The Acropolis of Athens

The acropolis is insanely cool, but just ridiculous crowded.  Between the annoying tourists and the Greek security guards whistling at anyone that does anything wrong, it is a chaotic scene.  Throw in constant construction and you get something that begs to be done right.  Nonetheless, it is a must stop for any traveler.  It is where Western civilization began, and just down the steep rocky cliffs, is the location where it first began its decline.

Mount Lycabettus looming over Athens

 This mount towers over the Athens sprawl below.  It was allegedly created by Athena, during the building of the Acropolis, from which the photo was taken.

Temple of Zeus in Athens

 All that is left of the grand ancient structure is a a few columns in the middle of a raised pedestal. Once, a massive statue of Zeus stood amidst the pillars.

Now, the ruins are situated between a bunch of hotels, and it feels like a spectacle of something forgotten and lost - a courtyard of a bruised memory translated by archaeologists and left for the tourists to fawn over.  This is where the west began it says, like a warning or a prelude to a forgotten wish.

Furmonster of the day - Athens edition

 Now what...what is going on here?

Ohhhhhh.....Ride on furmonster, ride on

Athens street art and graffiti

Athens is where Western civilization began and is also the first place where it has began to stall out a bit.  With nearly 30% unemployment, a very vocal populace, and what I assume our lenient laws against street art, Athens boasts no shortage of graffiti and street art.

Athens boy rocking out

 This kid was just straight jamming out

Look at that - pushing his soul through the instrument

What is Meteora?

Meteora in northern Greece is a land of escape.  The orthodox priests stole away to its strange natural rock towers, fleeing the Ottomans and building strange monasteries in the process that look every bit an affront to gravity.  There, they were safe.

The towers are still used today.  We visited this strange place, weaving up from Athens in a miniature Citroen, stopping to smell the sweet olive air along the way.  Escaping.

I hope you enjoy these pictures of odd Meteora as much as I enjoyed taking them.

Goats! Goats! Goats!

As the sun began to drop in the sky, we took some old country  roads back from Meteora to Kalabaka for dinner.  On our way we encountered a street completely filled with goats.  It was magical.  They all shouted and clonked and stopped to eat trees.  Then a small man on a motorbike came and yelled at them and they all ran into a field.  Oh goats.

Creepy skull room in Grand Meteora

Meteora is a region filled with monasteries and nunneries, built precariously on dramatic rock formations to deter the Ottoman invaders of years passed.  In the largest monastery in the region, Grand Meteora, there was this room filled with skulls.  It felt very eerie and like something was not quite right in there.

A Cat hunting pigeons in Greece

 We spotted this cat "hiding" and licking his chops, ready to pounce on some nearby pigeons.  He sat under this outcropping of tree, waiting patiently for the right moment to strike.

Saving a turtles life!

We were strolling along some back roads in Meteora , Greece, when Kristin and I noticed this slowpoke crossing the road.  We slowly and cautiously parked the car.  I scooped up the little guy, turtle germs and all, and "expedited" his trip across the road.

Beautiful Oia

Santorini on a map looks like a dragon embryo, and Oia is the village at the head. It is photographer heaven.  I have never been somewhere so small that packs so much punch.  It is overwhelming at times, and I had to be mindful of my obsession so that I could actually stop to enjoy its beauty.  There are no bad angles or dull walks, only beauty.

If you visit Santorini, then be sure to stay in Oia.  Its splendor is best savored over several days of careful inspection and and exploration. Like a movie that needs to be seen again and again with new points seen each time, Oia has a sort of charm that seems infinite.

And here is a big Oia photo dump. I have to move on to our next stop - Meteora.

Cruising the caldera in Santorini

We took an afternoon cruise on a catamaran in the Santorini caldera

The three domes of Santorini

The quintessential Santorini shot 

Creepy puppet store in Santorini

Could you sleep in this room?

Our cave housing in Santorini

Lots of Santorini housing is in "caves" which are built into the caldera.  We stayed in such a place and it was very cool.

The bluest caldera

I keep reminding myself that Santorini is a collapsed volcano and all of the water in the middle is from a collapsed caldera that the ocean violently filled.

Stars over Santorini on a hot night in 2013

On a clear Santorini night, the stars light up the sky.  Kristin and I checked into our room, left, and came back around 10:30pm to find that our cave house was sweltering and our AC did not work.  It is not a traditional hotel, so we had no idea what to do, other than sleep in a warm cave and deal with it in the morning.

This was all before two things happened - we got lucky and then we met Rado.

Santorini sunset HDR

Santorini is as strange as it gets.  The ridge of a volcano on a collapsed caldera oft-known as Devil's Island, there is no place like it in the world.

Boo's Corner - Lots of Mykonos from guest writer KRISTIN

Thinking I am real cool at Super paradise..