Whitehorse, Yukon

We were travelling to Quebec for a conference in October and somewhere over Ontario the captain comes on and says that if we look out the left side of the plane we could catch a glimpse of the northern lights. Luckily we were sitting on the left side and were treated with a perfect view at 10,000ft. This was my first ever sighting of the northern lights and it prompted a conversation to plan a trip to Whitehorse to see the Northern Lights from the ground this time. 

The best time to see the Aurora Borealis are from September to March, but better yet is from November to February when it's darker for much longer in the day. We decided we'd make a weekend trip up to Whitehorse early December. With it being our first time visiting, we found a local tour that would include our hotel stay, pick us up from the airport, give us 2 nights of viewing, and an optional other day time tour, which we selected as the city tour. The week leading into our trip the weather forecast was looking very favourable with no snow in the forecast for at least one evening that would have provided us a higher chance of seeing the beautiful lights dancing across the sky. As we approached the chosen weekend though the weather forecast started to change with snow started appearing in the forecast and this would dim our chances of seeing the northern lights because with snow comes clouds. 

Either way we were all booked, warm winter clothes packed, and so we took the 2ish hour flight north and arrived in freezing Whitehorse. With a population of just over 25,000 Whitehorse is a fairly well populated small northern city and has a lot of outdoor activities to offer. As part of our tour, we were staying in downtown Whitehorse at the Best Western Gold Rush Inn, a quaint little hotel with a great bar/restaurant attached to it. After settling in, we had a few hours to kill before our first night tour which started at 10pm, so we wandered the town a bit and found a cozy neighbourhood pub called Dirty Northern where we dined on a couple bison burgers for supper. In a small town it's easy to spot the tourist and so we did have a few glances thrown our way when we entered. The food was delicious and the atmosphere was nice. By the time we finished supper, most shops were closed so we made our way back to the hotel to rest up a bit before our tour. 

The tour picked us up at the hotel and there was quite a group gathered when we showed up. There were 4 vans heading out that night. The other guests on our van were either from back east, the US, Japan, or Mexico. We drove about 30 minutes outside the city to a farm that has partnered with the tour group. They have warming huts, for obvious reasons, an outdoor pit fire for roasting marshmallows and just sitting around, and a couple outhouses. The warming hut was stocked with games to play, plenty of benches and chairs, coffee, tea, hot chocolate and snacks and was a great place to sit want wait for a clearing in the sky to see if the northern lights could be spotted. If lucky, there is also a very large open field where you could go to watch the northern lights and take photos. The tour runs until 2am when they get you back to the hotel. The first night it snowed the enter time we were there and it was just bad luck. For most of the other guests this was their first experience with snow. Staying up until 2am really messes with you the next day especially when you know your city tour starts at 10am. While we had a good sleep, it really wasn't enough before we had to get up so we could have breakfast before the city tour. We found a cool cafe called Baked-Cafe & Bakery just a few blocks down from the hotel and enjoyed a nice quick breakfast there. 

The city tour, thankfully involved us being on a bus and getting out at the various stops. Otherwise I think I would have froze it was so cold. Despite having my winter gear and layers it was still very COLD!! The city tour gave us a nice introduction to some of the town sites and history of Whitehorse and the Klondike gold rush which really shaped the Yukon and contributed to the building of the railway and the Alaskan Highway connecting the north with Alaska and BC. After our city tour we decided to stroll around downtown and do a bit of shopping in the local gifts shops. It snowed throughout the entire day and gave little hope of the skies clearing up and so we made the decision to not head out that night for the second night of viewing opportunity. In part what led us to skip this evening was we were both still recovering from the night before and we had booked a private photo 3 hours tour the next morning at the Wildlife Preserve and then were heading home so we thought it better to get a good night's sleep so we could better enjoy the wildlife preserve. We'll never know if the northern lights were visible or not, but it was probably the right call. The next morning, we had breakfast as the hotel restaurant and got to take in the first 20 minutes of Canada's match against Croatia in the men's World Cup. We scored a beautiful early game, but then things went downhill from there and we lost the match effectively eliminating us from the tournament. 

The Yukon Wildlife Preserve is located about 30 minutes out of Whitehorse so we took a taxi there as we didn't have any other transportation. Because we booked a private tour, we were also invited to arrive before the park opens so we could get an early start. Situated on over 350 acres of natural landscape for the animals that reside here, you can enjoy the park year round either through a self guided 5km loop walk or via tour. Our guide took us around in a van and we stopped at the various animal habitats so we could take pictures up close. For a few of the animals, we also got to go inside the fenced area for a real up close experience. We got to do this with the deer, the lynx, and the arctic fox. For both the lynx and fox pens our guide also demonstrated a feeding and we got to see the lynx jump up and retrieve its chicken supper. The little arctic fox was quite the ball of energy, running around her enclosure it was at times hard to keep track of where she was. Our guide placed a small bowl of food out right in front of me and she came right up to it and grabbed her food before running off to hide it for later. This was quite the experience to see their wild animals up close in natural surroundings. Also at the preserve are bison, moose, caribou, thinhorn sheep, mountain goats, and elk. It really was a neat experience to see all these different types of wild animals who were brought to the preserve either due to injury or having been orphaned. 

After our wildlife preserve tour, we had few hours to kill before heading back to the airport for our flight home. The Whitehorse airport is tiny and we were one of only three flights leaving that evening. The airport is so tiny that even the airport security didn't open until only 1 hour before our flight was scheduled to leave. 

Having missed seeing the northern lights, we'll have to plan a trip back perhaps a few weeks earlier before the weather has guaranteed snow. 

To travel is to live....until next time, life is good!

Hawai'i - the Big Island

I find I need sunshine and warmth around November and what better way to rejuvenate than a trip to Hawai'i. This time around we decided to trip the big island of Hawai'i. Admittedly, this was a destination we had considered a year ago, but didn't end up going because of Covid. This year, the world is back open and so this trip was back on the table. Getting to the island of Hawai'i on our preferred airline requires a stop over through the US, so we opted for LA. We were delayed out of LA which meant we got into Kona later in the evening than we would have liked and with a 45 minute drive still to the hotel meant we didn't arrive to the hotel until after 9pm. The Kona airport is a tiny single level building which means you exit and enter your plane up/down stairs attached to the plane on the tarmac. It's quite lovely feeling the tropical warm breeze right as your step off the plane though. For a tiny airport, they had very efficient airport services and our luggage was offloaded quickly and we were on our way to Hertz to pick up our car. It was already dark when we arrived so we didn't see much on our drive north to the hotel. Driving another day during daylight we noted the scenery along the highway was mostly barren lava rock fields with the occasional new tree or flower growth and the ocean was a distance away from the highway. 

We stayed at the Westin Hapuna Beach resort situated beachfront on Hapuna beach in Hapuna Bay with the Hapuna golf course situated inland. Hapuna beach is one of the top rated beaches on the island and stretches a half mile long with white sand and a gentle slope into the ocean. It has a fairly calm surf, but also picks up a bit in the afternoon which makes it a great spot for body surfing. While the beach is a public beach, the hotel has private guest only sun loungers place in front of the hotel and so not many non-guests set up on this area of the beach. This beach also has year round life guard services. When the water is calm there is some fantastic snorkelling to be had mostly around the north end of the beach by the rocky cliff. The visibility for the most part was fantastic but at times was a bit unclear depending on kicked up sand from the tide. There is an abundance of different fish, coral, and we even spotted a sea turtle one morning. I also got to see my first octopus here that was popping in and out of a small rock crevasse. 

Our hotel room was a very lovely ocean view room with a large balcony. Shortly after arriving, we were treated to a nice cheese and fruit board with a bottle of wine that was delivered to our room. This unexpected surprise came at a great time because our late arrival meant the hotel restaurants were already closed and we were hungry so this made for a good light supper. The hotel was recently renovated and all common guest areas are all open air facing the ocean to make most of the ocean view. The lobby is situated on the 7th floor of the hotel, but it actually at street level. From the lobby there is a dual staircase that takes you down to the Piko cafe + bar where you can grab snacks, including our favourite Kona coffee popsicles, limited menu food items, and beverages. At the level below Piko is Ikena Landing, the breakfast restaurant that features both an abundant buffet along with a la carte options. The staff here were very attentive and friendly. Also on site is Naupaka Beach Grill which serves an array of salads, seafood, and other casual dining entrees, and Meridia which is a Mediterranean inspired restaurant and considered the "fancy" restaurant at the resort; a reservation is a must have here. We enjoyed a lovely ocean view dinner here one evening. The Hapuna has a sister resort a short drive away called the Mauna Kea. Another way of getting to the Mauna Kea is hiking the Ala Kahakai coast trail, which takes you along the coastline over ancient fishermen's trails through both public and private lands. Some of the houses found along this trail are absolutely breathtaking and I can only imagine the value of them. They all have unobstructed ocean views and facing west would see the most stunning sunsets. As were we heading to the Mauna Kea for supper, I had dressed for supper, including the kind of shoes I was wearing, so I was a little perturbed by the trail conditions being dirt; for whatever reason I had thought in my mind that it was a paved trail, so I may have vocalized this a few too many times, or at least enough times to be annoying to my hiking partner. The coastline view was extraordinary and as we approached Mauna Kea, and seeing the beach in its cove made the hike so worth it. We arrived just as sunset was taking place and it was breathtaking. We enjoyed a lovely supper with some live music and a hula dancer. The option of hiking back after supper was quashed by me when we arrived, not only because of the dirt trail but also because I felt it would be extremely unsafe in the dark with the trail unlit. We instead took the hotel shuttle back after we explored the hotel grounds a bit and went to see the manta ray feeding area.  

This vacation was mostly a relax by the beach vacation and we made the most of that without a doubt; I actually finished 2 books during the week! We did explore the island one day that took us inland on the Hawaii Belt Road across the island to the east coast. The big island of Hawai'i is just that, BIG, with an area of just over 10,400 square metres. Built from 5 separate shield volcanos that overlapped with their eruptions, the island has vast barren lava rock fields everywhere along with very diverse lush rainforests and white sand and coloured sand beaches. The island is mountainous and driving around on the island you end up at varies different elevations and the temperature changes are noticeable, in fact we experienced a 20C temperature from the Hawai'i National Volcano park heading back to our oceanfront hotel. Hawai'i has 3 active volcanoes, Haulalai, Kilauea, and Mauna Loa, the latter which starting rumbling and experiencing increased seismic activity in the weeks leading up to our trip; within the week of us arriving back home she erupted. With Kilauea and Mauna Loa being most active and still erupting in present day, the island is actually still growing in size. 

On our island exploration, we stopped in at Akaka Falls, which is an easy 1/2 mile loop hike through a lush rainforest that leads you to Akaka Falls. The forest is filled with ferns, bamboo, and tropical flowers. Akaka Falls is a stunning 442 foot waterfall that plummets into a gorge.  Along the path we encountered a baby wild pig sitting on some stairs, taking in the sun. Not sure where its mother was, but a park ranger was standing by to keep it safe from all the park visitors. We stopped for lunch in Hilo town and found an incredible farmer's market open with fresh fruits, vegetables, and baked goods. We couldn't resist and ended up buying a papaya for $2 and a mango loaf. Both tasted amazing and we actually wished we had bought more papaya to satisfy my papaya cravings. 

Punalu'u beach was another stop. This black sand beach is the most famous black sand beach in Hawai'i and is known for Honu (green sea turtles) basking in the sun on the beach, and possibly seeing the endangered Hawksbill turtles in the water. The sand is made from small black fragments of lava and interestingly when picking up some sand it was actually fairly soft but is quite hot given the sun. From here we drove up to the Hawai'i National Volcano park so we could visit the volcanoes later in the day and stay until dark so we could get a proper glimpse of the active lava lake within the crater. Before hiking over to the viewing point for the lava lake, we stopped in at a few other points along the Chain of Craters Road including Wahine Kapu - the steaming bluffs where steam rises out from the ground through grates; and Nahuku - the Thurston Lava Tube which you walk down to and walk inside; you need a headlamp or flashlight of some sort as it gets dark in here fast. Watching the lava lake was mesmerizing and with it active at the time, it kept changing as more lava spewed out. The view point was a fair distance away, but still at times you could feel the heat from the lava depending on the winds. Seeing this from a distance reenforced for me the power of mother nature.

One of our other activity highlights on this trip was our night manta ray snorkel. This was an unforgettable experience and after I got over the fact that I'd have to enter the water in the dark, it was so much fun too. We found a local, small tour outfit called Kona Ocean Experience. This husband/wife team arrange various different tour options and have a capacity of maximum 8 guests. For our night snorkel, there were 4 of us in total and the other couple also happened to live near us back home. The tour starts in Keauhou Bay and started just before sunset as we took a boat ride along the coastline listening to stories of the island's history. At sunset we stopped in a small cove where the island parrots come to rest; the sounds of their chirping bounced off the rocky cliffs and was quite the sound to hear. When then head back to "manta ray" village where we got into the water and held on to a surfboard with blue lights underneath. We floated around a bit to find a spot where the lights really attracted the phytoplankton which is what these enormous manta rays feed on. Out of the deep, these magnificent manta rays appeared and at first it's quite surreal to see them glide up towards the bottom of the surf board, mouths wide open (which in actuality their mouth is a small opening) to feast on the phytoplankton and the thought goes through your mind that they could also eat me. These gentle giants of the sea (they have no stingers like their cousin the sting ray) and are no real threat to humans which eased my fears. During our 45 minute "snorkel" the rays put on such a fantastic show gliding up towards us and gracefully avoiding contact with us as they did circles swooping back into the deep and gliding back up towards the light. We saw probably 8 to 10 manta rays including a couple baby rays. The manta ray species in Hawai'i can have an average adult wingspan of 15 feet but can reach 25 feet while a baby manta ray is born with a wingspan of 6 feet, coming out of its mom like a rolled burrito to fit. These incredible rays can weigh up to 3,000 lbs and live to 40 years. The spots and blotches on their bellies are their "fingerprints" (like human fingerprints) and no two are alike making it easier for researchers to track them and their movements. This tour was a once in a lifetime experience and I'm so happy I got over my initial fears to do this. It was so much fun! This is a must do when visiting the island of Hawai'i. 

This trip accomplished what we set out to do, relax and recharge, explore a new island, and find a few new experiences and adventures. 

To travel is to live...more adventures await...life is good!

Aloha Oahu

Aloha Oahu!! They say better late than never, so here is the better late than never Oahu post. We took a week to explore Oahu back in April. We found a great direct flight and a good deal at the Sheraton Waikiki which is located right on Waikiki beach. It was great getting away to some warm, sunny weather and away from the rain. This was our first time exploring Oahu together. The hotel is centrally located in downtown Honolulu which I describe as a very dense, busy major city, lined with high rises, and not at all what I think of when I think Hawaii. There are an abundance of restaurant choices ranging from reasonably priced to high-end, and more shopping than anyone could ever imagine with every name brand store you can think of, and all high end fashion brands were represented. The hotel was located right across the street from the Waikiki Shopping Plaza and about a block from the International Market Place - a much larger shopping centre. 

The hotel recently renovated their rooms and we were lucky to get a high floor ocean view room. Our room was a one bedroom suite with a very spacious, nicely decorated bedroom with a balcony and view of Diamond Head, a large bathroom with a massive walk-in shower and tub, and an extremely large living/dining room with another balcony off it with a large seating area and spectacular ocean view. There was lots of closet  space throughout the suite as well and definitely designed for comfort. We felt quite lucky to get such a nice, and newly renovated room. From the balcony we had a fantastic view of the ocean and Waikiki beach and we occasionally got a glimpse of turtles swimming near the shore. The hotel had a couple pools, one being an adults only infinity pool which for the size of the hotel was actually a fair small space and so got filled up quickly upon opening. We read that you could pay and book (another way for the hotel to make money) sun loungers and so we decided that was probably a good idea given what we read. While the cost wasn't "worth it", it was worth it because we then didn't have to rush down to the pool to get a spot and it made for a much more relaxing morning. And because the rental was for the day, we could also wander over to Waikiki beach for a swim in the ocean without concern that someone would move our stuff. Waikiki beach is great for swimming and you can get a fair distance out before it gets deep. Much further out is also a great spot for surfers and you could see the surfers spend the day away waiting for that perfect wave. While Waikiki beach is great for swimming, it's not a place for snorkeling so we drove to the North Shore to Shark's Cove. Not really a cove with sharks, but a beach in Pupukea that is a rocky coastline with tidal pools filled with fish and other sea life. Getting in is a bit tricky because of the jagged rocky shoreline and water shoes are a must unless you want to risk possibly cutting your feet. Z had a great time snorkelling here, my experience was short lived because I have realized I don't have good depth perception under water and I felt uneasy about how much space I really had between myself and the rocks and coral.

The hotel had 3 restaurants, Kai Market for breakfast which had booth indoor and outdoor seating, RumFire which was a nice dinner restaurant that had live music, and then the pool bar/restaurant called the Edge of Waikiki. The hotel also had a Baskin Robbins on site and a Honolulu Coffee shop which made pretty amazing flat whites. Just outside the shopping plaza from the hotel was a shaved ice place where we may have gone a few times for some tasty treats. The day after we arrived was The Hapalua - the largest half marathon in Hawaii. Had we known it was running while we were there and had we been in half marathon condition, we probably would have registered, but instead we weren't aware until we were woken around 6am by the loud speakers announcing the start of the race. The course would have been a beautiful one to run; maybe we'll run it another year. This did motivate us to go for a run one morning though which took us towards the base of Diamond Head along the shoreline as best as possible. We discovered very quickly that running here is best first thing in the morning as the days get hot fast. Staying at the Sheraton also gave us ability to room charge at its sister property the Moana Surfrider, a hotel a short walk away. The Moana is a beautiful older hotel built in a Victorian style which first opened in 1901. We decided to enjoy breakfast there one morning at the Veranda at the Beachhouse, their outdoor dining breakfast restaurant with their historic banyan tree situated in the middle while still able to catch glimpses of the ocean view. It was quite a beautiful setting. 

We explored the immediate area around the hotel on foot, including the two shopping centres and discovered Island Slipper - an Oahu run family business that hand makes the most comfortable sandals/slippers that are very fashionable as well that I've ever tried. We also rented a car for a couple days so we could explore the rest of the island because Oahu has so much more to offer than just Waikiki. Once we were outside Waikiki city limits, I felt more like we were in the Hawaii I'm familiar with. Less dense, populated, and busy, more serene, peaceful, and calming. We found an app called Shaka Guide which had a few different driving tours and decided to mirror a couple island trips off that guide. Our driving adventure took us up the middle of the island through scenic rainforests up to the north shore. The drive along the north shore line is absolutely stunning. We stopped in at Kualoa Point for a break and practically had the entire beach to ourselves. Just off the point is Mokoli'i Island, a small cone shaped lava island that after many years of erosion is now actually separated from Oahu. We stopped for lunch at Kahuku Shrimp & Food trucks were we both ate way too much because the portion sizes are so huge!! Known for amazing shrimp here, Z feasted on a shrimp plater while I enjoyed huli huli chicken. Some of the other stops on our self guided tour included Laie Beach Park aka Pounders beach where we watched surfers catching the waves; Laie Point, a picturesque rugged rocky shoreline with big swells of crashing waves hitting the shoreline and where you can find a breathtaking sea arch at the point; and the Polynesian Cultural Centre where we visited the various shops. From here we stopped in at the Tropical Farms Macadamia Nuts where we found some great flavoured macadamia nuts that we bought for home. Exploring the island we also found a gorgeous more secluded locals beach, called Lanikai beach located in Kailua; parking was limited to street parking within the neighbourhood which got filled early in the day. The beach was great and perfect for lounging the day away; the aqua blue, calm water was also perfect for swimming.  

We visited Diamond Head National Park and got there later in the day after the major day time crowds were gone which made getting parking easy and the hike less crowded. Hiking Diamond Head is a fairly easy 2.6km round trip to the summit and back. It is quite a steep climb in sections with a lot of stairs particularly towards the top; you gain 171 metres above the crater floor. There are sections where the rocky path, even when dry, is slippery because the rocks have been smoothed out with all the hiking traffic. The views up top at the observation station and are stunning and you get sweeping views of the southwestern Oahu coastline as well as the offshore islands of Moloka'i, Lana'i, and Maui. This is a must do when in Honolulu. 

Z had booked a catamaran sailboat cruise during our stay and so we opted for the sunset cruise time slot because it was geared towards adults and served mai tai's and wine. It was a beautiful evening and the cruise followed mostly along the shoreline past Diamond Head but also into more open water where the swells made having sea legs come in handy, or you faked it enough where you just looked like you were staggering around. It was a lovely hour long cruise. 

Oahu has so much more to offer than just Honolulu and Waikiki beach. In fact any return trip for us will probably have us stay elsewhere on the island, most likely up on the North Shore away from the hustle and bustle of Honolulu. This island has so much beauty, pristine beaches, and nature to explore outside the big city. Our trip home was disrupted and made unpleasant by an unfortunate event back home and contributed to why this trip post is so delayed. The trip experience however was incredible and we had such an amazing time, that it's important to me that our trip memories not to be lost.

To travel is to live.... a hui hou, life is good! 

Athina (Athens)

Our final stop on this magnificent Greek vacation was Athina. The flight from Crete to Athina was just under an hour and we landed late afternoon on a Thursday. We were staying in central Athina which was about a 45 minute taxi ride from the airport. Our hotel, the King George was located within walking distance of many of the sites we wanted to see. The hotel dates back to 1930 and today is a luxury boutique hotel with a stunning view of the Acropolis from its restaurant terrace. The hotel and rooms maintain a very chic, classic look with antique furniture and decor, beautiful hardwood floors, and cornicing combined with modern technology amenities. The window drapery was very plush and probably the thickest drapery I've ever seen in a hotel; likely to help keep the warmth in during winter and certainly great for keeping the light out. The bathroom was made entirely of marble with a large, deep bathtub. Our room faced the courtyard which helped with reducing any outdoor noise and was located on the seventh floor down from the restaurant which was very convenient. Knowing our time in Athina was limited and we wanted to explore all the major attractions, we opted to purchase the Athens City Pass in advance so we could by-pass ticket queues. This ended up being a smart move as we were able to access all the sites we wanted (except for one) and also enjoy access to a hop on, hop off bus. 

Athina, a city of close to 4 million people, is the capital of Greece. One of the world's oldest cities, dating back with a recorded history of 3,400 years, it was the heart of ancient Greek civilization and the Greek empire. With so much to see and explore, we took advantage of our hotel location (well planned by Z) and the remaining daylight our first night and head out pretty quick after check in. First stop though was to find a barber so Z could get his hair cut. Our first attempt was unsuccessful as the barber said that without a reservation they could not help as they were fully booked. Thankfully, fairly close by we found The Barber of Athens. The owner, Christos, was quite happy to fit Z in when because his appointment had not shown up. A very lively character, Christos proceeded to give Z a hair cut treatment like he's never experienced before. Of note, people in Greece take pride in their appearance and dress well; Z's barber was no exception, wearing a 3 piece suit. Wash, cut, wash, dry, and style and Z was good to go. Afterwards, we decided to begin our exploration and made our way past the parliament building towards the National Garden on our way to The Arch of Hadrian. Along the way we stumbled upon an archaeological site of a Roman bath that was discovered where a ventilation shaft for the Athens metro was to be sunk. Upon discovery, the ventilation shaft was moved south and the findings preserved in their place. Walking through the National Garden we discovered a book fair going on with countless stands selling books along with live readings. 

The significance of the Arch of Hadrian (or Hadrian's Gate) was to celebrate the arrival of the Roman emperor Hadrian and all he contributed to the city. The arch today, remains relatively intact from its original, only a couple columns are missing, and is preserved at its full height. After a casual dinner, during which we heard some sort of protest going on (apparently not uncommon in Greece), we wandered back to our hotel and past the parliament building again just in time to watch the hourly changing of the guard. The Presidential Guard proudly guard the monument of the unknown soldier in front of the parliament and presidential mansion in perfect stillness. During the changing, the steps are carried out in synch and in very slow motion to help protect the guard's blood circulation after their 60 minute shift of standing completely motionless. On Sundays at 11am, the changing of the guard is a much larger scale event starting with a parade of 100 guards all dressed in official dress.

Day 2 in Athens was a packed day. We got up quite early because our research indicated that the Acropolis is best visited either first thing at opening, or later in the afternoon near closing as to avoid the crowds. After our early breakfast overlooking the Acropolis, we made our way on foot to explore this hilltop citadel and its buildings, including the Parthenon temple and the Temple Athena of Nike. We made it to one of the entrances about 5 minutes before opening and only found about 20 people in front of us. The path first brought us past the Odeon of Herodes Atticus, a magnificent open air theatre built in AD 161 that has a capacity of 5,000 spectators. The theatre is still used today for different concerts and theatrical performances. From here we continued our upwards climb to the top so we could view the Parthenon and the Temple of Athena Nike. Both these ruins are very well preserved through restoration projects that are ongoing. I was in awe seeing these structures, their height, and their construction with massive marble columns and the intricate sculptural decorations all along the roof line. I marvelled at the thought of the ancient Greek's construction capabilities and how these buildings have withstood the test of time and at times deliberate destruction. We were glad we went here first thing, not only because we avoided mass crowds, but also because it wasn't overly hot yet. We visited the New Acropolis Museum at bit later in the day and learned a lot more of the history and the many events that took place there, including the many invasions and how during the late fifth century it served as a Christian church and then was converted to a mosque by the Ottoman Turks in the late fifteenth century. The museum is filled only with archeological findings from the Acropolis site and exhibits many original and restored artifacts and pieces. The museum is quite expansive and is a must visit to learn more about this historic site. Beneath the museum is an excavation site of an ancient neighbourhood where you can see the remains of houses, streets, bath houses, and workshops. It's great to see that when they discovered these ruins while planning to build the museum that they incorporated it into the design and build the museum so it looks like it is floating over this ancient neighbourhood. 

Many of the historical and archeological sites we wanted to visit were within close walking proximity of one another. From the Acropolis, we wandered down through the streets of the Plaka neighbourhood. Plaka is a very scenic, picturesque neighbourhood with labyrinthine streets filled with restaurants and more shops that you know what to do with. We found several fresh fruit stands in one of the squares and decided to buy some grapes as a snack while we took in the sights of the area. We wandered over to the ruins of Hadrian's library, also located on the site of the Roman Agora which was the central square and meeting place in the ancient Roman times and today you can see some of the remains from the market square. The library was not used only to house books, but also served as a repository for official state archives. Nearby is the Ancient Agora site and this was the economic and political centre of Athens for several centuries. Ancient Agora was a bit more fascinating to explore with many ruins scattered throughout the site, but most notable for us was the Temple of Hephaestus - a very well preserved Greek temple, and the Stoa of Attalos - a Hellenistic period building that was entirely rebuilt in the 20th century based on its historic appearance, after a fire destroyed the original building in 267 BC. Today this building houses a museum of artifacts from Ancient Agora. 

To get off our feet and take a bit of a break from the hot sun, we jumped on to the hop on, hop off bus also included in our Athens City Pass ticket. We stayed on for the entire bus loop so we could see some of the other popular sites that were perhaps not as close walking distance. 

Our final stop on day 2 was visit to the Panathenaic Stadium. This was a must see for me as it hosted the opening and closing ceremonies of the first modern Olympics and is the home of the finish line for the Athens Classic Marathon. It's the only stadium in the world built entirely from marble. We took a self guided tour of the stadium and learned a lot of its history, how it was abandoned in the 4th century and fell into ruin, and was later reconstructed in the 1800s. We climbed all the way to the top and that wasn't exactly an easy feet as the steps are of an unusual depth and fairly steep, but the view from the top is quite fantastic. While the stadium can hold over 68,000 spectators, we were unable to locate any washrooms in the stadium and wondered how that all works when an event is held there. Perhaps access was hidden somewhere that wasn't open to us. The tour did take us through a tunnel that lead to an area that is used as a staging area and hidden in that same area is a room that pays tribute to past modern day Olympics with displays of different Olympic posters and torches. 

By the end of the day we were both feeling very pooped, but we had dinner plans at a lovely bistro wine bar called By The Glass. This place has a selection of over 500 wines sourced both domestically from Greece and internationally. The setting of the bistro is quite lovely situated in a square outdoors with the view of a beautiful old church. Dinner was delicious and we tried a few different wines and favoured on translated as the Naked King. As we were walking back to the hotel from dinner we saw a liquor store and decided to pop in and see what the changes were that they called this particular wine. As we were browsing the store owner asked if she could help and we asked if she had any Naked King and to our amazement, she was familiar with the wine and had two bottles in stock which we bought to bring home. What were the chances? It must have been meant to be. 

On our last full day in Athens we spent a more leisurely time exploring the city including checking out the university and library buildings, and spent some time shopping. We found our way to the Kotsanas Museum: Ancient Greece - The Origins of Technology. We really enjoyed this museum and I was quite fascinated by its exhibits which showcase all the different technologies ancient Greeks discovered such as hydraulics, an automated robot that served wine, and an astronomical instrument that was considered the first calculating machine in history. We capped our day off with dinner at our hotel's Tudor Hall restaurant, which transforms into a formal dinner restaurant in the evenings. We had a lovely outdoor table with an unobstructed view of the Acropolis. 

Our time in Athens was short, but we managed to see everything we wanted to and felt we really explored the city and all it has to offer. As with the rest of this trip we indulged ourselves with amazing food, including freshly made loukoumades. 

This trip to Greece was quite special. It was a few years in the making and in the end was the best version of what we originally had planned. We got to see and experience so much. The country is incredibly beautiful, full of rich culture and history, with awesome food that tasted so fresh and made with care and love, wonderful people, and of course amazing wine. The memories will vividly live on.

To travel is to live....life is good. 

 

 

Crete - Elounda

We’ve been in Greece now for just over a week and to our surprise we have not yet found loukoumades, the tasty little bite sized honey balls, anywhere. Perhaps it’s a good thing so we don’t eat too many, but these little Greek donut balls are elusive. We even asked one of the waitresses at our hotel and she had no idea either. This started mission loukoumades. As part of our transition to the eastern side of Crete, we figured  we wouldn’t take the direct 3 hour route but instead explore more of the island more along the way; enter mission loukoumades. Z found a place in a small town called Moires, just over 2 hours southeast of Chania which could be worked into our journey to Elounda on the eastern coast. But first we needed to find an activity that would make us feel we deserved those tasty little delights. What better way than heading to Skinaria beach for some snorkelling and swimming. This gem of a beach is on the southern side of Crete. It’s a small rocky beach nestled between two large black rock formations (perhaps volcanic) resulting in a fairly sheltered bay. This beach and area is known for its sea life and is a popular snorkelling and dive spot. We drove inland first through some impressive mountain ranges, lined of course with olive groves. Once in the small village by the beach it’s a bit tricky to reach as the road is again fairly windy and narrow, but by now Z has become an expert at navigating these roads. There are limited facilities here but include areas with sun loungers, showers, and privacy boxes for changing. This beach appears a popular locals spot. The deep blue water gets deep fairly quickly from the shore. This was the best spot by far for snorkelling on our trip and I came to finally realize that I needed to change my expectations of the fish varieties I would see; still a good amount of variety, but perhaps not as vibrantly colourful as other snorkelling places. We enjoyed a couple hours here bouncing between our sun loungers and cooling off in the water before heading on to our next destination: loukoumades… I mean Moires.

Crete not only has countless pristine beaches, but also has a lot of mountains with villages and towns scattered around. Olive tree groves appear to be planted wherever there is soil. On our journey we stopped in a little village for a quick bite. Having a quick bite and Greece don’t really go together but we found a take away restaurant and ordered a gyro and while we waited for it, we each enjoyed a fresh orange juice. Freshly squeezed orange can be found at almost any restaurant in Greece. Honestly I’m not certain where all there oranges are being grown because we’ve only really seen olive trees and lemon trees, must be another region in Greece. Something I’ve noticed is that Greeks are very proud to explain what region or area food or drink comes from with often the phrase “protected product” attached too, but no one has told us yet about oranges. The gyro in Greece come filled with fries and made it a bit messy to eat while driving so we stopped by the side of the road and took in the scenery while enjoying our snack. We made it to Moires all excited to finally have some loukoumades….Z had done his research, the store was supposed to be open until 11pm and we were there around 4pm, so within plenty of time. Except that when we arrived, all the anticipation for this moment was shattered by a closed store. We drove all this way and a bit out of the way for this…thankfully this town is not very large and within eyesight I spotted a bakery. After all we deserved a treat, right? This bakery didn’t disappoint and perhaps it was meant to be that we found a different gem of a place that made an amazing cappuccino and delectable bakery treats.  

For this leg of our adventure, we stayed at the Domes of Elounda. The resort is quite an expansive resort situated on the hillside in Elounda. As you enter the property it looks like the beach is across the street however, the way the property is built, you access the beach through a tunnel under the road making it feel like you’ve never “crossed” the road. The beach had very calm and shallow crystal clear waters. We stayed in the new area of the property in a one bedroom villa with a mountain and partial sea view. The room was modern and nicely decorated, with lots of space including a private terrace with kitchen area, not that we cooked there, but we utilized the outdoor fridge, table and chairs. The terrace was south facing and was sun facing for a good portion of the day which helped for us to make use of the two sun loungers and plunge pool. Being located on the hillside, there were a lot of steps to get from our room to the main lobby, restaurants, beaches, and pools, but it also afforded many great views of the sea. Because the resort property is so expansive, they actually have golf carts that they use to move guests around. We used this service on occasion, but tried for the most part to walk around. This resort had an expansive organic dedicated garden and we also noticed herbs and fruit trees (lemons and pomegranate) growing throughout the property. We had sage growing outside our door. There are several restaurants on the property and we tried all but one which was an Asian themed restaurant. Overall the food quality and variety was quite good, perhaps not as good as the other Domes resorts we stayed at on this trip, and the service was a bit hit and miss. 

Within view from our resort and just a short boat ride away is Spinalonga island. We caught the ferry from the neighbouring seaside fishing village, Plaka, after a relaxing, yet windy, wonderful waterfront lunch at Paliria later in the afternoon so we could miss the crowds visiting the island. The ferry from Plaka is a much shorter ride than taking it from Elounda and it gave us the chance to check out this quaint little village with no shortage of seaside restaurants. Spinalonga is now an uninhabited island that has a storied history, but is most famously known as housing a leper colony from 1903 to 1957. We read the story of Spinalonga prior to visiting and it was pretty sombre walking around the ruins and thinking about what life would have been like for those sent to live there particularly in the early years when conditions were quite inhuman without proper infrastructure including running water. Since we arrived towards the end of the day, our time on the island was rather short, but we did manage to climb our way to the top and got to enjoy the breathtaking 360 view the island has to offer. 

Having the car allowed us to explore different parts of this side of Crete as well. One interesting drive brought us once again down very narrow windy roads onto a peninsula off Elounda with our destination being Kolokitha beach. The road does not take you right to the beach and there is a short hike required to access. We didn't have our swim gear with us at the time, so we just enjoyed the scenery and spent some time just taking it all in. Along the cliffside of this beach, we found several fire pits with metal grates, which led us to believe this is a popular spot for locals to enjoy a later evening BBQ. 

We also spent some time also exploring the village of Elounda; also a fishing village like Plaka, but a fair bit larger. The centre of the village is lined with shops and restaurants and the marina houses countless fishing boats. We had some time before dinner for shopping and found some neat souvenirs here. Dinner was at Lotus Eaters, a seaside restaurant with a small, but beautiful outdoor terrace. The restaurant can accommodate maybe 12 tables at most, so we were lucky we got a reservation for when we did because when we were seated we heard the owner, Daniel, say numerous times to other people coming in that he had no more tables for the day and that the next available reservation was Sunday; it was Tuesday. The atmosphere was perfect for our dinner; on the water, warm evening weather, and great company in Z. Daniel was an entertaining and hospitable host. He runs the restaurant with his wife and his brother-in-law as the chef. 

A wind weather system moved in during our last couple days here which brought in much all day windy conditions with wind gusts ranging between 25-40km per hour at times. Despite the wind, it was still quite hot and the wind brought about some reprieve. We did have to watch out for our sun loungers though because the wind gusts moved and lifted the loungers so Z found a way to wedge them against a wall so they wouldn’t get blown away. 

On our travel day back to Athens, we stopped at the largest Bronze Age archeological site of Knossos Palace on Crete. The palace is understood to have been settled as early as the Neolithic period and became the ceremonial and political centre of the Minoan civilization. We took a guided tour which was helpful because our guide told us the expansive history and pointed out many things we would have otherwise missed just walking around the ruins, like the water management system that was found which included three separate water drain systems: one for water supply, one for run off, and one for waste water and the discovery of the first "flushing" toilet in the Queen's bathroom. Fresh water was brought to the palace via aqueducts from springs 10km away. Our guide made a point of saying that because of this discovery at this site, the Greeks invented aqueducts, not the Romans. While a lot of the ruins here have been restored, there are still many original pieces including portions of columns and some frescos. Because our visit was on our way to the airport, we didn't have a great deal of time, only 1.5 hours and the guided tour took up all that time. At the end, our guide pointed us to the throne room and said we could go take a look, but the line up to enter was very long and moving very slowly. Z was convinced we had enough time to wait it out; I on the other hand was becoming increasingly nervous and anxious that we didn't have enough time so after a bit of frustrated back and forth, we left the line and head to the airport. We made it with enough time for our original scheduled departure time, but of course our flight ended up being delayed so the thoughts became what if we stayed in the throne room line up.....

All in all, our time on Crete was incredible. The island has so much to explore and we only touched the surface. This is certainly a place to come back to. 

Crete - Chania

Our driver kindly informed us just as we were arriving at the port that our ferry was delayed and was now expected to arrive at our scheduled departure; now having travelled within Greece a bit, Greek time is a bit more of a range of time versus a specific time like we're accustom to. Knowing our ferry was delayed gave us the opportunity to have some lunch at one of the handful of restaurants at the port. After our lunch we walked over to the gate waiting area; thankfully too our driver informed us of the gate, otherwise we wouldn't have had a clue as isn't signage around informing people where their ferries are departing from and the website for the ferry wasn't the easiest to navigate. Even at the gate there was no posted information, and eventually a guy came through calling for another ferry sailing and Z was able to ask a bit of info on ours. Our scheduled departure time was 4:40pm and that came and went and finally at just before 5pm did we see a ferry steaming into the port. Despite the delay, I have to say they were extremely efficient in unloading and loading a couple hundred new foot passengers and maybe 20 vehicles. We were back sailing at 5:06pm; a lot of lessons another ferry service we sometimes rely on can learn from. The ferry sailing across to Crete was very smooth and about 2 hours. All passengers on board had an assigned seat depending on the ticket you purchased.

With the delay we landed in Crete at just after 7pm and took a taxi to the airport so we could pick up our car rental. Crete is the largest of the Greek islands with a population of 630,000 inhabitants and 30 million olive trees. Considering we were spending 10 days on Crete, we decided to split our time between Chania on the west side and Elounda on the east side. The airport is about an hour from Elounda and after careful consideration we had decided that it would be better to end our stay closer to the airport which meant we now needed to drive about 2.5 hours to get to Chania. Thankfully the trip was on a well paved freeway and not along a bunch of narrow, windy roads. Well the route still had its shared of windiness and was for the most part along the coastline, but because we arrived late, darkness had set in and we didn't get to experience any of the coastline scenery. Maybe this was for the better as I would have wanted  to stop to take pictures which would only have slowed us down. 

Our resort, the Domes of Noruz, is an adults only resort and is situated right on Paralia Agii Apostoli beach in the seaside town of Chania. This is one of the most beautiful sandy beaches on Crete with crystal clear turquoise shallow waters and extremely gentle waves. The beach stretched for couple kms. Just a short walk and across a road is Agii Apostoli beach which appeared to be more of a locals beach and also boasted shallow, calm, crystal clear waters as it is located in a slightly more protected cove. Both beaches were great for swimming or just bobbing. 

The staff at the Domes chain of resorts really go out of their way to make your stay with them a special experience. The importance placed on the guest experience is evident with all the staff. The hospitality is top notch; everyone is genuinely friendly and helpful. We stayed in a sea and pool view, very modern loft room. The loft area had the bed, a small sink and just at the top of the stairs a toilet room which is very handy for the times when you gotta go in the middle of the night. The room design was well thought out too because there was a large window positioned on the exterior wall so the view from the bed provided an amazing view of the pool and beach. Its window covering was opened and closed by a button on the bed's side table; again well thought out design. In the main area there was ample closet space and drawers to unpack and store your stuff; a sink with its tap affixed to the ceiling, the main toilet and shower room, a seating area with a rocking chair and a comfortable couch. The outdoor space featured a plunge pool overlooking the main pool and beach and was a great place to take in the breathtaking Aegean sunsets. The outdoor space also had a bathtub with a curtain you could pull closed for privacy, and a very comfortable padded seating area. Around the resort were two pools with lots of sun loungers and large bean bag cushions, ideal for relaxing. The beach area had tons of sun loungers with palapas. We also noticed that around the resort they created garden spaces and grew herbs and some vegetables. Each morning we enjoyed a buffet breakfast at the beachside restaurant and got to try some traditional Greek foods that we wouldn't otherwise have.  They always had a wide variety of Greek pastries like spanakopita and various different cheeses; one of our favourites was a basil infused gouda cheese. Local honey is also plentiful and honey infused with thyme being one of the most common; absolutely divine. 

We also wanted to explore the area a bit and took advantage of having a car. One day we drove 45 minutes to Falassarna beach. Driving down to the beach gives you the most stunning views of the coastline and the anticipation of getting to this beach. This sandy beach stretches for as long as you can see (3 km) and has great facilities with sun loungers for rent, food and drink service, showers and changing rooms. Facilities like these were something we noticed at all the beaches we visited. We spent an afternoon here relaxing and playing in the calm waters. We attempted snorkelling  at an area that had a bit more rock, but found the snorkelling didn't have much variety of fish to see unlike other places we've visited. We did discover a small area of the shoreline with pink sand though and that was pretty cool to see. After beach time, we made our way to Pnevmatikaki wine factory, a family run winery. We arrived closer to their closing time, but they still allowed us in for a tasting. We got to try 5 different wines and perhaps given the time of the day and the limited amount of other customers, we were offered for our wine tasting to be self service. All the wines were good and of high quality, but we favoured 2 of the wines and we ended up buying a bottle of a white for 6 Euro and a red for 11 Euro; can't go wrong with those prices! Afterwards we made our way to the waterfront town of Kissamos for dinner where we enjoyed a fabulous Cretan dinner seated right on the water. We also drove one morning to Chania town which is known for its iconic 14-century Venetian architecture in its harbour and its narrow streets filled with countless shops and restaurants. We spent some time exploring and shopping here. 

Having experienced one dinner at the resort which wasn't the best food, we decided to try the restaurant located right across the street, Kuzina Galerie and were so impressed by the service, food quality and taste that we decided to enjoy dinner there a second night to finish off our stay in Chania. Here I finally tried chicken souvlaki.

Santorini or is it Thera?

From Corfu, we flew back to Athens and then on to Santorini. The airport in Corfu is small with the gate area get quite crowded and feels fairly unorganized. Again, being an inter-Greece flight, we got bussed to the plane and boarded on the tarmac. We flew Aegean Airlines which for the most part was a great experience except for when we landed in Santorini we saw our checked luggage sitting by the plane on the tarmac and as all the other luggage from the flight was coming off the carousel, ours was no where to be found except we knew it was there. Somehow our luggage was missed, forgotten, ignored, call it what you may, but it sat on the tarmac for a good 20 minutes before someone finally noticed and it came off the carousel. Not sure if us telling someone that we saw it on the tarmac and showed them a picture of it that it prompted it to magically be "found" or not, but as we got off the plane and saw it sitting there, we were smart enough to quickly take a picture because something didn't quite seem right at the time. And our gut was right....always trust your gut!

Z had pre-arranged a driver to pick us up and drive us to the hotel through a service called Welcome Pick Ups. This was a great experience and again through his immense pre-trip planning determined this was the best route to go because the hotel pick up service was double the price and Santorini only has less than 40 taxis for the entire island so it can be a bit tricky to find a taxi. The driver was quite friendly and navigated the narrow roads well. We stayed at Mystique, a boutique hotel carved into the caldera cliffs of Santorini in a town called Oia (pronounced ee-ya) and overlooking the magnificent waters of the Aegean Sea, or the Sea of Crete, depending on what map you're looking at. Regardless of which sea it really is, the view was spectacular even if you couldn't easily access the coastline. Our stay in Santorini was not a beach stay. We chose Santorini to experience the picturesque villages and towns built into the caldera. The general population of Santorini is 15,500, however this balloons during the tourist high season with roughly 2 million tourists visiting and also sees many Greeks in the hospitality industry relocate during these months to work. 

So what's up with the name Santorini? To the Greeks, this island is actually officially called Thera. Over its history, Greece was occupied by many different empires and in the thirteenth century, the Latin Empire named it Santorini in reference to an old cathedral called Santa Irini. In the nineteenth century the name Thera was revived as the official name, but Santorini has stuck as the "known" name. Built on overlapping shield volcanoes, Santorini's rugged landscape was shaped after a devastating volcanic eruption in the 16th century. While still considered an active volcano, it is dormant, though a risk exists that future seismic activity can take place. 

Back to our hotel, being cliffside, you can expect many steps up and down to get anywhere; even I got winded going up the numerous steep steps in the middle of the day time heat. Our room was a beautiful with a vast covered outdoor terrace that included two sun beds, a private whirlpool with padded lounging/seating around, and a table and 2 chairs. The outdoor space was covered to help shield you from the blazing sun. The weather in Santorini was just as hot as in Corfu, roughly mid 30's celsius, but with the humidity felt a heck of a lot hotter; the cover helped bring in some much needed shade mid day. Our room had a spectacular view of the sea below, several surrounding islands, and in the distance we could see two other main towns nestled on the cliffs. The interior design of the room was simple; painted all white, and accentuated the natural curves of the stone walls. The shower, though quite roomy, felt a bit like being in a cave with its curvatures. The living area had a nice, but simple off white couch and love seat with a coffee table positioned in front of a buffet table that had a TV on it. The opening leading to the bedroom area, situated in the deepest area of the room, was arched with another square cut out just above and two additional rectangular cut outs on either side. This allowed for natural light to filter into this area. On our arrival, a porter came up to the street to carry down our luggage which he did by swinging our big suitcase up on his shoulder and carried it down just like that with our carry on in his other hand. It was quite impressive. 

The hotel is spread out on several different levels and eventually you find your way through the maze of stairs. The infinity pool was just a couple steps down from our room which was extremely convenient because we could go for a dip to cool off and then head back to our sun beds on our terrace; sometimes with either a coffee or drink in hand. Charisma, the breakfast restaurant was situated just beside the pool, but we splurged and ordered breakfast to the room instead and sat outside with the privacy of our own table overlooking the sea and enjoyed one of the most scenic breakfasts ever! For dinner one evening we chose to eat at Lure by Olivier Campanha, a renowned French chef who has led many Michelin-starred restaurants. Being a Michelin-starred restaurant is a high honour recognition in the restaurant industry. We were quite excited to eat at a restaurant with such a chef. Lure's menu is a combination of French and local cuisine that offers a high-end gastronomical experience. This would be our "fancy" dinner of the trip and it proved the part. The setting was incredible. The outdoor restaurant is perched up at the highest part of the hotel and has breathtaking views of not only the sea, but the rest of the hotel, the surrounding other hotels, and the entire immediate caldera area. The staff were incredible and so attentive and made the entire experience quite special. I'm really seeing a much different service industry culture here than back home. Here everyone shows such concern that their guests are enjoying themselves and go out of their way to ensure that is the case. Dinner was absolutely divine. 

Another hidden treasure at the hotel is their secret wine cave nestled inside the Charisma restaurant. You can book a wine tasting or private dinner in the secret wine cave which also acts as the wine cellar for the hotel. We booked a wine tasting in this 150 year old wine cellar which we learned our host Elias was formerly used as a water storage tank. Interesting fact, we also learned was that Santorini has no fresh water. For drinking, only bottled water is used and for other household uses such as bathing water is taken from the sea and through thermal distillation is desalinized. So while they have an abundance of sea water surrounding the island, the cost to desalinize it must be immense. Our wine tasting was not only very informative about some of the history of the island, but also about wine making in general on Santorini. The climate is ideal for growing grapes with the heat and the humidity acts as the watering source over night. To shield the grapes from burning in the direct sun,  winemakers have refined a primitive technique called the ambelia where the plants are pruned to grow low to the ground inside round baskets where the grapes can grow and mature while being protected from the sun and blowing sand. The overall industry is fairly small in comparison to other countries and any of the grapes and wines on Santorini are government protected which keeps the end product fairly local. There are about 40 different grape varieties on Santorini with the main white wine grape variety being the athiri grape while the mandilaria is the main red grape variety which produces a very tasting dry red wine. Only about 3200 tonnes of wine are produced annually which helps to explain why Greek wines are not common worldwide. Our tasting included 5 wines along with some canapés. Our private wine tasting was a wonderful and delightful experience. 

We only had a short time in Santorini as compared to our other stops and so when we weren't lounging on our terrace we decided one day to explore Oia and its labyrinth of streets lined with shops and restaurants. We spent time wandering in and out of the shops when it got too hot and found a great little restaurant for lunch. Oia is also a great place to watch the sunset as it's on the west side of the island. In fact the most popular place to see the sunset is from Ammoudi Bay and the streets and steps leading part way down to the actual bay are crowded with people all there to capture a view of the sunset. We had made a reservation at Dimitris Ammoudi Taverna on the water in the bay for just after sunset so we enjoy the sunset first and then a lovely dinner afterwards. Walking down the roughly 200 stairs to reach the bay is one of the things to do in Oia and for those that aren't quite able to make it back up, you can hire a donkey who will take you part way up. While this may be a great service it feels wrong to me and unfortunately it also leads to the steps being covered in donkey poop. Dinner didn't disappoint here either, we had a table right by the water with the ambience of the water crashing into the rocks. In fact we haven't really had a bad food experience yet; Z is loving the abundance of two of his favourite foods - fish and lamb and as a bonus the fish is sea fresh! 

One of our other exploration days involved a 10km hike from the capital Fira back to Oia along the rim of the caldera. We decided it best we start in Fira and hike back to Oia because that's where we were staying and because Z learned that most go the other way and the ability of taxis and other transportation in the afternoon when many are looking for a ride back can be a bit challenging. So instead we took a taxi to Fira to start our roughly 4 hour hike. The day we did this hike also happen to have 3 cruise ships in port in Fira and so the streets in town were fairly packed there which were also part of the hiking route. Once out of Fira though, there were a lot less people as crazy as us to venture on this hike mid day in the blistering sun. For the most part the path is cobblestone with some dirt path areas. There are not many places where you can buy water, other drinks, and food, along the hike so it's best to be prepared with enough water and sunscreen. Fira is similar to Oia, however a bit bigger, catering significantly to tourists with shops and restaurants lining the town's streets. Imerovigli is the other town you encounter on this hike and we stopped here for a quick break to enjoy a fresh squeezed orange juice (we've discovered this is a thing in Greece) and get out of the sun for a bit. The hike afforded some of the most incredible views I've ever seen and was well worth doing. We often encountered quaint little churches perched on the highest point of villages and often wondered if there even was a village around as several seemed located very out of place. The landscape is also littered with hotels resorts also carved into the calderas. 

After our short but very magnificent stay in Santorini, we had Welcome Pick Ups drive us to the port so we could board our 2 hour ferry to Crete. 

Yassas Corfu

Corfu is located in the northern Ionian Sea and is an hour flight from Athens. Only 593 square km in size, Corfu has a stunning landscape with many mountains and amazing beaches along its coastline. During a tour of The Governor’s Olive Mill we were told Corfu itself had over 2 million olive trees with a variety (small and thin) only found on the island. This is not surprising considering almost every tree we’ve seen is an olive tree and if it isn’t an olive tree it’s a fig tree. Interestingly I may have discovered that I might like Corfu figs - they are of the red variety. 

Our resort, the Domes Miramare is situated on the coast and consists of two properties; beach side and another hillside across the road. While the hillside property is brand new, we chose the beach side property (duh!) and it did not disappoint. Our ground floor room was a lovely king sized studio room with walk out patio and a sea view. From our patio we could easily walk a short distance to the beach. The room was nicely appointed with plenty of space to store our stuff and decorated in the iconic white which Greece is known for. The bathroom had a lovely rain shower and for once with a design where you didn’t get the floor all wet while taking a shower. If only other hotels would learn. The sitting area had a very comfortable single couch seat with ottoman, but we spent most of our “sitting time” outside on our patio. The hotel surprised us with a welcome gift for our birthdays consisting of a lovely bottle of local Greek white wine, a bottle of their sparkling white wine called Za Za Zu, which was surprisingly good, and a birthday cake. Little did we know that Greece has a good, but rather small, wine industry. 

The resort is an adults only resort. Seems like most of the guests are European and some Australians. The staff here are amazingly friendly and eager to help. We had no difficulty with language as all staff speak English. We are trying to learn a few key Greek words though and it makes people smile when we try. The lobby was built around a very large olive tree which sits right in the middle of it. Several times in the morning for a couple hours there is a pianist and often you can find the resort cat, Sissy, sitting on a couch wasting the day away; Sissy can also be found at breakfast roaming the tables or just sunbathing. 

The property itself is quite expansive and boasts very lush gardens and grassy areas. The beach is rocky at the entrance but once you’re a few feet into the crystal clear, very warm and calm waters, the sea bottom turns to sand. This made for very ideal swimming, bobbing, and just refreshing yourself from the heat. Totally my kind of beach. There is a small pool at the beach side property while the hillside property has a larger pool area with two pools; one large enough for swimming laps while the other is designed more for wading. The resort spa is also located in the hillside property. There are a couple restaurants on site; Makris served as the all-day restaurant - serving an expansive buffet breakfast with traditional Greek dishes, European and North American style breakfasts; dinner was also buffet and again serving up different styles of dishes. We ate breakfast here each morning and had the pleasure of a complimentary dinner one evening. 

Just a short walk south is the small village of Moraitika where you can find a number of restaurants and shops. One evening we ventured to the Village Taverna for dinner and had a very memorable Greek hospitable experience. Nico, the restauranteur, is the maitré d’, his wife the chef, and his daughters the main wait staff. The restaurant is situated in a residential neighbourhood up on the village hill and it's a bit of an effort walk to get there. All else around the taverna are residential homes and it would seem the neighbours don’t mind the constant stream of people or the noise from the restaurant. In fact, the neighbourhood cats come by to check out the guests and probably hope to be fed some. Nico was quite welcoming with many stories of life and his family history to tell; he made our whole experience quite delightful and after we wold him what times of food we enjoyed eating, we entrusted him to order for us. A bit of a gamble on my part as I am not that adventurous and like what I like, but our meal was a delicious a traditional Corfiot dish.  

We rented a car for a couple days so we could explore the island a bit further than just our resort. Good thing Z was driving because I'm not sure I could handle the narrow, windy roads where it often felt like the oncoming vehicle might hit you while passing. He did an amazing job navigating the roads and thank goodness for Google maps because I'm not sure we would have found anything with out those directions. One day we ventured across island to the west coast to a beach called Halikounas. It's about a 25 minute drive and well worth the visit. Halikounas is a sandy beach stretching roughly 3km and is absolutely beautiful. The water was just a calm as our resort beach, and equally as crystal clear and warm and ideal for swimming. The beach had some amenities and plenty of space to plunk down a towel and enjoy the day. After spending a few hours here, we were off to our olive oil tour and tasting and The Governor's Olive Mill. This tour was very informative touching on how olive oil was made in years past to how it is made today. The 4 million olive trees growing on Corfu produce both green and black olive; green are harvested in September/October and every second tree is left another month and harvested in November when they become black olives. During the tasting portion of the tour, we were able to sample both olive oil made from green olives, black olives and a combination of both. The olive oil made from green olives had a much stronger, bitter taste, while the olive oil made from the black olives was a lot more drinkable and tasted more like what we are used to tasting. We learned that Greeks use olive oil for all their cooking and in fact we tried something we would never have thought to combine: greek yoghurt with olive oil - it was actually a great combination and tasted fantastic. This was a great little stop. 

After an exhausting day of sitting on the beach, we drove about 40 minutes south to Tomata Corfoit Cuisine in Kavos; a new restaurant open since mid May sourcing local ingredients and serving generations-old family recipes. Thomas, the restaurant owner recently returned to Kavos with hopes to change the town away from the current young party-goers atmosphere back to a multi-generational tourist destination. An amazing host, Thomas provided excellent service and advice on food options along with suggestions for our wine choice. The food was amazing and the restaurant atmosphere, ignoring all the people wandering the street, was fantastic. After dinner we wandered the town for a bit but didn't stay too long as it wasn't much our scene. 

All in all our 5 days in Corfu gave us a great introduction to Greece, the hospitality of the people, the great food and drink, the amazing beaches and crystal clear waters, and the hot Mediterranean sun. The only draw back I'd say was we managed to get bitten by what we think were mosquitoes and they were itchy! 

Opa! Destination: Greece

Could it actually be true that after a couple years attempting to travel to Greece that we’re actually going to make it? What was supposed to be a trip to celebrate a significant achievement in 2020, our trip now is just celebrating being able to travel again and maybe we’ll throw in our birthdays too. Of course travel after significant relaxation of rules around Covid means everyone else is also travelling again and with airline and airport staff shortages that has meant new challenges with lost luggage, delayed and cancelled flights frustrating the industry and passengers. This made us rethink our typical overpacking because we had a few connections along the way. And while we really did give it an honest try to pack just carry on, we ended up with a compromise and shared one checked bag and one carry on in addition to our usual backpacks. Fingers crossed we packed smartly. 

With all the last minute flight delays and cancellations I will actually believe we’re on our way when we’re in the air but more importantly when we land in Athens. Leading to flight day, there was a lot of researching how the same flights on past days were doing and seeing the occasional cancellations and delays made it a bit of an anxious lead up. Thankfully our first leg left, which was fully booked, left relatively on time. Flight was quite good despite the passengers ahead of me bringing on their pet cat, who just couldn’t get settled and meowed loudly the entire flight. 

The latest addition to our travel must haves are air tags for our luggage so we can track where our luggage is should it not make it on the plane. Great items to have but also causes a bit of anxiety when you’re sitting on the plane waiting to depart and you see your luggage is sitting elsewhere at the airport.  Needless to say a bit of uncertainty set in as we watched for a good 1/2 hour waiting to see our air tag refresh to show it was on the plane. 

Our leg from Toronto to Athens was an hour late in departing with the cabin crew seeming a bit disorganized trying to deal with all the carry on items (wonder if that increase has anything to do with all the lost luggage issues). It changed our packing strategy somewhat. Despite the delay the flight itself was great and the cabin crew very friendly. A red eye 10 hour flight is never that fun but I was able to sleep a few hours which helped a bit when we arrived in Athens. We had a 5 hour layover in Athens before carrying on to Corfu on Aegean Airlines. The Athens airport is not that big, but there is lots of shopping, restaurants, and even a small museum which is worth checking out. The flight to Corfu was an hour and with it being an intra Greece flight we were taken to the plane by bus and boarded on the tarmac. Thankfully our luggage made it to Athens and as we were boarding our Corfu flight we actually saw our suitcase sitting by the luggage loading ramp by the plane and I got to see it get loaded so we knew it was going to make it. The flight was full but not sold out and the row beside us was completely empty so once we were in the air we shuffled over so I didn’t have to sit in the middle seat. It was an uneventful flight but the scenery of the coastlines of mainland Greece and then Corfu below was absolutely stunning. Deplaning was fast and efficient with us exiting the plane again not at a gate but with stairs just outside of the terminal. Our suitcase was the second to unload and we were off in a cab to our resort Domes Miramare, a half hour drive south from the airport along a windy and often fairly narrow two-way road. Driving in Greece is not for the faint of heart particularly when you get into some of the smaller villages and towns.