Greek Islands

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Napoli was a dirty crazy city. Totally run by the Mafia. Its dirty coz no one picks up the rubbish. Word is the Mafia used to run it, but they got kicked out. So now no one wants to do it, because that would be stepping on the mafia's turf, and that's not conducive to living a long life. The EU contributed about 20 million euros to helping the city's rubbish problem... which promptly disappeared. So now the garbage from the markets that overtake the main street (north africans selling fake Gucci which is mafia produced) out the front of where we were staying just flies around the plaza all day in the hot breeze. Some big street sweeper drives around at about midnight, and by morning 2/3 of it is gone. Then it all starts again the next day. Crazy

We went to Pompeii, and that is a really cool place. A whole beachside city for the rich (and their servants) buried in 79AD, and now in pretty much mint condition (especially when compared to all the other ruins we have seen). All the streets are just like they were, and you get a real feel for how life would have been. There are heaps of little snack bars and restaurants, colosseums and amphitheaters for plays, parks, the town square, and brothels. There are also heaps of really rich houses, massive and beautifully decorated, and you can still see some of the paintings on the wall. It was really hot, but we walked around for ages, stopping for a cool drink and some shade every hour or so. They even had plaster casts of the spaces that were left in the settling ash as the bodies decomposed, so you could see the people in the position of their death - creepy but really cool, and added to the reality of the whole thing.

So after sweating it out at Pompeii all day, we headed back to Napoli for another one of the world's best pizzas, and set off to the Greek islands. At the ferry terminal, we ran into another Aussie couple and a Greek girl looking lost who were on our ferry, so we decided to be lost together. We eventually found our ferry and settled in for a couple of beers on the deck. We were heading to the Greek mainland, to catch a bus to Athens. The Aussie couple, Steve and Ash, told us that they were going to this place called the Pink Palace on an island called Corfu, which had really cheap accommodation, with breakfast and dinner included. Cheap accommodation? Free food? Stuff it, we said, let's jump off the ferry with them. So we were off to the Pink Palace.

When we got off the bus at the pink palace, at 5.30 in the morning, we were greeted by a really enthusiastic girl who had a really creaky voice "sorry guys ive been partying a bit too hard lately", and then introduced to the pink palace tradition - a shot of pink ouzo with everything. at 5.30 am. Oh oh, I can see where this is leading. The pink Palace is like a mix between UWA O camp, and spring break, every night of the week. It sleeps about 1000, but was only about half full when we were there. They have a hot tub, booze cruize, and excessive drinking is always encouraged. Happy hour goes between 6 and 11 pm. All the drinks at the bar are cheaper than at the bottle shop in Perth (even outside happy hour). And the place is populated with mainly 18-23 year olds. And a lot of them drink like me aged 18 (dear god!)

But the room we got was a nice double with air conditioning (the first time in our trip) so it was all good. We decided to pass on the booze cruise (nude cliff jumping optional) and go on a more sedate kayaking paddle. We explored islands, saw amazingly blue water, went cliff diving (with bathers) and finished up with a shot of pink ouzo. We also went on a quad bike safari around the island, another tour organized through the pink palace, which was very cool, climbed up a few mountains, went swimming, off roading, and found out that it really does rain everyday on Corfu at exactly five to twelve (I got a bucket of water tipped on my head from the third story while being shown how to ride one of the bikes). And we finished with a shot of pink ouzo.

At nights, the pink palace was pretty boozy and crazy, so we went out once, and decided that once was enough. What else can we do thats a little more sedate. I know, karaoke! So we went out with our Aussie friends from the ferry (one of the only other couples staying at the whole place) to a little dive in town and sung loudly and badly from their average selection (Ian Dury anyone?)

After a few days, we were over the vibe of the Pink Palace, so we set off to Athens. Everyone had told us that it was a hot, dirty and dangerous city, and to not even bother staying there, but because of ferry timetables, and, well, i bet its not the dirtiest or most dangerous city we've been to on this trip. When we arrived in Athens we were pleasantly surprised. We stayed at a hotel about 10 min walk from the acropolis, and the whole city had a really nice feel to it. We spent the day exploring the ancient city, and the Acropolis, which is old (very BC to be precise). It was cool to be in the birthplace of democracy (only rich males could vote) and of modern philosophy.

We also met a really nice Aussie girl called Josie. (why is everyone we meet from Australia?) She was traveling through on her way to do a contemporary aboriginal mural for a rich family in Germany, and is one of Australias up and coming stand up comedians. Needless to say, we had a very interesting conversation, and we sat in a restaurant and chewed the fat for hours. She is traveling with a garden gnome, which is her stand up prop, and it goes around meeting people with her.

Then it was off to Naxos. We went to Naxos because no one we know had been there and the Lonely Planet said it was nice. And it was. A lot less lush and green than Corfu, actually a lot like Perth in the summer - dry, sunny, hot, windy. It was really chilled out, lots of family's. We were there for five days, and the first time we heard an Aussie accent was the waitress who served us on the last night - and her family owned the restaurant. One day we hired a dune buggy and drove round the island, seeing more old temples, sampling traditional Greek food in small village tavernas, and only going 30kph (15 up hills), because the buggy had such a piss weak motor.

It was also my birthday on Naxos. We spent an idyllic day lazing on the beach, driving around on a scooter, eating fresh fish, getting massaged and drinking beer while lying on the beach and eating fresh fish. For my birthday, Caroline got me a yacht cruise, so we spent the next day cruising around the nearby islands. One of the island that we stopped at was a little village that had ten million dollar boats parked out the front, and a private house complete with an amphitheater. Soooooo much money. It was beautiful, but really windy. Downwind was great, but the journey back was straight into the wind and chop, so we came home absolutely caked in salt.

After lots of lying on the beach reading and 'working' on our tans, it was time to head to the next island, Santorini.

And there are no photos this time because we are on shitty internet cafe computers that wont let me.

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