed each other at the same time and maintained eye contact as we braked, I could hear that squeaky stutter sound large vehicles make when stopping all of a sudden, Dorothy's grip tightened around my waist as I leaned forward and placed my hand on the bus.
We had both come to a complete stop one inch from each other.


Time sped back up, all of a sudden the bus had pulled forward and the door was open, I was getting yelled at in Greek. The bus driver had every right to let me have it in front of 50 passengers, I had made a very serious mistake. Almost throwing us in front of a moving bus had scared my wife as well, as we started back up she enforced the "slower" rule I've become used to on my motorcycles in San Diego, all the way up the switchbacking road to Ancient Thira.


The day had been great so far, we had breakfast by the pool & found a mellow sandy beach down the hill from our place to hang out. The days agenda was simple, check out the sights on this side of the island, seafood lunch, and maybe find a winery. While we were enjoying "Monolithos Beach" it looked like Roy had fallen asleep, and a masseuse offered me her services by showing a sign. I pointed to the cartoon "Foot" and indicated that she should work her magic on my buddy. The "Sneak Attack Foot Massage" was born, and a minute later after his initial surprise, Roy relaxed and enjoyed the entire leg rub she provided.

And then lunch, Santorini style fish are grilled over coals and served whole, what we had yet to discover was the prices were per kilo - which is why everything seemed so expensive, usually Greeks order fish for their whole table and its served on a platter. We were at Mario's, a beachside establishment and ordered the "fish for two", it was seasoned up and fell right off the bone, I was finally tasting this traditional preparation I'd heard about and it was worth the wait. Yeah Greek Food!

Ah yes, we're on top at Ancient Thira looking down at the road we took here after the bus had almost made us memories, or at least very tan vegetables. That was our day so far, beach, food, bus event, now were were here, Santorinis outer high point.

Towards Kamari

I could see back down to yesterdays beaches, Perissa through Perivolos, we had just climbed this mountain on the scooter. We could see where we had come from, the restaurant, the sight of the "event", the airport, and one more beach we hadn't explored, Kamari. We coasted back down the hill and made camp in the shade, the sun has been blazing so I welcomed the break and took advantage of the cliff jumping for an afternoon dip.

We rested here during the hot part of the day but when the sun started to dip jumped on our rides seeking a vineyard with a view. We found the Santo Wines Winery and promptly ordered a flight with cheese to sample as the sun went down, still pretty full from our afternoon fish. The view of the caldera from this sight was incredible, and we over documented it with our Rebel, I think there were 150 shots of this single sunset before I edited down.

We eventually made our way back for a relaxing night in, we'd been going pretty strong and it was time to relax, our boat to Crete was the next day, or so we thought...

Click Here for the Entire Photo Album

From Athens, With Love

“Are you serious?” was my initial response. For the past few months the person speaking through the mobile from San Diego had been warning me about the civil unrest occurring in Greece. He continued to explain that this is, “A planned strike amongst the air-traffic controllers and other transportation workers. It will be going on for four hours.”

It began exactly when we were supposed to take-off, therefore delaying our departure from Toronto. The Grecian economy was a mess, and it seems this labor dispute had to do with their retirement, or lack thereof. Once we had a beer & a shot to settle the nerves inspired this time by our hold-up, we collected our courtesy credit of $10 Canadian to cover our bar bill, found the gate and settled in... perhaps a nap was in order.

That morning had started early in San Diego, the last few days hadn’t quite been relaxing, there were a lot of loose ends to tie up before we leave for 22 days. The flight from SD was easy but when we exited that planes jet way into the terminal and found “Athens, Greece” on the Departures Board, I was glad I’d remembered to bring plenty of music and a good book. I’ve grown to expect the word DELAYED, it’s a part of travel, it's part of life.


We took turns watching the stuff and lazed around in our corner for hours people watching, eventually boarding probably the oldest plane I’ve flown on since the eighties. Air Canada is really turning out to be a winner (sarcasm) complete with bad air-conditioning, ash-trays & projection screens with double-pronged headphones for the movie. “Man I’ve gotten used to that screen in the back of the seat” I thought as we settled in. My response was to make friends with the flight attendants, and after an un-disclosed amount of vino and a movie or two I woke up still flying but with Grecian Isles below.


Customs was easy, almost too much so, apparently they let anyone into Greece and a short time later we were buying tickets for the metro for the hour ride into Monastriaki, and the Attalos Hotel. Navigating so far was easy, as was communicating since everyone speaks English. Some entertainment passed us by during our commute and eventually we popped out of the tunnels onto the streets of Athens, we had a short walk to check-in to our room & deposit our luggage.

Train Performer

My wife was beckoning for me, “Honey come out here quick!” I had fallen onto the bed, it had been a long travel day but I knew from her tone I didn’t have a choice. I stood, joined her and there it was, one of the most famous and ancient structures in the world, the Parthenon was in perfect sight from our patio. Awesome, we held each other taking in the romantic atmosphere finally where we’re been looking forward to for so long. We decided to rest and clean-up during this hot part if the day before heading out to explore.

View from our Patio

Our next move was outside but not until evening, when the incredible hot wore off a bit. It was pushing 100 Fahrenheit, we knew pretty much all mainland was like this which is why we had planned our July adventure around the sea. I reluctantly vacated our air conditioned home base and dove into humidity once we were back out in front of our Hotel. We made our way downhill towards the Parthenon, everything seemed to revolve around that landmark, it was time to explore and find some food!

We took our time snapping pics with our new Canon Rebel along the way, browsing the shops and admiring the ruins which seemed to be everywhere. After some time we found ourselves in Plaka, the word for "Old Town" - and picked an average looking cafe in a shady spot for our first Greek meal. It came with fresh bread, oil & vinegar, and we ordered tzatziki & olives along with the "Greek" salad. These items became our staple throughout our tour, I wish Feta was as abundant in the states, the way they serve a thick slice of it resting on top is the absolute best way to enjoy a green salad. 

Once finished we hustled up the hill towards the Acropolis for the best vantage of the setting sun, and I sat down while she snapped pics during her favorite part of the day.

Acropolis

I'm an explorer, I like to know what I'm up against and this area having been occupied by people spanning so many generations, seemed pretty straightforward, so we continued up to see what the "gate" to this massive complex looked like. What we discovered was not really a gate, as much as a lobby, there were vendors, bathrooms & a ticket booth... I inquired as to what was going on and was handed a book, she folded the corner of a certain page. Turned out it was a pocket program for the "Athens & Epidaurus Festival 2010" - I know what you're thinking, which is what I was thinking, "what the f*** is that?"

Somehow we got caught up in this moment, the show was almost sold out, people were excited about it and the chance to see anything inside such an ancient venue, seemed exotic. The Odeion of Herrodes Atticus was one of the main Parthenon attractions, just below the Acropolis and only recently began hosting performances again. We purchased tickets and after a quick bathroom stop found seats in the enormous amphitheater. The crowd was buzzing, I read and re-read the program hoping for more explanation, the opening line for the description of "Rimini Protokoll, Prometheus in Athens" read like this: "Dissolving the boundaries between reality and myth..." I took out my camera, a DJ was approaching some turntables. Awesome, this was turning into something I could get into.

What happened next is hard to describe, but it wasn't anything I could understand. They had 100 Greeks of all walks of life, sometimes individually, sometimes together, declaring their beliefs on stage accompanied by video & music. The DJ was the soundtrack, a few characters wore costumes, others were either really old, or really young. It was interesting to watch the performers choreographed appearances but the language barrier added a challenge. We could only react to their inflections and energy, rather than their message, so after an hour we decided it was time to move on. The Festival focused primarily on contemporary art goes on daily in the summertime. This particular show was put on by a pair of rising artists using ordinary people on stage mixed with technology to bring their message to life... as you can guess theatre & art are a huge part of Greek culture and this festival was created to keep it alive in the most authentic atmosphere.

One good thing, we learned some Greek pleasantries, Yassas & Ehfareestoh, Hello (& goodbye) & thank you, listening to children pronunciate can sometimes be the easiest way to learn. We exited and continued around the hill knowing we would end up back in Plaka, the streets in this part of town were easy to navigate, and the Acropolis was lit up as our beacon, one always knows where they are in Athens when in sight of this wonder. The narrow streets were crowded and we strolled past a few bustling tavernas, my baby wanted something sweet so we stopped into one of the many gelato stands and had a frosty nightcap before wandering back to our hotel for a long nights rest. We planned on seeing everything tomorrow and needed an early start, we were checking out in the morning since we had booked a cabin on the overnight ferry to Santorini late into the following evening.

We didn't have our entire trip planned out yet, we'd gotten so overwhelmed with wedding planning that wrapping up our last week in Greece had taken the back burner. Once we had some continental breakfast, the first place we discovered Greeks enjoy their milk warm over cereal, I met my love in the computer center where she was researching. I had heard of a place, Meteora, that I would like to check out if time permitted. It was known for its ancient monasteries in precarious places, I had found out about it because it was known for climbing as well, but before the rock jocks posted their conquests on the internet ancient Greek monks built their houses of worship on top of these huge monoliths rising from the earth. our first stop of the day was the regional train station where we figured out this adventure would have to wait till next time, coordinating that journey without a rental car was impossible within our time frame, someday. We were now 100% going for the island trifecta, once we left Santorini we would spend seven days on Crete, fly back to Athens and take a bus north towards our 3rd island in the Sporades. Since the hotel printer wouldn't work we could only see available tickets, purchasing would have to wait for another time.

Athens in a day

I'm sure this isn't the preferred method, but we had island fever and our hopes were for bluer surroundings, this gray on gray action wasn't turning us on - but we knew that this one day of inland trekking for history's sake had the happiest longest ending, and it would be easier than trying to squeeze it in at the end, time I had specifically allotted for Not rushing around in humidity. Shooting off of Monastriaki's main square was a crowded alley, we browsed and discovered a flea market on our way to our first stop, Ancient Agora. Statues and tombs, preserved amongst the olive trees indicating their obsession with marble & mythology, we took pics of a mini-acropolis, the Temple of Hephaestos, found a museum and discussed our day in some shade. Our goal was to fill time with sights and finish our tour near sunset at the Acropolis, pick up our bags from Hotel storage and make our way to the wharf a little early for our departure.

Temple of Hephaestos

We wandered back through the central square and found an air conditioned gyro place, it was time to get greasy! The sandwich was good enough, but it was here we discovered traditionally Greeks don't cut the gristle from the pork, and lamb gyros were hard to find. So as I glanced around the room observing others eating the same, I noticed even the classiest looking women reaching into their mouth, once and a while, removing clumps of fat. That's how it is, Dorota discovered ordering chicken was almost as good, and much more graceful, I now had a hunger for the perfect gyro that wouldn't be quenched till Skopelos almost three weeks later. We paid our tab and moved on, through Plaka and it's central square to Parliament, where the changing of the guard ended up being the funniest part of my day.  

It was obvious by the bullet holes on the guard house that I wasn't the only one having a hard time taking these officials seriously.

Donia under middle Bullet Hole

From Parliament we entered the National Garden, a perfect spot for our afternoon siesta. Basically Athens Central Park, people wandered and congregated amongst the trees while gardeners kept up the arrangements surrounding each of the hundreds of bronze sculptures.

We found a lawn and napped during the hottest part of the day mapping out the rest of our afternoon, using our dated guidebook to determine what couldn't be missed.

The next goal would be exiting through the southern end of the park towards the "Temple of Zeus." We lounged on the cool grass until Donia jumped up antsy to learn more about the camera, she was determined to take the best pictures on this vacation.


We made our way south out of the park into another fenced in area containing more ruins. What impresses me the most about these structures is their ability to withstand earthquakes & erosion. I understand that it took quite a few people, mostly slaves, to build such enormous stone buildings but the fact that they're still standing, somewhat, after so much time, is awesome. I also understood why they regulated the grounds and asked for an entrance fee, many empires had attacked this city throughout the years, they not only needed maintained, but also protected & revitalized.

Temple of Olympian Zeus

This particular spot was in honor of Olympian Zeus and was mainly columns, one of which we got a close-up look at showing the individual blocks that had originally been stacked 20 meters tall. We were closing in on the crescendo, the backside of the Parthenon was above us, so we stocked up on some fluids from a vendor and made our way across the busy streets towards the main attraction.

The first stop, another item on our 12 Euro all-inclusive ruins pass, was the "Theater of Dionysos."  Another amphitheatre on the Parthenon grounds that was more open and less refurbished, complete with a stone throne at its center. 

Acropolis Wall

Odeion of Herrodes Atticus

We continued past up the hill towards the Acropolis walls, there was a back trail that would take us by more ruins of an ancient smithery, a bathhouse, a grain silo, all while gaining elevation. Our vistas were getting better as we climbed and the waning sun promised to be around when we needed it most. Our path took us above last nights venue, we snapped some pics and proceeded through the guard house onto the entry way and joined the people.

Foyer

We weren't the only tourists anticipating that golden light only available when the sun approaches the horizon.

We made our rounds taking in the sea over the hill to our south, snapped some shots and caught the light at that perfect moment.

Sea in the Background

As darkness approached we made our way back down the enormous marble foyer - it had been a long day and we weren't done yet, it was time to re-join our luggage and head towards Piraeus, Athens' Port, and the Preveli, our transportation and accommodations for our journey to Santorini.

To Be Continued...

ON A BOAT!

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Tying the Knot, Baja for Beginners

Its Friday morning, time to pack the trucks and drive to Las Rocas.

Mexico or Bust

I had prepared for this, literally spent the past six months coordinating the next two days of my life, every detail was culminating onto this morning. Today I would need to transport every item necessary for our “event” across the border leading a caravan of seven vehicles containing a variety of ages, passports & booze.

Since I was the conduit holding everything together I started to delegate. I had ordered my groomsman to arrive earlier than the noon departure goal, we had more stuff than Dot & I’s vehicles could carry and I need to overflow into theirs. Easy enough, I also needed the entire group, the one’s kind enough to join us for more than one night that needed a ride, in one place. Most of them had flown in so part of my job was to figure out, of the 15 or so, who would go in what car. The bus would transport them back if need be, nobody had rented a car since they are usually not permitted to cross the border.

The vehicles got packed, I passed out directions & emergency contact numbers for anyone that might lose the caravan and we were on the road. I had warned all the drivers, “Mexico randomly stops cars at the border, don’t freak out, they’ll probably wanna see your passport.” I verified that everyone had gotten in line to cross and I proceeded through, immediately a red light flashes the word “Alto,” an official looking woman was indicating that I should pull aside into their secondary inspection area.

Sweet, I get it, I’m in an open-bed pickup truck packed with boxes & bags. After explaining where I was going they mustered up some English and asked “Where’s the alcohol?” Ah yes, the bribe. I in fact had 24 bottles of champagne under a huge duffel in the back, but I opened various boxes and coolers explaining that all the cerveza is headed east in a blue Chevy pickup, if they hurry up they can catch it! ;) Right, our parties beer is safely hidden in various vehicles 20 minutes south of us - I feel confident that we’re good so once my Canadian-Polish passengers proved their citizenship I pressed our retainers for a reason, and asked if I should phone my lawyer. (just to speed things along, they were either gonna keep me on the day before my wedding, or they were letting me go.) Thankfully they chose the latter, usually Mexican authorities are just looking for the easy bribe from the freaked out tourist, I was starting to get difficult using the few big words they don’t want to hear. Once I invited them to the big event they softened up and congratulated me on my big day and let us pass.

Pancho Villa Penthouse Patio

About 30 minutes later we pulled into Las Rocas, found Willy the wedding coordinator and settled into our weekend, starting with a Margarita in the Pancho Villa Penthouse. Our home for the weekend was complete with 2 rooms on 2 floors, balconies, cathedral ceilings & a hot tub, so we took some time to soak in the moment before getting back to work. My boys had checked the Rehearsal Dinner location and everything was set, it seemed all of the key players had arrived so once we gathered them together we found our way down to the ceremony location for some rehearsing.

Flower Girl & Ring Bearer

This detail almost got overlooked, but our minister had everything under control. The hardest job was showing the attendants, a 2 & 3 year old, what they’re supposed to do when cued to do it... the following day. I was pretty lit up by this point, I remember laughing a lot and dipping my fiancee pretty deep when told to kiss the bride...

I’m getting shaken, “Dude, get up, you can’t sleep in a cave the night before you get married.” He proceeded to talk to himself at this point, “I can’t believe I found him, what the hell’s he thinking passing out down here like this, all you can hear is the ocean and there’s no light. Fuck man, get up!” He was talking to me again, I slowly realized I was under the cliff-side cantina, one of Las Rocas outdoor restaurants. There was a hidden stairway that lead you to this grotto and apparently I had found it somewhere between 1 & 3 am. The rehearsal dinner had been a success, so much so that most of what I’m about to say I’ve been reminded of, not many actual memories exist from what I’ve been complimented as “a fantastic lobster dinner at the most authentic & beautiful location.”

Puerto Nuevo

It was nice, I had chosen it since so many people were coming here for their first time, and it’s just what you do. Ortega’s must have the nicest ocean views anywhere I’ve seen in Northern Baja, I love cliffs. The room I had chosen was over the water, so in tune with mother nature that when the waves crashed extra hard the table would actually shudder for a moment, someday this place will fall into the sea. Thankfully it wasn’t July 9th - we had booked a bus to shuttle our group back and forth, it was a small price to pay and made every one's experience more comfortable.

Thanking the Parents

Puerto Nuevo style lobster is fried and split served with tortillas & butter, plus the normal Mexican fix-ins including tortilla soup, a dish many east coasters enjoyed immensely. Dottie & I were on the last bus and made our appearance as everyone was enjoying their appetizers, we sat near the middle and once everyone was fed made a few toasts thanking our bridesmaids & groomsmen for their help along the way, and support tomorrow when it counts.

I suppose I did some shots, probably smoked a few cigarettes and attempted to mingle with so many people, I did my best to thank everyone I could for coming but in the end my memory fails me. I kept it together my wedding night but the rehearsal dinner got out of control, I knew the bar would only take cash for our excessively large bill but in my haze I had left the envelope back at the hotel... enter the Best man once again, he took our driver back shocking him with the order “Drive fast & take chances Amigo!” The fiesta rocked for another hour but eventually it was time to go, we paid the bill & our over-sized limo eventually took us back to Las Rocas where karaoke was in full swing. Everyone had a turn, amazing how music can bring so many generations together... “Hey Jude” will never be the same for any of us ever again :-)

Eventually I was “escorted” away from my suite, I had become a “jolly” nuisance and the solution was to put me to bed, away from my wife-to-be. We wouldn’t see each other again till the ceremony about 18 hours later, and my best man had an extra bed. I guess the question is, how did I end up in the cave?

The next day I woke up with an awesome hangover, I had gotten some OK rest once in an actual bed & it was now my job to “inspire” the groomsman for our next big move, driving back to the border so he could walk across & take the trolley an hour north to Old Town. At 2pm some of the guests, mainly San Diego locals, would be meeting our bus for their ride to Las Rocas, I was worried some would lag or run into an incident so my solution was to get one of my friends on that bus with a list so he could make sure everyone had made it.  

Determined Passenger

Once everyone was woken up we took the truck to TJ where I promptly got lost due to recent road “improvements” - needless to say we were now running late, so once we made it to the border he now had to run through and take a cab since he’d missed the trolley. Yes, quite a bit of trouble, originally I thought the bus would originate from Las Rocas making this task easy - nope, I was glad he had done it though, a few guests had an emergency come up and he was able to call letting us know of a few no-shows making our morning mission worth while.

Maid of Honor

We got back to the venue & I tied up a few loose ends, gave the seating chart to Willy, verified the flowers were good to go & checked out the lawn, things were definitely taking shape, the chairs were getting set up! I could relax, our florist/minister team coupled with the bridesmaids & groomsmen were getting everything done, it was time for a soak in a hot tub before donning our suits for the pre-ceremony pics.

Me & Minister

I was starting to get nervous, really nervous. My best man & I were cleaning up in his room and somehow I cut my hand... no idea how, but it was bleeding pretty bad. My heart was working a little harder than normal and here was my early warning sign indicating I needed to relax. Right. I wrapped a towel around it, sat down and focused on my breathing. The distraction of planning had taken my mind away from the emotion that was now kicking in. I had never felt this way, or at least not to this extent, I felt sick and thirsty but didn’t want to drink - my eyes felt larger than normal and I kept rubbing my neck... so this is the “butterflies.” 

As someone who has stared death in the face many times I know this feeling, kinda, when mountain climbing your adrenaline kicks in distracting your belly - but this was different, all I could do was wait, I wasn’t sure what challenges marriage would hold later in life and my brain was confused. Its a much different feeling when the nervousness has to do with time rather than distance or difficulty, usually we can see the light at the end of the tunnel, this time the tunnel is just light.

I peeked my head out, there were a lot of friends out there recently arrived from the bus. OK, I’ll just hide in this room a little longer. 

Wow, nervous sucks, its funny to recognize an emotion so vividly... I had made a point to keep a clear head thus far and it wasn’t really paying off, I finally had some champagne.

I didn’t know what to do with myself so I reviewed my vows. My minister came in to go over the ceremony one more time, familiarity was comforting, I was feeling better. The florist appeared and pinned a boutonniere to my lapel.  

My champagne & I made our way outside, everyone was excited and getting primed for the event - I was still nervous but saw a few of my close friends & their wives remembering when those guys went through the same thing - I hugged everyone hello welcoming & thanking them for making the trek south of the border. My best man handed me what I thought was more champagne so I dumped it in my glass, it was tequila, I didn’t care and took the shot anyway figuring throwing up would probably do me good. It didn’t. 

Niece & I

It was time for our pre-ceremony pics so my father, the groomsmen & I made our way out front to pose for our photographers. This was fine, part of Donia’s plan from the beginning that I just agree to, who really cares about the dudes without the girl? We obliged and about 45 minutes later after concluding with some more “realistic” pics with my family, we found our way to the cliffs where the ceremony was about to take place. I instructed a groomsman to phase out the iPod and the duo from OB began playing their acoustic guitars.

Accoustic Accompaniment 

Details are amazing, there were so many little things I was noticing... the groomsmen were handing the guests bubbles as they ushered them to their seats. I had been given those bubbles by a recently wed coworker a few weeks prior, the church where she got married didn’t allow them so she gifted us her leftovers; There was an archway covered in flowers, the florist had done an amazing job, those same flowers would be transported during the cocktail hour to the reception and become the table decor. It was exactly like we’d planned, with a few fortunate surprises... the ceremony had its own bar and they had already opened it to our guests, arriba!

I was at the “alter” - everyone sat down and a gentle version of “I Know You Rider” began playing while the rest of our party made their way down the aisle. The flower girl sprinted past everyone and shook her basket over her head releasing the rose petals upon her hair & dress, good enough. The ring bearer followed suit but luckily we intercepted him before the pillow was tossed over the cliff ;) - I turned around and noticed her in a white dress behind the crowd, the wedding march began, here we go:

If OB is anything, taking up about 50% of the crowd, they are supportive. The cameras were flashing as she approached me on her fathers arm and the occasional cheer would break out whenever we made eye contact with anyone. We had invited these people as witnesses to this event signifying our lifelong commitment to each other, everyone we loved was here and as her father departed leaving us standing with the minister in front of everyone, the sun finally broke through the clouds that had been hanging around since April.

Father & Daughter

Perfect, the minister recognized natures gift and gave his sermon - a speech I know but can’t recall from the ceremony, all I could see were her eyes, she was so beautiful, her eyes seemed different somehow, stronger & softer, serious & curious, she was happy and relieved that we were finally here, it was time for her vows.

I have no words to describe how eloquent my sometimes goofy wife came across, her statements felt like poetry every word touching a different part of my being - she brought several tears to my eyes as she stirred the crowd with her devotion - I was amazed & fascinated by her words as she concluded, it was now my turn, I grabbed the mic and did my best to keep it together for my own part in this public declaration.

My Vows

It went OK, I got a laugh or two at the bacon part but kept staring at my roommate, she had heard every word, we were both so ready for this. The minister continued and eventually asked for the rings, I hadn’t seen mine since we picked them out - simple white gold, the inscription was added after and neither of us knew what our ring would say, when she gave it to me I saw the words “Love You Always” with a ♥ - perfect, I had inscribed “Kocham Moja Donia”, “I Love My Donia” in Polish in her band.

We placed them on each others fingers and after a few more minutes kissed, the crowd erupted and the smiles were huge as we walked towards the back ready to express our gratitude for everyone coming.

Courtesy L.Rose

Cue the eight piece Mariachi band, they began their set a few steps away from the ceremony site around the appetizers, we greeted everyone we were seeing for the first time and thanked everybody before we were encouraged back to the cliffs for what I consider the important pictures. By the time these were over the band was finished and it was time to make our way towards the reception hall.

The woman who turned out to be our star, the florist, appeared once again with a few words that released some anxiety I had been feeling: the tables were setup, centerpieces in place, special linens were are good, the shot glasses (our gift to the guests) had been dispersed, the guest book is out with pens, and those special engraved cake utensils that had been shipped to us from relatives that couldn’t make it, were next to the cake, which had turned out perfectly. I breathed a huge sigh of relief, she indicated everyone was settling in and finding their seats, it was time for our entrance.

Reception

We lined up to be announced by the Emcee (minister) and two by two made our way into the hall to the head table, Bill Withers “Use Me” came on and a server appeared to fill our glasses with champagne. Whoa! Look at that, “another gift” my wife whispered, we had received engraved crystal champagne flutes, perhaps the most elegant thing I’ve ever drank out of. After a few minutes the Emcee announced some more family to present us with the Polish customs. 

Polish Customs

First came a test of trust: The brides family presents the bread & salt with a choice, this food or the groom. The bride hopefully chooses the groom since he will be providing those items throughout the marriage; Second comes another choice, two shot glasses are filled, one with water & one with vodka. The glasses are presented to the newlyweds and whoever gets the vodka shot will end up wearing the pants in the family. 

I drank the water, hopefully bottled water.

We proceeded to eat between the ever present dings people were creating with utensils on their glasses indicating my bride & I were supposed to kiss, I liked this part. At some point the wedding coordinator pulled me aside, he had some bad news... they had forgotten the salad and he hoped we would be cool with Tortilla soup as a replacement. Hehe, really Willy? That's the bad news? After the groups enthusiasm last night I was like “no problem man” - he actually credited us that portion of the bill when we settled up at the end of the weekend. The rest of our menu worked out just fine, ceviche, filet mignon, cilantro shrimp & a baked potato, I think I had a bite of each, the open bar was catching up with all of us and food wasn’t really a priority. 

The Maid of Honor had the mic, the crowd quieted down and after a few kind words about Dot she recited the poem “What Is Love”, she had found it inspirational and relative to what Dorothy & I had... I was proud of her, she had been dreading that moment and she approached it in a unique way classin’ up our party with some art. Next up was the Best Man, none of us had any idea what this guy had in store - I had been a selfish groom over the past few weeks asking for his eyes to proofread the various compositions I’d concocted for public delivery, never once asking how his were going. He has never been the biggest public speaker, but any tension was most likely eased when he looked at the crowd and knew so many, our friendship goes back to my early days in Cali. I’m guessing he spoke for about 20 minutes or so, an awesome speech drawing on old jokes, our travels & his friendship with Dorothy - it was great and I’m sorry, my words will never do it justice, this one you had to be there for.

1st Dance

I do my speech basically thanking everybody, we had some more dinner, and then my new father-in-law said some nice things into the microphone... the family was loosening up, it was time for our first dance. Billy Joel’s “Just the Way You Are” came on and we spun around in the middle of everybody. From the corner of my eye as we danced I noticed a few of the girls looking on, smiling, shedding the ocasional tear. It felt good and bad showing our passion in front of so many people, c’est la vie, weddings breed emotion.

Emotional

Next came the Father/Daughter dance, "Thank Heaven For Little Girls" was Dorota’s choice and Papa Kowalski was surprised, they had enjoyed that track when she was very little. The next song was for the bride & maid of honor, “their” song was "In Your Eyes", and as they grooved I danced with my new Mother-in-law. The rest of the wedding joined the bride & I while we switched between parents for a few more songs.

Hula Papa

Everyone was socializing from what I could see, so I made my way to the patio for some fresh air and ran into my Father - he shook my hand again while we shared a cigar, the night had been a success, there were still a few customs to observe but overall the details had come together and I was content.

My minister/Emcee bro was still clocked in and we heard the announcement that it was time to cut the cake. Donia & I made our way back up front and she picked up the knife, I placed my hands over hers and guided us through the bottom layer twice. We put down the knife & I grabbed a little cake feigning the “cake in the face” tradition. I couldn’t do it, she was too perfect, as I faced the crowd she never hesitated while stuffing my face with a piece of our gray icynged four-tiered pastry. Apparently the gloves were off so we both proceeded to entertain the crowd by making a mess of each other with frosting. After we took a short break to freshen up and it was back to the party.

Next came the bouquet toss, a bridesmaid caught the throw proving this tradition’s not just luck, we were privy to some inside info concerning her matrimonial future which would be changing the following day ;) They played “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun” and danced while the men congregated ready for the garter toss. My wife sat down, I started kissing her ankle and worked my way up her leg at an easy pace eventually pulling the garter off with my teeth. My first throw landed too short so I scooped it back up and tossed it to the crowd where it was caught by an eleven year old, hopefully he passed it to someone that understood what it meant.

The funk was switched back on, the lights switched off and the party started rockin’ - there was a light setup staging the disco atmosphere that allowed my wife & I to sneak back to the penthouse, she had a gift she wanted to give. Mrs. Guinter’s present to me, on our wedding night, was a photo album of herself in various outfits & locations - it was awesome, and I couldn’t have imagined anything more exciting or creative, this woman really knew me and after expressing my gratitude we made our way back to the hall for a little more dancing and cake.

The midnight hour was approaching and people had started to clear out. We did our best to gather up the valuables, make sure everyone that could had signed the guest book, and we made our way to the nearest room for some more music and another drink. It was apparent that my wife was done, so we made our way back to the room and I put my lovely Donia to bed.

I know what you’re thinking, and we’d already done that. She was completely finished so there wasn’t really a chance. I’m still wide awake though, and couldn’t really fathom hanging out by myself in the room regardless of what tradition might dictate. I was in Mexico with my closest friends and family, some new family, I wanted to keep partying. In fact I didn’t really want this night to stop, so back to the rooms I went finding drinks, laughter and singing wherever I went. It turned into one hell of a night, someones genitalia ended up leaving smudge marks on the patio windows glass and another couple conceived their 3rd child... yeah, that kind of night. 

I looked to the horizon and saw the light coming, it was time to join my bride in bed.

When morning came we saw our bus off along with many guests, and I camped out at the pool for most of the afternoon. That couple I mentioned got engaged and about 15 of us had a nice celebration dinner at the cliff-side Cantina. More drinks and more fun but this time I was done, the weekend coupled with the sunburn I’d acquired that afternoon knocked me out early.

The next day we settled our bill, packed the vehicles and made our way back to America. It was Monday, time to handle everything and prepare for our honeymoon departure on Wednesday.

Standby for the concluding chapters of Living the Dream.