Off to Mykonos via 10-hour ferry ride! - Thursday, September 5, 1991

Thursday, September 5, 1991

We woke up at 0700 because the ferry to Paros was leaving at 0900. We had the front desk guy knock on our door to wake us up. I went downstairs and paid the bill (26,000 DR). After that, I went upstairs to wake up Anne so she could get ready as the bus was leaving to the port at about 0810. As she got ready, I remembered a dream I had the night before. It was awesome because Mom, Dad, Aya, Pepin, and Pe and other family members I could not figure out were preparing for Abuelo Pepe’s anniversary visit. It was going to be the first time since he died in 1986 as we were excited. A big meal was being prepared at Aya’s house and we were just waiting. He came through the door and he looked so young. I know it was him, but he didn’t look old. He looked like how his father looks in the picture in Aya’s room with the dark glasses and all. It was freaky, but we were all so happy. He talked about what he did up in heaven. He looked for things to eat, to do, etc. It wasn’t hard because everything was there to be had, but he loved to look. Aya was sitting next to me and he in front of her. She had her head down and she was holding his hand. She couldn’t believe he was in the same room with her. I then woke up and had this incredible feeling of peace and a feeling that Pe or Aya had had the same exact dream. I will ask them when I get back.

After Ana packed, we went downstairs and the same old couple who took us to the port yesterday took us again. They spoke no English (and us no Greek), but she seemed to be telling us through hand gestures and grunts that they were married and happy. They smiled a lot and he honked and said hello to everyone. I guess he was very popular and she seemed proud that he honked and greeted everyone. They dropped us off and we sat down to have breakfast: nescafe and croissant.

As I sat in the café, Anne bought postcards and stamps and was told the ferry was delayed until 1030. All the ferries we had taken on this trip so far (2) have been delayed. It’s not such a good sign. Maybe someone does not want us to leave. I love this place. I would buy a house here and live the summers in it. Imagine a villa in Oia and everyday waking up to the most incredible views in the world. I have now named this my favorite place in the world for two reasons: peacefully beautiful and dirt cheap. It seemed like I didn’t leave since the first time I came. Everything is the same except that I am with Anne which is better. She looks good with her honey golden tan. I said to myself, I will come every year for the rest of my life. If not, at least every couple of years. This place really gets to me in a good way.

The ship finally came about 1045. We boarded and said in the comfortable Pullman seats. It’s 1130 and we’re about to begin our first game of scrabble. I predict that I will WIN WIN. Ha! Ha! Ha!

Ana	Alex
1            CARD – 14	1.    TRAINED – 16
2            TIE – 3	2.    FUNK – 13
3            TAX – 20	3.    REPENT – 14
4            QUIT- 24	4.    LEAN – 8
5            OUZO – 42	5.    HALO – 21
6            RUSH – 7	6.    NIP – 10
7            PEW – 16	7.    MAYOR – 20
8            MOVE – 36	8.    DRAWL – 26
9            EEL – 6	9.    EGG – 15
10         GRAY – 36	10.  PASSED
11         DO – 7	11.  DYE – 8
12         ALSO – 12	12.  EVE – 18
13         SNIP – 12	13.  BRUSH – 20
14         BAD – 12	14.  ICY – 16
15         GEL – 12	15.  HEY – 10
16         OF – 5	16.  OIA/ID – 8
17         STRAINED – 18	17.  BINS – 18
18         BUNT – 21	18.  TROT – 5
19         JET – 10	19.  NO – 4
20         TIE - 6	20.  MY – 11
21         IT – 4	21.  WIT - 12
TOTAL:  327	22.  C - 3
	TOTAL:  273

Anne won! We finished the game at 1324. The game lasted almost two hours. We haven’t arrived in Paros yet, but we are patiently waiting. I am back and we’re not going to Paros today! The ferry stopped, but we waited too long and it was too late to get off. We thought the boat was still moving and thought we had more time. Anne and I ran downstairs and we got there just when the ship was pulling away from the port. It royally sucks, but what can you do. Anne felt bad and wanted to wait to not get stuck in a line in the car holding area where it is really hot. The ferry is going straight to Athens and we have not decided on what we are going to do. All I know is that we’re going to play yet another Scrabble game.

Ana	Alex
1.    FIB – 16	1.    PINTO – 11
2.    AT – 2	2.    SHIP/IF – 26
3.    PASSED	3.    ELATE – 9
4.    LASH – 11	4.    GEMS – 14
5.    FIBER – 22	5.    VIXEN – 30
6.    BURY – 133	6.    WASH – 18
7.    MOVED – 22	7.    YIELD – 18
8.    QUIZ – 44	8.    SET – 4
9.    VOW – 18	9.    ERA/OR – 7
10.  DAB – 12	10.  KNELT – 10
11.  DUG – 10	11.  INK – 14
12.  RIM – 6	12.  ACE – 10
13.  LEND – 10	13.  TONED – 8
14.  NAP – 10	14.  DOPE – 14
15.  TO – 6	15.  TRIM – 7
16.  RINK – 16	16.  CAR - 9
17.  CART – 10	17.  ON – 2
18.  GURU/ARE – 16	18.  SHRINK – 24
19.  LID – 4	19.  AWARE – 16
20.  OR – 4	20.  JAR – 11
21.  TOY - 3	21.  OAT – 9
-3 for G & U	22.  IN – 4
TOTAL:  281	TOTAL:  274

Ana won again. I have no comment, but that this was boring because the words were short and all the letters were bad. Well, we arrived in ATH at 2000. We ran to the ticket office and bought a cabin (#106) on the next ship to Mykonos. We bought food and coke and went on the ship. I cannot believe we are going on another ferry in the direction where we just sailed from, but life is good! The cabin was great: nice beds, pilllows, shower, etc. The ship’s name was DIMITRA and it stopped in Silos, Tinos, and then Mykonos. We slept the whole way.

Fab's Ferry Ordeal and Vomit-Man Cab Ride - Wednesday, September 4, 1991

Wednesday, September 4, 1991

We woke up at 1000 and got ready. We had continental breakfast at the hotel restaurant, Fab bought a ticket for the 1915 ferry back to Athens (she was going back home for her cousin’s wedding), Ana and I bought ferry ticket to Paros to leave tomorrow at 0900, Ana called home, we changed to a double room (#39), and we all went to the beach. It was a short three-minute walk from hotel and the day was awesome.

I am sitting on the beach writing in this journal. There us a mountain to my left and I am laying on a sun bed on top of black sand. The wind makes the heat bearable so it’s not so bad. The water is freezing and at exactly 1527 we are leaving to go eat something. We ate the usual Greek fare: gyros, fries, and coke. I could live on this gyros. After a late lunch, we went back to hotel so Fab could shower and leave for the port. She was going to Piraeus (ATH) at 1915, but the hotel was taking her at about 1730.

A while later, I asked Anne if Fab had taken her credit cards from the money belt we all shared. Anne opened the money belt and realized that Fab had forgotten everything: passport, Pan Am ID, credit cards, and self-write ticket. The girl had nothing so Anne and I got dressed and asked the hotel people to take us to the port as fast as they can. An old husband & wife took us speeding down to the port. Anne and I were rushing out of the car and onto the ferry to look for Fab, but there was no sign of her. We even paged her on the loud speaker. She was NOT there!

After not finding her on the ship and in the port area, Anne realized she must have gone back to the hotel. As we were going back to the hotel, we see Fab getting out of a taxi. She finally showed up and it cost her like 2200 Drachma and we had to give her another 700 DR so she can take her stuff out of the ATH airport storage. We were quite tired of the running around.

After this ordeal which was straight out of yet another movie, Anne and I took a 2000 Drachma cab ride to Oia to watch the sunset and go to dinner. We got there just in time. After we wondered the streets looking for a café, nothing peaked our interest. We found a place and after sitting down, we realized they did not accept credit cards. We felt embarrassed and ordered OJ and a beer. We left to find a credit card accepting restaurant in the form of a place called Neptune’s.

It was on the roof-top patio of some shops and it was freezing cold. The service sucked because it was so slow. It reminded me of Egypt. I ordered spaghetti with veal and Ana ordered a Greek salad. Ana was surprised I ordered veal, but I wanted to try something new. After dinner, we left to catch a 2230 bus back to Thira to go to Perissa. Anne was scared to go on the bus because the old man driver seemed drunk crazy and we had to travel on narrow cliff-laden roads. She wanted to take a cab. I was a little upset because the difference in price was a lot (2000 DR compared to 600 DR for the cab). Not much of a difference, but we were counting pennies at that point and the Fab ordeal did not help, but I later understood where she was coming from as she was just plain scared of the drivers.

We took a cab and on the way to Thira, we had unexpected guests in the cab with us. After we get in the cab, the driver advises us that he had to pick up two other people at a house off the main road. We waited outside this house for like 10 minutes. Suddenly, this man and woman come out of the house and the man did not look very good. He was slouching over and the lady had a glass in her hand which was probably a drink. She got in the back seat with Anne and I, and he got in the front. She was directly behind him holding his head up as he moaned and groaned. We thought he was drunk sick and ready to throw up. We were sort of grossing out at the thought of huge chunks flying around inside the car like a blender.

Suddenly, the sick man told the driver to stop the car and asked Anne or I to get in the front seat so he could sit next to the woman. Anne got out of the car and sat in the front. As the ride continued, the woman started asking me questions about where we were staying, where we were from, etc. I asked what the hell was wrong with him. Here’s the story: He had gotten sick the night before and had been throwing up blood ever since. They thought it would pass, but it had not. So, he had to go to the hospital in Thira because the one doctor in Oia was working his 24-hour shift in Thira. I then turned to the glass in her hand and it contained a sample of his bloody vomit. I was like great if the car tips over or swerves a bit I will get showered with his ultimate back wash. I was not happy. Silence filled the air until we got to the hospital. They ran out of the car as fast as they could and we wished them luck. We got to the hotel, showered, packed, and zonked. In the middle of the night, I woke up with the biggest stomach pains and threw up my whole dinner inside the bathtub and had gobs of liquid diarrhea. It reaked of veal. I would not eat veal for a long time. I hope my body stabilizes and that will not happen until I am stable and eating consisent meals.

Mopeds, sunset at Oia, and street-stand gyros - Tuesday, September 3, 1991

Tuesday, September 3, 1991

We arrived at 1100 and the day was beautiful. Ana and Fab were like two school girls excited on the first day of school. They were practically jumping up and down. When we stepped off of the ferry, a girl met us with pictures of her hotel on Perissa Beach which was about 2,000 DR (about $10 per person). We hopped in their mini-van and went to the Santa Irini Hotel. It was great: private bath, tourist office ,bar, restaurant, and we were able to rent mopeds.

We got room #32 and left on our mopeds ($10 a day) to the Thira city. It was about 25 minutes away. When we got there, we are gyros and booked a $7 tour of a volcano and hot springs. We walked down to the old port (25 minutes) to meet the ship to go to the volcano. The sea was rough so the boat was rocking side to side. Everyone was getting soaked. The view of the island was awesome.

We stopped at the volcano and they told us we had one hour to roam freely. We thought there would be a tour guide, but I guess not. The walk up was a long one. Fab stayed behind and Anne and I continued. Anne couldn’t take it anymore so I went up to take picture and video. Actually, it was not a big deal. We went back down and met Fab and waited for the ship. The ship got there at about 1530 and we left for the hot springs. It was nice to see everyone enjoying themselves.

Fab and Anne did not bring swimsuits so they didn’t jump in. I didn’t go because Anne got pissed and I didn’t want to hear her bitch for hours or maybe days about how I went in without her. I was so mad, but I didn’t really want to upset her. On the island, there was a small church and the springs were around it. We didn’t get off ship because there was no dock. One can only swim to island and Hot Springs. After we went back to the old port and we took a cable car back up to the top. It was scary because the wind kept on rocking the car. It was about 1700 so I said lets go to Oia and watch the sunset.

We rode the mopeds to Oia. The roads are narrow and pretty scary because of cars and buses zooming by and the drop down. It took about 30 minutes. It was great. Oia has small streets with cafes and villas. They loved it. We went to the site of the old castle and took tons of pictures and video. The sun had not set, but they wanted to leave because they wanted to drive back in the dark and they were scared shitless. I wanted to stay, but it was two against one.

We rode back from Oia to the hotel in Perissa and it was far as shit. It took like an hour and the last 30 minutes of the ride was in the dark. I was freezing more than anything and they were numb with fright. Fab was crying and she lost a contact lense. She was not happy. I was wearing a T-shirt and shorts and it was windy as hell. The sky was awesome because it was purpleish pink just like in the postcards. We finally got back to the hotel ad we were all glad. They were mad at me, but at least we survived and we could say we did it. As they showered, I went down the street and bought six gyros, french fries, popcorn, coke, and my favorite chocolate chip cookies. We had a picnic on our porch and it was awesome. I took a shower (cold as ice) and went to sleep. We were dead tired.

Trek to Santorini, Greece (favorite place in the world) - Monday, September 2, 1991

Monday, September 2, 1991

Well we spent Labor Day trying to get to Athens (ATH). We left LXR at 1030 and got to CAI at 1130 and tried to use ticket on an Ethiopian Airlines (ET) flight leaving to ATH at 1500, but no luck. The lady told us it was only valid on Olympic Airways (OA). I finally went to OA (took a cab to their office in the other terminal) and got the tickets endorsed to either ET or Egypt Air (MS). ET said no again so we went on MS flight leaving at 1800 and got to ATH at 2000. The flight was good because we were finally going to Greece. It was my second time and first time for Ana and Fab.

We changed, left some more stuff in storage, and took bus to the Piraeus port to catch an 2345 ferry to Thira (aka Santorini aka Summer Lovers location). The ferry ride costs like $14 per person. We ate and waited for the ferry which was like two hours late. It finally came so we left for Thira, one of my favorite places in the world. We slept in these pullman-like seats (i.e. airplane seats). Ana and I hogged up one full row so it wasn’t that bad. The ferry stopped in Paros, Ios, Thira, and then it continued to Heraklion in Crete. We slept the whole 10 hours and finally got to Santorini.

Hat Cheap Suit and the Valley of the Kings/Queens - Sunday, September 1, 1991

Sunday, September 1, 1991

Fab was still sick with the runs so she stayed in the room and skipped the tour. Ana and I were late again, but only by five minutes. It was only five people on the tour: a rich woman from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, a mother and daughter from Austria, and Ana and I. They took us to a dock to take a ferry to West Thebes where everything is located. We met our tour guide and took a mini van to the Valley of the Kings.

It was impressive to see these tombs built 100s of years ago inside the mountains. In this valley, only Kings were buried. We saw the tomb of Ramses VI and III. The VI was huge. It was interesting because of all the hieroglyphics on the walls and ceilings. The hieroglyphics depict scenes from “The Book of the Dead.” His grave was stolen by thieves so the room is full of huge stones. In those times, everyone was mummified. It is a means of preserving bodies for the after life. Even commoners were mummified, but they didn’t get really good “mummy” jobs. Only the Kings, Queens, and rich folk could afford to be preserved for the longest time.

An Englishman named Howard Carter in the early 1900s discovered the most famous tomb, King Tut. His house sits on a hilltop near the valley. This tomb is famous because it was the last one found and it was virtually intact (mummy and all). All the treasures (minus the mummy) are in the Egyptian museum in CAI (i.e. the one where Ana and I took illegal pics with flash). King Tut lies beneath the Ramses XI tomb.

NOTE: King Tut’s tomb was closed. It’s very small because King Tut was only 17 years old when he died. He really didn’t contribute much to Egypt and reigned for only two years.

King Tut’s tomb was not discovered earlier because it was well hidden. Carter was determined to find it. After several failed attempts, he tried one more time and he succeeded. After that, many of the people on the expedition died mysteriously. Many people said it was the curse of King Tut because they had disturbed his peace. Carter also died and people attributed it to that same curse. His house was left untouched after he died and it is going to be turned into a museum.

After the Valley of the Kings, we stopped at a restaurant for some drinks. It was extremely hot and we were dying of thirst and hunger. After our pit stop, we visited the Temple of Hatshepsut (pronounced: Hat Cheap Suit). It’s incredible how it’s just built on the side of a mountain. We stopped there for about 20 minutes. I saw a man sitting on the floor injecting water into the cracks on the columns. It’s done to fill them so they do not fall apart. After this temple, we visited the Valley of the Queens.

The Queens were actually the wives of the Pharaohs. These tombs house remains of the wives and sons of those most powerful Pharaohs. Only one was open and it was actually the tomb of a nine-year-old boy. The rest of the tombs were closed indefinitely for re-construction. The tomb of the boy was awesome because it was colorful and his sacarfogous was intact. It was empty, of course, but incredible. The tomb also contained a mummified aborted fetus of the boy’s mother. The fetus is believed to be the brother of the boy.

After that, we stopped at Colosses of Mernmon where there are these two giant statues which are believed to be guarding a now absent temple. It was incredible because of the size of the statues, but most of it was broken. After we went back to the hotel and we ate with Fab at the restaurant. After, we went back to the room to change to go to the pool, but we fell asleep. We woke up, ordered room service and fell asleep watching Earth Angel, a bad Eric Estrada and Cindy Williams flick.