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We have returned from an incredible 3 weeks of island hopping. Although there are many adventures, I want to start with the last thing we did before returning. We met our friends from Lubbock, The Bornos, and visited Santorini, Naxos, Paros, and Crete. Each place of course has it's own charm but I loved Crete, (Creta with a short e).

Our big accomplishment for the Summer was trekking the Samarian Gorge (Samarian is a derivative of Saint Maria). Supposedly the longest gorge in Europe, it was an amazing experience. We had heard several horror stories from other travelers, so I was a little nervous, but I had made up my mind that we were going to do it. It is 19 km long, our guide said 21 km (12.6 miles), and 1250 m (.75 miles) altitude drop. One of the first things our guide, Demetri, said was that kids do great and he was right. The kids bounced down the mountain with hardly any problems. Ike fell once and popped back up. Ellen said dust yourself up and make sure you are OK. Ike responded with, "Live like a warrior, die like a warrior", with normal Ike attitude. It is down hill the whole way and at first it sounds like that is great, better than the alternative. However, after about the first hour your legs begin to shake. The terrain is also solid gravel rock, usually about 3-4 inch diameter, so all those muscles in your ankles that are never used get a wake up call. We made the trek in about 6 hours with several rests. We met the nicest girls, one was wearing an Aggie t-shirt and so I spoke to her. She and her friend were not Aggies but a math graduates from Dartmouth. They were lovely traveling friends and they were so patient and listened to Carter the whole time. After several days of being sore I am now recovered and of course the kids were fine after the first day back. What an absolutely amazing experience!