Day 2

Today we set a sail and ventured out into the great Mediterranean and Aegean Seas on a one day boat cruise. We had an early rise time in order to get on the bus and to the port in time! Our cruise included stops on three very different islands off the coast of Greece. We motored out to the furthest island, Hydra (about a 2 and a half hour ride). This was the smallest of the three islands. As we pulled into the port it was an amazing view, the docked boats surrounded by towering hillsides filled with beautiful white, tan and cream colored homes with colorful windows built what appeared to be one on top of another. The port was lined with shops and men offering donkey ride tours, as there are no motor vehicles on the island. Some of the group browsed the shops, others ventured into the narrow pathways behind the shops into the town and others hiked up the hillside a ways to get a view over the town. We loaded back onto the bus about an hour later and were fed lunch on the main level of the boat, which was primarily sheltered, looking like a restaurant complete with a one man keyboard band and dance floor. The second level contained a glass surrounded parlor seating area as well as outdoor seating along the sides and the top level was all outdoor seating. Today is Jamal's 12th birthday! Jamal is quite the character, very friendly and a treat to have on this trip with us. He is accompanied by his Aunt Mary (Bolder Options' Mary), his mom, Sonita, and older brother, Marcus. The cruise staff helped us celebrate by making him a small cake and leading the dinner room in a round or two of “Happy Birthday.” As we were finishing lunch, we arrived at the second island, Poros. This stop was much shorter and mostly involved shopping along the port and purchasing dessert items such as gelato. The trip to the third island, Agina, was longer and provided more opportunity for the group to continue bonding and getting to know each other, with a group this big, it takes a while to have the time to have in depth conversations with each member! On Agina some of the group took a tour to see the ruins of a temple to Zues and the largest church in Greece (Greek Orthodox). Others sat along the large port at local cafes trying octopus, zucchini and drinking ouzo, walked the shops, through the fish market or up into the town. We were back on the boat by 6pm and entertained ourselves with card games on the parlor level for the remainder of the journey back to main land Greece. We finished the night off with dinner on our own and early to bed for the ever important “2 nights before the race” night's sleep!