Greece

Day 1, PERDIKA 

I woke up in Athens with a shocking cold. While we had planned to do some sightseeing including the Acropolis, I thought it would be best if I was sensible and stayed in bed sleeping until we needed to be on the boat. Our friends Ash and Annette were staying at the same hotel as us so we all had brekky together (greek yogurt, fruit and honey - yum!). We arrived at Marinia Zea and met up with our skipper and the rest of the travellers on the yacht. The catamaran we were on was much larger than we anticipated. Our bedroom has a tiny amount of hanging space but most of the room was taken up by a queen bed - definitely a luxury on a boat! We also had a shower and toilet to share between the 4 of us (Doug, Ash, Annette and I) which was amazing. We set sail and landed in Perdika around 4pm. It was 35 degrees so we found somewhere for a swim and started relaxing. The whole boat had dinner together at a small restraunt on the island, as I was still feeling pretty average I had an early night to try and recover. 

Day 2, HYDRA & ERMIONI

After waking up much better (and sleeping through most of the sailing and brekky!) We arrived just outside of Hydra. We spent some time having a light lunch on the boat and mucking around in the water (with Doug being sworn at in Greek by multiple water taxi drivers) and then headed onto the island for a look around. Hydra is aparently quite famous but VERY expencive. We saw multiple megayachts (and googled them - one was worth $195M), and tried our hand at shopping but the cheapest pair of boardies was $180 Euro! After giving up on the shopping I settled for Gelato and a Mango Daquiri - yep, truly in holiday mode now. We did a bit of swimming and then headed back to the boat via ferry which took us to Ermioni. Once we arrived in Ermioni Ash, Doug and I went in search for some ice (to keep the drinks cold), heavy duty conditioner (as my hair was straw after swimming in the ocean), and most importantly pool noodles so the boys could stay afloat while swimming, drinking beer and playing a ball game all at the same time! We arrived back at the boat and got ready for "punch night" at the bar. When we got there we realised none of the skippers were drinking the free punch provided. We soon realized why, one sip and it was like vomit! I soon abandoned the appeal of free alcohol and moved back onto the Mango Daquiris! We had dinner above the bar as it poored down with rain, lucky we shut our windows on the boat! We then all decided to move the party to a nearby club with a smoke machine... But then as we got to the outside of the club we realised we had alcohol on the boat and we would have way more fun having our own party. We all ended up blasting Disney music from our favourite childhood movies. Some of us got a bit silly (not me) and decided to dare Doug and Ash to do a midnight swim to the nearby megayachts about 500m away. This seemed hilarious as the boys kitted up with snorkels and bathers until about 45 seconds in when it was so dark that we couldn't see them anymore. Realising instantly how silly this was we called for the skipper who then rowed out to then on the dinghy and supervised the rest of the swim. The boys returned triumphant and unscathed of course but after that it was definitely time for bed.

Day 3, SPETSES

As per my now normal routine (in the name of recovering) I slept through brekky and woke up at our first swim spot. The boys were a little worse for wear but we have them no option, we were going to go ATV-ing around the island! We found ATVs for 25 euros and after very dubious broken English instructions (and a map with the best beaches marked) we were on our way. The non English speaking guide took us to a petrol station, pointed and then drove away so we deduced that we were meant to fill up the tanks. We set off driving along the coastline atop massive hills, it was amazing seeing the water on one side and olive groves on the other. There was a big slope down to one of the beaches we were told to go to so we headed down and saw it was 10euro per person to go on the beach... We decided against that and while Doug and my ATV was fine up the hill Ash and Annette almost didn't make it! We then rode another few kms and found another beach with a bar! We were all desperate for a drink and a snack so sat at the bar and saw our skipper walking towards us. She told us about this great swimming spot and cave only a 5 min walk away so we went exploring. It was gorgeous water but if there is anything to say about Greece is that it's sea urchin central. We ended up calling them landmines as they were everywhere and as Doug has had the unfortunate experience of stepping on one before we had all been warned. We were all exhausted so once we had returned our bikes at 7.30pm we went straight to dinner. Doug was craving souvlaki so we all followed suit, expecting meat wrapped in pita bread. Aparently not. In Greece REAL souvlaki is meat, salad and pita bread on a platter... what? We were all very upset (and irrationally mad at Doug) but soothed our sorrows with a gelato on the walk home. As it was a really quiet town we all went to bed early and got a good rest. 

Day 4, POROS

We woke up sailing and ready for a big day. We arrived quite early in Poros and decided to do some water sports. The four of us thought that the "super sofa" seemed fun as it was four seats across (like a couch) being pulled behind a speed boat. Well it was fun/a near death experience... The guy driving was determined to get one of us in the ocean! After what felt like years we all survived to tell the tale. We started the long walk back to the boat (ok not long, but 30 min in 37 degree heat feels long!). We got back and went in search of "real" souvlakis after last night's misadventure. We found out that these were actually called Gyros and lamb wasn't an option (only chicken or pork!). We also met up with one of Ash's best friends John who came from London to see us for the night. The Gyros were great and we headed onto our next stop, a wine tasting. We sampled 10 Greek wines all made on the island, including a bright blue wine (allegedly colored with blueberries)!? It was absolutely awful but an experience haha, I don't think I'm a Greek wine conissour. We then all headed to a dinner with the rest of our boat and FINALLY had lamb in Greece (I was beginning to think it was a myth). Our skipper told us about a "small quiet" bar around the corner. Well... by 2am dancing to ABBA, it was hardly a quiet bar haha. We danced all night to daggy hits and then walked back on the boat and sat on the netting at the front just talking for a few hours. 

Day 5, EPIDAVROS

We were all a little slow and worse for wear the next morning. We spent most of the day sunning ourselves on the front of the boat while sailing which was nice and relaxing. We arrived in Epidavros late in the afternoon and quickly discovered (after another Gyros of course) that there really wasn't much to do on this small island. We walked around the town centre and had a few swims before dinner under the orange trees in a restraunt. This was meant to be the best restraunt on the island but it was .... an experience. The menu read very simply I.e. Lemon and Chicken and Pork in the Oven so we thought - well either this is going to be amazing... or shit... We had a 50/50 experience, Doug ordered a beef burger expecting... Well a beef burger and recieved a patty with a few chips. I ordered moussaka (which is like lasagna but with eggplant instead of pasta) and it came out cold in the middle! Ash and Annettes meals looked great but Douggie and I were left a little sad and hungry! 

Day 6, AGISTRI

Another long day of sailing and swimming. Most of the day was very uneventful, excluding Doug falling down the stairs in the boat while wet and landing on his toe! The boys also collected some sea urchins for us from the ocean so we could have a look up close at them. They're actually not that spiky to touch, its only when you stand on them can they do some real damage! We started getting ready at 6pm for the Toga Party. We all plaited our hair and dressed up in our bedsheets before walking up the hill to dinner. Dinner involved a Greek dancing lesson which was... interesting haha. We also got to throw plates, which is aparently a symbol of love - I'll remind Doug of that next time we have a fight in the kitchen! We then made our way down the hill, still in Togas, to the bar. Somehow it was hotter outside than inside on the dancefloor. We lasted until about 2am when we decided to go for a walk to try and cool down. It didn't really work but we ended up sitting on the back of the boat for a while reminiscing about the week. 

Day 7, ATHENS

The final morning we all woke up late and groggy. Our skipper Em had made us a hangover brekky of Eggy bread which was much appreciated. Doug and I spent the morning in the ocean and while sailing at the front of the boat. It was then time to pack up, say good by to the Catamaran and Ash & Annette and head to the airport. We are now at Athens airport waiting for our flight to Cagliari, Sardinia via Rome. Douggies toe is black and blue and VERY worse for wear so I have a feeling we may end up at the hospital in Cagliari tonight getting XRays haha.