Road Trip to Porto Heli, Greece

After 4 days we sailed back to Athens. Here are a few pictures of our departure from Santorini.

Three huge cruise ships in the bay.

The wild stamped to get on board the boat.

Sahara sprouted two new teeth while in Greece. Check out her new upper teeth pushing through the gums.

Upon our return to Athens, we rented a car and took the less traveled road through the Greek country side to a place called Porto Heli. This is a place that Greeks go to on vacation. This place is very resort-y. Here's a shot from our balcony.

Mommy and the munchkins playing on the beach in front of our hotel.

Nader's father joined us for this leg of our trip. Here we are enjoying a few traditional dishes that have become our favorites, Greek salad and mousakka. Delicious.

Another shot from our hotel room. Look how clear the water is.

One day we drove 2 hours to a neighboring village called Nepflio. Here's a picture of a lion carved into the mountain side.

Here's Maya and Sahara enjoying the local play ground.

This place was in the middle of the sea. We learned that it's an old fortress converted into a hotel.

This place is known for it's castle fortresses on the sea.

And here's sunset at Porto Heli. A nice way to end our trip.

Santorini, Greece

It's been a while since our last posting and with good reason. We have been busy visiting the far reaches of Greece. The last island that we toured was Santorini, which was the farthest away from Athens. We took a high speed boat which shortened the trip to only 4 hours, otherwise it could take anywhere from 6 to 12 hours depending on the type of boat you took.

Here we are on the high speed boat.

This is the port we arrived at.

Then the climb up the treacherous caldera in a taxi.

You could take a donkey from the port for only 3 Euros.

Here's the village Thira clinging to the ridge of the caldera. This was very impressive to see.

Family shot.

Nader getting creative with the digital camera. As you can see, he captured a panoramic view. From where he was standing you could see the Aegean ocean from either side of the island, along with a few neighboring islands in the distance.

A shot of the dormant volcano from our rental car which was the size of a match box.

It's a little hard to see, but there is a Greek Orthodox Church nestled on this slope. I wonder how many people make it to mass.

And here is the money shot. Sunset on Santorini Island. Beautiful.

The golden glow of sunset on the city.

Here's a shot from our hotel.

Here we are playing at Kamari Beach. A black sand beach created from the volcano's lava. The water was cold and a beautiful torquoise color.

Here you can see Sahara's Greek tan. It's surprising that she did not get tan lines around here binky.

From the Island of Paros, Greece (Our Future Home)

We took a short 40 minute boat ride from Mykonos to Paros. This island is rich with marble. The marble used to make the Venus De Milo statue came from Paros. We have certainly taken the less traveled route and found ourselves in a traditional fishing village where there are more local Greek's than tourist.

Here's the charming little fishing village we are staying in called Naousa.

Sahara and Maya running through the streets.

Local fisherman drying out their fresh catch of the day.

We rented a little car and drove around Paros Island. It probably only took 2 hours to make the loop. The scenery of the coastline was amazing and we stopped at several beaches and fishing villages along the way.
This fisherman was beating the octopus against the rocks to tenderize it.


Nice shot of Nader. Sahara was too busy checking out the view.



Here we are at Golden Beach. There was only a handful of people there giving it a very secluded feel. The water is cold and very clean and much too tempting for the girls.



Sweet smiles from daddy and Maya.




Nader is trying to devise a plan to move here. I hope he figures it out.


Here's a fitting end to a wonderful day. Here's the shot from our balcony. Good night.

From the Island of Mykonos, Greece

Nader and I are sitting on a balcony over looking a beautiful beach while the sun sets. We just bid the sun farewell as it races to greet you in the states. I should add that Nader is sipping on Ouzo. Very fitting. Mykonos Island was not as lame as I thought it would be. It's not just a party town. See for yourself how beautiful this place is...

A view of Mykonos from our room. Note the Ouzo bottle that Nader left in the window sill. He has been connecting to his Greek roots.

Windmills.

Another view of the windmills.

Maya running wild in the streets.

Maya and Sahara on famous Paradise Beach. What you don't see or hear are the dancing girls on tables or the loud pulsing music. I'm not sure where Nader is, but I'm sure he is around here somewhere....

The honeycomb of streets. Check out the bougainvillea.

This is a typical shot, stairs to a white house with a blue door.

Here's what we are eating every day. Scott Briney eat your heart out !!!

Our daily routine starts with a trip to the bakery. There is nothing better than a European bakery !!

Greek Orthodox churches are as common as Starbucks in the states. There is one of every corner.

Here's a photo inside a church.

A local fisherman selling his fresh catch of the day. Some of the fish were still flapping around.

We took a day trip to Delos Island, which is an ancient archaeological site.

Sahara on the boat to Delos.

It may not look like much now, but in 3 B.C. this place was a spectacular city. This is where Apollo was said to be born.

Here's some ancient rich persons house. Note the mosaic on the floor.

Here's the temple of Apollo.

Here are the lions of Delos. We are pretty sure these are famous???

Ruins.

Here's a picture of Nader ruining the picture of the ruins.

Check out the stacked stone. This used to be someones house thousands of years ago.