We left Crete yesterday... We were not bright eyed or bushy tailed.. but we were out the door at 5am.

Our neighborhood in Hania was all cobblestone streets... during our stay we could hear the coming and going of travelers by the sound of their wheeled suitcases. As we left, I was saddened to be the one making those noises.

We arrived at the port in Iraklion around 730am to find there was a ferry leaving earlier than we thought. It was a speedy trip... and two hours later we found ourselves coming into the port of Thira on Santorini. It was daunting. The port is in the bottom of the huge caldera and I had this momentary fear that I would have to trek up the big rock wall with my huge rolly suitcase (whose wheels were blown out in Athens... so really it would have meant dragging.) Luckily there were taxis and transport vans waiting for us. We took a van to our hotel.... and that leads us to the most dramatic part of our trip thus far.

We reserved it on Expedia.... which I have used on more than one occasion and has actually been great... but when we arrived we found many of the amenities listed on their page were absent (wi-fi, private beach, cafe, 24hr desk, pictures that did not remotely match what we actually happened upn, and showers that werent just a nozzle attached to the bathroom wall). We waited over three hours for someone to come and let us in. Then spent one night... and I braved the crappy, even by europian standards, shower. This morning at 830 we snuck out the back door with our heavy luggage and made tracks for the hotel we found yesterday afternoon. One that had wi-fi and a swimming pool. The only hitch in our escape was that they had Chelsea's passport. This morning we spent negotiating with them. (We actually started the process last night.) And after 5 hours, we had paid for only one night, they had returned Chelseas passport... and now here we sit in the lobby of our new beautiful hotel... Amber is swimming... I am surfing (the net) and we are all happy and can go about pursuing sunshine and our peaceful vacation.

So far Santorini has been an adventure.... actually since Wed afternoon, when we went on a road trip to small town Crete we have been livin la vida loca involving small town folk, militia, and crazy waiters. It has been fantastic and fun.. and nothing I could have anticipated.

Honestly, who would expect the cook at a restaraunt to invite himself to come home with me? If he hadnt been thirty years my senior I would have considered it. For the record I would have been okay with fifteen.

I love it here. I am sad that in a week from now I will be somewhere in the middle of my trip home... but I plan to thoroughly enjoy the time I have left.

Sfini Ejassis.... maybe? Cam.. Something along the lines of To your health?? or Cheers?