Athens/Santorini

It's amazing how much a little cheap and delicious food can change your perception of a city. I enjoyed my first day in Athens, and the Parthenon/Agora/Dionysus Theater were all cool, but I wasn't really digging the city until we (myself, James, and a Californian sociology student named Emily we met on a bus) went out and found some incredibly cheap, very tasty kebabs. It was like an instantaneous 10% increase in coolness.

The next morning, James and I hopped aboard our 7 hour ferry to Santorini, and met up with Emily yet again at our hostel. We've been wandering around the island for the last 2 days, lounging on black volcanic sand beaches and eating more deliciously cheap pitas. I was already impressed with the island before tonight's sunset off the coast of the village of Ia. Most Greek guide books call it the greatest sunset in the world, and I'd have a hard time disagreeing with them. All told, I've taken 200 pictures in the past 2 days.

Our next task is to see the sunrise over the caldera, which is basically the big inlet at the centre of the island. It's an active volcano, and last erupted 50 years ago. It makes for some pretty spectacular scenery, and some slightly unsettling thoughts about seismic activity. For now, however, I've got to finish my Greek coffee and hop a bus back to the town of Messaria, where we're staying. It's not quite as flashy as the main town of Fira, but it feels a lot less touristy. We've already acquainted ourselves with one of the local restauranteurs (George), and one particularly friendly dog who follows us everywhere and marks his territory as we walk, just so we're clear about whose turf we're on. We have named him Parker.