November 11
We had to turn the 4 wheelers in, put gas in one first, get some cash, get some breakfast, and then walk down to the old port. We woke up around 9 and got ready for the day. We had to wear clothes we would swim in that day and bring a change of clothes for after too. We got on our wheelers and went down the road to fill it up. We then tried taking them back but the one street was one way so we went on a little detour until we found a street we could take. We returned them and then walked up the street to get cash and a chocolate croissant. After we ate we walked towards the old port. We walked past all the cute stores and there was an amazing view of the volcano that we didn’t even know we could see until then. This hidden view was like a 2 minute walk from our place and we didn’t even know it. We took the view in and then walked over 500 steps down the cliff of the island to the port. we walked past donkeys which meant the steps were covered in poo. We tried to avoid it all but I kind of slipped on some and my hand may or may not have landed on some icky spots when I fell. We kept walking down and tried to avoid falling. Which hannah didn’t accomplish as she also took a tumble except on her booty. We finally made it to the port and we were early so we walked around the little shops. The water is so clear here. You can see to the bottom even in the super deep parts. It’s gorgeous. And the water is such an amazing turquoise deep blue. It’s so pretty. We finally got our tickets and boarded our ship. It was a wooden boat and the cutest thing. We saw an Asian family we met yesterday and talked to for a bit and three girls that we saw at the sunset spot in oia yesterday. It’s funny how you keep seeing the same people when traveling. The boat took us towards some rocks formed by the volcano and then to the volcano. It was a small island of just rocks and rocks. I felt like I was walking on a planet. You just walked through all these black rocks and we finally made it to the volcanic mouth. Except I think he said it wasn’t actually a volcano but just formed by a volcano? But idk. There were some smoking parts and it smelled like sulfur. It reminded me of Yellowstone. The view from up there was also incredible. You can see so many islands from one spot because they are all clumped together. I enjoy seeing more land than just more ocean. We walked around on the top for a bit and then walked back down to the ship. We have to cross multiple boats to get to ours. We waited for a little and then we went to a hot spring. There was the option to swim to it and we had prepared for this. We talked the three girls into it too. We were kind of freaking out at first about swimming to it because of the distance and because of the cold temperature of the sea. The locals all think it’s cold there because it’s November but it feels like a summer day to me. Except the water, that is definitely November water. We were hesitant to jump in but some others went before us and we knew we had to do it. Despite their faces of shock when they hit the chilly water. It was very cold when I jumped in but my body adjusted and then it felt nice. I was wearing fleece lined leggings so that helped too haha. We swam a few hundred feet to the spring and then we could touch. It was a super refreshing swim in very salty salty chilly water. When we reached the hot spring, the rocks were covered in a brown orange mud but we could touch so we walked into it. We were very confused because the water was still chilly. There were some warm spots but definitely no hot water. We thought maybe it was farther back and we did find some hot spots but the cold water would take over the hot water and just make it warm. So it was a bit disappointing since I know what hot springs should feel like and usually they are pretty awesome. this was just room temp water with muddy flakes floating around in it. It was worth it to just swim in the cold Aegean Sea though. I could’ve swam there for a while but we only had 30 minutes. We got back on the boat and tried to dry off some and just let the sun dry us. Some ladies from the states talked to us about our travels and they were so interested in it all. We made it back to the port and I watched the fish in the clear for a little and then we took the donkeys back up. There was no way we were going to climb back up those steps up a literal cliff to Fira. Usually people take the cable car but we like some adventure. I got on a white mule and she just started going up. She knew the deal. She just trotted up and would take breaks some which I was fine with because I could take in the view. It was a pretty bumpy ride so I couldn’t get too many pictures but I was just laughing the whole time. When the man caught up with us, he started making them go faster and mine just took off. She was like running up the stairs, I don’t know how they do it. She was passing the others and it was a bit crazy ha. She didn’t mess around. When we reached the top, we were hungry because we didn’t have lunch so we went straight to our favorite gyro place. We got lunch and then went back to the hostel to shower and change. We all felt gross and a bit chilly. We all freshened up and then we went back out for gelato. Our fave gelato place. We also ran into grant and Sarah and talked to them for some time. We also saw Venus, our dog friend, again! We then went to the bus stop to look at the schedule for tomorrow for our flight. We ran into the other xi chi girls and talked to them for some time too. The earliest bus was 7:10 and our gate closed at 7:45 so we didn’t think that would be enough time. We went back to the hostel and asked the guy to call us a taxi for the morning. We also had him print out the rest of our boarding passes so we were all set. Annah got us transportation in Athens and we were ready to roll. 1 more day in Greece and 1 day to fly home. Crazy!

Shoutout: my chi beta and freed fam. Today is homecoming and I miss all my lovies?? also Ben. I’m sorry I couldn’t see you today!!

Fun facts: my mule peed a lot. This guy from Colorado took some pictures for us on his go pro and is going to email them to us. How nice! Americans stick together over here. Most of the Greeks have been very nice. Only some have been a bit annoyed by us. I got sunburnt in November, a new personal record.