Arriving in Athens was an emotional moment for me because I knew my family would be waiting for me there. Thinking that it would be a big deal, I tried to plan out exactly how I would act; but the reality was that it just felt normal for my brother to tell me I looked weird to him and for my mom to give me a hug. Trisha and Dad said "Hey" and then we were all off on our 8 day adventure! Dad did an excellent job of asking questions all week when we were unsure of things, which was often. When I got there they'd already figured out which bus to take to Port Piraeus and bought the round-trip ferry tix for Crete. Somehow we all got on the bus with our luggage, and then we stumbled along the port until we found the Superfast Ferry bound for Iraklion, Crete.
We arrived in Iraklion around 10 pm and then took a taxi to Village Heights resort. We upgraded our room to a beautiful two bedroom, two level apartment and were placed in an available room until ours was ready; mom and Trisha unpacked too early because we had to change rooms the next day to an even better room with an incredible view of Hersonissos. We lounged around the resort the next day in order for my family to overcome their jetlag. We had activities throughout the day such as darts, cocktail bingo, etc. with Ivan and Zdenek...Tyler and I took home some diplomas for winning while Trisha and Mom were content on just laying out in the sun. Lucky for all of us, the island straddles Mediterranean and North African weather, and it was beautiful all week. We also had some great meals all week, but I was never really able to sell my family on Greek food, Ouzo, or Raki. It's just not their taste I guess, but I was in heaven!! I loved getting free shots of Ouzo and Raki (Ouzo tastes like black licorice and Raki is a strong spirit made of fermented grape leaves) or watermelon at restaurants when we'd finished our meal. My favorite moments at the resort were swimming in the infinity pool, late night chats and drinks at the pool bar, and playing cards on our deck looking out over the city, the Mediterranean, and the mountains. I want to be back there already living the island lifestyle and soaking in the sun.
We spent a couple of days traveling down to Hersonissos to explore. I loved stumbling onto one of the first Christian churches on Crete and just wandering along the rocky coastline. We took a boat trip to Sissi, and with the anchor down in one of the bays we all jumped off the side of the boat into the bluest water I've ever seen...even Mom just stepped up and plunged into the sea!! Around Hersonissos we loved the fresh orange juice offered everywhere along with all the friendly smiles and greetings. It's not quite the busy season yet so it was nice to have much of the city to ourselves. On one of the last days we went down to the beach to layout and swim. Dad and Tyler went off exploring a cave on the far end of the beach, and unfortunately Tyler's foot slid into a sea urchin. He had to go to the hospital to get the spines cut out, but other than a little stinging I think he was alright.
Finally, we took a day trip to see the ancient Minoan Palace of Knossos. You cannot go to Crete and not see this archaeological site! Throughout my life I've struggled to get my family interested in some of the things I'm passionate about, namely history and archaeology. Knossos was something I'd wanted to see since I was 11 years old and first studied the Greek myth of Theseus and the Minotaur. In 6th grade I even built my own labyrinth, created my own minotaur, and put a little action figure with string tied to him for a project! I'm pleased to say I think my family really enjoyed seeing it, and I hope it at least reminded them that history really is fascinating and not boring! After being blown away in Knossos we wanted to go check out the Venetian Fortress along the port in Heraklion...so we wandered around admiring the combination of Greek/Cretan, Venetian, and even Turkish/Ottoman culture and architecture before jumping aboard a bus we hoped was the right one back to Hersonissos.
After all the fun on Crete, we had to end our trip sometime...so we said goodbye to Village Heights and hopped aboard the overnight ferry to Athens. We slept the whole way on the ferry so we were ready for a little sightseeing in Athens before my family and I had to part ways for one more year. We dropped our luggage off at our hotel and immediately headed for the Acropolis! This was something special for the whole family! As we stood atop the Acropolis looking up at the Parthenon we were all speechless. Mom made the comment that she never thought she'd actually see anything like this in person...she said she always knew I would see these things, but she never thought she'd get to do it. Hearing that made the whole trip even better for me! My family and I may have different interests, different tastes in food, and different senses of adventure; but it doesn't stop us from enjoying our time together and helping each other do things that put us out of our comfort zones and help us grow as a family and as individuals! Overall I was really proud of my family...it was there first international trip and they did wonderfully dealing with all the different languages around us and the unknown surroundings.
Final Thoughts on the trip:
- I'm in love with Cretian sunsets!
- Distance and time cannot deteriorate the love of family.
- My brother can officially beat me up now...I do not like that he now is much stronger than me and towers over me!
- I was tempted to just exchange my ticket back to Bucharest toward a one way ticket back to Indiana...but I resisted the temptation and can't wait to finish up my Peace Corps service back here in Tarnaveni, Romania!!
- Feta Cheese is delicious.
- Sitting on the Aeropagus contemplating the apostle Paul standing in the same place was a numinous moment for me.
- I could listen to the Zorba the Greek song everyday...and I did for the past week!
- There is nothing like watching the rest of your family jump off an old fishing boat into the Mediterranean and seeing them smile as they return to the surface or seeing their faces crunch up at they take a sip of Raki!!
- Time with family anywhere in the world is an awesome vacation for me!
