Greece: My New Love

To all of my previous loves, there is still a place in my heart for you - that said, Greece is my newest love.  I've heard people talk about Greece many times and had always wanted to go there to see what everyone was talking about - and let me tell you it didn't disappoint.  Unfortunately, Haley and I only had 3 days to spend in Greece, which wasn't nearly enough - this is definitely a place I will come back to, hopefully in the near future!

After driving down from Skopje, Haley and I spent the evening in Thessolaniki.  We got in on the rather late side, but this was more a result of my terrible sense of direction and the lack of a GPS system.  Therefore, our first night, we didn't have much time to do anything except go to dinner.  Unfortunately, we arrived on a Monday which happened to be a holiday and there were very few places open and hardly anyone around.  That said, we did find a cute little restaurant with delicious food (I'm now obsessed with Greek food).  The only drawback was our dinner companion, I think I want to name him Fred:

The next day we were able to walk around Thessolaniki for a bit before we headed down to the beach.  The city had some really beautiful monuments and architecture, however, it was much more urban that I had expected - with many of the monuments being surrounded by more modern buildings:

That afternoon, Haley and I drove down to the beach (I let Haley drive this time as she was NOT impressed with my driving skills).  We started the afternoon at the Sani Beach Resort, which had amazing views - and like any good tourist, I probably took at least 40 photos in the few hours that we were there!

Skopje: Who Would Have Ever Thought?

If someone told me even just two months ago that I would find myself in Skopje, I probably would have laughed at them.  It was definitely not a place that came to mind immediately when I was trying to figure out what all I wanted to see on my trip.  That said, it's exactly where Haley and I found ourselves following Yacht Week.  You may be wondering what made us choose Skopje?  It's really quite simple and comes down to the simple facts: (1) Haley and I both wanted to go to Greece, (2) Tickets from Croatia to Greece were $1,000 each, (3) Haley and I were both on a budget, and (4) Tickets from Croatia to Skopje (2 hours by car from where we were going in Greece) were only $166/person.

And so it was settled, we were going to Skopje and driving down to Greece.  We had originally planned on meeting our friend Jared there as well and also touring a bit of Kosovo, but due to last minute changes, Jared was unable to make it.  Therefore, Haley and I decided just to head down to Greece and skip the Kosovo portion of our traveling.  Anyway, back to Skopje.

I think the thing that shocked me the most about our time in Skopje was just how nice and friendly everyone was to us!  It all started when our flight landed around 10:30PM in Skopje.  As we were trying to find our way to a Taxi, there was an incredibly nice woman named Hristina who was from there, but now lived in London.  She graciously offered to make sure we were able to catch a taxi and have it go to the right hotel, and she even gave us her phone number should we need anything during our stay in Skopje.

Additionally, the staff at our hotel and attached bar/restaurant were equally as hospitable!  We arrived quite late in the evening and were told that we should come down to the bar for a free drink - this sounded like a great idea after a long day of traveling!  Then when asking them for directions, they just offered to walk us to make sure we didn't get lost!  It's nice to think there is some form of chivalry out there!

We only spent a short time in Skopje, but they had some pretty amazing statues and buildings/bridges that were very cool to see.  That said, I would guess in the old town, where we were, about 75-80% of the city was under some sort of construction/rennovation.  In talking to the hotel manager, sounds like just in the last few years the country has really put in an effort to restore some of the older landmarks - I can only imagine how beautiful it will be once those are complete!

And, something that has come to make me happy while traveling are little pieces of home, so I was delighted to find the below on the main street in Skopje:

The Yacht Week: Fears Conquered

After I posted the first round of photos to facebook, my friend Kate wrote the following on my wall:

"Um, have we met?? Not only were you on a yacht, you were on a SAILBOAT. I am shocked, awed, and proud"

For those that don't know me all that well, going on TYW was a huge step for me and reminded me of what I was hoping to accomplish on this trip - facing some of my biggest fears.  The whole point of the trip was to really be on my own, as I've always defined myself by a job or a relationship and this is forcing me to be me.  That said, two of my other big fears are: (1) swimming in water where I cannot touch/see the bottom and (2) boats.  TYW allowed me to face both of those fears at once, and while my swimming technique did draw some criticism (Thanks, Skippy Neil), it was well worth it.

The Yacht Week: TYW Olympics

Midway through the week, given high winds, our group got stuck at one of the marinas for a second day.  Given this island was quite small with very little to do, and the various nationalities that were represented, TYW Crew decided to host some "Olympic Games".  While some of the people (read: French and Italians) came prepared with matching outfits, the U.S.A. team had to improvise.  Luckily, Jason came prepared with multiple U.S.A. memorabilia and bandanas.  Go, Jason.

Games consisted of: Tug of War, Dinghy Races, and of course Skipper Dinghy Jousting.  Our team went strong with Haley, Kerry and Jason paddling in the Dinghy race along with honorary American, Skippy Neil.  Me?  I was the photographer, I guess it was quite obvious that my athletic skills would only harm the American team.

 The highlight though was definitely the Dinghy jousting, unfortunately, Colorado Dave lost to Milian...that said, still incredibly hilarious to watch.  Video, courtesy of Kerry, below:

[Ok, so I've tried about 10x to get the video to upload but the wireless at my hotel is not working very well, so this will come later, be prepared, it's quite awesome]

The Yacht Week: Our "Family"

Each of the yachts seemed to have between 6-12 people plus a skipper.  Haley, who works for TYW, was contacted about a week before the trip as there was an opening on one of the boats and luckily she asked if I wanted to join.  Therefore, our "crew" was more of a melting pot than some of the other boats, and I wouldn't have had it any other way.

Our Crew:

Our family for the week consisted of 4 Americans, 2 Australians and Skippy Neil (from Scotland).  While we were basically 3 separate groups brought together, we were incredibly lucky that we all got along relatively well, despite stark contrasts to our backgrounds.

Haley:  From reading my blog, most of you know who Haley is.  On our boat, she provided endless entertainment and coined multiple phrases in her Southern Accent that were used as inside jokes amongst our crew for the majority of the trip.  The crew favorite being "it's so dirty and nasty".  She was my partner in crime and I can't thank her enough for letting me join her on this adventure!

Kerry: Kerry is an NYC Firefighter and basically, besides Skippy Neil, the only one that seemed to have any sense of how to sail.  Kerry and I bonded as we were pretty much the oldest people on TYW and thus sometimes had a different perspective on certain things.  Similar to his job back home, Kerry continued to be a "hero" helping out whenever anyone needed any help, and it was much appreciated.  

Jason: Currently serving in the U.S. Army and living in El Paso, Texas.  There's so much that I could say about him, but I think to summarize it, he love America more than anyone I've ever met.  He's hilarious and even converted his name into a verb on the trip that spread like wildfire.  "Getting Krugered" was a term that many of the other Yacht Weekers soon adopted.  While he missed a lot of the sailing, he's one of the most genuine people I have met.

Sam & Julian: Sam and Julian were our Aussie friends and were incredibly amusing.  They started off their European summer tour on Yacht Week with us, and it wouldn't have been the same without them.  I now feel like I speak a bit of Australian.  I'm also very impressed with their swimming skills!  You don't learn how to do that the same in Ohio!

Skipper Neil: Or as I referred to him, Skippy.  Skippy luckily did not kill us or tip the boat over, and for that I am incredibly grateful.  He provided hours of entertainment, that is, of course, when he wasn't sleeping.  And, as I'm sure was taught in the Skipper Academy, he assured us we were one of his favorite crews (obviously).

And of course - the typical family photos:

The Yacht Week: Overview/Things Learned

I'm not sure how many of you all are familiar with The Yacht Week.  Those that aren't, shame on you - this may have been the most fun that I've had in a really long time.  In summary, The Yacht Week (TYW) brings together people from all across the world for a week long sailing trip.  They have trips in multiple locations, we were on the North Route in Croatia.  Now, I've been to Croatia before, but we spent the majority of our time in Dubrovnik and on the island of Hvar, so being able to explore other areas in Croatia was a lot of fun, as the country is so beautiful.

I will definitely attempt to go on one of these trips again, and suggest that you all consider it as well - for the experience, it is way more than affordable and I've met some great friends that I hope to keep in touch with going forward.

There were a few things that I learned on the trip that I'd like to share with you:

(1) Being on a trip with 150+ people who are all relatively like minded is a nice change of pace

(2) Do NOT attempt to use the restroom when the sails are up and it's incredibly windy, you will fall down

(3) I bruise much easier than I thought I did

(4) I still like the Kuna/Dollar exchange ratio, 4 years later

(5)Misquitos, even in Croatia, still love me

(6) Italians like their Speedos...a lot

(7) Even Captain Morgan can't pass up a vodka filled Watermelon

(8) Europeans do not seem to know where Ohio or Arkansas are and thus saying you're from NYC is much easier to explain

(9) A lot of people have recently quit their jobs to travel

(10) Never believe historical facts told to you by Skipper Neil, likely they are false