First stop was Split in Croatia and also where we were to begin our Croatian sailing tour!
Our tour departed from Split in Croatia - Alison and I had a room above deck. We were lucky we weren't downstairs with the engine and all the diesel fumes! Our room wasnt much bigger than a shoe box and to survive the week we had a system going so that we could get into bed at night without lying on top of our backpacks.
Out of 31 people on the boat, there were 4 male crewman, our male guide James, 2 other guys who made up the couples on the boat and 24 girls... this was a recipe for disaster from the start considering most of us had to share 2 bathrooms - but we all got along really well (apart from 1 or 2!)
The places we stopped off along the way included Omis, Markarska, Brac, Hvar, Korcula, Mjlet and dubrovnik. They were all really beautiful and each had their own feel to it - but to me they all felt really old world and medieval. Most of the towns had fortresses that we climbed up cliffs to get to.
The best part about the tour was doing absolutely nothing - sunbaking on the deck while sailing through the Adriatic, reading, eating, drinking, sunbaking...sunbaking... and jumping off the boat into the crystal clear water and lazing about on li-lows.. By the end of the week I was definatly relaxed - even to the extent of boredom!
The final dock of our tour was at Dubrovnik. Definatly had sealegs for a couple of days after getting off the boat! Dubrovnik was my favourite place in Croatia - except for the fact that Alison and I had bedbugs crawling all over us (unbeknown to us!!) while we were asleep - our bodies became covered with bites arranged in rows...
In Athens we did a walking tour that took us to see the temple of Zeus, the ancient Agora and the Acropolis. Climbing the Acropolis hill at midday to see the Parthenon was a bad idea... felt like we were in the desert. But it was amazing to see the massive marble columns towering over us.
We discovered Gyros in Athens - a kebab with pork, tomatoes, tzatziki and hot chips in it..mmm..
Our first Greek island to explore was Paros - my favourite. It was a very Greek island with less tourists than on the other islands.
We were very fortunate to have the most amazing host at our villa who told us about good places to eat traditional food. The waited claimed that the lamb liver on a spit that was wrapped in what was probably lamb skin and marinated in herbs was "TOO GREEK FOR YOU!!" but when in Paros.... it was very tastey.
We hired a 4-wheeler to get around Paros. It was the best way to see the island - and dodge the siesta between 2-6pm when EVERYTHING shuts. Couldnt believe that the town came to life at 10pm and some shops stayed open until 4am!
Next was the party island of Ios.. Alison and I got very sick of doing nothing! We felt very old on this party island...
Santorini was beautiful but the island was very dry (like all the other islands) and no greenery! On Santorini we walked up the volcano - which gave a great view of Santorini and the town of Thira perched high on top of the cliffs. The best part was hiring another 4-wheeler... and like our other bike it was only 50cc.. needless to say that the cars behind us were very frustrated. It was a good way to see the red and black sand beaches on the island.
Met up with Mum, Dad and Zia Merylise which was really nice after not seeing them for 3 months!
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