What a fun day...snorkeling trip around the island! We met our boat and guide at the Pounta dock and started on our journey. Our guide, Peter, was a character. He is an offshore engineer, environmentalist, dive instructor (he dove with Jacques Cousteau!) and has a lot of knowledge in geology, history and who knows what else.
Our first stop was a tiny island (probably <40 feet in diameter) whose name I can't remember that was loaded with obsidian and pottery fragments. We hopped off the boat and swam there because the boat couldn't get any closer; We walked around, saw the shell from a dead tortoise along with some bones and looked at the rocks.
We got back on the boat and cruised around the island, saw some marble, beautifully blue water and made our way to the first snorkeling site. The rock formations were spectacular and there was a little archway you could swim through. The fish weren't really spectacular, but the water was beautiful and some people climbed up the arch and cliff jumped! I wanted to but I was worried about cutting my feet on the rock walking up.
Blue water
Cliff jumping
We then docked close to the shore of Antiparos and a small boat picked us up and took us ashore for lunch. Peter picked up sea urchin and sea squirt while we were snorkeling and opened them up so we could eat them with our lunch. It was a typical taverna lunch and was absolutely delicious; I can't get enough fried anchovies! The sea urchin tasted like the sea, but the sea scorch was actually pretty yummy! He mixed it up with some olive oil and spices and we ate it on bread...surprisingly tasty :)
Sea Squirt
Holy Mackerel! Biggest fish we saw all day...
We made one more stop after lunch. There weren't really any fish, but there was an old well underneath the water as well as the remains of a wall. It was a lot of fun to dive down and touch the well and just swim around in the open water. A lot of us took turns jumping off the second story of the boat--so cool!
Flying
We were gone for a total of 9 hours and everyone had a great time. We took the bus back to Paroikia where we napped for an hour, then a few of us got on the bus again and went back to the Pounta dock where we hopped on the ferry to Antiparos for the Festival of Saint Marina. In Greece, it is common to celebrate Saint (Name) Days, which are far more important than birthdays (although this is starting to change slightly). Additionally, churches are dedicated to Saints, so the church puts on a celebration during that specific Saint Day. One of the main churches on Antiparos is dedicated to Saint Marina so there was a big party with music, dancing and (of course) FOOD! We got there just as they were finishing the speeches and starting the dancing (perfect timing). We watched 4 different dance troupes perform traditional Greek dances and then everyone joined in and started dancing as well. They were grilling souvlaki and lamb and had wine and cheese, too. The lamb was hands down the best lamb I've ever had. Unfortunately, the ferries were only running every hour back to Paros so I didn't have time to dance :(. It was still really fun, though!
Nom.
Lesson of the Day
Greeks don't know how to form lines.
I, however, know how to use this to my advantage. While people formed a pseudo-line/clump, pushing and reaching for food, I just snuck around to the end (or was it the beginning), found a slight window between heads, stuck out my long arms and got excellent service :)
The Count
Glasses of wine drinken: 143
Failed jumping photo attempts: 3
Ferries traveled by: 7
Photos taken: 4711
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