Ok....so Kalymnos is amazing, but first things first....ATHENS.
Athens was interesting & awesome. Too big a place for my taste, but an amazing experience either way. So gritty, raw and busy at every turn. We stayed in the Athens International Youth Hostel for 4 nights. The people there were very nice. I've never stayed in a hostel before, so that was crazy. We stayed in a "family room" with 2 bunk beds & a small private bathroom rather than using the public baths (talk about sharing your personal space). Try fitting 4 people with A LOT of luggage into a single room the size of my bedroom at home...oh boy. Also an interesting thing, there is an overwhelming number of stray dogs lying around the city. No one seems to mind, but they are mangy and yet somehow seem to be fed well enough. You see them lying on sidewalks or in parks, just taking a nap in the middle of everything.
Once again, finding a "large" cup of coffee by American standards (flashback to Puerto Rico) is impossible and not only that, but nothing seems to open at any decent hour in the morning. We pass several little cafes that are still closed as we sleepily wander the streets between our hostel & the metro station. When we finally get a fraction of our necessary daily caffeine intake, we by our metro tickets and make our way to the beautiful Acropolis. It was absolutely awe inspiring to see the Parthenon in real life (kind wish there hadn't been scaffolding everywhere). I love those moments when you are standing if front of something that you've learned about in school, seen in pictures & read about in books. I realize that we are all just so small and insignificant in this big world. We stay in our little bubble of existence at home and very rarely do we get to feel that wonderful smallness. After miles of walking & about 200 photos (times 3 of us) later, we finally break for lunch and step outside the Acropolis grounds. We order Greek salads all around at a little cafe on a busy street (and by the way, there is no lettuce in a real Greek salad). Ryan & Jesse try a cup of Greek coffee and we take in the moment...and the second hand smoke. After our lunch we decide to wander up the street and find ourselves winding through small streets with shops, small vendors & street performers galore. A few hours later we decide it's time to get back to our tour of the Acropolis. It's unreal how quiet it is when we step through the gates, we hit a few more sites before we are in desperate need of more caffeine, or else our beds (had our beds been the closer option it probably would have happened). We sit at a little cafe & people watch for an hour or so while we sip down our coffees. We finish our tour and make it back to the hostel without any trouble, find some dinner and hit the hay.
So after lying in bed...awake...for a couple of hours (damn jet lag), Ryan, Amber, & I finally decide to get the hell out of bed at 4 AM and see what we can find. We wander aimlessly through the dirty, rainy streets near our hostel with our cameras in hand (as you can see by Amber's previous post). As you can imagine, the second day was pretty rough. With little on our agenda aside from the Archeological Museum, which we hit first thing, it was hard to keep ourselves from wanting to pass out on the nearest semi-comfortable spot we could find. Amber did really well, but Ryan and I were pretty out of it....nodding off during little movies at the Acropolis Museum. After getting back pretty early, and after a quick nap, Jesse planned out our activities & sites for the third and final day in Athens.
We visit an area called Plaka which is the old Turkish neighborhood in Athens, then we head to the National Gardens and Parliament for the changing of the guards and some quality time with the pigeons. After that we begin our hike to the second highest point in Athens for some panoramic city views. We head back to our hostel to relax a bit before we get back on the metro and back to Plaka for a nice dinner out on the town. We sit outside on the steps of a small restaurant with the lights of the Acropolis in the background and drink wine and eat amazing food served by the friendliest old man and owner of the place. We have an amazing time laughing and talking about everything. It is an absolutely perfect evening to top off our Athens adventure!
The next day we catch our 10 hour ferry (aka cruise ship) and off we go. I managed with plenty of motion sickness drugs, but Amber got a little too sick & fell asleep with a bread roll in her hand. Around 5AM we finally arrive in Kalymnos and George, our landlord for the next month, is there to pick us up and take us to our home away from home. Upon arriving at our little apartment, George shows us around. He is the nicest little old Greek guy ever. He's so happy to see us & help us with anything we need. We are his first guests of the season and we feel like the red carpet has been laid out in front of us. We settle in quickly & get some sleep. When we wake up around noon, George has made us the most delicious chocolate cake. It's a beautiful day, sunny and warm so of course we decide to go climb for a quick afternoon session. From the top of the mountain we can see the beautiful views of small hillside villas, the Mediterranean Sea, and the islands that are nearby. It is truly UNBELIEVABLE that we are here. As we walk the streets to & from the crag I am overwhelmed by the simple beauty of it all. Small homes, villas & shops that cater to the climbing community. Many places haven't even opened their doors for the season yet, so it is all very quiet, except for the cats that are EVERYWHERE. If you stand still for long enough the cats will begin to surround you. It would be awesome to own a little place here...I can see myself being happy in a place like this for sure. So hard to describe it all.....Picturesque and Vibrant...just Perfect!!
The next few days have been rainy, cloudy, windy, and kinda cold, but we are still able to climb. We have become regulars at the little "super market" that we pass as we walk home from the crag and maybe even the little coffee / gelato shop we hit in the mornings. Aside from the lack of hot water, since the water heater is run off solar & we haven't had sun since the first day, it is wonderful. It's a small space, but we all work well together, so it's been a great time joking with each other and having fun.
The climbing is amazing! Very different than anything I am used to. I tried leading a overhanging tufa jug fest in the Grand Grotto, I didn't make it, but managed to scare the piss out of myself taking a couple pretty big whippers. I'll get the hang of it soon. Ryan, Jesse, and Amber are kicking ass like usual. Sending things left & right. Anyway, just enjoying the shit out of all that's happening.
Athens was interesting & awesome. Too big a place for my taste, but an amazing experience either way. So gritty, raw and busy at every turn. We stayed in the Athens International Youth Hostel for 4 nights. The people there were very nice. I've never stayed in a hostel before, so that was crazy. We stayed in a "family room" with 2 bunk beds & a small private bathroom rather than using the public baths (talk about sharing your personal space). Try fitting 4 people with A LOT of luggage into a single room the size of my bedroom at home...oh boy. Also an interesting thing, there is an overwhelming number of stray dogs lying around the city. No one seems to mind, but they are mangy and yet somehow seem to be fed well enough. You see them lying on sidewalks or in parks, just taking a nap in the middle of everything.
Once again, finding a "large" cup of coffee by American standards (flashback to Puerto Rico) is impossible and not only that, but nothing seems to open at any decent hour in the morning. We pass several little cafes that are still closed as we sleepily wander the streets between our hostel & the metro station. When we finally get a fraction of our necessary daily caffeine intake, we by our metro tickets and make our way to the beautiful Acropolis. It was absolutely awe inspiring to see the Parthenon in real life (kind wish there hadn't been scaffolding everywhere). I love those moments when you are standing if front of something that you've learned about in school, seen in pictures & read about in books. I realize that we are all just so small and insignificant in this big world. We stay in our little bubble of existence at home and very rarely do we get to feel that wonderful smallness. After miles of walking & about 200 photos (times 3 of us) later, we finally break for lunch and step outside the Acropolis grounds. We order Greek salads all around at a little cafe on a busy street (and by the way, there is no lettuce in a real Greek salad). Ryan & Jesse try a cup of Greek coffee and we take in the moment...and the second hand smoke. After our lunch we decide to wander up the street and find ourselves winding through small streets with shops, small vendors & street performers galore. A few hours later we decide it's time to get back to our tour of the Acropolis. It's unreal how quiet it is when we step through the gates, we hit a few more sites before we are in desperate need of more caffeine, or else our beds (had our beds been the closer option it probably would have happened). We sit at a little cafe & people watch for an hour or so while we sip down our coffees. We finish our tour and make it back to the hostel without any trouble, find some dinner and hit the hay.
So after lying in bed...awake...for a couple of hours (damn jet lag), Ryan, Amber, & I finally decide to get the hell out of bed at 4 AM and see what we can find. We wander aimlessly through the dirty, rainy streets near our hostel with our cameras in hand (as you can see by Amber's previous post). As you can imagine, the second day was pretty rough. With little on our agenda aside from the Archeological Museum, which we hit first thing, it was hard to keep ourselves from wanting to pass out on the nearest semi-comfortable spot we could find. Amber did really well, but Ryan and I were pretty out of it....nodding off during little movies at the Acropolis Museum. After getting back pretty early, and after a quick nap, Jesse planned out our activities & sites for the third and final day in Athens.
We visit an area called Plaka which is the old Turkish neighborhood in Athens, then we head to the National Gardens and Parliament for the changing of the guards and some quality time with the pigeons. After that we begin our hike to the second highest point in Athens for some panoramic city views. We head back to our hostel to relax a bit before we get back on the metro and back to Plaka for a nice dinner out on the town. We sit outside on the steps of a small restaurant with the lights of the Acropolis in the background and drink wine and eat amazing food served by the friendliest old man and owner of the place. We have an amazing time laughing and talking about everything. It is an absolutely perfect evening to top off our Athens adventure!
The next few days have been rainy, cloudy, windy, and kinda cold, but we are still able to climb. We have become regulars at the little "super market" that we pass as we walk home from the crag and maybe even the little coffee / gelato shop we hit in the mornings. Aside from the lack of hot water, since the water heater is run off solar & we haven't had sun since the first day, it is wonderful. It's a small space, but we all work well together, so it's been a great time joking with each other and having fun.
The climbing is amazing! Very different than anything I am used to. I tried leading a overhanging tufa jug fest in the Grand Grotto, I didn't make it, but managed to scare the piss out of myself taking a couple pretty big whippers. I'll get the hang of it soon. Ryan, Jesse, and Amber are kicking ass like usual. Sending things left & right. Anyway, just enjoying the shit out of all that's happening.
I know this isnt the point of your adventure, but you guys are amazing with your pics and descriptions! Thanks for posting!
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