Merry Christmas!

Back in the Metaphorical Saddle Again

I have finally made it back to C'ville! I woke up this morning at 6:30 (thank you jet lag) and I figured that today was the day to get back in my kayak. I retrieved it from Kelli's house, cleaned it up, bought some gatorade and water, and headed for Beaver Creek. I used my gloves, paddle leash, and skirt that I've had but never really knew how to use. I got in the boat and sat in it next to the dock longer than I usually do. I think part of me didn't want to let go of the dock. So I sat there for a little while and then I pushed off into the calm, flat, well protected waters of Beaver Creek. I paddled the entire perimeter and saw maybe 3 other kayakers at different points in my jaunt, but mostly I was alone, which is what I wanted to be during this paddle. I could paddle much better than I could before my trip and I generally feel at home in my Carolina. I brought along my ipod and stuck it in my lifevest so I listened to some tunes, and just prayed and thought about the words of the preacher who was on tv at 6:30 in the morning.

Kalimera Again!

Goodmorning to everyone! I just enjoyed my last Greek breakfast of yummy yogurt with honey. I'm going to go upstairs, throw everything in my bag (I mean pack nicely mom) and head out for the metro (thank you Olypmics 2004).

I can't believe this is my last blog entry from Greece. What a trip! I'm going to miss being here.

Deann I hope your conference is going well. You are the smartest woman alive! (That motto always helped me in college.) I miss you and I hope to see you this fall!!

Matt, I really hope that you feel better soon and that you can find someone somewhere to help you out! Give Deann a big hug for me in London. You two are the bestest.

Okay, I'm going to go get my stuff together.

Peace out. Love, Katie

Too Much Information?

July 11, 2006 My last full day in Greece.

Last night, I was turning in early when I got a call in my hotel room! It was Matt and he was calling to see if I wanted to do something. I said, "Sure!" and he said, "Great! I'm actually downstairs in your hotel lobby." I met him in the lobby where we consulted each of our Lonely Planet books to figure out a way to Psiri, the Athenian hot spot. We had to walk through "my neighborhood" which is great if you are looking for drugs or lady friends...oops...shouldn't have picked it, but you live and learn.

We made our way to Psiri which was really cool and sat at a cafe and ordered a bottle of really good white wine. It was so great to chat with Matt. We eventually ordered some appetizers and walked around. He told me what it was like to see me and Deann coming back from our attempt at crossing the Bay. He said I was like superwoman paddling fiercely and Deann was looking a little like a deer caught in headlights-steering but not paddling much!

Matt walked me home for which I was immensely grateful, and when I got in my room it was 12:45! We had sat for hours talking.

This morning I woke up to eat my included breakfast and go back to bed. I called Matt at our designated calling time, in honor of Mr. Complainsalotonourtrip who would have been furious over getting a day started at 10am!

So here comes the part with too much information. Matt said he was having a bit of an indigestion problem, which Deann, Matt and I spoke about at length for the past few days, and so he was going to spend time visiting the sights in his bathroom.

I decided to hop on a bus to Cape Sounion which is in South Attica. It has a temple to Poseidon and a small beach. I went down to the beach to the little taverna where Jackie Kennedy visited. They have a framed letter from her thanking them for their hospitality. The whole trip, though, was a little nerve wracking because it was very windy on the cape and it made me a little sick to my stomach.

I'm back in Plakas and I'm going to check on Matt to see how he is feeling. Then I'll hopefully enjoy my last dinner in Greece. I'm getting lamb!!!

Love you all. I can't wait to be home!!!!

Aftermath

Hi all,

Well I am back in Athens, home sweet home of sorts, though I would like to tell you about the last few days on Crete. There was no more kayaking after the "incident" partly because no one was ready to get in another kayak and partly because we barely had any left! We only had 4 holes remaining after the incident (in the form of a double and two single kayaks). The day after, I slept most of the day, and I got a massage from a guide who is also a massage therapist, then went into town to meet everyone for our last dinner.

Deann and I became friends for life after going through such a scary experience and spent most of our time together at meals and in town (along with her husband Matt of course). Throughout our conversations one of us would often refer back to the rescue and our memory of what had happened. While my first instinct was to want to go home, it was good to be with people who went through the disaster with me because only they know what it was like - especially Deann because we were in the same kayak. There is nothing like a near death experience to bond people together.

The dinner was good, and then afterwards we went to a disco for a final hurrah! It was fun to see the guides boogie-down, even Glenna was dancing on tables (she is a grandma-but you would never know it). We had lots of fun fruity drinks with umbrellas and danced until 2 am!

Our very last morning together we drove to Matala and then to Heraklion. Deann, Matt, and I spent the day together waiting for our ferries to depart for Athens. Thankfully, our ferries left at the same time, though we were on different lines.

Once on the ferry, I went to the theater and watched the world cup game with fellow Grecian futbol enthusiasts. I'm glad Italy won, because I feel some sense of kinship with it because I studied there, although they played a little rough.

My ferry arrived in Athens at 5:45am and I took a taxi to my hotel. I don't love the neighborhood as much as I love Plakas, but the hotel is great. I slept until noon and then headed over to the National Archealogical Museum which was amazing. The works date back to the Neolithic Period which is 6000 B.C. I was just amazed by the quality and detail of the pieces and how well they have been preserved. I found the sculptures to be my favorite. I really admire the artists ability to know and create the human body in stone or marble. I found a giant head of Zeus and his left arm that was recovered to be especially beautiful and haunting.

Speaking of sculptures, the men were totally perfect with chiseled bodies and no fat, while the women, well, let me just say I was surprised to see that I share the same "problem areas" as Aphrodite...maybe they aren't "problem areas" afterall!

So I made my way back to Plakas on the metro. I feel right at home here. I may try to catch up with Matt for dinner. Deann went to speak at a conference in London so he is here alone. I may try, though, to make it up to the hill that Matt Lind recommended and watch the sunset from up there.

Peace. (Picture is of Loutro- town on Crete)

We're All Okay

Hi Friends and Family,

I'm writing to you from the little town of Agia Galini. Yesterday was hard in many ways, but we all somehow came out okay. The mileage wasn't hard, though at first Deann and I had a terrible boat that we christened "The F%^&ing D$#@it" :) We got to the 22 mile mark, at the point where we were about to cross the bay, when we hit terrible wind. We ended up having to be towed in by a passing jet skier (praise God he was there because NO ONE was out in boats on the bay yesterday). On our tow in, the rope was attached to my boat and we held onto Melissa's boat. Well, my boat's bow was dragged underwater and we had to jump out of the kayaks and swim to the rocks. They abandoned that plan and started to load people two by two on the jet ski. We climbed the rocks to get to the beach where the jet ski was dropping off other kayakers. I will give you more details individually, and I will try to call home as soon as I can. It was very scary, and I am happy that we are all okay, with only some scratches and bruises. I think I am in shock and I definitely am grateful for the people who I was with as we went through this time together.

I know this is probably a little hard to read, mom and dad, but I wanted you to know that I am okay. I can't wait to be home now! Love you, Katie

Kalimera

I am currently sitting next to Cocoa, the talking parrot of our hotel, who is telling me, over and over again, "kalimera" which means "good morning!"

I am still the couch potato, reality tv loving, chocolate chip cookie eating Katie. In fact yesterday I took the "afternoon off" by paddling back to Loutro at 4pm. It was great to hang out on the water and to take a nap!

Part of the reason for this nap was in preparation for today. I'm a little worried, so I got online to ask you to pray. Today I will be attempting to paddle 24 miles. Thankfully, Deann wants to paddle with me so I will be in a double for the first time. The 7 of us who are attempting this journey are supposed to be on the water by 7:30am. I am so excited. I have been visualizing this trip all night. I read a devotional this morning about spiritual power versus power of the flesh and I know that only God will be able to give me the strength to make it. I really love the 6 other people who are paddling out this morning. I think it will be a good group - not too aggressive or fast, just persistent...

Hi Aimee, Mom and Tiff! I love listening to your conversations with each other. I guess I should have said Hi Aimee, Mom and Festos!

Peace.

A Clean Boat is a Happy Boat!

I'm here in Loutro, one of the most beautiful places that I have ever visited. I have a lot to catch you up on from my adventures in the last two and a half days. I haven't been able to write because the places we have been are very remote and they are only accessible by boat or foot. Most of the towns are just one or two inns with a taverna attached to the inn. What a beautiful sight to see a coastline with no stores, businesses or anything! I am so glad that there is still untouched raw beauty in the world.

Two days ago:
We loaded up the kayaks on the trailor and drove first to an ancient Minoan palace called Festos (Tiff I think you should name your first born after that palace), and then headed to a National Park called the Samarian Gorge. On the road I had one of the best omlettes in my life. Then we all unloaded and started the trek. Matt, Deann and I headed down the gorge together and we had a blast telling stories and laughing the entire 7 hour, 13 mile, steep hike! We would pass kilometer signs that were written on stumps. It would say "K.M. 9" or something like that depending on the place you were in the hike. Well we had become a little loopy from walking for so long, one does get a little tired at times, and Deann looked at the millionth sign that we were passing, and for some reason she thought it was a grave stone. The rest of the hike was dedicated to poor K.M. who lost his or her life in the gorge.

At one point in the hike, we met up with DeTracy who is a travel writer (check out her stuff at about.com- Greece Visitors - it is all hers), and historian on Greece. She tells beautiful stories of the mythology of Greece. The Samarian Gorge is where one of Zeus' mountains (Gigilio) is located and it is also the setting of the Oddyssy (spelling?-I have been in the sun a lot). She was telling us these wonderful vivid stories about Zeus going over to Libya in the form of a beautiful white bull to entice the gorgeous Europa and when she sat on the bull, he rushed off into the sea and brought her over to Crete. She told me, Matt, and Deann about Zeus' birth and his grandfather Uranus. At the mention of this name, distiguished professor, Deann, begins to giggle profusely!!! She looks at me with a look like a fourteen year old boy trying to see if I think it is funny too! From then on, any picture we took we said, "One, Two, Three, Uranus!"

At the end of the 7 hour hike, the three of us had a decision to make, do we go to our hotel, or do the optional hike up to some ruins. We indoctrinated the motto for the trip, "Just say yes." It was getting dark and we were worried we would be stuck up on the mountain so we ran, yes ran, to the top of the ruins. When we got up there we were ecstatic, screaming shouts of joy as if we had just completed a marathon (which they both have done 3 times). From the ruins, we had the most beautiful view of the Mediterranean Sea and the little town that would be our destination. We set the timer on the camera and took a million pictures which I will try to upload tonight. It was truly a feeling of joy and accomplishment to have hiked for so long and to have made it to the top. They call us the "Bonus Ks" because when faced with the option, we choose to go for more kilometers.

That day was also the 4th of July and the guides had decorated our taverna with streamers, gave us red, white, and blue lais, noise makers and at the end of dinner (which was also Zach's birthday dinner) we had a sing-a-long with patriotic songs!

Yesterday:
We had gale force winds so kayaking in the morning was not an option. Most people took the ferry to our next destination, but for us "bonus k'ers", we decided to hike the 8 or 9 miles along the coast to Loutro. We took off from Agio Roumeli and stopped an 1 1/2 later at Agio Pavlos which is named for St. Paul because he was there (Samaria-get it) and there is a church build in 900AD that is named in his honor.

Most of us "fun hikers" sat at the taverna eating and drinking for about an hour, three super hardcore people took off to continue the hike. Our next stop was several hours away, and it was beautiful. Marmara. We swam, ate some more, Matt, the guides and I went cliff jumping and just had a blast. Again, Marmara is a place that has one taverna and is only accessible by foot or boat.

We, then, had to continue to hike to our next destination, Loutro. We started the hike at 9:30 am and didn't arrive until 8:45. 11 hours of hiking. I can barely move. Three stairs take about ten minutes now!

Dinner last night was the best. I think we were delirious from the sun and tiredness, but we just laughed the entire night long. At the end when we toasted our raki, I said, "To Uranus!" and we all burst out laughing before we could take the shot!

Then came the surprize...We got to do a night paddle! Ahhhh I was so excited! 11 of us went out at 11pm and paddled in the moonlight. I don't think I've done anything cooler or more beautiful than that. We made up a song on our way home, that may eventually be posted on northwestpassage.com. When we got back into our harbor, the guides started a water fight, I was keeping on the outskirts, until they surrounded me and bombarded me with water. No one came out dry!

The best compliment they gave me was this morning when we were launching. You know how I told you that a guide always gets in the water first and a guide always gets in the water last? Well they asked me if I would be the first one in the water and take the place of the first guide out. I had to make sure that those who launched after me stayed away from the ferry, kept moving to reduce the chance of sea sickness, and perform a rescue if necessary. I was truly honored with this small form of confidence in my paddling. They have not asked or let anyone else do that yet.

If you are still reading this, thank you! Like I said, I will try to post pictures tonight.

Love you all! Peace.