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.

Naxos, Greece II

Next up was Naxos. We camped right by the beach. Knowing nothing about the island - we rented a scooter and went exploring. It's the biggest island in the Cyclades (the classic greek island chain)... we didn't know that. Scooting around, we found a sign to archeological ruins. 30 mins later we arrive at the recently excavated Temple of Dionysis. There wasn't much there. Pictured is the most interesting part.

Later that day we found ourselves following the signs to the "Ancient Marble Quarries". We didn't see any Ancient Marble Quarries, but we saw a number of un-finished statues. In this area was one of the largest natural springs in the Cyclades, which supplied a surprising dense area of growth, almost resembling a jungle. We also took a hike up the hill and saw some off-the-path ruins.

...and of course we chased Lizards. Plenty of water = bugs. Plenty of bugs = fat lizards!

For lunch we drove down to the Main Town/Port. Afterwars we checked out the "symbol" of the island of Naxos: The "entrance" to the Temple of Apollo. According to legend, the gate was never finished, however it points out to sea towards the birthplace of the god Apollo.

Naxos, Greece I

Some pictures from Greece!

Looking over Apollo's Temple at the Port of Naxos Island:

Maragas Beach. Right across the street from our Campsite:

Ios, Greece IV

There isn't much going on in Ios. During the day there is beaches... however during the night, the only things to do are in town. As a result, everyone goes to town at night. In town, while bar hopping, you encounter everyone you've seen during the day: fellow beach bums, the campers, and all the waiters from the restaurants.

Renee taking a flaming shot.

Renee was sad to leave Ios. Cheap camping, beer, and doing nothing on the beach is all she really wanted to do in Greece.

Ios, Greece III

Beach hunting is a tough job. Get a scooter, a map - and zip around all day until you find a beach that you have to yourself. Enough time - and you can escape the touristy bimbo-covered beach, and have your own personal sun-tanning area.

The problem however with secluded beaches, is that they are subject to occasional road-blocks.

We had been doing a little too much beach-bumming... so one of the days in Ios, we took an all-day "Adventure Boat Ride". Blasting music in a power boat, the driver took us, and 8 other people to "cave-diving"... (it was more like swimming), where we anchored the boat, and then swam through the caves that had been worn into the rock over the course of thousands of years. After about 25 meters of swimming into the caves, they would connect in the inside, and you could swim out a different cave (if you could fit)!

Next was snorking, where we power-boated to a beach that was only accessible by boat - and swam around in the crystal clear water and watched fish, and tried to avoid sea-urchins. Afterwards was cliff-jumping - where we took a running start, and dove off a cliff. I hit the water pretty hard, and forgot to pinch my nose. As a result, I felt like I had salt water in my brain for a day. Pictured is our Danish friends enjoying their now super-clear sinuses!

Sorry for lacking pictures - water sports are rather unfriendly towards digital cameras, so I kept in safe. Here's our Argentinean friends that we hung out with!

Ios, Greece II

My favorite thing to do on Ios was to rent a scooter. There really isn't much on Ios - so there is no where to go. As a result, the roads are almost always empty - so you can zip around to the different beaches. The weather of Ios is hot and dry - so the breeze on the scooter feels really great.

We went to Homer's Tomb. It was the most uninteresting place I've ever been. It wasn't the first time for me - but I wanted to make Renee laugh.It took about 40 minutes of "scootering" to get to - fortunately there was paved road all the way - but at the end there really isn't anything. Some historic fund built a little bit of shade... but the actually tomb is just a pile of rocks.

On the way back, we stopped at some archeological ruins named Skarkos. The tourist center, and gates were closed - but since we came all the way there - we just hopped the fence, followed the roads, and had the place to ourselves. According to the signs, Skarkos was from around 3000 BC to 2000 BC!, and is one of the first places to show signs of organized agriculture, sewage system, and two-story houses.

Ios, Greece I

Next on our list to-do was Ios.With out tent we bought in Athens, we found a cheap camping site right next to a beach on Ios. I would barely call in camping. After managing to figure your way out of the tent, it took 3 minutes to get to Manganari beach!

Right next to the "Camping Area" was a bar, complete with pool we could sneak into, and hammocks that over-looked the ocean.

The only part that I would actually call camping was our pathetically small tent. It looked bigger in the picture. It barely fit Renee.

However, when we weren't exploring, or at the bars, we spent 100% of our time at the beach.

Santorini, Greece

We didn't spend long in Athens. Long enough to find the cheapest tent possible for camping, a ticket to one of the islands, and baklava. The next ferry leaving was to Santorini - so we took it. That night we camped on Santorini, then the following day we rented a Scooter and went beach hunting.

We "buzzed" around all day, and found a few smaller, empty beaches. Late noon, we headed north to Oia, to see the sunset. Oia is the beautiful white-washed town built along the hill.

...however everyone else in Greece also wanted to see the sunset there.

Oia is a really incredible town. It sits on the corner of Santorini, an island formed when a volcano blew out the middle - shaping the island like a big C. According to myth, the layout of the town was designed to slow down invading pirates, so the streets all twist and turn in a crazy maze. Getting lost was part of the fun there.