Critical Smoke: Things to do before you die

This was an expedition a year in the making. When I realised a year ago that there simply wasn't enough money for a proper grad trip, I made up my mind that it would not stop me from taking one, even if I had to do it one year down the road. It was a trip that took a whole year to plan, not least because of the complexity of trying to coordinate it with another person who was overseas and the cost of it all, but I'm a firm believer that you should never let money stop you from doing the things you want to do. If you have to you work a little harder for it, but it should never be that stumbling block.

I took up several part time ad hoc jobs on top of my day job to pay for this trip, and it ended up costing me more than I thought it would because of unforseen circumstances, but looking back I would do it again, because you can never put a price on the experiences you gain through travel.

On this trip I struck off several more entries on my bucket list. Numbers #3, #4 and #5.

#3 - Visiting Greece
It was always a dream of mine to visit Greece, because I grew up reading about the civilisation that was Ancient Greece. About the story of Oedipus Rex, whose story defined the terms Elektra complex. Or the minotaur of Crete, the 12 feats of Hercules, and the story of Daedelus and Icarus, the boy who flew so high on waxen wings the sun melted them and he fell, giving rise literally to the term "high-flyer". About the stories of the endless bickering between the Olympian Gods, Zeus, Poseidon, Hera, Aphrodite, Hermes, Hephaestus, Athena, Apollo etc. Now, that's the PR version I tell my family and colleagues.

The not so PR version, which is the version I prefer using, is I wanted to visit the land where King Leonidas and his 300 red caped underwear wearing crusaders beat the stuffing out of a bunch of Persian savages with piercings in all sorts of unimaginable places. Every time I watch that movie I get a ridiculous testosterone rush, and I go out and kick a few cats. It is virtually the Mecca of every man who has been through NS. You think you had it bad? Fuck, you didn't have to serve in your underwear. Red underwear at that.

In reality, seeing Greece up close firsthand brought up mixed emotions. On one hand, the legacy of the past was nothing less than spectacular. And the Greek islands were all they were fabled to be, stunningly beautiful with crystal blue seas and the most pristine beaches. On the other, it brought the reality of the present harshly into focus, a country who is perhaps struggling to rediscover some remnant of its former glory, but is otherwise pretty much a forgotten corner of the world, left to milk and exploit its cultural history for whatever monetary value its worth.

Even in Athens, the capital and most populated city, you got a sense that any real industry was absent, and that the economy was solely concentrated on selling one aspect, tourism. In other words, they were very unapologetic about charging me ridiculous prices for everything, because with every Euro I spent there, I ensured that another family would not go starving that night. The things you do in the name of charity. I virtually grew a pair of angel wings just by visiting and throwing Euros of love.

Before I visited, I was asked many questions about my choice of destination. I was told it was dangerous. To that, I would answer that Athens is generally safe, but stick to Plaka and the surrounding areas, which are the tourist districts. There are pickpockets who will brazenly try to steal your wallet in broad daylight on the metros, and there are conmen hanging around the metro stations who will ask you for money to buy tickets. They target Asian tourists because we have small eyes so we can't stare them down, but you have to be prepared for that.

If I sound harsh, I have to emphasise that Greece was really an excellent experience, despite the 38C summer heat and the fact that I got really sick of eating Gyros after like 5 days. Gyros is basically a kebab pita wrap with like fries, onions and tzatziki sauce, which I wasn't exactly a fan of because it looked like mayonnaise but tasted sourish like sauerkraut. I guess its an acquired taste. The Greek islands have some of the freshest and best cooked seafood I have ever tasted in my life, its almost as though they catch the fish from the sea while you are waiting for your order and then they cook it in the kitchen of the Olympian gods. Actually, I jest, because the Olympian gods are currently all in London.

I have to apologise in advance for the scarcity of pictures here, because most of them are on my Facebook. It really wasn't quite possible for me to upload 300 pictures here, and I'm quite lazy these days.

The charming streets of Plaka, the tourist district of Athens.

The city of Athens, as seen atop Acropolis hill

Atop the Acropolis

Acropolis as seen from another angle


The temple of Hephaestus, the God of War.

On a cruise to Aegina island with one of my best friends Danson

The other friends I met on the cruise, which included 3 South Africans, an Englishman and two Canadians.

Riding an ATV on Santorini island. It was fun until I crashed it, but that's a story for another time.

Fira, the capital of Santorini

The Red Beach of Santorini. If you have little time, this is one of the must see beaches. Santorini has close to 10 or so notable beaches, but my recommendations would be Red Beach and Perissa Beach. After awhile they are all the same and its way more fun ATVing around.

The beautiful city of Oia. In my opinion Oia is much more beautiful than Fira, so you must visit this town even though its like in the north corner of Santorini far away from everything else.

The town of Oia. I'm not putting many more pictures because I don't think pictures do enough justice to the place. The main thing about Oia is catching the sunset, which you must catch here if you visit Santorini.