The Top Floor Flat

The only thing left to share is my brief visit to the Acropolis in Athens. One of the most important locations in the western world, the Acropolis is home to the Greek minds that are credited with such important contributions as democracy and geometry, not to mention being one of the most iconic locations in the world. Much of the area is undergoing restoration, including the famous Parthenon and I only had about an hour in the area before I had to dash off to catch my flight but a morning at the Acropolis was a fantastic way to end my visit to Greece.

I had such an incredible time in Greece with the Busabout Trip and I hope I’ll have a chance to return.

Busabout Adventures website had made it quite clear that there would be a fair amount of drinking and partying on the itinerary for those who wanted to take part but what with being sick and having so much to see on the previous islands, I hadn’t really spend much time enjoying the Greek island party vibe. All that was about to change on Ios as both the island and our accommodations were perfectly suited to having an amazing night out.

Far Out Village, where we were staying, had the nicest individual rooms of any place we’d stayed as well as the nicest beach. After our midday arrival, no one wanted to do much more than lie on the beach and explore the resort. The more active amongst us managed to gather enough people for a sandy game of American football but it wasn’t until dinner that our second wind hit and Dax led us into town for the night.

Our pub crawl through Ios saw the unfortunate loss of my sweater and a great deal of cash (spent on cocktails, not just lost) but I was having so much fun that I didn’t even realise the time until I checked my phone and saw it was 4am. Our evening had taken us to Flame Bar where their music, three months out of date, provided perfect familiar tunes to sing along to; Orange Bar where their specialty drinks menu looked like a vending machine (featureing Twix, Maltese, Mounds and Snickers drinks); and to Slammers – possibly the most horrifying of the bunch where their “specialty” was to place a helmet on your head, serve you a drink, then slam you over the head with a hammer, skateboard, milk carton, or fire extinguisher. Needless to say I didn’t take part in that last one but the boys of the group seemed to enjoy the experience.

Despite my late night, I awoke relatively early and itching to get out and explore Ios in a more civilised way. First, I took a hike up to the top of a nearby hill which gave me a fantastic view of the island. By the time I returned, a number of the others in the group had gotten up as well and a small contingent of us, including two guys on my trip who were classics majors at Oxford and therefore up for some of the more historical and academic sights the islands had offered, rented ATVs to trek the 20 kilometres across the island to what locals claimed was the tomb of the blind poet Homer (famously the author of the Odyssey and the Illiad).

I had never done anything quite like that before and really enjoyed the ATV trip over the hilly terrain. Whether or not Homer was entombed at the rocky monument we visited is a moot point, and after trying (and failing) to remember something of significance to quote from The Odyssey we turned the four-wheelers around to head to the port for lunch.

Another lazy afternoon turned into another epic evening, this time resulting in a 5am return to my comfortable room. It was a good thing that our transfer to Athens wasn’t until quite late the next day and I took the opportunity to sleep in, then laze the day away next to the pool.

I was surprised by how much fun I had in Ios, never really thinking of myself as the party type. But dancing through the night with a great group of people in the warm Greek evenings was exactly what I didn’t know I needed on my holiday and despite the late nights was feeling healthier and better rested for the trip than I could have imagined. After all of that, I can’t say I was too happy to see my trip end – in fact all I had left was a few hours in Athens before my flight back to London.