For our second week on the island, we decided to do a bit more exploring. On Sunday, Steffen and I walked down to the port to pick up our rental car for the day—a 5-seater car. It was a tight squeeze but we made it work! (I think there is only one 7-seater rental car on the whole island and it was already rented through Monday the 11th.) 

We drove all the way to the northern tip of the island, Gerakas beach, on bumpy roads through olive groves and past countless wild goats. Once we reached the beach, we were all less than impressed. Except for Hannah who feels like any water is beautiful water and suitable for a dip. So she jumped in, swam a bit and then we headed to our next destination. 

We arrived at Agios Dimitrios and found some beach chairs to set up camp in the shade. It was windy again that day, but the beach is in a protected bay making for great swimming. Additionally, they had this fun jumpy/bouncy house type thing that Steffen, Hannah, Olivia and Luisa enjoyed very much! 

We ended the day with a stop at Steni Vala, the second largest town in the island, but we were not impressed. We like the Old Village a lot more! So we headed back to our place for dinner and called it a day.

Last week we had booked a boat tour for the five of us for Monday but we weren’t sure it would happen due to the wind. On Sunday I asked the place, and the man said he would call me at 8:30am to let me know if the trip was happening. At 8:45am on Monday I called them, and the woman on the phone said, yes, it was happening and we needed to be at the port at 9:45am. So we woke up the girls, got ready and were arriving at the port around 9:35am when I got a call from the original employee telling me, yes, the trip was happening. 😂 I was very glad I had called myself! 

The trip consisted of three swimming/snorkeling stops around Peristera island, a photo stop at the Blue Cave and then a late lunch in the town of Kalamakia. Unfortunately, due to wind, we could not stop in Kalamakia but the rest of the trip went off without a hitch. The water was gorgeous, we saw a cool underwater cave and a million fish and the views from the boat were spectacular. We were hoping to see some wildlife but no luck. On Monday, we also switched to a 7-seater car which is much more comfortable for all involved! 

On Tuesday we ventured out to another new beach, Kokkinokastro beach. At this point we’ve been to most beaches on the island 😂 but they are all a little different. Same unbelievably clear water in every shade of blue but some with waves for playing, another with rocks for jumping and exploring, still another with these red cliffs. The natural beauty here is breathtaking.