"Legendary"

To describe the first week of the trip in one word, it would undeniably be "legendary" (as adopted into our everyday-vocabulary thanks to a number of Aussis).

Although there has not been much (if any) educational components to the trip thus far (aka we've ATVed and partied everyday) we have been having a rediculous time on the Greek Islands. Starting in Mykanos we partied hard at Mykanos Bar, Jacuzzi, and Skandanavia (http://www.skandinavianbar.com/). Skandanavia was the bar that we were able to dance on the bar (which is about 4 feet high) and I even got a free "Skandanavia babes" tank-top. One of my travel mates was able to knock-off my #25 (flaming shots of Ouzo) at one of the bars while my two other travel mates decided it would be a good idea to go skinny dipping at 3am after getting back from the bars - and of course the three boys had to pick me up, carry me down the beach and throw me into the ocean with my towel just to make the night complete.

We headed to Santorini on Sunday and expected this island to be a bit less party-centered and a bit more tourist-centered. On Santorini, we were recommended to stay at Villa Manos, (http://www.villamanos.gr/) a beautiful hotel/resort just 5 minutes out of town. This family-owned villa was absolutely gorgeous - stunning views of the city, mountains and ocean, an exceptional pool and a private balcony. On top of that, the staff was extremely helpful and friendly, assisting us with our quad bookings, tour bookings and shuttles to and from the port and even greeted our party with glasses of wine when we arrived the first night. At only 11.25 euros per person per night, this was an outrageous deal. The only amenity that I thought was meteocre was the breakfast which cost 5 euros and offered one fried egg, one piece of cheese, some pieces of baguette and coffee/juice.

Our group decided to take the "See Santorini in one day" tour which cost only 35 euros and proved to be an all-day excursion. Leaving the villa at 9am we were transported to the highest point of the island to view the stunning scenery of Santorini. After that, we headed down to the port and went onto a large sailboat which went to the birthplace of the island, the volcano. Shortly after, we headed to hotsprings which we had to swim out to and then went to an island that offered donkey rides which we missed by 3 minutes! After that we were transported back to the main island and taken to Oia to see the sunset. We arrived back at our villa around 9:30 pm.

We met a few Canadians that were staying at our villa and mentioned that they had just come from Ios, where there was barely any tourists and the town was fairly barren. Our group hesitated to go to the island but decided to check it out anyways because we had heard that it was "the party island". After a short 30 minute ferry ride, we arrived in Ios and were taken to the Far Out Beach Club Resort (http://www.faroutclub.com/) which I would argue is better than an all-inclusive Mexican getaway. This place is made for young adults who are looking to meet people, lie on the beach and party hard until it is light out. The island of Ios may have been "dead" but this specific resort had lots of young travellers looking to have a good time. We quickly made friend with a group of 5 Calgarians as well as some Australians and had 2 "legendary" nights. Situated right on the beach, the Far Our Club is another amazing deal in the off season. At 17.50 euros per night, we were given air conditioned rooms, a breakfast buffet, evening movies, laundry service and much more. During the daytime, we rented ATVs and drove around to see the island, laid on the beach and drank a lot of Mythos (a Greek lager). Both nights we rallied together a group of 10-20 people to pre-drink and play Sociables/King's Cup and then headed into town to the local pubs and clubs.

The first stop on the nights was Fun Pub and the name definitely preceeds itself. At this pub there is a massive Jenga set in which pub-goers must take turns getting the blocks. The person that knocks it over must chug the rest of their drink. In addition my travel mates and I signed up for a pool tournament. I must have had beginners luck because I was the last girl left in the competition and it was down to about 5 players but then our group decided to head to Flames Club and so I backed out. The tournament was 2 euros to enter and you received 3 lives. The object of the game was to be the last person standing and all you had to do was hit any ball into any pocket. If you hit the 8-ball in or were able to hit multiple balls in in one shot, you received an extra life. If you missed, you lost a life but got to do a shot.

Slammer Bar and Flames were amazing places to head to after Fun Bar. Slammer Bar is known for their house shot called the "slammer". For 4 euros they make you wear a helmet, hit you on the head with the shot, you drink it as fast as you can and then they use something heavy to hit you as hard as they can in the head. Some people were hit with fire extinguishers, chairs, baseball bats - it was absolutely hilarious. I decided to try one of these out and the bartenders for whatever reason singled me out to do a beer bong of hard liquor instead of a shot. (Pictures to come). Apparently I became a "legend".

After doing the slammers we headed to Flames club which was jam-packed wall to wall. Their drink special was 3 Jager bombs for 10 euros which was trouble. The music at Flames was all songs that everyone knows the lyrics to which lead to 6-hour sing-alongs of Blink 182, Lady Gaga, Pink, ACDC, Chumbawumba etc. The club also sporadically had sparklers passed around for songs, foam and a Michael Jackson impersonator. Both nights we arrived back at the Far Out Beach Club after 4 a.m. - I believe the clubs closed at 5.

Running on about 4.5 hours of sleep per night, I am looking forward to what Athens has to offer. We will be heading there on a ferry tonight, then off to Olympia and Sparta and then we will finish off Greece in Corfu where we will be staying at the Pink Palace (again, I hear that this hostel is trouble AND we are rendezvous-ing with some of the Calgarians that we met in Ios and they definitely know how to party).

Just over a week has gone by and I think that at this rate my head will explode from having so much fun! I swear something has to go wrong - why have we been so lucky thus far!?