Cape Sounion - Aκρωτήριο Σούνιο

On our last day in Greece we docked on the port of Piraeus and our tour bus was ready to take us to Cape Sounion. The drive from the port to our destination was about 3 hours, so all of us fell asleep on the bus. As we got close to Cape Sounion I woke up and realized that we had been driving next to the shore for a while and the view was incredible; the temple of Poseidon – Neptune looked amazing with the contrast of the Aegean Sea.

According to legend, Cape Sounion is the spot where Aegeus, king of Athens, leapt to his death off the cliff, thus giving his name to the Aegean Sea. Every year the Athenians were forced to send 7 boys and 7 girls to Minos attribute. These youths were placed in the labyrinth to be devoured by the Minotaur. Theseus - Aegeus’ son - had volunteered to go with the third tribute and attempt to slay the beast. He had agreed with his father that if he survived the contest, he would hoist a white sail. Theseus managed to overcome and slain the Minotaur, but had simply forgotten about the white sail. As he sailed back from Crete, King Aegeus saw the black flag on his son’s ship and despaired, throwing himself off a cliff.

We were able to walk around, take many pictures and enjoy the wonderful view this spot offered. On our way back to the hotel, we all planned to take the subway into Plaqa so we could all enjoy one last meal in Athens. The subway station was amazing! There is an entire exposition of the ancient artifacts they found while they built the station. The subway system was also amazingly modern and cheap.  

As we got back to out hotel, we all went to the terrace, hung out in the pool and enjoyed a nice glass of wine with the view of the Parthenon. It was a truly wonderful experience: Greece is certainly a country worth visiting!

Santorini – Σαντορίνη

Santorini is basically what remains of an enormous volcanic explosion. The explosion destroyed the earliest settlements on what was formerly a single island. It lead to the creation of the current geological caldera.

Our tour guide told us that we had two options for the tours: * Tour the city and shop. *Do the volcano hike and see a little of the city.

As a group we figured we needed a little more excitement, and so we all decided to do the second option. While we prepared for our tour, we were told to wear bathing suits because we would have the opportunity to swim in the hot springs. We all looked hilarious with our distinct fashion trends: sneakers and bathing suits. 

When we were on the line getting ready to disembark, we realized we were being disembarked in the middle of the Aegean sea into a smaller boat, because our cruise ship was too big to go near the volcano area. This was exciting and freaky! We all got into the smaller boat and sailed to the edge, where another boat was waiting to take us to the volcano.

The color of the water changed drastically as we approached the volcano. This was due to the sulfur in the water. The hike wasn’t intense at all! I hiked a volcano in Guatemala once before, therefore I was expecting this one to be a bit challenging, but I was way off! It was fairly easy to climb; the only problem was that is was extremely sandy, so we had to be very cautious with our steps. To my disappointment, this is not an active volcano. By the time we got to the top there was not much to do or see. However, we got to smell a little fume that still emanates from years ago, through a hole in one of the remaining peaks.

As we made our return from the other side of the volcano, the boat took us to the hot springs. I was not able to swim in them, but from what I saw and heard, people had mixed feelings about them. The boat had to stay about twenty-five feet from the hot springs, so people had to swim from the boat to the hot springs. The water from the boat to the hot springs was really cold; this I assume was the part that most people did not like.

After this, we sailed to the edge of the island and got on a bus that drove us up a very scary hill, till we got to the town of Santorini. We had very little time to explore, since most of our day had been spent hiking and enjoying the volcano. In order to get back on the cruise ship, we had to descend from the other side of the town. The way they do it is CRAZY! But AWESOME! We all got to sit in cable cars and ride down to the cruise. 

Crete – Κρήτη

The following island on the list was Crete, the largest and most populous Greek island. We were told that the excursion to Crete had two options. We could either go on a guided tour with a professor or we could explore on our own. Of course, more than half of the group decided to do the second choice since this one allowed everyone to sleep until at least 8:30am. By the time we all got ready to disembark on the boat, we realized neither of us really knew where to go or what to see. However with our good spirits we all decided to take it as easy as possible and just walk around. 

As we strolled on the streets of Crete, we noticed that the port in which our bout docked is considered the commercial port; therefore the surroundings were mostly houses and commercial places. We managed to find a place to grab a quick bite to eat and we found it extremely interesting to see that the bagel was considered a regular sandwich or piece of bread.

By the time we got to the port, to get checked and pass security, we saw a huge line of passengers (from various cruise ships) so we stood at the end of line waiting. Somehow I overheard a tourist saying that whoever was in the Aquamarine cruise ship was most likely going to miss the boat because of the huge line. I immediately told all my classmates, and of course, we all freaked out. We started to run and ask people if they would let us cut the line and thankfully, they did and we passed through security in a rush. As we ran to the exit of the security checkpoint we noticed that the bus to the cruise was giving the final call; we were so relieved when we got to the cruise!

Having said that, there are a large number of archaeological sites to visit in Crete: the Minoan sites of Knossos and Phaistos, the classical site of Gortys, and the diverse archaeology of the island of Koufonisi which includes Minoan, Roman, and World War II ruins.

Rhodes – Ρόδος

Next on the list was the island of Rhodes, which is famous worldwide for the Colossus – one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. We were told that this had been the island of the Sun and he had chosen to divide the land between his three children. One of these new cities was Lindos, a maze of picturesque streets with great views of the acropolis.

The acropolis is located on the top of a hill; therefore a hike of about twenty minutes has to be done before getting to the top. The view of the Aegean Sea was spectacular and it only got better as we got to the top. On our way down, we passed through the town and got to see the little village located at the bottom of the acropolis. We also went to a pottery shop were we got to see how natives created wonderful pieces of art.

Another incredible site in Rhodes was the Old Town, which is a walled medieval city that was divided into three parts: the northern part includes the Acropolis of the Knights and the Palace of the Grand Master, the southern part includes the Hora – where the commoners lived, and the third part is the Jewish quarter. This was pretty impressive and it made us feel like we have traveled back in time.