Today is my birthday, and we're giving you the gifts!
Video Tour: Greece and Turkey
As Mike wrote, everything old was new again this time he visited Greece, and our experience was so wonderful that Rhodes is currently in our top three possibilities for a new home. He put together this awesome video of our adventures in Turkey and Greece so you can experience them along with us!
Greek Adventure: Coming Home to Rhodes
We were coming to the end of our travels in Greece, sailing from our secluded anchorage in Tilos, skirting along the northern coast of Rhodes, and arriving once again in Mandraki Harbor, where we had begun the whole thing. And I was already missing it. Both the good and the bad. Stolen plums, ouzo dreams, dormant volcanos, impossible stars, and gracious grandmothers in the kitchen.
Greek Adventure: Grandmothers in the Kitchen on Tilos
Our week of sailing the Greek isles on our private yacht was coming to an end, but we had one more stop to make after diving Pserimos and heading out of cosmopolitan Kos: we wanted to see tiny Tilos.
Greek Adventure: Outlaw Diving in Pserimos
Up until 2005, scuba diving was essentially illegal in Greece. In a country that boasts over 9300 miles of coastline, only about 62 miles of it was legal to dive, and that small portion was heavily guarded and restricted by the government. It made sense, really. With thousands of unexplored shipwrecks and literally entire cities submerged during ancient earthquakes, the Greek authorities were trying to protect antiquities from poachers and treasure seekers. That all changed in 2005, however...
Greek Adventure: Hip Dining in the Land of Hippocrates
After leaving the volcanic island of Nisyros, the next stop on our yacht tour of the Dodecanese was Kos. Kos is known for many things, including being the home of Hippocrates, the father of medicine. This was fortunate for me, since I was running low on Dramamine, a very necessary thing to have when one is sailing on a small private yacht and being tossed about the sea like a damselfish in distress. To further soothe my pain, there was no shortage of elegant cocktail bars on the island. Thank goodness for small miracles.
Greek Adventure: Riding the Volcano in Nisyros
Nisyros is one of the six currently active volcanoes in the Greek islands, and its signature as such is undeniable when viewed from above, with the whole island seeming to rise out of the Aegean only to crest at a distinctive circular rim before falling back down to sea level at the center of the caldera. And I wanted to be in the center of that volcano.
Greek Adventure: Impromptu Date Night in Symi
During our yacht tour of Greece, we arrived on the island of Symi to find a sophisticated yet charming town in this most unlikely locale.
Greek Adventure: Setting Sail to Bozuk Bükü
The first stop on our sailing tour of the Greek islands was actually in Turkey, at Bozuk Buku, beneath the ruins of ancient Loryma. But first we had to find the boat.
Greek Adventure: Pefkos, Lindos, and Butterfly Valley
After stumbling upon the paradise that is the Coralli Restaurant, we explored the ancient acropolis of Lindos, where we made a new donkey friend, before heading to Butterfly Valley, where Zack did not make a new German friend.
