Alpha Beta Gamma Delta Epsilon Zeta Eta Theta Iota Kappa Lamda Mu Nu Xi Omicron Pi Rho Sigma Tau Upsilon Phi Chi Psi Omega... If I learned one thing from being in the Greek system in college at least I remember the alphabet :) Gotta Love those Greeks...
Anyway our trip has started off fabulously and very interesting. Leaving Schutz at 11pm the streets were filled. Not only with people but animals that were going to be sacrificed for the holiday Eid (more about that later). Our fabulous Schutz driver got us to the airport in record speed. However, upon arriving at the airport in Alexandria we are told we need to hurry because our plane is leaving shortly (we had arrived 2 hours early). Apparently (we think) the flight time was the Greek time not the Egyptian time, but it took off an hour earlier than we were supposed to. The flight itself was fairly uneventful, thank goodness.
When we get to Greece we get through customs and baggage very quickly and meet our driver just outside of baggage. We walk outside to the coolest "van" I've ever seen. You know those van-limos that people rent for bachelor/bachelorette parties with the pole in the back, that's what it looked like. Even with all the excitement most of the kiddos fall asleep (it was 5am at the time).
The port is very cool/busy... and as time passes it gets more busy. We see a boat similar to ours being boarded so Ry and Dave decide to ask (due to our track record) if for some reason our boat is leaving early. Luckily no :) We get coffee and some breakfast stuff and hang out for a bit. We get on the boat and have most of the front section reserved for our two families. Unfortunately the exhaust/diesel smell is so heavy that it gives me a headache.. but the show must go on. The first stop is Poros, which is gorgeous, but we know that Idra is coming soon. And it does! We get off the boat with a sign saying "Raina's House" waiting for us! Our lovely host greets us and lets us know that even though we are very early they are doing their best to clean our house by noon.
So, we have time to kill, ice cream it is! (yes it's 10am). The Kenney's leave on their water taxi because they are staying 2 villages over (Kamini). We walk around scoping out the best spots and are not disappointed. Breakfast is up first and bacon is a must! Later, the girls get some fresh squeezed orange juice at the Pirate Bar and Ry tries out the Mythos :) We head back to the meeting spot and wait for our host, who leads us up a small hill to our spot... and the rest my friends is history. Our place is beautiful and we are having a great time!
 |
| Kenney/Hillis Crew leaving Schutz |
 |
| 11pm and this is what the streets look like. Eid al-Adha from the research/questioning of fellow staff I've done is a Muslim holiday to celebrate when God told Abraham to sacrifice his son, but was saved by the grace of God and instead sacrificed a ram. Those who can afford it will sacrifice animals. The portion is divided into three parts one for the family, one for their friends/community, and the last for the poor. This is one of two holidays and because of it we get to travel. |
 |
| Hurry, we are going to miss the plane. |
 |
| Okay, fine you three are being too cute to not snap a quick pic :) |
 |
| Yup this is the plane that is supposed to get us all the way to Greece... Jordan later said something like "it looked like the wings were going to fall off". Great :) |
 |
| Kenedee got on the plane with the Kenney's, so I got to snap this cute pic of her! |
 |
| Abe sharing his Kindle with Jae, such a gentleman! |
 |
| This was customs... 10 minutes tops! |
 |
| Guess which boat is ours... Yup, the special little one right in front. Her name was the "Flying Dolphin" |
 |
| A little pre-game warm up for the team. A dog riding on the front of a Vespa and we still had time to stop and smell the flowers :) |
 |
| We made it!! Idra! There are no cars on the island so these guys get to do all the heavy lifting. We saw one making its way up a hill with a refrigerator on its back! |
 |
| Must have ice cream at 10am :) They deserved it for being so good! And they all chose mint! |
 |
| Beautiful Greece! |
 |
| Beer at 11am... He did so good, he deserved it! |
 |
| Sitting at the Pirate Bar. They gave Jae her juice in a coffee cup and now she insists at all times "I need coffee" :) |
 |
| Jae literally fell asleep standing up! Once we got home Ry told Kenedee he gave her about 13.5 minutes to fall asleep, she took the under (it was probably 2.8)... However Jae was back up and atem' ;) So... |
 |
| We went on a kitty hunt. We found most of the kitties on Idra (not all of them were pictured :) |
 |
| Finally starting to tire... Kenedee and Daddy are already asleep so Mommy drinks wine and Jae watches Kung Fu Panda, with a grumpy face! |
Day 2!!
 |
| My beautiful girl showing us where we are! |
 |
| Daddy and Jae... we are finding a swimming spot! |
 |
| My girl getting ready to swim in the Mediterranean! |
 |
| Ryan jumping off stuff! |
 |
| Jae trying out her peace sign... She learned from her sister... Mommy and Daddy trying mojitos and margaritas :) |
 |
| Kamini Beach! |
 |
| Playing with rocks. Cheese :) |
 |
| Mmm... maybe I'll just play in the sand. |
 |
| Climbing our way to dinner! |
 |
| The ladies!! |
 |
| So fun! |
We are having a great time. There will be more to come, but for now know we are safe and healthy. Kenedee is currently napping, due to how much swimming and fun she is having. Jae is watching her daddy in the kitchen. And me, I'm waiting to hear if Kristy's baby Tommy has made his glorious appearance yet!!
