Sunday, October 23, 2011
Monday, October 10, 2011
Everest Base Camp!
Nepal! Everest! The portion of the trip that I have been the most excited for and the part that I have been the most nervous about. The beginning of my time in Nepal got off to a bit of a rocky start. The day before I was scheduled to arrive, there was an earthquake on the India/Nepal border and a few people in Kathmandu died. I arrived not knowing how it was going to be – would there be lots of damage? Luckily everything was fine – there was absolutely no evidence of an earthquake. I had about 5 days on my own before the tour started so I went to a city called Chitwan, where the jungle is. I spent 3 days taking hikes in the jungle, riding elephants and having canoe rides. It was so relaxing and different, I really enjoyed it. The only challenge was the electricity – it was probably off for about 60% of the time I was there (that’s normal), so I spent a lot of time wearing my head torch.
Back in Kathmandu, it was time to get prepped for Everest Base Camp (EBC). Kathmandu is a really unique city – since it is the starting point for pretty much every trek in the Himalayas, you can buy any type of trekking gear that you can think of. There are 100s of North Face, Columbia or Mountain Hardwear replicas at a fraction of the cost you would pay at home – instead of a pair of rain proof pants costing $60, I think I paid about $5! There are also street after street of stores selling the exact same thing, I never understand how they all make enough money to stay open. I met my new group and they seemed wonderful and a really good mix: there were 2 brothers from Australia, 2 girls from Ireland, 2 guys from Denmark, 3 Canadians, 4 people from the UK and one other American guy from Portland.
Unfortunately, they day before we were supposed to fly out, there was a plane crash in Kathmandu and all 19 people on board were killed. We were all really freaked out because we were already flying out to the most dangerous airport in the world, Lukla. It was very sad and made you think about how scary it can be to fly in a third world country. The day we were supposed to fly out it was pouring down rain and I think they were being very cautious due to the accident, so we got to sit in the airport for 7 hours and eventually our flight was cancelled. We went back to the hotel and would try again the next day, but since we were on a fixed schedule we started to worry that we might not have enough time to get up to Base Camp. It would have broken my heart if we weren’t able to make the trek. Luckily we were able to get on a flight out the next morning. The flight was awesome – it was just a tiny little prop plane and my group took up every seat in the plane! The Lukla airport is very unique – one end of the runway is 60 meters higher than the other end, so you land going up a hill. It’s also a really short runway so as you are approaching all you see is a small black line going up the side of a hill and you can’t believe you’re actually going to land there – so cool!
The trek itself is quite challenging. You hike up for 8 days (2 of the days are acclimation days so you only do short day hikes and return to the same city that night) and normally hike down for 4 days, but since we lost a day at the beginning we had to get back down in 3 days. There are some days where you have a few hours of straight uphill and lots of days of “Nepali Flat”, where it’s up and down all day but nothing to steep. I think the second day of the Inca Trail was a harder hike than EBC, but you are so high in Nepal that you get out of breathe doing the simplest things. You can hike all day long, but then at night when you go up one flight of stairs you are huffing and puffing for breathe.
The hardest part of the trip is not the hiking itself but all the other parts of being up at altitude – the food gets really boring and repetitive (rice and noodles, no veggies, everything is fried), you have headaches quite a bit, and I swear I’ve never had more conversations about other people’s poop in my whole life! When I was preparing for the trip I had people recommend that I go on Diamox, which helps with altitude sickness. I just laughed them off, figuring that growing up in Colorado would mean I had no problems, but I was wrong. I started getting really bad headaches around 4000 meters and luckily my roommate had Diamox that she could spare. I highly recommend anyone going to altitude take it – it makes you pee about 18 times a day but the headache goes away! This is how we do laundry in Nepal:
Things are also really expensive the higher up you get. You don’t blink when they ask you to pay $5 for a Coke, $6 for a tube of Pringles or $7 for a hot shower (that’s right – only a cold shower is included)! We did refuse to pay $4 for a liter of water though and everyone had some way to sterilize or purify it. I will say NEVER buy a SteriPen! Mine broke on day 3 of a 12 day hike and left me without a way to purify my water. Thank goodness my friends looked out for me!
Most of the paths are either stone or dirt, and in many places it’s wide enough for 2 or 3 people. The whole way up you’re passing yaks carrying lots of gear or sherpas running up the hill like it’s nothing. The people who live up at these high altitudes just amaze me. There are no roads there so the only way to get anything up to these towns is to carry it. We were passed by sherpas carrying 5 huge sheets of aluminum or cases of food. It is such a hard life but everyone we met seemed so happy. Not a single person was begging or hassling us, they would just smile at you as you walked by. Even the person who was in charge of making the yaki pies (taking the yak poo, mixing it with grass and flattening it into perfect circles so it could be dried and used as kindling in the fire) seemed perfectly content with what they were doing. They live such a simple, basic, difficult life compared with what we’re used to, it was so good to see that side of the world. This would be my house if I lived there.
The final push to Base Camp was different from the rest of the hike. You are walking next to the longest glacier in the world, it is so cold and all you see is a few tents set on top of rocks. As you get closer and closer it’s hard to breathe, but the second you finally reach EBC, it is just the most amazing feeling in the world! What you’ve dreamed of for months or years, what you’ve walked towards for 8 days is finally there! I was so proud to just get to Base Camp, I can’t imagine how people who actually get to the summit of Everest feel.
I was so inspired by my group – every single person in our group made it to Base Camp! One of the guys, Toppy, was incredibly sick (he hadn’t eaten in a few days and was getting extremely dehydrated), but he had been driven to come to Base Camp since he was 15 years old, so he pushed through all his sickness and pain to make it to the top. I was so incredibly proud of him – if I was in that kind of pain, I don’t think I would have been able to make it. Unfortunately he had to be medically evacuated by helicopter the next day and spent 2 nights in the hospital, but he accomplished his goal and made it to Base Camp.
As a group we walked a total of 127 kilometers and made it to a height of 17,600 feet (5364 meters). Definitely the highest I’ve ever been in my life. As soon as our whole group was at the top, the sherpas pulled out this banner that they had carried from Kathmandu. It had the details about EBC and on it was listed every single one of our names. I think most of us started crying at that point – to see your name at the top of Base Camp is just so moving and powerful – we had made it!!!
Back in Kathmandu, it was time to get prepped for Everest Base Camp (EBC). Kathmandu is a really unique city – since it is the starting point for pretty much every trek in the Himalayas, you can buy any type of trekking gear that you can think of. There are 100s of North Face, Columbia or Mountain Hardwear replicas at a fraction of the cost you would pay at home – instead of a pair of rain proof pants costing $60, I think I paid about $5! There are also street after street of stores selling the exact same thing, I never understand how they all make enough money to stay open. I met my new group and they seemed wonderful and a really good mix: there were 2 brothers from Australia, 2 girls from Ireland, 2 guys from Denmark, 3 Canadians, 4 people from the UK and one other American guy from Portland.
Unfortunately, they day before we were supposed to fly out, there was a plane crash in Kathmandu and all 19 people on board were killed. We were all really freaked out because we were already flying out to the most dangerous airport in the world, Lukla. It was very sad and made you think about how scary it can be to fly in a third world country. The day we were supposed to fly out it was pouring down rain and I think they were being very cautious due to the accident, so we got to sit in the airport for 7 hours and eventually our flight was cancelled. We went back to the hotel and would try again the next day, but since we were on a fixed schedule we started to worry that we might not have enough time to get up to Base Camp. It would have broken my heart if we weren’t able to make the trek. Luckily we were able to get on a flight out the next morning. The flight was awesome – it was just a tiny little prop plane and my group took up every seat in the plane! The Lukla airport is very unique – one end of the runway is 60 meters higher than the other end, so you land going up a hill. It’s also a really short runway so as you are approaching all you see is a small black line going up the side of a hill and you can’t believe you’re actually going to land there – so cool!
The hardest part of the trip is not the hiking itself but all the other parts of being up at altitude – the food gets really boring and repetitive (rice and noodles, no veggies, everything is fried), you have headaches quite a bit, and I swear I’ve never had more conversations about other people’s poop in my whole life! When I was preparing for the trip I had people recommend that I go on Diamox, which helps with altitude sickness. I just laughed them off, figuring that growing up in Colorado would mean I had no problems, but I was wrong. I started getting really bad headaches around 4000 meters and luckily my roommate had Diamox that she could spare. I highly recommend anyone going to altitude take it – it makes you pee about 18 times a day but the headache goes away! This is how we do laundry in Nepal:
Things are also really expensive the higher up you get. You don’t blink when they ask you to pay $5 for a Coke, $6 for a tube of Pringles or $7 for a hot shower (that’s right – only a cold shower is included)! We did refuse to pay $4 for a liter of water though and everyone had some way to sterilize or purify it. I will say NEVER buy a SteriPen! Mine broke on day 3 of a 12 day hike and left me without a way to purify my water. Thank goodness my friends looked out for me!
The final push to Base Camp was different from the rest of the hike. You are walking next to the longest glacier in the world, it is so cold and all you see is a few tents set on top of rocks. As you get closer and closer it’s hard to breathe, but the second you finally reach EBC, it is just the most amazing feeling in the world! What you’ve dreamed of for months or years, what you’ve walked towards for 8 days is finally there! I was so proud to just get to Base Camp, I can’t imagine how people who actually get to the summit of Everest feel.
I was so inspired by my group – every single person in our group made it to Base Camp! One of the guys, Toppy, was incredibly sick (he hadn’t eaten in a few days and was getting extremely dehydrated), but he had been driven to come to Base Camp since he was 15 years old, so he pushed through all his sickness and pain to make it to the top. I was so incredibly proud of him – if I was in that kind of pain, I don’t think I would have been able to make it. Unfortunately he had to be medically evacuated by helicopter the next day and spent 2 nights in the hospital, but he accomplished his goal and made it to Base Camp.
As a group we walked a total of 127 kilometers and made it to a height of 17,600 feet (5364 meters). Definitely the highest I’ve ever been in my life. As soon as our whole group was at the top, the sherpas pulled out this banner that they had carried from Kathmandu. It had the details about EBC and on it was listed every single one of our names. I think most of us started crying at that point – to see your name at the top of Base Camp is just so moving and powerful – we had made it!!!
Thursday, September 29, 2011
Top 5 Things...
While I’ve been away I’ve had a lot of time to think. I think about lots of things – what I’m going to do in the future, the country that I’m currently in or experiences from my past. I also think a lot about things and people from back home. I thought I’d put together a list of some of the things I’ve been thinking about!
Top 5 foods I miss
Top 5 things I miss from home
Top 5 things I DON’T miss from home
Top 5 things I’m sad that I will miss this year
Top 5 moments of the trip so far
Top 5 foods I miss
2. Buffalo wings from BW3, honey BBQ flavor
3. Sushi
4. Grilled cheese sandwiches
5. Mom’s enchiladas, Mom’s spaghetti, Mom’s everything!
Top 5 things I miss from home
1. My bed - too many nights on beds that are too hard/too soft/smelly!
2. Talking to my friends and family – emails just aren’t the same
3. Choosing a restaurant of any type of food I’m in the mood for
4. Wearing heels and choosing clothes – I only have 10 days worth of clothes and 3 pairs of shoes and I am so tired of seeing them already! What I would give for a whole closet…
5. Hugs – you just don’t get very many good hugs when you’re traveling
Top 5 things I DON’T miss from home
1. Work!
2. My phone
3. Driving
4. Paying bills
5. TV
Top 5 things I’m sad that I will miss this year
1. Gabe’s first day of school (see adorable picture below!)
2. Christmas
3. Seeing my Grandma
4. Easter egg hunt
5. Jameson’s birthday – who will help Jenn make the cake this year?
Top 5 moments of the trip so far
1. Diving with Dena and Martina in Central America
2. Sitting at the top of a mountain by myself after hiking up it, looking down at Petra and imagining being there 2500 years ago
3. Chatting with Ana, Ceri and Diane in Eastern Europe – I haven’t laughed that hard in a long time!
4. Jumping straight from my bed into the Adriatic Sea while cruising in Croatia
5. Seeing Auschwitz – not a happy memory, but one that will remain with me forever
1. Any food not covered in bees or flies
Sunday, September 18, 2011
Petra, Jordan: 5th Wonder of the World
I will admit it – the week before I arrived in Jordan, I had started to dread coming here. I was sitting safely on a beach in Greece without a care in the world, thinking about coming to the Middle East (especially since I would be here on Sept 11). I wasn’t sure about the people, the food or the heat. I am so at ease in Europe, it was scary to think about coming to a place where I would again be out of my comfort zone. However, I couldn’t have been more wrong about Jordan. The people here are wonderful. There was not one time that I felt uncomfortable being here. I didn’t feel different if I wasn’t covered head to toe, no men came up an tried to touch me and everyone was so helpful, the people are really amazing. I think this is the most progressive of any of the Islamic countries I have visited yet, definitely not what I was expecting from the Middle East.
I came to Jordan to see Petra. A couple of years ago (on 7/7/07, to be exact) they conducted a poll for the “7 New Wonders of the World” and Petra was one of the wonders on the list. When I was planning my trip, I realized that I was seeing all of the Wonders of the World except for Petra. Now obviously, that just wouldn’t do, so I changed my itinerary one final time and here we are. This is the 5th wonder of the world I’ve seen and I can’t wait to see the others. Petra was built starting in the 6th Century BC and is so much larger than I ever thought it was. I thought it was just the Monastery (above) and the Treasury (below), but it was actually a city large enough for 25,000 people. The whole city is a series of caves and tombs carved in the pink sandstone and is just stunning. We spent the day hiking up the mountains and having fabulous views of this city that is over 2500 years old. I loved just sitting on the edge of a cliff, hearing only silence and imagining what it would have been like to live here thousands of years ago. Wow, just wow.
Besides Petra, the site I was so excited to visit in Jordan was the Dead Sea. I’ve been swimming in a lot of salty sea water recently, but that had nothing on the Dead Sea!
You don’t have to put in any effort at all – all your limbs just pop to the surface of the water and is nearly impossible to bring them back down. It is such an odd sensation. I made the mistake of tasting a tiny bit of it and it was the worst decision of my life – I’ve never tasted anything so horrible in my life! I will not complain the next time someone tells me to swish around salt water, it will be a piece of cake for me. I did manage to get a couple pictures of me floating though – you can’t go to the Dead Sea and miss those pictures!
The itinerary for Jordan also included visiting Wadi Rum, which is a large desert set in a valley. We had a great afternoon driving around in a 4x4, hiking around and just being kids playing in the sand. We spent the night in a desert camp, where I was able to look up and see 2 shooting stars. I would tell you what I wished for, but then it would never come true!
The next day we woke up in the desert and by noon we were out on a boat, scuba diving in the Red Sea. What an amazing day of contrasts and contradictions! Not the best dive I’ve ever had, but since the Red Sea was the first place I ever scuba dived, it will always have a special place in my heart.
Now I’m off to Nepal to hike to Everest Base Camp. Don’t be surprised if you don’t hear from me for a while!
Besides Petra, the site I was so excited to visit in Jordan was the Dead Sea. I’ve been swimming in a lot of salty sea water recently, but that had nothing on the Dead Sea!
The itinerary for Jordan also included visiting Wadi Rum, which is a large desert set in a valley. We had a great afternoon driving around in a 4x4, hiking around and just being kids playing in the sand. We spent the night in a desert camp, where I was able to look up and see 2 shooting stars. I would tell you what I wished for, but then it would never come true!
The next day we woke up in the desert and by noon we were out on a boat, scuba diving in the Red Sea. What an amazing day of contrasts and contradictions! Not the best dive I’ve ever had, but since the Red Sea was the first place I ever scuba dived, it will always have a special place in my heart.
Now I’m off to Nepal to hike to Everest Base Camp. Don’t be surprised if you don’t hear from me for a while!
Saturday, September 10, 2011
Sunsets and Doors
Doors and Sunsets. Sunsets and Doors. I think I can sum up Greece in those two words! I guess there are maybe a few more – white and wind and churches and stairs. For those of you who didn’t know, my mom came out to Greece to spend about 10 days with me. It was so wonderful to see her – it made me a little homesick when she left, especially when I was thinking about all the things I am missing at home. I knew I would be missing my family, but still seeing her was so great, just what I needed! When I was planning my trip, I asked her where in the world she wanted to join me. Without even pausing, she shouted out Greece. I think for at least the last 10 years, every Christmas day, there is a calendar of the Greek Islands sitting under the tree for my mom. I shouldn’t have been surprised at all that this was where she wanted to visit! We visited Santorini, Crete and Athens, then I went to Mykonos on my own. To get you started, here is a wonderful door picture from Mykonos:
Santorini
This wasn’t my first time to Santorini – I went when I was in Europe 2 years ago. To be perfectly honest, I was pretty unimpressed by Santorini. Yes, the sunset in Oia was pretty, but it was really overcrowded and kind of far away from everything. Other than that, I didn’t see why people raved about it so much. When I went this time, I realized we missed some of the best views and beaches on the island! This visit, I was able to see all of the best views of the island and now I understand why people love Santorini.
Our second night we did the required sunset over Oia – we sat at a really nice restaurant with the perfect view of the water. We got so lucky, as we were the last people to get a table in the restaurant! Our third night in Santorini, we went on a cruise that went to the volcano, some hot springs and then watched the sunset. It was quite relaxing and nice to see the sunset from a different perspective. Our final night in Santorini we moved to a different resort, one that was quite expensive and had been hyped up quite a bit – even Angelina Jolie had stayed there before. We got there and I was SO unimpressed. Yes, it had nice rooms, but the pool was tiny, it was in the middle of nowhere and there was no sunset in sight. Wonder if Angelina Jolie was as unimpressed as I was, LOL. When I think of Santorini in the future, I will definitely think of all the beautiful sunsets!
Crete
We took the ferry across from Santorini to Crete since that is the easiest way to move from island to island. We met a sweet girl named Jenny who is my age and her mom, both from California, who were going to the same hotel we were. They offered to give us a ride from the ferry and thank goodness they did, because the hotel was over an hour away – imagine how much that cab ride would have been! While in Crete we stayed in an amazing hotel, the Blue Palace. It is set on a hill and the hotel is built in a number of buildings that sort of flow down the hill and many of the rooms had their own pools. It makes for beautiful scenery. Our building was the newest one and we had been upgraded to a junior suite, which was amazingly beautiful. We were a little disappointed that we didn’t have our own pool, until we realized that there was only one other family staying in our whole building. Outside of our room there was a library and a huge sitting room where nobody ever was – it made me think that this is what the mansions of some of the rich and famous are like. Also, in front of our building was one of the 4 pools on the property, but nobody was ever using it. We used it every afternoon and never saw anyone else, so we called that our own private pool – we were so lucky!
In addition to reading in our library and lounging at our own private pool, we spent part of each day at the beach. The water was great, but like most beaches in Greece, it was all rocks and no sand. There was a dock you could jump off of and we spent lots of time in the water. I know I love the water and could spend hours floating around, but my mom puts me to shame. I think if she had it her way she would jump into the water at sunrise and finally climb out at sunset! We spent our days in Crete jumping from pool to beach to pool and getting a fair bit of reading in too – it was so relaxing. At night we would go to one of the local towns for dinner, where we had some fantastic seafood and surprisingly good pizza. We were definitely beach bums in Crete and loved every second of it.
Athens
Everyone had warned me that Athens was not a very nice city and that there was nothing to do there, so we decided to only spend one day there. We were able to see quite a bit on that day but I have to say that I disagree with people – I think it’s a really pretty city and would have loved to spend an extra day there. I dragged my mom all around town and we saw the stadium used in the original Olympics, the Acropolis, the national park and a few of the hundreds of old historical ruins that are set around town.
Through all of that though, I have to say that my favorite part was just sitting down for desert and wine. We sat right at the base of the Acropolis and you could just glance next to you and see it lit up and towering over you – where else in the world can you see that sight? It is a huge piece of history and we were able to just sit and marvel at it – I loved it!
Mykonos
After I said a sad goodbye to my mom I took the ferry over to Mykonos on my own. All I can say about Mykonos is holy doors. When you look at pictures and calendars of Greece and they have the colored door pictures in them, I swear they were all taken in Mykonos. The city is one maze of white buildings and doors of every color – blue, green, yellow, grey, red, you name it. I would just walk through, taking turns at random and get lost, snapping away of course. Here are a few of my favorites.
The other thing I will say about Mykonos is that is the gay mecca of Greece! I knew when I booked my hotel that I was staying across the street from a hotel that was strictly a gay hotel. What I didn’t realize was that 90% of the people in my hotel would be as well. There was only one other girl at my hotel and the rest were men – some of them were so sweet! Our hotel didn’t have a pool so I went across the road with them and we had drinks and lounged at the pool – definitely met some interesting and wonderful characters J I don’t know if that’s how it is all over Mykonos, but James and Rob definitely made the island for me – thanks guys!
After a wonderful 2 weeks, it was time to leave Greece. It was a great time to relax and recharge my batteries, which I definitely needed after being on the go for so long. Hopefully between relaxing in Croatia and Greece I am ready for what’s ahead – namely Jordan and Everest. I can’t wait to see what comes next!
Santorini
This wasn’t my first time to Santorini – I went when I was in Europe 2 years ago. To be perfectly honest, I was pretty unimpressed by Santorini. Yes, the sunset in Oia was pretty, but it was really overcrowded and kind of far away from everything. Other than that, I didn’t see why people raved about it so much. When I went this time, I realized we missed some of the best views and beaches on the island! This visit, I was able to see all of the best views of the island and now I understand why people love Santorini.
We got pretty lucky on the first night, because apparently there was a festival that day where they celebrate the volcano by setting off fireworks above it. Mom and I got a great seat in a café in Fira, where we watched the sunset, then had dinner, then watched the fireworks over the volcano. The fireworks were great – they simulated lava on the volcano, both flowing down the hills and exploding into the air – so cool!
Our second night we did the required sunset over Oia – we sat at a really nice restaurant with the perfect view of the water. We got so lucky, as we were the last people to get a table in the restaurant! Our third night in Santorini, we went on a cruise that went to the volcano, some hot springs and then watched the sunset. It was quite relaxing and nice to see the sunset from a different perspective. Our final night in Santorini we moved to a different resort, one that was quite expensive and had been hyped up quite a bit – even Angelina Jolie had stayed there before. We got there and I was SO unimpressed. Yes, it had nice rooms, but the pool was tiny, it was in the middle of nowhere and there was no sunset in sight. Wonder if Angelina Jolie was as unimpressed as I was, LOL. When I think of Santorini in the future, I will definitely think of all the beautiful sunsets!
Crete
We took the ferry across from Santorini to Crete since that is the easiest way to move from island to island. We met a sweet girl named Jenny who is my age and her mom, both from California, who were going to the same hotel we were. They offered to give us a ride from the ferry and thank goodness they did, because the hotel was over an hour away – imagine how much that cab ride would have been! While in Crete we stayed in an amazing hotel, the Blue Palace. It is set on a hill and the hotel is built in a number of buildings that sort of flow down the hill and many of the rooms had their own pools. It makes for beautiful scenery. Our building was the newest one and we had been upgraded to a junior suite, which was amazingly beautiful. We were a little disappointed that we didn’t have our own pool, until we realized that there was only one other family staying in our whole building. Outside of our room there was a library and a huge sitting room where nobody ever was – it made me think that this is what the mansions of some of the rich and famous are like. Also, in front of our building was one of the 4 pools on the property, but nobody was ever using it. We used it every afternoon and never saw anyone else, so we called that our own private pool – we were so lucky!
Our "Private" Pool
"Our" Library
In addition to reading in our library and lounging at our own private pool, we spent part of each day at the beach. The water was great, but like most beaches in Greece, it was all rocks and no sand. There was a dock you could jump off of and we spent lots of time in the water. I know I love the water and could spend hours floating around, but my mom puts me to shame. I think if she had it her way she would jump into the water at sunrise and finally climb out at sunset! We spent our days in Crete jumping from pool to beach to pool and getting a fair bit of reading in too – it was so relaxing. At night we would go to one of the local towns for dinner, where we had some fantastic seafood and surprisingly good pizza. We were definitely beach bums in Crete and loved every second of it.
Athens
Everyone had warned me that Athens was not a very nice city and that there was nothing to do there, so we decided to only spend one day there. We were able to see quite a bit on that day but I have to say that I disagree with people – I think it’s a really pretty city and would have loved to spend an extra day there. I dragged my mom all around town and we saw the stadium used in the original Olympics, the Acropolis, the national park and a few of the hundreds of old historical ruins that are set around town.
Mykonos
After I said a sad goodbye to my mom I took the ferry over to Mykonos on my own. All I can say about Mykonos is holy doors. When you look at pictures and calendars of Greece and they have the colored door pictures in them, I swear they were all taken in Mykonos. The city is one maze of white buildings and doors of every color – blue, green, yellow, grey, red, you name it. I would just walk through, taking turns at random and get lost, snapping away of course. Here are a few of my favorites.
The other thing I will say about Mykonos is that is the gay mecca of Greece! I knew when I booked my hotel that I was staying across the street from a hotel that was strictly a gay hotel. What I didn’t realize was that 90% of the people in my hotel would be as well. There was only one other girl at my hotel and the rest were men – some of them were so sweet! Our hotel didn’t have a pool so I went across the road with them and we had drinks and lounged at the pool – definitely met some interesting and wonderful characters J I don’t know if that’s how it is all over Mykonos, but James and Rob definitely made the island for me – thanks guys!
After a wonderful 2 weeks, it was time to leave Greece. It was a great time to relax and recharge my batteries, which I definitely needed after being on the go for so long. Hopefully between relaxing in Croatia and Greece I am ready for what’s ahead – namely Jordan and Everest. I can’t wait to see what comes next!
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