They tell me pictures are worth a thousand words

The Parthenon

Given the late hour and the little forethought I am putting into this, I think a quick series of pictures will suffice as my first blog post. I have taken 650 photos documenting the trip thus far and probably should share them.

We are currently in Koufonisia, a small island in the Little Cyclades. Population is 366. After a horrendously long day trying to get from Athens to this island yesterday (either the boat had mechanical problems or there was a strike), we decided to recuperate by living the idyllic island lifestyle. We all woke up sometime between 11 and 12, ate a long and leisurely lunch, and then meandered to Pori, a cove with a quiet beach about 3km away, where we swam, read, and relaxed the rest of the day. Wrap up the day by watching the Brazil v. Chile game in an open-air bar over some beers and dessert and you've got a pretty excellent summer day, no?

Here are some photos of our time in Greece so far:

Plaka (Athens) - Plaka was the neighbourhood by the Acropolis where Ron, Zhi, and I spent most of our day in Athens. Although rife with cheesy tourist shops, you have to admit they had a lot of very entertaining tshirts. Zhi liked the Oedipus one. I thought the Calvin and Hobbes one was very fitting for Jordan.

Piraeus (Athens) - We run to the pier to make our 7:25am boat, only to find out it has been cancelled. We find out the next boat leaves at 5:30pm, which means we won't reach Koufonisia until 2am. Here, the bright-eyed, bushy-tailed Ron sits with our bags as Tom and Jordan figure out the ferry situation.

Koufonisia - All the buildings in this small town are white-washed with blue shutters and doors. The colourful bougainvillea add a brilliant contrast. I guess all those cheesy tourist pictures of Greece were real.

Koufonisia - Right before Piros. The water really is as blue as the pictures! Oh, and nude beaches aren't just a French thing.

Koufonisia - Heading to dinner by the sea at sunset. With views like this, it's no wonder all of us were happy to stay another 2 days here since there might be a ferry strike tomorrow which will prevent us from getting to Folegrandros.

P.S.: Since a picture is worth a thousand words, I should get props for having the highest word count compared to Ron and Zhi.