Samos adventures

the greatest adventure

September 28

         Today was such a satisfying adventure day. After working for 2 days just about everyone was ready to leave the hotel. The day started off with insanity workout in the morning followed by breakfast and metaphysical. We all met up at 9 to drive about an hour to meet up with our guide, Menolis, who is a local who has lived in Samos his whole life. He loves finding new adventures and took us on our best adventure yet. After off-roading three manual cars (two of which looked like a soccer mom van and a milk truck) up and down hills, we hiked about forty-five minutes to a remote beach called “little devils beach”. It received its name because of the horrible storms that run through these beaches. There we went swimming, used the snorkel that I bought the day before, cliff jumping, and even found an awesome cave. I cannot even begin to explain how amazing this day was, and it didn’t end there. From “Little Devils Beach” we hiked to “Devils Beach” where we found another cliff to jump off as well as the view of the gorge. Then we hiked all the way back up the mountain to our cars. It was a strenuous hike all up hill, but everyone made it. I am so impressed by the willingness and support of our group. We drove the cars a little further, and then hiked to the top of the gorge, where got an aerial view of our previous location on “Devils Beach”. The gorge was incredible to view and reminded us of movies such as Avatar or Lord of the Rings. This was another breathtaking moment. By this time everyone was extremely hungry. Many of us had not had food since breakfast and it was now four, but Minolis had one more adventure up his sleeve. We drove to another location and hiked next to a river which we crossed over many times until we reached a waterfall. Unfortunately you have to hike through the water to see the two waterfalls, but maybe we will do that another day. So instead of going straight for the falls, we turned off to climb wooden steps all the way up into a treehouse type of restaurant. There we feasted while looking out on the glorious view. It reminded me of being in Big Sur. We were in the woods, but our restaurant overlooked the ocean. After dinner we walked back in the dark with few flashlights, but everyone made it to the cars, which was followed by an hour ride back to the hotel. Today was one grand adventure, and we get to experience Minolis adventures one more time next weekend !

26 and 27

September 26-28

         The last two days we have stayed at the hotel as they were work days. A few girls and I have been running down the hill or doing insanity in the mornings before breakfast which I have really enjoyed. 

September 25

September 25

         Today began with a run down the hill and into the sunrise. A few girls (Lauren, Noelia, Nadine, Enyo) and I woke up at seven to go on a run to the harbor below our hotel, which took about 15 minutes each way. It was such a beautiful sight that I hardly felt like I was running, and I cannot wait to do it again. We came back just in time for breakfast followed by metaphysical. Then the group walked into town to draw boats until three. While there I bought organic fruit from a truck and went on a mini adventure to draw two men fishing. I also swam in the water with Tori and got a smoothie. At three, instead of taking the bus up the hill, I walked as I love the walk up and down the hill from our hotel. It takes about 25 minutes, but the view is incredible the whole way.

         Once we got to the hotel some of us went swimming and then headed to dinner in small groups. My group consisted of Dan, Casey, and Austin and our mission was to come up with something unique that we all have in common .  It was a bit challenging at first, but after a while we kept finding random commonalities. We all have visited Multnomah Falls, Oregon, and are all of German background. We had a great time and ended dinner around 9 and got a ride up the hill at 10.  The wifi is out so sorry this is late. Goodnight!

Crossing Greece off of my bucket list!

September 24

         Many times in life I have been in awe of beauty, but few times have taken my breath away. This was one of those few times.  We got up at 6 this morning to catch the two-hour ferry ride to Samos. When we arrived I was completely blown away by how crystal clear and gorgeous the water and island are. 

          The drive up to the hotel was on a windy rode overlooking the ocean. I drove in the truck with a Greek man who has been living in Samos for 58 years. His little truck reminded me of the beach buggy (my truck). When we arrived at the hotel, the excitement continued. Noelia and I were put in a room together and our room overlooks the ocean. From our balcony you can see turkey and a few little islands. We rearranged our room so that we could watch the sunset out of our window. The class met at 12:30 to walk about a half an hour into town. It is a long walk crossing through a harbor, but most definitely worth it. The whole town is located on anther harbor.  Literally every seat from the restaurant has a beautiful view of the water and boats. I even found a scuba and snorkel boat! Elissa and I hope to go diving on Monday, which is our free day.

         After eating our first gyros in Greece, the group walked back to the hotel while Noelia, Austin and I took another route back. Noelia and I swam to a rock and climbed around while Austin took some pictures. The water is so perfect in temperature and clarity. I am now back at the hotel sitting by the pool with a view of the ocean ahead of me. As Tom Rutherford would say, “This is perfect”. My smile has not left my face since we have arrived.  If I do not come home, you know where to find me. 

       Tonight we head back down to town to have a group dinner. I cannot wait to experience the beauty of this island at night. I cannot wait to tell you more about my adventures in Samos these next two weeks. 

sept 23

September 23th

         We had another workday today. I did some laundry and at 1 Alaina, Andrew, and I walked down the street to see the Temple of Artemis, which is one of the seven wonders of the ancient world; so I only have 6 left! It was basically one and a half columns which wasn’t too thrilling, but a cool thing to check off of a bucket list. We walked back to the hotel and on our way back we found outdoor exercise equipment so we played around there for a while. We had great time messing around and laughing at how ridiculous some of the equipment was.

         When we arrived back at the hotel we did artwork. Before dinner Molly wanted to go into town to meet with the rug people so I went with her. I played some backgammon and even won one round! Then we had dinner at the hotel which was wonderful, and then the whole group walked back into town one last time to say bye to the friends we had made. We took pictures with the rug shop owners, and some of them wrote in my journal. We will be keeping in touch with them via Facebook so when they sell their rugs in the U.S. they can meet up with us. They have been so good to us from giving us fair deals on rugs to making us dinner. We will miss them dearly. We will also be saying bye to our bus driver tomorrow. He has been the best bus driver any of the abroads has ever had. We appreciate him so much as he has been so helpful and selfless. He has most definitely become apart of our group. Although it is sad to say goodbye to these wonderful people, I look forward to many more adventures in Greece. We will be leaving early tomorrow morning to catch the ferry to Samos. I cannot wait to scuba dive there!