amazing views and even better smoothies...

Thursday while walking back to the hostel and I turned the corner to see a big surprise hanging out in the walkway.




normally the only ass i see when i'm traveling is kevin, so i really surprised to run into this guy.
actually I was incredibly nervous to walk behind him because I met a couple from L.A. who told me about how they saw a donkey the other day that went crazy hee hawing after the husband (in his best shrek impression) said hello to him. I snapped a couple of photos of the lone donkey, said a prayer and then tip toed past him. I'm happy to report there was no donkey hoof to the gut.


Also today i headed east on the island to another small town named Oia or Ia (pronounced eee-yah) or as I refer to it home of the best strawberry smoothie I've ever had. Actually it could have been the worst smoothie but when you've been walking around in 90 degree weather - anything you consume that is cold will be the best you've ever had - trust me on this. And it's not even the hot season here! I guess July and especially August are suppose to be uber hot. The locals refer to temperatures in the 90s as "normal". I spend half my day walking around with that just showered look only it's sweat and I'm actually finding new places on my body to perspire. See the things you have to think about when you travel alone.

Alright - enough about my hygeine and back to the good stuff...

Ia - so of all the postcards from this island I'm guessing 90% of them have to come with a view of this town. It's exactly what you picture when someone says santorini.








To end the day I grabbed dinner at a small taverna down the street from my hostel. The owner convinced me to try his homemade wine that he made from grapes grown in Santorini. The interesting thing about Santorini is the soil here is a mixture of dirt and lava stone because the island is essentially located on top of a volcano, therefore resulting in a unique flavor of grapes. The wine was excellent. It was so good that I ended up closing the place down while talking to my new friend and drinking more than my fair share of his delicious wine.