The End

I just wanted to say thank you to all our followers. We are now back in the US, trying to get accustomed to real life again. The best parts of our journey are fond memories, and the worst parts make funny stories.

If you have any questions - post a comment! I get an e-mail notification with each comment - so I'll be sure to get back to you. I definitely would encourage everyone to make a backpacking journey at some point in their life. Hopefully others can learn and be encouraged by our experiences.

-Alex & Renee signing off.

Athens, Greece

The last stretch of our journey. We headed back to Athens for a few days. We saw the usual ancient (and by ancient, I mean extra-ancient) monuments. Pictured here is the Temple of Olympian Zeus. We bought the "ticket-book" and tried to see as many of the famous symbols as we could.

And of course we heading up to the Parthenon. The only day it rained what the day we were exploring some of the ruins. And it felt good.

The craziest part of Athens was our last full day there. When we first arrived in Athens demonstrations in Syntagma square had disrupted the bus schedule, however we made do, and didn't think much of it. However our last full day in Athens, was the day that the Athens Riots started. We did our best to avoid the tear gas, and riot police, however the conflict was spilling into the city. Looking down streets you would see dumpsters in flame, and sound bombs, and smoke grenades going off. We got lost and ended up walking to the center of where the riots were. You could feel the tear gas in the air, and see the flaming wreckage of trash, and barriers that the protesters had put up to stop the police. Fortunately, we avoided the violence, but the after effects left the streets empty, and trashed.

Delos, Greece

After Naxos, we took a ferry to the "too-high-class-for-our-tastes" island of Mykonos. We ended up camping the first night. The next day, we took a day trip to Delos.

Delos used to be a center of trade for ancient Greece. It's dry, hot, and has almost no natural resources - but it's key position in the center of the Cyclades islands allowed a society to build. No one has lived on Delos in the past thousand years, however the island is covered in sprawling ruins.

There are so many ruins, that visitors can walk around what used to be an ancient town. Renee and I spent a few hours wandering around, walking through ancient mansions, and admiring the monuments they have left - such as the gateways, and amphitheater.