Port Destination: Santorini

When I woke up and peered out the window at Santorini, it looked like we were surrounded by snow-capped mountains. After waking up a little more, I realized that the "snow" was actually made up of the beautifully white-washed villages that top the island. We spent our day docked in Santorini in the village of Oia wandering the streets, shopping, and snacking on Greek frozen yogurt. Pictures do this Greek island more justice than I could ever do with words!

We happened upon a great view from a side street on our walk

Church bells overlooking the ocean

Farewell in style on a well-behaved donkey!

Mykonos Spotlight: Petros the Pelican

If you ask people what to do on Mykonos, you will probably receive the same answer repeatedly: "just get lost!" But what do you do when you are not a wanderer by nature? Set a moving target: find Petros. 

Petros the Pelican has been the official mascot of Mykonos since 1954. After a storm, a lone, wounded pelican made his way to the island. After the locals nursed him back to health, they named him Petros and adopted him as their mascot.

I bet you didn't know that pelicans live 60 years! That is because they do not. Sadly, Petros was eventually faced with his mortality and passed away in the 80s. The people of Mykonos had taken to him so well and were so upset with his death that they decided to continue his legacy. Of course, no one pelican was as good with the people of Mykonos as Petros, so they replaced him with three pelicans who still roam the streets today. 

Below is a photo-album of our pursuit of Petros:

First we walked up to the top of the city to try and spot him. While we had no luck (unfortunately he blends into the local architecture), we did enjoy this unobstructed lookout point right above a field of power generators.

Next, we looked around the beautiful blue-domed churches. Though he was not around them, they were pretty spectacular. Most of the churches were open to look inside at the Greek Orthodox interiors. 

After a few hours we had to stop for a break. Frozen Greek yogurt with honey seemed like the perfect bait. Unfortunately it didn't last long...

Apparently Petros doesn't hang out next to the famous five windmills. Note to future travelers: the fact that the city has windmills should be a hint that it is VERY windy in Mykonos. Skirts and dresses are an absolute no if you want to walk along the coast at any time. Also - a hair tie would have been a smart thing to bring...

Sweet success! Though Petros is actually a Great White Pelican, we were surprised to find that he is actually light pink! Just as we were told, Petros was very friendly and clearly used to tourists cozying up to him. A perfect Greek gentleman. 

Athens Spotlight: Segway Tour

View of Athens from the Pynx

Segway smooch under the Arch of Hadrian

We were recently tasked with making the most of our seven-hour stop in Athens. Though the Plaka (old town) is small, it was 90° (as it frequently is in the summer), and we were having a hard time deciding between which sights to see after the Acropolis. We wanted to see the ancient ruins: hike up Mars Hill, appreciate the Kerameikos ruins, see the remains of the Temple of Zeus, stand under the Arch of Hadrian, soak up the birthplace of democracy at the Pynx, and even peek into the remains of the first mall in Agora; but also the newer sights: shop in the Monastiraki flea market, have a snack in the main square, check out the Zappeoin (1896 is new in Athenian time).

Believe it or not, we found a way to do all of this with time leftover for some frozen Greek yogurt. How? A segway tour!

Zipping through the
Monastiraki flea market

After some research, we opted for the Athens Segway Tours company. We took the 10:00 am tour and were lucky enough to be the only ones who could make it out of bed early enough. Our own local tour guide (who spoke perfect English) was helpful and flexible. We laid out our priorities and she made sure to hit them. I had never been on a segway before but absolutely loved it. We zipped through the pedestrian areas with no problem, and saw everything we wanted to see plus some sights that were not even on our radar.

The Parthenon on two feet, no wheels (still awesome)

Segways are not (yet) allowed in the Acropolis, so we enjoyed that sans-wheels, but the two hour segway tour was perfect for perusing the large number of important ruins Athens contains in their old town. It was efficient, breezy, and most of all hilarious, and I cannot recommend it highly enough!