God is a Watermelon Salesman

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I arrived at Santorini as sick as a dog. Actually as sick looking as the homeless dogs that run around here with one eye and the shakes...almost as bad as that. Our boat reached port and I thought we had taken a wrong turn and ended up in Colorado or Arizona. Absolutely amazing cliffs and mountains, but not what I had pictured in my head. The second we got to Villa Marvalia I fell right asleep trying to undo the damage Ios had wrought. I woke up the next day not feeling too good so Melissa went to the beach without me and I went foraging for some tea and a good book to pass the stay at home day with. I couldn't find tea and everyone told me there was a pharmacy in the next village which I had no strength to walk to so I was rightly ready to pass out. I bought Cell by Stephen King and retired to bed where I got pretty freaked out by the undescribale shuffles and scuffle sounds above my head that seemed to correspond with the creepy ass book I was reading. As I lay in bed I would be startled to hear an ominous voice booming from the heavens in muffled Greek. I'd run to the window and the streets would be desereted. It happened like 3 times and I was starting to think some Greek god was speaking to the people and I, the unknowing tourist, was on the outs with what he was proclaiming. The next day when my sickness was a memory I went out for some souvlaki and I heard the voice. I whirled around and saw a dirty pick up truck stuffed to the top with watermelons with a loudspeaker tied to the top. Two men bellowed in it trying to frighten people into buying thier juicy products. I was a little dissapointed to see that the voice was not a foreign heavenly prescense, but a leering watermelon salesmen...
Santorini is a honeymooners paradise as they say. Going to Oia made this very clear to me. We took a boat called the Albatross for day trip around Santorini. We met two guys from Seattle, Troy and Mark, and a girl Paloma and her mother from Puerto Rico. We all decided to stick together and got a table on the boat that was heading for the volcano. We climbed that wind whipped volcano for an hour and I accumulated about a whole beach worth of sand in my eyes. Then we went to a natural hot springs where we all had to jump ship and swim out to the brown water where we soaked our skin. This was one of the best experiences here. It was hilarious to see these tourists blindly swimming every which way and then getting to their destination where a man covered in tribal tattoos reached into a hole in the earth and spread brown green mud on our bodies. This mud smelled so horrific that I couldn;t stop laughing. Then we had to swim back to the boat and in the words of Mark it was "Titanic in Reverse". People were drowning each other to get on that boat. The boat then went to Oia which is THE PLACE to see the famous sunsets. Melissa, Mark, Troy, and I had dinner on the cliffs and played cards and drank wine and it was fantastic. Then we saw the sunset which was the brilliant, neon colors. My camera didn't do it justice. Oia was very charming and brightly painted with various colored cube buildings jutting out every which way. I liked it alot better than Fira, the main tourist shopping spot that is also on the cliffs. The next day Melissa and I went to the black sand beach and we ran into our friends who had rented a car so we all drove to Fira for dinner. It was so nice to be in a car surveying the island and listening to classic British rock. Damn I've missed music. I got to listen to Troy's Ipod and I got an "Arcade Fire Moment" and I was so happy I could cry. God I need my music. We were on our way back and saw a community gathering where there was Greek music and dancing so we watched on the outskirts and then headed to the beach where we hung out looking at the stars and talking about ghosts stories and politics and anything else random. The people we've met here are really cool and it has been great to have company on this island. This is the perfect place to end our trip....
speaking of...I am so sad that I have almost wanted to cry several times. Leaving here is going to be hard. I will miss SOUVLAKI like no other. I will miss the torrent of languages every where I go. The mix of people and how friendly other travelers can be. Being in a culture that is not mine. Telling people I am from California and having them sing Beach Boy lyrics to me. Seeing places I've only ever seen in books and on tv. I miss my family and friends but having to readjust will be intresting. And then I go to Sweden 3 weeks after I return from this trip. My life is ever changing which is just how i like it. This trip has shown me that I need to go to Sweden and I am ready for it. Before I was nervous and scared wondering if I could do it. Now I know studying abroad is something I must do. I have become to passionate about travel. I hope to do it all my life. Althought my funds are shot right now...Thanks mom and dad for the loan! So now I must take the ferry back to Athens to head home... this is unreal.

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Comments

[mary]

God made watermelons.....eat it!!!!
you have been sooo blessed to experience and take in all the wonders of your travels and embrace it fully... I am so glad you have met a diversity of people and have a heart to understand and accept all the differences...I am ready to for you to continue your travels too...because I can feel in your words how full your heart is with this experience....the world is your oyster.....simple beauties and joy are found in simple every day moments!!!! We love you.........mom and dad

[Evan]

hope to see you soon han sounds amazing over there