Does 'plummit' rhyme with 'lovin' it'? (alternate title: On the state of the Euro)

Hey team,

Well, we're here in Naxos, 1 hour before our ferry leaves for Mykonos. I've just spent almost an hour uploading and commenting and blogging all the photos you see below, and Hil is done everything she needs to do on the internet, so this will be brief. It's been a long time since the last blog post, these pictures cover a lot of what's gone on ... some highlights:

- Paul (Bissett, friend from camp) joined us in Santorini and Ios for 4 nights, we had a great time - and both islands were amazing. Santorini in particular is beautiful.
- The sunsets have been just unreal, and on Paros and now here in Naxos we have had just incredible rooms with direct sunset views. Especially on Paros, the place we stayed was just unreal, for so cheap. Rooms Mike is the answer.
- Naxos is gorgeous, we went out for easily the best meal of our trip two nights ago - and have since developed a strong fondness for the local cheese.

So many others ... but that's all I've got time for now, enjoy the pictures - they're in chronological order starting with the Puppy in Plakias, and ending with a sunset in Paros from 3 nights ago.

Hope everyone who went had a blast at Matty's cottage ... I hear it's hotter 'n hell in Toronto, so it must've been sweet to get away. And happy birthday Matty.

Let me know what's up with y'all.

Dane

Hil with a Puppy

Hil with a Puppy
Originally uploaded by djsquared.

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Dane at Knossos

Dane at Knossos
Originally uploaded by djsquared.

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Paul in Santorini

Paul in Santorini
Originally uploaded by djsquared.

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Thira

Thira
Originally uploaded by djsquared.

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Dog

Dog
Originally uploaded by djsquared.

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Our whip

Our whip
Originally uploaded by djsquared.

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Red Beach on Santorini

Red Beach on Santorini
Originally uploaded by djsquared.

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Santorini Coast

Santorini Coast
Originally uploaded by djsquared.

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Sunset in Oia

Sunset in Oia
Originally uploaded by djsquared.

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"Friends"

"Friends"
Originally uploaded by djsquared.

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Volcano

Volcano
Originally uploaded by djsquared.

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The beach on Ios

The beach on Ios
Originally uploaded by djsquared.

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Paul and Hil

Paul and Hil
Originally uploaded by djsquared.

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Flowering Tree

Flowering Tree
Originally uploaded by djsquared.

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Sunset in Paros

Sunset in Paros
Originally uploaded by djsquared.

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Greece and the art of bus maintenance

Well, it has been over a week since I posted on here - and a surprisingly vast amount has happened since then.

We spent a day in Athens cramming as many ruins into one day as we could fit around Hilary's hair appointment, and then it was off to Crete on the overnight ferry.

An overnight ferry in Deck class is an interesting animal - as you lie down on the floor of the ship's cafe with your earplugs, blinder mask, etc. on and attempt sleep in a room slightly dimmer than a stadium, with 5 TVs and 200 people in it, you begin to wonder about the value of a cabin.

Anyways, we arrived in Hania bright and early at 6am - found our beautiful hostel, and settled in. Hania was charming - we had planned to hike the Samaria Gorge, but had to abandon after a massive thunderstorm closed the entire park. That was disappointing. However, in the spare day we had we planned the missing 3 weeks of our trip - which now centers around Bergen, Norway and the Fjords ... details to follow.

From Hania it was on to Plakias, a tiny seaside town that I visited two years ago. On the Southern edge of Crete it has Europe's southernmost youth hostel - also home to the world's weirdest collection of people. The hostel functions more as a playground to a core group of middle-aged regulars, including Crazy-Bush-Guy, the team of lesbians, "Evil Christos" (that's actually how he introduces himself - and he looks exactly like Matty except he is German, with long hair, and about 40), "Scary French guy who carries on conversations with himself", and "Bjorg".

Anyways, we had a fantastic time doing a fantastic river-walk that includes climbing up waterfalls, and walking upstream until you come out on top of this amazing hill in a beautiful Cretan valley. So that was a highlight ...

Another highlight was the bus ride there, which featured "four-hundred-pound-milkshake-drinking-and-smoking-while-driving-a-stickshift-bus-on-the-edge-of-a-cliff-bus-driver" - amazingly you can pilot a massive bus around a treacherous mountain cliff with only your elbows, although occassionally he had to pause with the cigarette in his mouth to shift gears. The driver proved his worth, however, when 10km from Plakias the bus broke down and he fixed it with his bare hands, pausing to wipe the grease off them before resuming drinking/smoking/driving.

So, that's what we've been up to - we're in Iraklio now, seeing the Minoan palace of Knossos tomorrow, and then we are off to rendevous with my friend and (maybe) yours Paul Bissett on Santorini.

Hopefully I can upload some pics soon.

Let me know what's up with all y'all

Dane