Day 105

Home sweet home.

105 days, 27 cities, 14 countries and 5 flavours of fanta... on to the next!

Day 104

Well this is strange. My last post. I am heading home today!

Packed my backpack last night, actually got everything inside which is still shocking to me. I do have to bring an extra bag with some breakables in it since my bag was too full. But everything is all packed up and ready to go.

As much fun as I have had over these 100 days I am still excited to come home. Living in hostels from day to day, packing up every 48 hours, and having to make new friends everywhere you go does get tiring after a while. And well it has been a while now.

I must get going, I should be at the airport like NOW! Mom I expect Benny waiting at the gate fully white and clean! See you all so soon!

Day 103

Well first day in Lisbon! I took a bus with Lexy and Jamie(bishops), it was nice to finally have some company on a bus again. They headed off to the airport to see London while I booked two nights to see the city.

The best thing about Lisbon was when I came online to check and e-mail and found one from my mother. Who brilliantly called the company I got my ticket home from and actually got them to change it to a cheaper flight. Leaving same day and everything just a hell of a lot cheaper. I didn't even purchase cancellation insurance or anything but that's how great my mom is about things like this. Saved me about tons of money! Thank-you once again!!

Now that I am not broke anymore I am heading out for some shopping! Last stop so I can go wild!

Day 102

Finishing up Lagos! It has been a blast here. The hostel is so much fun, The Rising Cock! The owners here refer to themselves as Mama and Papa. Mama is extremely funny and she cooks us her famous crepes and lemon tea every morning for breakfast. And after all her years of running the hostel she still seems enthusiastic about it all.

The girls in my dorm are great, or shall I say the princess' in the Princess Palace are great! Yes we got the Princess Palace for our dorm. The sheets have crowns and leopard print on them and each bed is named something different. Plus the room has air conditioning!(so nice to have) Out of fluke I got the princess bed which is very fitting because Sara means princess! Mama even pointed out the princess painted on the wall with a funnel in her left hand and a beer in her right hand. Being a princess in Lagos, I think that it was a very accurate painting.

Most of the others split up today to head to farther beach where you have to trek on a bus to get to. So that left Lexy (Canadian) and myself to hit the beaches closer to the hostel. We walked to a quite bay area today where the water was cleaner and where less people were. It was stunning, one of the nicer beaches I have seen on this trip without a doubt. Also we walked to it from a cliff, so you have to make your way down from the top. There is no road that connects the path so you don't hear any noise, no cars or music from restaurants. Makes it that much more relaxing!

Once I arrived back to the hostel I attempted to book my ticket home. Yes time to make the long trip back to Canada! Unfortunately stupid e-dreams (never go with that company, EVER) would not allow my ticket to process because I had to fax in copies of my credit card and passport etc. The fax machine at their office would not answer my fax so I couldn't get it through. I tried calling customer support where the lady refused to check the fax machine and basically gave me no solution to my problem. So I told her to cancel the ticket because she was no help and I was not going to run around all night (last night in Lagos) to get a silly fax sent. I went back on the computer and booked one of the first flights I saw. Obviously nothing as cheap as the first one and I am broke and angry just thinking about it.

Either way it didn't matter because I got my ticket home and I got to enjoy my last night out with my fellow princess palacer's! Attempted another power hour and got to see Lexy's wheels out again! Ladies I am writing this just for you to read this haha .... "Na na na na, na na na na, hey hey hey goodbye!"

Day 100

Day 100 was great! I met my dorm mates today. Two are from Italy and two are from Vancouver. One of the girls just graduated from Bishops University and we have a few friends in common. Funny how small the university is and how big the Bishops bubble goes. The girls from Italy live in Milano and speak good English. Which is two bonus' because a place to stay in Italy where I can talk to the girls is always, always good to have.

After meeting the girls and getting to know each other we headed out that night. After all it was my first night in Lagos and my 100th day of travels so I had excuses to head to the bars. Crazy over here. Definitely a party place. We headed for a power hour at one of the bars. We got a meal (burger and poutine) and unlimited beer for the hour we were there all for 9 euro. I left feeling extremely full after finishing my plate and trying to get as much beer as possible.

Went around to other bars in the town for the night and just enjoyed Lagos night life. Got beer spilled on my NEW top by a drunk guy! What can you expect in Lagos. Portugal is going well so far!

Day 99

Last day in Madrid was spent shopping! I figure I can capture some of that Spanish style and splurge on some clothes, which I managed to do effortlessly. The down side to this is my backpack is now full and I can't fit all my stuff anymore. I will have to look into buying another smaller bag for the flight home...which means more shopping!

I got on a night bus at midnight to reach Sevilla and from there I would get another bus to Lagos. The midnight bus was bad, the man sitting next to me smelled horrible and I could not fall asleep because there was this crazy man across from me who was yelling random things out and moving from the chairs to the floors every few minutes. Very strange and I could not sleep knowing he was still on the bus. Wish they kicked him off. Finally arrived in Sevilla at 6:30 in the morning where I had to wait an hour to catch my bus to Lagos. Reached Lagos just before noon. Lots and lots of time on a bus but once I got to see the beach I get to relax on for three days I perked up. Portugal is beautiful!

Day 98

It was a quite Sunday. I woke up early to make it to the big market I heard about. It´s called El Rasto, and it covers several city blocks. The roads are shut down, police walk through the crowds (known for tons of pick pocketers), Vendors are shouting out numbers to the crowds, and you walk shoulder to shoulder. It was just about a 20 minute walk from my hostel which was a bonus and great fun to walk through. There was lots of antiques, clothes, jewellery and paintings, just like most markets but the size alone of this one makes it so great. I spent most of the morning walking in the crowds - no purchases were made other than one T-shirt. My backpack is almost full at this point so I have to be careful.

It became late afternoon, and the sun started to get really hot. It was boiling today so I made a direct route back to the hostel. Crashed on the bed in the hot room with only a little fan to try and keep me cool. Had a nice refreshing cold shower to cool me off and finally made it out of the dorm around five. I met an Australian girl (yes another Aussie- they flood the streets of Europe) named Vicki and we headed to the Parque del Retiro. Seven o´clock and it was still pretty hot outside but definitely more comfortable to walk around. We saw some very funny street groups and walked some of the grounds. Had a ice cream stop and made it back to the hostel to finish the night off with a movie...get this... in ENGLISH! I know seems weird but this was the first English program I have seen in a LONG time. Off to bed, hopefully this time the heat doesn´t wake me up!

Day 97

Well just got off an eight hour long bus trip from Barcelona to Madrid. Not the best way to spend a day when your on a trip, but unfortunately no night buses run that route, so a day had to be wasted. None the less since I have said everything that needs to be said about today I will update my days in Barcelona.

Definitely did NOT have the typical Barcelona experience. Which is obviously lots of beach and lots of drinking since it is pretty much the party capital of Europe. I got rain on both my full days in the city so that crossed the beach aspect of the trip off the list. With that said it did mean more time in the streets. I got to walk through La Rambla multiple times, seeing different vendors and street acts every time. Very talented Reggie groups and dance groups doing big shows during the evening. Many Catalan artists with their paintings or other works of art also line the streets. Stopped in one of Barcelona´s most known market the Mercat de Sant Josep/ La Boqueria. They have everything that your stomach should desire. Different smells coming from each corner, they have different food from fish, fruit, meat, candy, oils and spices and even walked by a chicken egg booth!

I was supposed to take a bike tour of the city the second night however a few hours before it would begin it started to storm outside, and it was pouring rain. The brochure said the tours go in ANY weather and that rain ponchos were available if needed. I could rock the poncho if need be but as soon as I heard the thunder outside I called them right up and changed dates to the next night. Which proved to be a good idea because the rain cleared up that afternoon in time for my tour. The tour was nice, we got to see a lot of the Catalan history, different monumental buildings, part of the beach, and the best part was of course the last stop. This was the Font Magica (fountain water show) with lots of water, lights, and music. The place was packed (just like the rest of Barcelona) and we got to see the last 5 minutes or so. I felt like a little kid gazing into the colours, I was just so impressed!

The down side of the bike tour was our guide did not stop much, so could not get a lot of the pictures I wanted. I attempted a few times while I was biking to click the camera away but after nearly stirring into poles and a few pedestrians I stopped. After the tour at around 10:30pm I rushed home because I was supposed to meet two Toronto girls I met that night. They actually stopped me in the street asking for directions in the broken Spanish that one of them spoke. Then we got to talking (in English) and found out we were both from Toronto area. They seemed really cool and we made plans for my last night in Barcelona. But did I mention that I had to change hostels for my last night? Well this new hostel was up in the friggen hills. Nice scenery and view of the city, but it is horrible to walk up! Especially after a 3 hour bike tour, 20 minute walk to the metro stop and then over 200 steps to the hostel (yes I counted). So after all of that I fell into my bed with my gyros and that is where my night ended. So no beaches of Barcelona and no clubbing of Barcelona.

Left the next morning at 5:30 to catch my bus which brought me to my new home for the next few days. Madrid seems very cool and I even got a tip from a Italian photographer I met in Barcelona about a Sunday market which has anything and everything you could want. I better practice my Spanish numbers tonight!

Day 94

The last hours of Venice were nice, we got lost in the streets trying to get home for a few hours. Was not a bad thing since we got to see more to the city that we most likely would have never otherwise discovered. But in those moments it really hit me that if you are lost in Venice you are really lost. You can't get lazy and catch a bus, jump on the metro and grab a taxi because there are none. On the positive I worked off the big lasagna lunch I had.

Attempted to go to Genova with Sandy early this morning. We hung around the hostel til about 1 in the morning, which was great because we did not have to pay. When I went to get my bag from storage I actually fell over and ate the floor, luckily no one was there to see. I scraped my arm and bumped my knee, embarrassing! Not looking forward to getting into salt water with my wound in the morning.

But injured and all we arrived to train station thinking we would be able to catch our train to Genova, but to our surprise the station was closed. So we missed the train and had to sleep outside the station for the night. The quote of the night was when this homeless drunk guy came up to us and invited us to a party that night. We politely declined and then he proceeded to call us "a bunch of crappy travelers!"

Once the booth opened and we missed our train, we found out that all the other trains to Barcelona (my next stop) were full, so I could not see anymore of Italy if I wanted to go to Spain. I had to make the choice, and went for Spain. I found a cheap flight from Venice this evening and jumped on it. So I landed in Barcelona before ten this evening! Heading to bed now, tomorrow is a big day of beaches and hopefully I get some eye candy to look at while I top off my tan. Spanish boys? mhmmmm!

93

Venice! By far the most scenic city I visited. Just as it is shown in all the movies, canals everywhere, old buildings, tons and tons of people in the streets and the smell of pizza.

My hostel is quite the joke. It is under renovations at the moment so some of the rooms have no doors, the mattresses have reports of bed bugs, the entrance door opens into an empty cold cement basement and there is no reception desk. We have to pack up our bags everyday and place them in storage room since they claim to be doing work on the rooms during the day, however nothing seems to change when we get back in at night. The staff is very friendly, they make us free pasta dinner every night (most likely so we don't complain about the 'renovations' going on) and then take out everyone who wants to join to the dock down by a canal to have some drinks and mingle with all the other hostelers.

I met a very interesting Jew named Sandy. Now relax, she is the first to make all the Jewish references before anyone else. Very funny girl. She reminded me of the girl from American Pie because she starts off some stories with "This one time, at Jewish camp..." No joke. We get on great, and toured around the city today. We went over to Murano, to see some glass sculpture being made. Only two euro and we got to see the artist blow out the glass and all the steps it takes. Followed by some ice cream and another water bus (no metro, just boats) ride back to the main area of Venice.

The markets in Venice are great, all filled with glass figures and jewellery, glittery and colourful masks, and tons of leather bags. I have been good thus far with my purchases and have not made any dent in my funds but I am sure that will change before my time is up here.

Day 92

The last day in Hvar was nice, I has such a relaxing day on the beach, and after hours in the sun headed over to MY restaurant. I say its mine because after going only twice I consider myself a regular. The way I have been traveling if I manage to go twice it really does mean I am a loyal customer. I had this delicious steak with stuffed cheese and their Croatian style of salami. Since everything is so cheap I had to spoil myself. Walking home was heartbreaking, I saw at least three Maltese. Seriously is the island of Maltese dogs. Benny you are still number one!

And now....

MOTHERRRLANNNDDDD! Made it to Italy, took an overnight ferry from Hvar to Ancona. Horrible ferry, the benches in the dinning room had dividers every second seat, so it was very tight to lay down. I had to figure out a position where my head and top half was in one set of dividers and my legs were hung over the second divider. Let's just say I did not get the best sleep last night. I arrived in Ancona port at around 8:30 in the morning. Made my way to the train station and bought my ticket for Venice. Took another 5 hours on public transportation! Such a long day. All I am wanting at the moment is a nice long shower! Let us all pray together that the hostel has warm water.

Well that is all I can really say for now, other then shower time!

Day 90

Well I guess I will start off with the obvious. officially three months has passed by since I left home. Three months since I have had a nice plate of Pina's pasta, since I have had my bed, or seen my boyfriend! I have made it to 11 different countries in that time and have loved every minute.

The rest of Zadar was great. I gave up on the beach scene there, it was just too rocky and packed with people to enjoy. I spent the last day in the city, wondering in the endless markets they have and getting lost in the towns old small roads. I watched the famous sunset from the organ steps. Organ steps you ask? Well it is a massive organ under these steps at the end of the harbour. As the waves come and crash underneath the air pressure makes the sounds, and as the waves change so does the music. It is really neat to see, unfortunately like every other tourist attraction it gets ruined by the loud screaming children. They should enforce a quite zone, at least for the sunset hours so others can hear clearly and enjoy the music. Right next to the organ they have this huge circle that lights up in different colours to represent the sun.

Oh and I got invaded by old Croatian ladies in the park. Let me explain. I was sitting on a bench having a nice little dinner by myself when a old lady asks to sit next to me. Great, no problem. Then her friend comes over sits right in between us and they start talking very loudly. The next bench over frees up so I move. I decided to sit smack in the middle with my bags on either side of me to make it clear there was no room for anyone else. After 5 minutes of peace, a new set of old ladies pop up, gesture to me if I can move over so they can sit. I do and again they get real loud and begin their evening gossip session. Finally I see a third bench free up so I rush to that one. I like to hear the waves and read quietly in the park instead of all this loud talk. However that is just not possible here. I look up and I see another pair of old ladies walking over. I just start laughing because I know they are headed right for me! And they do, they come over and sit down to ruin my evening again. Next time I think I will lay out on the entire bench just like the bums do. No one seems to bother them because while I got interrupted three times, there were at least two bums laying on the benches who did not get annoyed once!

The next day I took the morning bus South to Spilt. Beach was not any better, this one was actually all cement. Well to be fair I would not classify it as a beach. It just looks like a bay where they used to dock boats, and now people go swimming there. After a tan session I made it to my hostel and headed out with a few friends I made. We were all leaving the next morning so we headed out to one of the clubs for the night to relax and have some drinks before we departed. Fun night- not a fun morning.

Caught the ferry to Hvar in the morning. Boat ride was NOT fun, and I will remember not to drink the night before I have to be on a ferry. Learned my lesson. The one good thing about the trip was across from me was a family holding a little Maltese puppy! I ended up staring at this little puppy for quite a while, I even got some weird looks from the mother a few times (she was probably thinking I was a little crazy).

Regardless of who thought I was crazy or not I made it Hvar island. I am currently sitting in a cafe shop enjoying some free Internet, sipping on a cold sprite as the sun goes down. A note about Hvar- Extremely windy!

Day 87

Editors note:
The guards were sorta right, sorta wrong. It is 90 days but not including UK or Croatia since they are not in that same act. Therefore the clock is ticking on Spain and Portugal, which is fine I just be home sooner. Shows how much I know. Embarrassing!

Day 87

My travels to Croatia were a little scary. Remember that first blog way back in April where I told the customs in the UK the wrong dates and they denied me entry for a few moments til we sorted everything out? Well that came back to bite me in the ass. The border of Slovakia and Croatia they have border police for the trains. So they came on and looked at everyones passport. He came to mine and could not understand that special stamp I got in the UK. So he took me off the train and brought me to two other guards standing on the side. They got close into my face and were asking what it was and refused to give me my stamp to let me in! They told me I only had a few more days in Europe since it would be three months in very soon, I attempted to explain to them that the stamp meant I had three months just in the UK and six months in the EU. After getting yelled at in Croatian/ broken english a bit more they let me back on the train and off I went. I don't understand why the guards don't know their own laws. And all because my mom gave me the bright idea to go to Croatia!

THe train ride was not completely horrible, I met this great Austrian lady half way through. Susan was her name and she is a DJ and also does some event planning in Vienna. We got to talking, and after the passport scare she sort of took me under her wing. Once getting to Croatia, she gave me some info on beaches and spots to be (she vacations in Croatia a lot). Then I found out she was heading to one, so we took a bus together where she was meeting her family. It was just before midnight before we got in so they gave me a ride to the center of the town so I could find a hostel. It is great how generous people can be!

So this brings me to the coast of Zadar, where I spent the day on the beach, doing absolutely nothing. I could do this for a while...

Day 85

Finally arrived to Lake Achensee, very beautiful. I am in the middle of a huge lake and surrounded by the fjord of the Alps - need I say anymore?

First night Jessica and I arrived at Jenbach train station with no hostel booked and basically no direction other than we want to be by the lake. We asked some bus mechanics where the station was and the pointed to a bus stop. No actual bus station in town so we annoyed them again by asking when the bus would come and if they could help us read the schedule. After much confusion we figured out we missed the last bus of the day. Great, stuck at a shady train stop all night! Finally, I think after looking pathetic enough, one of the guys offered us a ride to town. We accepted and after locating a knife and screw driver (just in case) we got a ride into town.

First night we walked around for a bit and could not find a single hostel. We soon realized no hostel, because there are no youths around! All old couples and families, so the places was filled with hotels and bed and breakfast type places. We ended up taking a hotel for the night - the lady gave us a deal for 25 euro per person for the night. With a really good breakfast by the way.

The next morning Jessica and I ventured to the bottom of the lake by an 8 euro bus ride! Crazy expensive! We walked around... again... finding a place to stay. We found one but it was only for one night and I was planing on staying two. Jessica accepted, and I just got up said a quick bye and walked off. I did not think that was enough time to enjoy the place and was tired of rushing through the towns/cities because she has to be home at a certain time. Especially after all that time and money to get there. So this was for the best, and within seconds I dropped that extra weight and was on my own again!

I found a bed and breakfast, rented a bike and toured through the towns. Taking tons of pictures of the mountains, hills, and waters. The atmosphere of the town is very relaxed. Everyone is intense mountain bikers or hikers. There were a few moments when I was walking on the walking paths that I felt like the Tour De France was going by me. So even though I did not see the real thing, I got close enough in Austria.

My last day in town I was trying to figure out how to actually get out of the secluded area. I went downstairs and asked the young girls that work there. (family business, the grandmother runs the show tho) After going on the computer with them and talking for a bit, their sweet little grandmother brought us puddling! She handed me one too, like I was one of her own- very nice. Vanilla and chocolate swirl!

Day 82

Well what a day. Visited a few sights around Vienna and did a little shopping today. I found this amazing sort of house and home store which carried all these cool pieces and unique pieces of art or furniture. I even found this mid sized silver sea turtle! Of course I bought it, best 15 euros ever spent. After a day in the city we came back to the hostel with some wine and dinner and ate over looking the view of the city. Even made another friend with this four year old Austrian boy. We played a shooting game which was loads of fun because no matter how many times I shot this little guy he just kept getting up again! So there was me running around like a fool for about 20 minutes as the parents laughed and watched us. Cool little kid.

So that was today, we got our train ticket worked out and will be hanging out in the country side of Austria for a few days. After that Jessica and I will be splitting up (thank-god). I am going nuts, we are not very good travel mates. And I will just leave it at that! (Don't worry, gossip will come when I get back) So I will be off to either Tuscany or Venice soon after Austria, where I will be rocking it alone doing my thanngg! xo

Day 81

Last evening in Prague was great. We went to the main square in the old town to come across a big festival happening. With blues music playing, food stands, and people everywhere. Including a large number of drunk bums. When we first entered we noticed two of them on the ground rolling around fighting. These two bums turned out to be great entertainment for Jessica and myself and after about an hour watching them I promised Jessica I would include them in my blog.

After a quick run in with the cops they stopped and sat down on near by bench and this is where we noticed the older guy was bleeding pretty badly from his head. His girlfriend and even the guy he just fought (we will call the younger guy red pants since that was his only piece of clothing he was wearing) were helping him with some very bad first aid skills. They continued to help him and would occasionally break into small little arguments. We honestly could not stop watching them, and we were not the only ones wasting time to see them! A few other benches were laughing every time we would. Funny to see how at first two drunks were fighting and then 10 minutes later red pants his holding a towel on the face he just cut. The last bit of the show was red pants running over to help another homeless guy with his bag! This old man was struggling to take off his backpack so he literally runs over and helps him take it off and places it on the bench for him. Turns out he is sort of a gentleman? At that moment the laughs from the benches grew and I think he started to notice people were watching him. Whatever the case... if you are traveling on a budget, travel tip in Prague is watching the bums in Old Town Square!!

Once we finished up with Prague we took a bus to Budapest in Hungary. Ended up being less than 24 hours in the city but we still got to see a lot of it. We arrived that evening around 5 pm, found a place to stay for the night from this really sweet Hungarian lady, then walked around town. The parliament building is probably the nicest one I have seen. Almost every street has flowers or gardens, the locals are welcoming and the money is really annoying to convert. I went to the cash point to take out some money and I got a 10 000 bill. Really annoying to find out that 10 000 huff is around 40 Canadian? I knew the currency was poor, but not to that extent! Need to start doing my research BEFORE I enter the country.

We boarded a bus this afternoon for Vienna. I got yelled by the guy on the bus because of Jessica! She tried to lean her seat back when the handle fell off, so she just placed it back on and changed seats. No one reacted. Of course when I notice my radio is not working and I moved seats the handle fell off again. Well this time someone noticed and got up. He came up and asked what the handle on the floor was, so I told him and then asked him to wait a second before I picked it up since my hands were full from moving my stuff to the new seat. Then he proceeds to ask if that's why I moved because I broke the seat (no - the radio was broken), and why did I not pick it up (I couldn't - my hands were full as I said before), and where the handle came from (I told him it was to move the seat back - you think he would know since he works on these buses daily)! Crazy man. Getting yelled at is bad enough never mind when it wasn't even my fault (Jessica!). I decided it would be best NOT to say anything back since he would probably kick me off the bus, so I clipped the handle back on the chair said sorry and sat back with my working radio, reclined seat and enjoyed the ride to Austria.

Which brings me to midnight in Vienna on the computer listening to a rainstorm just outside. The hostel here has an amazing view of the city. We are pretty high up looking down on all of Vienna, and with the lightening lighting up the sky it is really a sight to see.

Day 78

Last day in Germany was very interesting. We visited a concentration camp just on the outskirts of Berlin. The most chilling feeling is walking into one of the buildings where prisoners had to live. Unfortunately I was really sick that day, and with the heat and the walking could not see the entire camp, but I did see enough. I think it would have been too depressing to walk through the entire grounds anyways.

That night Jessica and I headed on a night bus to Prague. Which was not that bad except for the part where I could not fall asleep. I would of liked to been rested when we arrived into Czech Republic but unfortunately was not. We headed to the hostel to get our room but when we arrived the lady at reception said we could not check in til past 1pm. On about an hour sleep that just does not work for me especially since part of the reason we picked that hotel was because we contacted them and told them we would arrive at 7 in the morning. After a few word exchanges with her she not only gave us our room but even upgraded us to a private room. More proof that a little attitude goes a long way, we finally got our room, dropped our bags and collapsed on the bed.

That afternoon we headed to grab a free tour of the city. However it did not last that long since our guide was extremely detailed and after about 15 minutes in the hot sun we ditched our group and ventured on our own. We crossed the Charles Bridge, hung out in a park by the water, pasted by the John Lennon wall, and tested our some sweet segways. Which are the coolest things ever but for 50 euro an hour it just was not in our budgets. We signed up for a pub crawl that night which was lots of fun. Stayed out all night and then slept most of today. Which brings me to the computer at 4 in the afternoon catching up on my blog and looking at tickets for our next leg. Overall Prague is yet another beautiful city in Europe. Enjoyed our time here AND the best part of Prague.... WE GOT FREE MCDONALDS COUPONS. Which is where we are headed at the moment.... two for one baby.

Day 75

Hallo! That is German not a spelling mistake.
Made it to Berlin in one piece. Very hard for me to say bye to Amsterdam but we had to get the trip started.

Berlin is one interesting city with tons of historic stories and memories of the wars. We took a tour of the city this morning which was nearly 4 hours of walking in 36 degree weather! Very hot day, but well worth it. Unfortunately a lot of the old buildings were ruined during the bombings of the city at the end of the second world war so it was a lot of "this is where this happened" instead of actually pointing to the building we were discussing. We went through the headquarters of the Nazis, where Hitler lived, where Hitler killed himself, the Berlin wall, the holocaust memorial, the famous spot where university students burned tons of Jewish books, and others.

I found the spot where Hitler killed himself to be interesting, and even in the heat got the chills just thinking about it. He was underground in his bunker with his newly wed wife when he finally realised the Russians were close and he would NOT win the war. After him and his wife committed suicide they ordered their bodies to be burned. Today the spot of his bunker is an old parking lot, and where the bodies were burned are now beside a big garbage bin. Personally I think that is the best memorial for him.

After the city tour we ventured to another part of the Berlin wall called the East Side Gallery. The U-ban (metro) ride was fun, I made a friend with a little boy on the trip. He was sitting straight across from me looking completely bored, so I started to make faces at him. At first he was hesitant to make one back but he looked at his dad who wasn´t paying attention and then happily flashed his tongue at me! We went back and forth for a little bit until a German lad joined in with these crazy eye tricks. Jessica joined in shortly after then the little boys dad popped his head up smiling. Haha these little moments on the trip seem to entertain me the most. The little boy kept waving at me as I got off at our stop, he is probably thinking ´Oh those crazy Americans!´

Anyways we finally got to the Berlin wall, which is protected by law because to artists have graffiti all over it. It was really neat to see all different parts of the wall with all these amazing designs and strong messages of peace. After 10 min of walking the wall we saw about 10 police trucks rushing to the end of the street we were headed. So naturally we questioned if continuing would be smart. We noticed enough people walking from that direction calm and unpaniced so we continued, and within minutes this giant group of people were marching on the street. They had a few different cars blasting music and people were dancing and drinking beer as they marched through with police escort. We got handed a paper but German is not my thing. Jessica took some German in high school and read something about standing up for your right, and then some stuff about pop music? So whatever that march was about it was a pleasant surprise.

Tonight is our last night in Berlin, tomorrow we check out and then take an overnight bus to Czech Republic! I have heard Prague is beautiful so with that said I will let you all know how it goes in a few days time!

Auf wiederson!!

Day 72

Well the boys in orange got it done last night! I could not fall asleep til after 2 since car horns and screaming fans kept going on for that long! It was so much fun to watch in the pub, and see everyone dressed in orange filling up the tube line and walking the streets. Now the hard part is to figure out if we stay in the Netherlands or head to Germany in a few days. I still have 2 more nights in Amsterdam and will definitely have had my fill by then so either Jessica and myself move to another part of the Netherlands or move on as planned. I keep getting mixed reviews... any suggestions??

Today was an awesome day, I took advantage of the free city tour. It took about three and a half hours to walk the major parts of the city. Our tour guide Joe was a funny guy and made the tour extremely interesting. He took us through the Red Light District, Dams Square, Dutch East India Company, a few churches, The Royal Palace and more. He described how Marijuana is illegal in the country but not a criminal offence. The Dutch seem to have an unwritten rule that consists of three points... if you are not hurting anybody, you are discrete about it, and it is good for business (coffee shops make good money of the tourists), then the police will ignore it. So even though it is illegal as long as you have less then 30 grams on you, you will not get a ticket. Too funny.

Moving on from all that nonsense that I don't take part in we also had some history lessons on World War II, their golden age, and about how big of a bike city it is! Cool to learn all the interesting things of Amsterdam and that is not all about the sex and drugs. Joe told us that no one owns a nice bike in Amsterdam because the local young lads of the community think it is funny when they are drunk to steal the bikes and toss them in the rivers to see a big splash and laugh about it. Because of this about once a year the government takes them all out of the rivers and brings them to shops to fix them and sell them back to everyone. There was even a study conducted and they figured out about every 16th bike a Dutch owns in Amsterdam is one they have owned from before. Kinda crazy to think about it.

AHHH Jessica just walked in! My travel buddy from the States has arrived! So exciting. I now I have a friend for the next little bit. Well until our money runs out! I better be off, I have not seen her since last year when we met in Peru so we have lots of catching up to do!

Day 70

Yes, you are going to hear more. Okay just to prove you wrong mom I won't go on that much more. I will just end by saying I got out of Athens. It was the longest day ever, but after a 60 euro fine on the metro for having the wrong ticket (I will still be calling the office to argue it) and losing my reservation with the airline and having to get another ticket I am... out! And in the Netherlands!

The flight went well, I had the entire row to myself so I got to lay down, relax and catch some zzz's. Even had the best meal on the flight. I caught the train from the airport to the main part of the city and upon walking to my hostel I got this feeling that Amsterdam would be a much better city to explore.

Not sure if it was the strong smell of weed I instantly smelled once I hit open air. Or how the streets are covered in orange flags for the football match tomorrow. Or how beautiful the streets are with rivers flowing all throughout the city and colourful flower shops in most corners. Either way it is a small city with lots to see. I walked over to grab some groceries and passed by my first prostitutes in windows. You see it on the movies all the time but it still sort of freaked me out at first. Like what is going on here? Oh right I am in Amsterdam. I guess I only expected it in the red light district but clearly I was wrong. The girls even smile at you while walking by making it extremely awkward... should be an interesting few days here.

Staying in tonight, way too much money to go out every night here. Besides the football game is on tomorrow night and hopefully the Dutch footballers can get'er done again!! Let's go Orange!

Day 69

Dirty. Boring. Sketchy. Yes, those are the words to describe Athens. The streets all smell of urine, tons of homeless drunk bums on the curbs plus you get the odd hooker in the mix. This is the first city where I generally feel unsafe. Not sure if it is due to their economic situation at the moment but either way I don't think I would ever come back to Athens. After the Acropolis there is not much else to see. I find the city just does not have any atmosphere to it, no charm to remember. Plus the locals are so rude, at least the ones I have encountered. So a big thumb down to Athens.

I did manage to motivate myself a bit yesterday and see some of the city. I ventured about a 15 min walk to the Acropolis. Which is something to see. Very cool and I suggest to anyone in Greece to at least make it to Athens for half a day to see it. Then get out as fast as possible!

Which is exactly what I am trying to do. Booked a flight to Amsterdam for tomorrow morning. Which means another night at the Athens airport. Which is fine by me, I don't mind at all to hang around in an airport. Call me crazy but people watching is a favourite past time of mine.

So it is just before 2:00 here in Athens, I am off to grab some breakfast/lunch and then attempt to make it to the rescue centre. Not sure if I have already mentioned this but Archelon has a rescue centre for any injured sea turtles. So it will kill some time to see the centre and should be interesting to see the turtles in some light! Then off to the airport I go. After 7 weeks in Greece it is time to move on, it has been some great times. Good-bye Mousaka, Raki, Gyros and the crystal clear beaches!! You will be greatly missed!

Day 68

Currently in Athens, arrived here at 4 in the morning off the overnight ferry from Ios. And at the moment I am knackered! Three nights in Ios will do that to anyone. I stayed at a hostel called Far Out Camping, which is basically a huge party resort. The rooms pretty much look like a dog kennel, on a larger scale of course. It was tons of fun, especially for Canada Day! I met all these great Canadian people and the hostel set up a party for the day. Well really all they did was put red and white balloons up and then decided to boost up all the prices of drinks..bastards!

Regardless a beach/pool party is always fun, and I must say Canadians know how to make it a good time. We even had a huge performance of drunk, loud, crazy Canadians signing Oh Canada a few times, which explains why I have no voice left. It was so funny to see all the proud Canadians in Greece showing their pride. The daytime party was much more fun then it was heading out at night. My night out consisted of nearly getting hit by a car (not my fault he started backing up the car without looking), cutting my foot on some glass, getting a drunk bartender who couldn't count to 6 and therefore hassled me out of an extra 3 euro, and the topper of the night was getting puked on in a bar. Thankfully just my leg and not much else!

All in all I must say even with all that happened that it was the best Canada Day I have ever. Truly an epic time. I just feel bad for all the other nationalities who had to put up with us for 24 hours. No I lied, I feel bad for everyone else who has to go through 4th of July tomorrow with any Americans on the island...you can't get any worse then that!

Day 64

In Santorini! The ferry ride was good, I splurged on the ticket and got a cabin. First bed in 6 weeks! So worth the extra 10 euro. Yesterday I did a one day tour of Santorini. I got to see the Volcanic grounds, hot springs, a few Greek towns, and watched the sun go down at the north part of the island. Santorini is absolutely beautiful, with all the stereotypical sights of Greece. Blue roofs, donkey rides, clear waters and good greasy food!

I am moving on to the next island today. I think living in Reth for six weeks makes the islands a tad boring for me since the beach scene has been done and done again. I am looking forward to Athens where I can get some history and museums and skip the beach part. I know it sounds very strange, never thought I would be tired of a beach, but if you knew all the morning surveys and afternoons off on the beach you would all understand. I leave today at 6pm on a ferry to Ios where I stay for two nights and then move to Athens!

In the mean time I am hanging out on a friends computer til I leave in a few hours. I am not feeling so hot today, must be getting a little sick so trying to stay out of the sun and taking it easy. While in the taverna I sat beside this girl from the hostel to get the Internet password from her. We started to talk and found out we are both Canadian, from Toronto area and the crazy thing is she knows a lot of my friends from high school and will be living with one of them in September. She goes to Queens which is where half of my grade went so it's only natural she knows some of my high school buddies. Such a small world!

Day 61

Well, its my last full day here at camp and two months away from home now! I have been on the computer for most of the morning booking a ferry and hostel for Santorini and getting all my pictures uploaded and organized. So I will make this another short post because I hear the beach calling my name for one last swim.

I thoroughly enjoyed my time here in Crete volunteering with Archelon. I survived 6 weeks in a tent with just a sleeping bag very well and am hoping to come back at the end of the season to see some baby turtles. I learned tons of new things on the endangered animal and about conservation in general. I made some really great friends for life, got to explore the islands of Crete, mingled in five star hotels, woke up in the early morning hours to survey 11km of beach, met some strange tourists at the kiosk and most of all I am coming home with some awesome memories and even better pictures!! I would definitely recommend this experience to anyone who was willing! Anyone want to come next year??

Tonight is my going away party and I picked an 'ABC' themed party. For those of you who are not known to this term its an 'anything but clothes' party. Don't panic no one will be in their birthday suit, it just means you have to make clothing out of boxes, tin foil, garbage bags, toilet paper.... basically anything but actual clothing. Everyone seems pretty pumped for tonight, I am just not sure if it is because of the party or that they are happy I am finally leaving! Regardless it will be a fun night!

I have my ferry booked for tomorrow which is exciting to get back on the road and see all the other places I want to see. First stop is Santorini, woot woot! This is the island with all the stereotypical scenery of white houses and blues roof tops. So my camera will be getting a work out over the next little bit.

Well that is all to say, I know I have said this a million times already but it will be so weird to leave camp but it is time to move on to bigger and better things! Jessica see you in 11 days babe! Bye Bye Archelon!

I am not going to cry, I am not going to cry, I am not going to cry....

Day 59

I would just like to open up today's post with how horrible the football game went today for Italy. Still can't really believe the boys are out already! I came back to camp today all rattled after the game and even exchanged some words to one of the leaders after she thought it would be funny to laugh at me. Now is the leader that doesn't watch or care about her own team and seems enjoys others misery. The real funny part was when I completely told her off in front of her boss and she sat there silent and embarrassed. Friggen English!

Other than soccer nothing new is going on at camp. I am continuing the same routine as before with kiosk shifts, morning survey, and slide shows. Everything is going well, but it is coming all to an en very fast! It is just crazy how the week goes by extremely fast here. I will be leaving Sunday morning for Santorini island and will continue to tour the islands and Athens for a week by myself. I am looking forward to a little more space once again that is for certain!

Well like I said, nothing new to update really other then how frustrated I am with team Italia. Tomorrow I can mourn with the French volunteers over a beer on the beach! Yep, that should make me feel much better. Also just want to add to everyone back home to be safe. Everyone was worried about me traveling Europe by myself and yet seems as though every time I come on Skye I hear some not so great news of family members safety. Cough LUCA, cough MOTHER cough! Ironic! Get better both of you!

Anyways it is past 10pm in Greece and it's getting sort of cold over here so I will wrap up this very pointless post with a goodnight!

Day 55

Yesterday was a packed day for me. A group of volunteers and I headed to a small remote beach that we call 'L Beach' for the afternoon. It's pretty easy to get to with only a 15 min bus ride from camp. Upon arriving you cross over the National Road, which is equivalent to a highway, and make your way down a path for a few minutes. You arrive at this tiny quite bay which has two big jumping cliffs on both sides. And yes, I did jump! The left side is around 10 metres high and the right side is several higher then that. Becky and I were the only two girls to jump both of them that day and I a still shocked at myself for doing it. Mostly because I am scared of heights, to the point of never being on roller coaster and only a few years ago I started to use escalators. No joke!

The guys obviously had to show off and jump first into the water, so after seeing them alive was good reassurance for me. But once getting to the edge the jump seems so much bigger then from the ground and I started to question myself. Mom you popped into my head right away, and I almost chickened out when Becky spoke up and said "Common we can't not go in front of the guys." which is very true. Then she grabbed my hand told me not to be a twat, I quickly grew a set of balls, replied "Let's go" and we jumped! It was so much fun, and after we got applauded by a tour boat full of tourists watching to see if we would all go. Very proud of myself for jumping, gave me such a high after landing in the water safely. AND got some sweet pictures to prove my story.

We left shortly after lunch because some people had shifts within the hour, and myself and Kerry had to get some sleep since later that night we had night survey. It was the first night survey of the season and I got to go. We left camp around 10pm and headed down to the far end of the beach opposite the Harbour on J and K sector. I was beyond excited because walking the beaches at night means that if you are lucky, a chance to see a live turtle! We started our night walking and within 3 minutes Heike (monitoring leader) was crawling on all fours on the beach because she thought she saw something. The hard thing about morning survey is no light is allowed or else the turtles will be scared away. We are only able a red light because the turtles can't pick up on that as much. So after getting our signal of one red flash of the light Kerry and I dropped to the ground and crawled up to what looked like a big rock but was actually a sea turtle!!! Can't believe we found one that fast! It was amazing to see one in the wild and I even started to laugh a bit the way the turtle moves. She was digging her egg chamber and every few seconds would toss sand up in the air with her flipper. Apparently all the years Heike has been doing this she had never had a reaction like mine, which was giggling.

The turtle ended up hitting clay in the sand so she decided not to lay her eggs and abandoned the chamber she just dug. They are very picky as to when and where to lay their eggs. She slowly but surely moved her way back to the water. I just can't describe the feeling I felt when seeing one. Especially since fairly close to this entire encounter was a bar full of drunk tourists who were totally oblivious to what just happened. I just witnessed something not many people have, or ever will. Which is a endangered sea turtle in her natural habitat digging an egg chamber, and these people were just thinking if they wanted vodka or rum. Even some volunteers who have been here for more than one season have not got to see what I saw last night.

We continued walking the beaches till 3 in the morning and we witnessed 2 other sea turtles on the beach. However they were just 'swims' which is when they emerge from the water on the sand, and basically don't like the area for one reason or another and do a loop around right back to the water. Night survey was a success seeing 3 sea turtles and bonus; 1 couple doing the dirty on the beach. Most awkward thing to walk by, thank the lord it was night time and nearly pitch black or my eyes may have been scared for life!

I have the morning and afternoon off to sleep and get back on track from last night which is nice, and this evening I have a kiosk shift that starts at 7pm. However the Italy game is on at 5pm here, so I will have to find a close TV to the kiosk and run over at the last min! Wish me luck!

Day 52

I would just like to start off by saying that I am so hot right now. I am sitting in a cafe on JuJu's computer sweating balls!! We are on day three of a heat wave and I just can't take it anymore! SO HOT!!!! The horrible thing about Greece is that it starts getting hot very early and will refuse to cool down until around 8 at night. As I am telling you this right now I am drying my forehead of sweat! I will be hitting up a cold, cold, cold shower when I get back to camp. Which reminds me..... I still have to walk back to camp! UGH!

Okay I got my complaining out of the way and now I can continue on my update...

Well day 52 has been interesting thus far. My morning went as follows, waking up at 5am on a island in Greece, walk several kilometers looking for sea turtle tracks in the sand, waiting half an hour to take a bus back to camp who completely ignored us waving him down and drove right past us, then hitchhiking our way back to camp. Definitely a morning I have never had imagined I would ever experience. I was so tired getting out of the car I even hit the man's door on my way out!! Thank the lord he did not notice me doing that and no dent was left. Close one.

Camp turned into a soap opera over the past few days with lots of drama going on. Long story short one of the girls hit one of the guys in an ugly argument. They used to date before coming to Greece and it was not a clean breakup. Therefore living together on camp was difficult and now we are down two volunteers as they got moved to separate camps yesterday. A bitter sweet ending to the drama since most of the camp was on the same page and happy to see one leave. The funny part of it all is the karma one will experience heading over to the Matala camp. With no warm showers, no electricity, and holes on the floor for toilets. Enjoy!

Hopefully now the high school, oh sorry I mean camp full of very mature young adults, will all come together now. Tonight is Adel's (South African) last night, which equals to BBQ and cocktails! I am hoping for the best and that we can all hangout and have a fun filled night. Most likely it will go smoothly and I can have a good last night with one of my closest friends on camp. It's so depressing making such strong connections with the volunteers and once you become very close and comfortable it seems as though it's time for one of you to leave. Just means I will be visiting you in South Africa Adel!

Day 49

Ugggghhhhhh. That's how I am feeling at the moment. I caught some sort of flu yesterday and am still feeling like shit. I just finished a two hour nap so hopefully I start feeling better soon. It is especially important because as we all know Italy plays tonight! I have managed to encourage some people to come out with me tonight to watch the game so I don't have to go alone. The annoying part is most of them are French and still have not gotten over losing last world cup and are already chanting PARAGUUYY on camp. It's going to make for an interesting night.

Some more news, I am officially a Mom!! I found my first nest on morning survey the other day. I have been with others and seen a nest before but this was the first time that I found the top egg while digging! It was so thrilling to see the little white spot in the sand and right in that moment I became a Mom. Kerri (camp leader) told me she would look after it for me and take lots of pictures of the hatchlings and send it to me. My hatchlings are going to be so good looking I just know it.

I would love to blog some more but unfortunately Luca distracted me with some talks on the game and now I must head out to find a bar to watch. So excited!!FORZA ITALIA!

Day 46

This past Wednesday was my second day off. Adel, Justine, Natalie and I headed to Preveli which is about an hour and a half to the south. Once getting off the bus you have to walk down the cliff on the steep rock steps to get to the beach. After a 20 min hike you arrive to a beautiful small little beach at the south edge of Kroustaliotiko gorge where the river reaches the Libyan Sea. At the back of the beach they have a huge palm forest that goes along the river. We did not trek the entire forest because, well after being informed it takes five hours we all rolled our eyes and said ``Hell nah``. Making my way back up the cliff was extremely hard and with no shade and the sun attacking us it made it quite the mission.

By the end of the trip Natalie was completely on all our nerves. She makes very silly comments and when everyone is tired and hot it doesn`t go over well. Not even with Adel who is the calmest of calms. For example, right after climbing back up the cliff we all sat waiting for the bus. Justine starts dabbing herself with a little white handkerchief to take the sweat off. We teased her because as she was dabbing her head and just looked very elegant while the rest of us were anything but. I made a joke saying ``all I want to do is just toss dirt on you right now`` that`s where the conversation ending. Finished. Complete. We moved on and starting talking about something else. About five minutes later Natalie pipes up asking ``no but can we actually toss dirt on you Justine?`` This is what I mean when all our patience gets tested very fast when you are with Natalie. The day ended with a nice plate of Moussaka and bedtime came shortly after.

Today, not much is happening. It’s just before two in the afternoon here in Greece and all I do is tend to hang around camp a lot and hang about with the other volunteers. Laziness is the popular thing to do, especially after waking up at 5am and walking several kilometres of beach. It`s nice staying in one place for a long time because there absolutely no rush to do anything and you can have days dedicated completely to lofting around.

Oh and the good news I have is I got accepted for another two weeks here at camp!! June 26th will mark my new ending date for the placement, and funny enough this will mark exactly two months away from home.

Day 42

Well my birthday in Greece was loads of fun. We had a party at camp with all the volunteers which was really nice, I even got a cake baked by Mik which was delicious. But before cake I got surprised by Louis and Matt with a birthday song! It was such a funny song and very well done, especially for writing it in twenty minutes. Very sweet of them both, well the thought was. The lyrics were not as sweet because the song was mostly about how much their heads were going to hurt in the morning after drinking that night and how they would blame my birthday for it. The evening ended with a dirt fight and myself covered in that nights dinner. Pasta all over my face and hair! Yummy.

I had the next morning off, which was the best present of all. However I got put on a slide show shift for that evening. Which is the shift I hate the most, public speaking is not my thing. Entering the hotel I was scared because the lobby was fairly busy so I was worried the presentation would be full. Luckily when the time came to speak there were less then 10 people in the room. At one point during the presentation while I was speaking a family got up and left in the middle. Then my partner Aurelien started to laugh quietly, which of course made me break down as well. Not the most professional slide show ever presented. After the show I got told off by a French man that I read too much off the paper as he laughed in my face. Oh man, these five star guests are intimidating to present in front of.

My volunteer placement is coming to an end this weekend, which is such a big shock because it doesn’t feel like I have been here this long. I talked to my camp leader about it and I am seeing if there is room for me to stay an extra two weeks at camp. This means I would cut scandinavia out of my itinerary . I found out Norway is extremely expensive so this makes it work out for the better to save some money and enjoy another two weeks of volunteering. I haven’t got any word yet, she was told the camp is at its capacity but she is going to call her boss and try to work me in since I am considered one of the “good” volunteers. Fingers crossed!

Day 40

Back from the hotel. Relaxed, clean, and older. Officially twenty today! I won't have time to post that much about the hotel experience because celebrating needs to start soon. But it was so much fun to be five star for a day! The slide show went great, I didn't mess up that much and we raised a decent amount of money for the turtles.

It's hitting around 8:30pm here so I better head to the kitchen area to celebrate. My close friends on camp decorated the place with some balloons and signs which is really sweet. It's nice to be surround by good company like that, so thanks Adel, Justine, Natalie and Kerry!

Raki time!

Day 38

"Hakuna matata. Today is Life. Tomorrow never comes."

That is the quote of the town Matala. Which is where I visited for the past few days to build the new camp . It was a two hour drive from my camp and it had great scenery for the entire ride. Huge mountains all around you and once you get to the other side of the island you get to drive along the coast which has some of the most amazing views of crystal clear waters and sandy beaches. We arrived in the late afternoon on Monday and moved the supplies from the office to the camp site. On Tuesday myself and a Ivana (volunteer from Germany) sanded the entire kiosk and packed it in the truck. Of course by the time the pieces of wood were unpacked at the spot it belongs, it was high noon and the sun was pounding on us. Not the best of timing, especially with no shade but however difficult the work was it was finished in the end. I treated myself to a nice swim in the sparkling bay after a day of long and sweaty work.

The atmosphere of Matala is very laid back as you can tell from the quote and such a relaxing place to be. The town is very small and has a close community. Filled with hippie bars, funky clothing and hand made jewellery it shows the diversity the island has. The best part was walking through the strip to find a place for dinner and constantly getting comments such as "oh the turtle ladies! You are back!" along with a shot of raki (similar to Italian grappa). I learned in Matala if you work for Archelon and want free shots of raki... it is definitely the place to go.

The side trip was worth the extra work, and even with the three buses it took to get back to camp I would definitely go again! The funny thing about the journey was arriving back at camp and having this big sensation of getting back home. It's weird how a random campsite which is far far away from my actual home becomes a new home so fast.

Today was my first day back at camp and I had an exciting, early morning. I was on morning survey for sector A-C the longest one, which means waking up at 4:30 am to walk almost 5km of beach. It turned from a early morning to a exciting one after we found tracks on the beach. Following the tracks up the beach we found what appeared to be a nest. After digging in the sand for some time we ended up finding the eggs! This was my first sights of a real egg and it was so thrilling to see a real sea turtle nest. I know I sound very lame at the moment but after all the training I had to go through and many hours walking on the beach without finding anything, it makes it that much sweeter to see your work pay off.

Tonight the leaders and a bunch of volunteers are heading out to Platanas (the town over) to watch a gig at a place called Axos. The leaders know the band which we are told are very brilliant and who do covers of all sorts of songs. Even more good news I got put on a slide show for tomorrow night at a hotel in Heraklion. Now Heraklion is quite far from us, which means a long bus to get there and since we have a information table the next afternoon we stay the night. Let me clarify, not stay the night in town but actually get put up in one of the hotels rooms with a pass which gives us all inclusive access to food, swimming pool, drinks, etc. Did I mention this is one of the five-star hotels? No? Sorry, I will say this again in case my brother is reading, I get a free stay at a five star hotel.

Ahhhhh Hakuna Matata, it means no worries...

Day 34

Internet is finally back up on the camp site! Yes it was crashed for a few days which is really annoying because the computer is my one source for communication back home.

Not much happened over here on my end. Today I had the the morning and afternoon off so I managed to get in a little shopping in.However it i s so expensive in Greece which does put a damper on things. I did find some cute dresses on sale, which means I will actually have pictures of myself looking like a girl and NOT in the famous green jacket of mine. Also due to the fact that we have been deprived from meat for two weeks now Justine and I headed out for lunch at a restaurant on the main strip. We tried the famous Greek dishes of tsatsiki (yogurt dip) and moussaka (not even sure what I ate, but it contained meat and was oh so good). What made the afternoon more sweet was getting a discount on the bill after Justine and I charmed the manager and got to save a few euros! Helps balance out the small shopping debt I have accumulated.

Tomorrow morning Mik (PA leader on camp) and myself are heading out to the south of the island to help put together the other camp in Matala. Yes there are male volunteers on camp but we have all learned that females just get the job done better. So off I go to no camp, no electricity, and three days of moving big boxes and building shelter. As bad as it sounds I am looking forward to seeing another part of the island and a little break from camp is always nice. Even though a month is not very long, when you live this close to everyone it gets cramped fast. So til then Goodbye! Blog to you all in three days to let you know how the building goes!!

Day 31

This morning I got waken up from a little German leader whispering by my tent "Sara, Sara, are you coming to morning survey?" Once I came to and realized what time it was, I had to quickly get ready and jump in the car so we could head to the beach. Unfortunately no eggs were found...BUT I did get to see my first turtle tracks and egg chamber which was neat. I didn't expect the prints to be so obvious in the sand, especially with all the obstruction of tourists on the beach. Survey was pretty cool however the whole getting up at 5 am thing will without a doubt get annoying very soon.

Justine (French student), Crazy girl and myself went into town before dinner to do a little shopping, and pick up some bread for dinner. While in town I looked for some places to get my hair cut when the sales lady in the shop called one of her friends to see if she was available to cut my hair, which she was. I then walked down the street to a near by church where I got picked up on a vespa by this Greek girl named Anna. We went around the corner to her house where I got my hair cut and styled for 10 euro! Anna was really cool and spoke decent English so we got to talk about her life in Greece, where I should travel and how crazy I was for working with the sea turtles and NOT getting paid. Most Greek people find it absolutely absurd that I would work without pay, and even more astonishing to them is that I pay to come. hah while I was getting my cut in probably one of the most random places I thought to myself... how do I get myself into these odd situations? The answer to that is who really cares! I got a nice cheap haircut, made a new Greek friend and got my first vespa ride.

The rest of tonight is devoted to celebrating Louis' birthday. Who is another French volunteer, I feel like I am in a mini France since the English are really out numbered by French students. We are now at 10 French students to 4 English! No but seriously, because as I type this blog I have 3 of them sitting in front of me going off en Francais. MERDE!

Day 30

Officially one month of no hesitation! Time has passed by me so fast, seems very surreal that I am 30 days in my travels and almost half way through my volunteer program. 60 more days to go.... hopefully more!

Yesterday morning I got to visit my first five-star hotel. A few volunteers and myself set up an information desk during breakfast to inform the guests of the sea turtles on the beach and to raise some funds for Archelon. It was one of the best shifts to date because after our info table we got to help ourselves to a free five-star breakfast! After eating vegetarian for the past 13 days I went straight for the bacon. Mhmmm good. Then we moved to another five-star hotel to participate in a beach clean with one of the local schools in Rethymno. It was great to see the kids, however they are quite crazy and out of control. We were again given some snacks after the clean where I literally got pushed out of the way by some 9 year old kid when I was trying to grab some food. By the time I got to the front of the table the good chocolate pastries were all gone. Damn kids, next time no mercy from me!

Tomorrow I start morning survey, which means we go out at 5:30 in the morning to look for the turtle tracks in the sand. Yes sounds crazy, but we have to get on the beach before all the people get on the beach and ruin the prints. Even more crazy, I am actually really excited for my first morning survey. Hopefully I get to see some turtle tracks for my own eyes.

Day 28

First thing is first, Happy Birthday Mom! Hope you are having a great time in Ottawa, miss you tons!

So not much to update for today. I had my day off today so I got to hit the beach for most of the day which was great, it was warm and sunny all day. Unfortunatley I got a little cocky with the sun in the afternoon and despite all the warning I had from the leaders about sunscreen, I ignored and I got burnt! The good news is, in a few days I will be nice and tan. After the beach I walked into town for my daily visit to my icecream shop called Meli, where I ended my relaxing day off with a double scoop of pistashu and vanilla.

Our family at camp is extending as we are getting new arrivals from France. I have been informed that there is most likely going to be drama between the two groups of French students. As the new arrivals come from a more prestigous private school the current French students seem to have a pre conceived notion of their behaviour. We have already had a few negative comments from each side whispered to each of the other volunteers and as the summer grows on so should the soap opera.... at least we are all praying because it will be great entertainment.

Also a shout out to my Zia Nadia and family who is taking great care of my Benny The Jet! Thank-you very much, give him a long belly rub for me!

Day 27

It seems the rain is following me EVERYWHERE I go! In fact today we found the plastic tarp to put over our shelter, and had to place it on during the rainstorm. Not only did the sun come out when we finished but two of the three male volunteers emerged from their dry warm tents! Which seems to be a continuing theme of the camp. The girls get dirty while the boys stay clean and pretty. Oh the French, who may I add have never had peanut butter and find it disgusting but find it completely normal to pour ketchup in their pasta... funny how different countries live. It provides a good laugh when we stumble upon one of these discoveries.

The actual volunteering part of the trip is going along well. The turtles are currently mating in the water now which means it will take about two weeks or so before the female comes on the beach to lay her eggs. So in the meantime we are getting the beach ready by marking all 11km of sand! Which gets extremely boring. Walking up the beach measuring different marks is not the most fun, especially when tourists are swimming and tanning in front of you. I just want one afternoon of sun to get my tan started and I will be a happy camper... literally.

So far the best part of this entire experience is hanging out with the other volunteers. Crazy girl provides hours of entertainment and with four students from France I am working on my French. We also got a new arrival from South Africa, who is neat to talk to. And no she doesn't have world cup tickets or else I would not be blogging I would be with her trying to become her new best friend. Too bad!

Well it is getting late and cold I better head off. I did my laundry today and I am only left with a pair of shorts and a t-shirt til my clothes dry so I can't wait to get into my sleeping bag! Oh and remember tomorrow is World Turtle Day, spread the word!

Day 23

I am currently sitting in the middle of the campsite, with cold wind on my back and surrounded completely by the black night. Why? To update this blog of mine, so no one gets worried (aka my parents) that I did not blog in a few days. So here comes my update of the past three days here at Camp Rethymno...

First of all we finished the bamboo kitchen, which by the way looks really amazing and feels very "campish". It took us two days, approximately 200 sticks of bamboo, and lots of plain old hard work to get the camp in order. Considering it is my home for the next four weeks it was well worth the work. Not only did we build camp but today we moved more into the heart of the city to build our kiosk. The kiosk is how we get some of our PA out to the locals and travelers that come to the island. We started at 10am and ended around 4pm, so just by that you know how my day went.

I am getting to know the other volunteer's better. The Canadian that is here is named Natalie aka Crazy Girl. The three boys from France nicknamed her that after about an hour of meeting her, and well honestly they are right. She is loads of fun, very nice and the nickname is right on the money. The great thing about traveling is not just the things you see but the people you meet along the way. Just like yesterday I went for a run and on the way back I got lost (so typical) so I asked a guy in a shop how to get to camp. Before giving me directions he shows me his medals of marathon's he has done in Amsterdam, Belgium and around Europe which was pretty neat. Such big character the Greek's seem to have.

Things are starting to settle in at camp, we are starting training and rotation tomorrow. Which means the leaders of the camp write down who is responsible for what for each day. Either kiosk duty, information sessions at hotels, morning/night survey on the beach, cleaning and cooking. I am on for a kiosk duty in the morning then I have the afternoon off where I am without a doubt hitting the beach for a tan. Then I am the first of the volunteer's to start off the cooking rotation for dinner. Yes, give the Italian the cooking first! Psht!

P.s. A Maltese dog walked by me today and all I could think about was my baby. Benny if you are reading this I miss you!!!

Day 20

Well everyone, I made it to Greece okay. The flights were not so great, I had two guys who had the worst BO and for over 3 hours I got to sit beside them! Then I had a 8 hour layover between flights, which meant breaking out my sleeping bag and finding a nice wall to sleep beside.

I arrived to an empty camp around noon on Friday morning, I was the first volunteer of the season at Camp Rethymno to arrive. So I got the first pickings of spots to put my tent but this also means the camp is not set up yet. We had to move all the tables in, build the shelter and today we built a roof out of bamboo. After Peru and this program I think I am ready for Survivor!

Camp thus far is great. Seems like a fun group of volunteers here, and I am really happy with the program and location I picked to accept. We will be setting up camp for the next few days and then will start to look at the beach and see what needs to be done to start off the sea turtle season!

Talk to you all in the next several days!

Day 17

Good news... no rain today!

It made visiting all the sights much easier. This morning we made it to Versailles! Ms. Carroll (European history teacher) would be very proud. Everything was just as lavish as I imagined it and the gardens were enormous, unfortunately we didn't have time to walk all the grounds. We got to see Hall of Mirrors, the Queen's chamber, Marie Antoinette's private estate and lots of old paintings and sculptures.


After lunch we made our way to the Louvre museum,where we toured around of all the famous paintings including of course the famous Mona Lisa! It was funny to see everyone pushing their way through the crowd to get a good shot of the painting. We decided early on we would go admire the painting but just buy a nice postcard of it. Besides you can't get a very good photograph of her especially since the painting is behind a thick piece of glass and roped off. After Mona Lisa (who is not the prettiest ladies I have seen, so when my Nonna calls me Mona Lisa I am going to take it as an insult from now on) we went by the arch de triomphe which is only famous to be because of Tour de France. I also managed to find myself my tent and sleeping bag for Greece which is great, and cheap! Which brings me to where I am now...the hostel.


We are just making some pasta and then heading out to see the Eiffel Tower and since its my last night I am meeting some friends for last night of drinks! So that was Paris! Amazing city with lots of history and definitely a place where I have to come again because there are so many things I did not get to see. Which is fine by me!


I better get going I am running a tad behind as it is!

Day 16

Paris sous la pluie! Paris in the rain!


I arrived last night to Paris but booked a hostel in one of the ghetto parts of the city, and was warned to not go out at night alone. So I made the responsible choice and went to bed early. The annoying thing was my hostel was connected to the bar below us and I could hear all the loud music all night long. It wouldn't have been that bad expect I heard black eye peas just about every other song! So this morning I moved to the hostel with my Sherbrooke friends! Which is great, Claudia, Alain and Cynthia and very welcoming and easy to get along with.

Our first stop was the Opera house which was beautiful! Very glamorous building and one of my favourite buildings thus far on the trip. Next we visited a famous shopping mall named Lafayette which was packed with every famous and expensive designer possible. Very depressing to walk through, especially while I am in running shoes and a rain coat while the fashionistas of Paris give you dirty looks up and down wearing Prada heels and Gucci bags. Bitches!

After lunch we broke off and Claudia and myself headed over to see the Notre Dame church which was huge. With extremely high walls and colourful painted glass windows. After we moved over to the Bastille and the Pantheon and looked around in some camping stores to find my sleeping bag and tent for my volunteer program. I would have bought what I needed except I didn't feel like paying over 200 euros for a silly tent. Think of the clothes I could buy with that!! Okay so maybe not that much with the prices in Paris but still way over my backpackers budget.

Tomorrow is the big day, we are planning to see Versailles, (which is in my top 5 places to see in Europe), as well as the Louvre, the Arc de Triomphe and the Eiffel Tower (I know I have been in Paris over 24 hours and STILL have not gone to the Eiffel Tower!) We are praying for no rain tomorrow, and at this point I would even take half a day of no rain to be honest. Either way I will be out enjoying Paris rain or shine! Bed for now, tomorrow is another 7am wake up!

Day 13

Arrived in Brussels! It was a great train ride, I actually started talking to a group of three other backpackers from Sherbrooke, Quebec. They are super nice and the good news is one of the girls is heading to Paris from Monday to Thursday which is the same time as me. So if all goes well I will have a French speaking friend in France which makes life easier for a few days.

Brussels, is well, it's okay. It is not as pretty as I pictured it, it seems more grey and dim and not as happy as Bruges. I walked around the square and main streets with all the shops and big old buildings for a while and on my way home came across a weird demonstration. There was around 150 people with chalk on the ground writing their names on the main strip with a few camera crews around. Then a siren went off and everyone jumped up and walked away. Unfortunately I arrived just in time for the last bit and couldn't catch any video of it. I have heard that Brussels is a big spot for protests and demonstrations and in fact many of the locals didn't seem too impressed by it.

The good thing about Brussels is how many waffle kiosks they have. I grabbed one for a snack today and it was the best 1,70 Euro I have ever spent! Fresh, hot and right off the grill, dare I say it? Yes it does come close to beating the strawberry shortcake from La Felicita back home.

Tomorrow is Sunday which means most stores are closed in Belgium so I will have to make due with markets for the day, which is fine by me. I will be going over my French tonight so I can bargain and get the best deals. See mom, I have learned from all the garage sales we have been to in the past!

Day 12

Chocolate shop, chocolate shop and chocolate shop. That basically sums up downtown Bruges. Yes, I have learned in Belgium everyone seriously loves chocolate. I went to visit the chocolate museum today where you get to see a demonstration of how chocolate is made and get to see a life size chocolate of Barack Obama.

Not including breakfast which I will explain later the rest of the day in Bruges was great. I went to the Church Of Our Lady to visit Michelangelo's 'Madonna with child' which is one of his few works outside of Italy. Then moving on to the Panorama which is a 366 step climb (an absolute joke after the CN tower climb) to get to the top of the 83-metre tower.Which is where you get to see a great view of the downtown square. Bruges is absolutely beautiful and with all the rivers that flow through the town it is no wonder why it's considered the Venice of the North. Just a fun town to walk around for a day!

Now to my breakfast story. Almost all hostels provide a breakfast, which is just juice, bread and some cereal. Since I am on my tight budget I go every morning and eat as much bread as possible. Today was no different, I got up and walked over to the kitchen area. This hostel hosted a big group of school kids last night around the grade 7-8 age so the place was packed with 'tweens'. I got in line and grabbed my food and as I usually do found a table off to the side and sat by myself and planned my day. With in two minutes a little boy walks up to my table and sits on the end, and after him another one and another one. All of a sudden I am surrounded at a table of little dutch boys during breakfast. I look around and there must of been at least 7 other tables open, but yet they still came to sit with me. So there I was for 30min in the middle of a dutch conversation of school boys. Seriously one of the most awkward meals of my life!

Well that is Bruges seen all in one day. Tomorrow I move to Brussels!

Day 11

Sorry for the delay. It gets hard to find some time to get on the computer sometimes. Yesterday I got to go on the Stonehenge Tour. Other travels I spoke to said it was boring or that it was just a bunch of rocks for I was not even going to go. I ended up finding a cheap tour and decided last minute to go. So glad I did! Stonehenge for me was very interesting and well worth the time and money to go see.

After stonehenge all my friends at the hostel, (yes I do have some friends)went downstairs and played some drinking games and hung out most of the day. It was a few of everyones last night, including mine. It's really nice talking to fellow backpackers about where they have been and knowing that there are others in the same position as me. However I am usually the youngest of the bunch!

Today I woke up early to pack my bags and head back to the airport to fly out of the UK. I arrived in Brussels, Belgium today around 2pm. I then got a train out to Bruges which I have been told is a very nice town that I must see. A girl from Australia named Tash gave me her train card last night which gives me about 6 more train rides free! Which will save me tons of money so I can travel lots more around Belgium now. I am all signed in my hostel and am looking forward to my full day in the city tomorrow.

Well so far so good, everyone in Belgium has been very nice. Especially when I got a little lost from the airport!! Well since I am on about 3 hours of sleep I think it is bedtime for moi. Night!

Day 9

Well another busy and fun day in London. This morning at 7:30 Peter (from Austria) and myself got up and went for a run through Hyde Park, which is such a beautiful part of London. It was a perfect day to do it because this was the first day without rain the entire time I have been here. However watching all the other dogs on their morning walks, and running around on the grass was depressing. (Benny I miss you SO much!)

Later that morning I headed to Buckingham Palace. I arrived around 10:30 and people were already lined up around the gates to wait for the changing of the guard at 11:30. So I grabbed a spot on the side before it was too late and waited around for a long, cold, windy hour. The ceremony was neat, but way too long! It took around 40min, but all in all it was interesting to watch, and I got some great shots with my zoom lens. Most dramatic shift change I have ever seen!

The rest of my day was spent shopping around in a few of the stores. And to Zia Nadia, I did not find any neat shops to get some antiques or anything cool. I hope to do some more hunting tomorrow! I did book my trip to Stonehenge for tomorrow in the afternoon, so I have something big to look forward to!

I am off to do laundry, dirty clothes in one hand, bar of soap in the other...I am set!

Day 8

Tower of London, Tower Bridge, London Eye, Parliament building, and Big Ben all in 7 hours. Dam I work good alone! Yes I got to visit all these sights in one day full of rain, sun, and hail. The London Eye was so much fun and had amazing views of the city. A tad on the pricey side (17 pounds), but what isn't in London?

Another first for me today as well. I asked a lady who was standing on the street if she would take a picture of me in front of Big Ben. She looked at me with a grin on her face, rolled her eyes, and answered in her uptight English accent..."Well, no I don't want to" and walked away. haha, never got that answer before! I know locals get annoyed with the big crowds of tourists, which is understandable. However when you are standing on a street, where the London Eye, Parliament, and Big Ben are it is sort of a given that there WILL be tourists.

I am doing great at the Hostel, meeting some cool and interesting people. The street my hostel is on is situated in a very suburban area which reminds me of Oakvile. The street is filled with expensive cars (spotted an Aston Martin ) and Lulu Lemon Mothers. Makes me feel right at home! I have just about mastered the tube station here. Which is a immense feat for me. Really this is a big deal that I can navigate my way through London's subway system successfully.

Day 7

I have arrived in London!

Just walking through the streets to my hostel got me so excited to see this big city. It is my first major city on my trip and I am praying I will have enough time to see everything. The hostel is beautiful and just a block away from Hyde Park. One of my roommates is from Italy named... Luca! You don't hear that name back in Oakville very often. In fact I find it kind of odd calling the name Luca without adding a 'you are so gay' to the end of it.

It rained non stop today, which made it hard to visit any of the parks, markets or any other outside activities. However I did manage to visit Wimbledon Stadium. First it takes you through a museum of old clothing, rackets, and medals and also shows you the history and traditions behind Wimbledon. Then you can walk to a window from which you can see center court from a 360 degree angle! This tour was amazing and seeing the court and knowing all the great players that have played on the court was simply, epic.

Oh, and today I experienced for my first time on the trip being robbed! Nothing big or expensive of course, because we all know I would be going room to room right now with a baseball bat if it was my camera. It was just my Europe guide book and a banana (who steals fruit?). But still!!! Anyways I will be hitting up a book store and fruit market tomorrow to replace my stolen items. Sigh.

For now, a nice hot shower to warm up from a day of walking in the rain.

Day 6

Well these are my last hours in Dublin. I am just grabbing some food and then heading out to catch a bus to the airport to get on to my flight for LONDON! Dublin was great. It rained most of the day yesterday so as my brother would say I got the 'authentic' Irish experience! Leaving without a new found boyfriend but you can't always win them all. And I know I have a cute little guy named Benny waiting for me at home anyways.

No more updates... for now. Today I will be seeing mostly airport. I am praying I get through boarder control effortlessly this time!!
Goodbye Dublin, Helllo London!

Day 4

You can all breath a sigh of relief. I am back from the Cliffs of Moher! Yes I went on a tour all day yesterday, and made it back without falling or getting blown over the edge. What you all should of been more concerned with is how I didn't die from the hour long Irish folk music during the bus ride. What a killer that was. The rest of the tour went well, it lasted around 12 hours and I got to see a few castles and the Burren (limestone rock formation stretching 320km and is definitely more brilliant than it sounds). Be alarmed I did just use the term 'brilliant' the Irish are rubbing off on me more than I thought.

Now today, today I got a real education. I woke up early, showered, and got ready for my big class at the Guinness Storehouse. I got to learn all about how the famous Dublin beer gets made and all the tricks and traditions of the 250 year old beer. The day just got better and better because after the six floors of self guiding touring, I got to enjoy a nice complimentary pint with spectacular 360 degree views of Dublin city. Definitely worth the 14 euros!

Well I better be off, it is my second last night in Dublin and I need to go out at least ONCE! One of my room mates is taking me out. To any of my parents who may be reading this, do no worry she lives in Ireland and knows her way around!

Day 2

Arrived in Dublin, Ireland! The trip was fine minus border control in UK. Yes I technically got denied access into the country for a few moments. The border patrol asked me how long my trip would be. Being 4am Toronto time I answered 3-4 months. Of course she was meaning how long in Ireland, and because you can not stay longer than 90 days without a visa they denied me into the country!(Calm down Mom, keep reading) After a brief moment of freaking out she continued to ask me questions including how much money I have in each bank account, where I was going to school, and if I was employed etc. After she talked with her manager they decided I was harmless and let me continue on to catch my Dublin flight. SCARY! On the plus it gave me something to blog for the first day!
After that everything went well. I caught some more sleep on the next flight and made sure to answer all questions properly upon entering Dublin.
I am all checked into my Hostel and for the next few days I will be searching for my husband just like how Hilary Swank and Gerard Butler met in the movie 'P.S I love you'. Wish me Luck!!!