Greece'd

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Ios...Viewer Discretion is Advised. (For those of you short of time come back later)

Arriving at the small party island of Ios we were greeted with a shuttle to our campground called Farout which was more of a resort than a campground and home to one of the nicest sandy beaches and poolside parties in the northern hemisphere. Since sleeping was not in the itinerary we decided to reserve your average 3 man tent and purchase the finest dollar store matresses money could buy. Once we were settled in we began what turned out to be an eight day bender with a cheers to making it where we have alive and safe. The night began with a bang joining or neighbours from Greece and England in a night of 1 dollar pints, and flaming lambourginis. This night turned out to be our initiation to Ios as I didnt make it out, Tyler ended up 10 km in the wrong direction back at the port, and we recieved a breakfast menu before confirmation of Tenille's whereabouts. With our first night under our belt we spent the day like we did most which was semi-concious scattered from beach to pool to tent. Once our bodies became more adapted to the Ios island lifestyle we booked ourselves an all day kayak safari on the northern end of the island. The Safari was a group of 20 from all over the globe and led strangly enough by an American from Wisconsin. Kayaking the coast we ended up in a lagoon and proceeded to snorkel through under water caves and jump off cliffs before heading to a private beach for a barbeque. Once hurricane Katrina arrived at Ios we decided to attempt to make birth at our initial departure point. A race to the finish was claimed by Team Canada where others had to be rescued by power boats. It was at this safari where we met a group of Aussies who we continued to hang out with for the remainder of our stay in Ios. That night we rounded up our team and hit the town more prepared for the standard 7am finishes that this place is acustomed to. The way the town center is set up is there are roughly 15 night club/bars all within 100 meters of eachother and each with it's own theme and promotional bar shirt which are popular to collect with the purchase of 7 shots. Washing our clothes is now a thing of the past as weve all managed to collect enough shirts to refill our closets. On our 4th day we decided to rent scooters for 24 hrs and really explore the entire island. This led us on an off road tour through the desert farmland and cactus fields on route to the popular beach at the other end of the island. Once we returned we made our way into town for the standard t-shirt collecting and bar hopping but only this time we walked into our favorite bar only to be greeted by a team of male strippers. I guess the kayak safari doesnt pay its tour guides very well because according to Tenille (after we fled the bar in fear) our guide and friend from Wisconsin was up there hanging from the rafters. This night we all ended up split up for the walk home while Ty ended up face down on the beach, I pool side, and Tenille acquired multiple bar shirts I assure you she did not have to pay for. After my patented 20 minutes of sleep i decided to make the most of my time with the scooter by going for a ride before the others awoke. During that time i managed to pay for breakfast by picking up wandering partyers who were in desprete need of a ride. Once i returned Ty was up and ready to join me for another cross island tour but unfortunately we did not make it very far. In a failed attempt to "go big or go home" I decided to swerve off road and cut back on to hit this jump that Tyler had made look so appealing. Lets just say i went home because the scooter slide out from under me pre jump and i slide across the pavement. Severly scratched, broken mirror, and a bent front axel left the scooter unrideable while my left side was skinned but the only real damage was done to my pride. Ty went to go get Tenille who responded to my motor vehicle accident with "i dont believe you, but ok just give me a minute I want to shower." With only change in our pockets to last us the rest of our trip we coasted the scooter back to where it was rented from in fear of the bill. Fortunately for us they didnt care to check its riding condition and we were only left with the 20 euro bill for the mirror. With one less scooter Tyler taxied us to and from other beaches on the island until it was time to return our remaining scooter. Once again we spent the night doing what Ios is famous for and once again we all made the 5 km walk home with our favorite post bar meal that being the greek gyro. Following the kayak safari we all recieved 20% off any of the remaining water sports that were offered so we decided to take the tubing challenge which conveniently gave us another free t-shirt and our money back for any who could stay on the mach 2 tubes for the duration of the ride. Determined to redeem myself from the previous day I managed to stay on but not without the help of Tenille who gave me a much needed rest every 18 seconds. Tubing is just not for some people. With my picture on the wall of fame and my money back it was time to get the evening started. What we have yet to mention is that every day at around 5 at our camp side there was a giant pool side party where people come from all over the island and this is usually where we got our night started. With only a few remaining days on the island we refused to sleep in fear of letting the island and our country down. The only thing more strange than seeing your kayak instructor strip on amature night is running into a group of people you had befriended weeks earlier in Nice.
Quick summary of our week on Ios: This place is UNREAAAAL, gyros are delicious, sleep schedule non existant, you eat only when body permits it, bar cover always includes shots and is always worth the price of admission, befriend everyone you meet as they may end up carrying you home, happy hr is from 00:00 - 24:00, and scoot scoot at your own risk. Until next time Ios you will be dearly missed. On to Mykanos whose main industry is also clubbing. I think were in trouble...

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