So, quickly before I start. Forgot to mention on Mykonos we went to a club called Clavo Paradiso. Place didn't open until 3 am, got to watch the sunrise from a cliff on the water. Very cool.
Anyway, not much more happened on Ios. A lot of relaxing on the beach. Played some volleyball. Met a lot of Australians and a Canadian named Connor Knickerbocker who said "eh" a ridiculous amount. Good guy, though. Found out that Canadians get really offended if you ask them if they are American based on the way they talk. From now on, when I hear someone speaking North American English the best bet is to ask if they are Canadian first.
Santorini was beautiful. We stayed at this little place called Villos Manos about a kilometer outside of town. Rented ATVs again, which was, again, a great decision. Made it really easy to get to town, run to the supermarket, etc. Also, we got to visit a black sand beach that the buses don't run to.
Also there was Ancient Thira, way up on a cliff overlooking the aforementioned beach. There is no way we would have made the trek all the way up there without the quads. Went up there the first day and were so amazed by how high up we were, and the amazing views. Then we realized the actual site was closed for the day. Came back the next day, went even higher up on the hill and actually got to see the ruins there. Very cool. Got some great pictures of the whole thing.
Our ferry was five hours late getting into Piraeus (the port in Athens) from Santorini, making that leg of the trip 15 hours, total. Got into Piraeus at about 11:00 pm, and rushed to the bus station to try to catch the overnight bus back to Ioannina. Missed that bus by about 45 minutes and our group of about 10 people spent the night outside the Athens long-distance bus station. Not fun. Didn't sleep until the bus left at eight the next morning. Anyway, caught up on missed sleep on the 7 hour bus ride back to Ioannina. 31 hour travel adventure, all thanks to GA Ferries -- the most economical line in Greece, and now I know why.
Had a really quiet week of school once we got back. Everyone is tired from their trips, and pretty broke.
Today we went to Meteora, which is in Thessaly (Central Greece) which was a 3 hour bus ride from school. Meteora is the biggest and most important group of monassteries in Greece after those in Mount Athos. This place has 14th century monasteries atop enormous cliffs. They are strange cliffs, though. More like giant pillars on the outskirts of the city beneath them (Kalampaka). More great pictures of that online.
That's really all for now. I think we're heading to Albania next weekend on a field trip -- that should be really interesting. All is winding down as our big exam and final paper are due before we leave for our 5 day excursion all around the country. Only a few more weeks until I find myself stateside again.
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