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Last Day at Sea
It’s the day to eat all the leftovers. Well, as many as we possibly could. Cookies, pastries, deli meats, a wide variety of cheese, and nutella. There was zero wind, so us girls spent an hour or two riding up on the bow, soaking up the sunshine and chatting. Kindi slept a long time, and…
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Stunt Goats and Seafood
There were some tasks we needed to do this morning, like cleaning the boat and patching the dinghy. Yup, we had put a couple holes in the bottom thanks to a few jagged rocks we encountered the other day. It was a bit of an ordeal to patch, much like patching a tire, except we…
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Rhodes
Talk about sensory overload, coming into Rhodes! Gone were our friendly little islands with maybe 10 boats moored, a few scuzzy Super Markets and endless beauty. Enter, an enormous Cruise Ship, having to radio the Marina for permission to enter, €70 docking fees, 4 lane roads and tons of construction. Outrageous Super Yachts line the…
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Snorkeling and Shipwrecks
Our next harbor was on Chalki, but when you pronounce it the c is silent. A friendly boat-full of Poles were docked beside us. It’s always fun to chatter with the other folks in port. Most are European, with a very few other Americans. Chalki was different than anything else we had seen. The houses…
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Nisyros
It’s evening on Nisyros. We just watched the sun sink in a glorious display into the ocean, and now are quick walking around some ancient city ruins. The old dark walls are silhouetted against the colorful sky and the first star has come out. Goat bells are tinkling among the olive trees and somewhere a…
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Never Forget Your Inner Butterfly.
That is a little sign we’ve seen a few places on Astypalea. I don’t know if it’s happenstance, or if they write it because the island is shaped like a butterfly. Astypalea is absolutely beautiful. It’s centered in between two groups of islands and takes a bit of an effort to actually reach, so it…
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Storybook Day in Astypalea
The first sight that met our eyes was a quaint little fishing harbor. Stray cats ambled about, goat bells tinkled in the distance, and an old fisherman was checking his nets. A small Taverna slowly filled with locals, and as I sat on my battered deck chair on the shore, I could hear animated Greek…
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They Passed Like Ships In The Night
It’s a full time job, keeping Avril out of the Supermarkets while we’re in Harbor. She loves to shop, that one. We spent an hour or two tidying the boat, restocking provisions and bringing in the last of the laundry. It’s time to leave beautiful Samos and head South again. After our very unsuccessful stab…
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Samos Bliss
As if to make up for yesterday’s anchor fiasco, our morning Med mooring in Pythagoreio Harbor on Samos was faultless. Or so I was told. I was actually asleep and barely heard the anchor chain doing it’s thing above my head. I don’t need to say that most of us really needed some land time.…
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Patmos and Panic
Everyone felt hugely rested after a good sleep and we were ready to absorb the sights of Patmos. It’s a pretty little island with tall hills and white houses clustered around the harbor. We started up the path to John The Revelator’s cave which, surprise, surprise, had a church built over it. You could still…
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Swabbing the Deck and Peace Offerings
Knowing the wind and seas were rising, we were motivated to get to shore by 9:00 am to start our exploration. A steep hike up through the town led to a Castle and some windmills of all things. I find it magnificently annoying how pictures always distort stuff so you really can’t ever see without…
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They woke up in Greece
The shopkeeper had all day. Good thing Zach C and I weren’t in a great hurry either. He thought we were nuts, having flown 20hrs to visit Greece. We must be very rich, he said. I told him not so fierce rich, we had had to budget and I mean honestly, 20hrs are peanuts when…
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Endless Endings
Hanging around by the trailhead waiting on the Trans Canyon shuttle was bliss. We had done it! I won’t lie, I was too tired to do a happy dance with my legs, but I most certainly was with my heart! Others strangled up and we swapped stories, lamented the fact that the bathrooms were all…
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Heath’s perspective
Trouble at Phantom Ranch Written by Heath It’s evening and we are sitting at Phantom Ranch. A group of four people, two couples – 50ish maybe – are fighting beside us. We are at the bottom of the Grand Canyon. It’s a long, grueling climb out. Hours and miles of climbing steep rocky steps. The…
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The Hike Itself
I feel a bit like roadkill. With only 5 hours of sleep, a Rim2Rim hike, two flights and a long drive in the last 60 hours, I feel like a dead raccoon. But was it worth it? 100 times Yes. Would I do it again? Never. Probably. We flew to Phoenix with our friend Sharon…
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Some People Never Learn
Why, you ask, am I sacked out in the Sioux Falls Airport with my legs elevated? Because I can’t say No. That’s why. I plain and simply can’t say no when I have a chance to hike the Grand Canyon again. When I not only survived but actually enjoyed my hike last time, I was…
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Up Is Mandatory

The alarm woke us shortly after 3am. Yes. Woke us! Clearly we had slept a little. It still hadn’t cooled off much, but there was a teensy breeze. Throughout the campground we could see the winking lights of other hikers packing up and starting up the trail. You do what you need to do to…
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Water is Life

Phantom Creek was calling our names, but Phantom Ranch Canteen was calling mine even louder. While the rest set up camp or plunged into the water, I set off the 1/2 mile or so to the Ranch and hopefully a cold drink. I’m not sure why cold drink seemed so important, but it did. And…
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Descent Into The Oven

“Wait for the Hikers Express just down the street at the Blue Line bus stop” they said when we checked the evening before. We wanted it all to go like clockwork cause we really wanted an early start to beat the heat. The Flex was parked at the Bright Angel trail head and there we…
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Grand Canyon or Bust

A Dream It all started when I was a small, square headed kid, listening as my dad told stories of hiking Bright Angel Trail down to Phantom Ranch and up again in one day. The talk of butchered feet, hot weather, stunning scenery and mules was enchanting and I vowed in my little heart that…