The last couple days have been spent enjoying the sun and reading outside. I can't remember the last time I had the opportunity to just sit and think about nothing except the book that I'm reading. I've literally spent hours on end outside by the pool finishing a few books that I hadn't had a chance to read. One was a recommendation by one of my co-workers called the Tender Bar by J.R. Moehringer. I must say, it took me a little while to get into this book, but after I got over the beginning slowness I couldn't put it down. I read most of it in the last day or so and I highly recommend it. It's really a story about growing up and trying to handle the obstacles that get thrown in your way along the journey of life. It addresses the core themes of life that every great novel/memoir (love, family, friends, death, and finding purpose/meaning). There are plenty of references to literary masterpieces throughout the book as well and the parallels drawn between the Great Gatsby (one of my favorite books of all time) and this story are frequently referenced throughout the story and are fairly obvious. In any case, it's definitely worth the read.I'm suddenly finding myself out of books to read already on this trip, so I'm starting to borrow some from my traveling companion. Fortunately, one of us realized how important it was to have a large selection of books and he decided to bring a small library to read (even though it added about 10 pounds to his pack). I'm probably going to reread On the Road by Jack Kerouac one more time (because it's another one of my favorites) and then dive into the History of God from my buddies collection.
Today we spent three quarters of the day chilling out in Santorini and then hopped a ferry to Crete. We arrived in Crete at about 7:45 p.m. and then proceeded to walk around for a while in an effort to find our hotel. We are staying at the Kastro Hotel (which happens to be really nice) and it's only costing us about 25 euros a piece per night. So I really can't complain. It took us a while to find our hotel, but while we were searching we met another back packer named Joe (We'll call him Massachusetts Joe because he has a really thick Boston accent) and he was also searching for a place to stay. We decided to look around together and we actually grabbed some dinner tonight with him. As it turns out, he has been traveling for the last 4 weeks and has hit every place from Switzerland to Turkey and down to the Greek Islands. We have plans to meet up with Massachusetts Joe tomorrow morning and see the Archaeological Museum then possibly tour a few other sites on this island.
To top it all off, this hotel has the first free internet connection that we've come across in Europe. Up until now I've had to either pay for internet (usually 3 euros for an hour) or "creatively" find other means to access free internet. I've tried to balance it out as much as possible so I don't feel too much like a criminal.
Anyways, so far the free form part of our trip has gone off without any issues (knocking on wood). The ferries have been great and on time, the hostels/hotels have been clean and friendly, and the weather has been phenomenal. So on that note, I'm going to stop pushing my luck and call it a night.
