Alaskan Bulgarian

The Scoop and Intro

So here's what will be happening over the course of this week: I'll be posting one entry after another about the trip to Greece I took over Christmas and New Years until the story is pretty well told. If I have topical things to say, they'll go above the entry. As far as narrative goes, chronological order on this thing seems a bit silly, since the trip--in its success--was a collection of great moments that, though they often came from one another, were largely independent. The best way to write about this, it seems, is by subject. If you need them, the facts of the case, gentlemen, are these:

The Travellers: Myself, Kate, Jeff, and Ryan (Ryan went back to Bulgaria instead of going to Crete, having things in Bulgaria he needed to take care of). I'm me. Kate's a TEFL out of Kentucky living in Pleven. Jeff's a TEFL out of just about every state in America living in Isperih. When Jeff mentions to a Bulgarian that he lives in Isperih, they sigh audibly and look like he's been sentenced for life. That's always funny. Ryan's a TEFL out of Minnesota living in Kanezha, a small-ish burg outside of Pleven.

The Itinerary: We left for Athens on the night of the 23rd and got in on the afternoon of the 24th of December. We left for Crete on the night of the 28th and stayed in Iraklion the night of the 29th. It was Hania for New Years from the 30th to the night of the 1st, when we travelled back to Athens and then back to Bulgaria on the night of the 2nd. We got into Sofia at about 6 AM Saturday the 3rd, and I arrived home in Silistra on the fourth.

The Money: We all had ~600 Euro or so we were willing to spend on this trip. As it happens, 600 Euro was everything we needed to enjoy Greece for a week and a half. It meant not taking flights, but, as you'll see in the entry below, that was half the fun.

And without further ado, the first entry...