The ferry arrived just before 11 on the 2nd. The place I booked had told me to take 2 buses to get to the nearest point, but I saw there was a boat bus, so stopped to see where it went. The ticket seller I could take it to Mykonos Town, and from there, make a short walk to the Fabrika bus stop, which was where I would have caught my 2nd bus. I bought a boat bus ticket and waited for the next one, which was in about 20 min. On the boat, I chatted with a French couple, who were on their way to the airport (they had been in Paros, and then just to Mykonos for their flight out). The boat bus stopped at the old port, so I got to see it ... read more

I haven't had a good connection the last few days, so I'll just post for a few days all together. On Monday, I had an early morning (6:50am) flight from Athens to Paros. Elly offered me a lift to the airport, which was so kind. She said an hour in advance should be fine for a domestic flight. It ended up being just enough time! I didn't have a bag to check, but by the time I got a boarding pass, cleared security and got to the gate, the flight was starting to board. Paul was waiting for me at the airport in Paros. We worked together on a dive liveaboard 26 years ago in Egypt, and the last time I had seen him was 25 years ago, when I went to visit him in Bahamas. ... read more

I woke up well rested after my big sleep. Elly and I went to a fruit vendor and the grocery store, and then headed out of town to see the Sanctuary of Poseidon. Elly sat and had a coffee while I went up to the ruins. So incredible what was accomplished about 2500 years ago! The ruins are on the hilltop surrounded by the sea. It was nice and breezy, so even though the temperature was about 35C, it felt fine. When I got back to meet up with Elly, she said she was interested in doing a trip somewhere in Europe. She's a university professor and is off til mid-Sept, so yesterday I had said that if she was interested in traveling anywhere with me, I didn't have any set ideas after I go to ... read more

Last day of our trip! We woke up early, gathered up everything and headed to the train station to ride in to Porto. Once we arrived, we met up with Ellie and Carey, as well as the tour organizer, who sent us on a train to Regua, where a guide would meet us. The scenery on the train ride was so beautiful! Once we got there, the guide Alex met us (as well as a couple from Switzerland that was on tour with us), and took us by mini van to the dock to head on a river cruise for an hour. Then we went for a drive to a beautiful viewpoint before heading to a winery for lunch and wine tasting. It was a 4 course meal, very good, and lots of wine. Our time ... read more

Today we got to have Francisco and Vanessa as tour guides, to show us around Porto. They picked us up at 9:30 to drive into the city. They manage several short term apartment rentals, so they showed them to us. Then we did a walk around the city, down to the river, and then to a restaurant for lunch. We had franceszinhos, which are these huge stacked sandwiches (normally with meat, but there was a vegetarian option), topped with an egg, smothered in cheese and sauce. Super filling! After lunch, we walked to a park with beautiful views of the city, and then headed back to Espinho, stopped at an Intermarche to pick up my favourite double chocolate ice cream bars, and then back to home as the sun went down. Unfortunately, they head south for ... read more