Another beautiful thing about canyoning is the places it’ll take you. Sure, I would have wanted to visit Greece regardless, but the primary reason we made the trip when we did was because of a canyoning rendezvous in Crete. Originally postponed because of COVID, the rendezvous was rescheduled for the fall of the following year, so I third-wheeled it with my buddy Cody and his girlfriend Angie on a lovely two-week exploration of Greece, Crete, and Santorini. We checked out many of the famous ancient ruins, including the Temple of Poseidon, Delphi, Mycenae, and the Parthenon. We also hiked up to the hostel/base camp on Mount Olympus and attempted to summit. Right before we began the traverse, a guy came back the other way in regular sneakers and said he didn’t think the route was that bad. We had better shoes and even microspikes, yet as we started the traverse, I didn’t feel comfortable at all. There was snow on the exposed traverse, and my microspikes were hurting more than helping, so I encouraged Cody and Angie to continue while I headed back down to the hostel. I was bummed I didn’t summit, but I suppose a silver lining was learning to recognize my limits and knowing when to turn back. Summit fever can seduce the best of us, so ultimately, I was glad I was able to make a hard choice. I think Cody made it to the summit. One rainy day, after a canyon, we came across an old Orthodox monastery under construction. Because of the rain, we thought no one was around. But some nomads from Eastern Europe came out, said hello, and invited us in. They had found a way to get inside and had been staying there for a couple of days. We chatted for a bit, then walked around and explored the building. We passed by the engineering marvel of the Corinth Canal before heading over to Meteora, where Orthodox monasteries are dramatically perched atop sandstone cliffs. From there, we headed down to the Peloponnese region for some forts and ruins, then descended the great Kaliteia Canyon. Next, it was off to Crete for a variety of amazing canyoning adventures. Since it was fall, though, water levels were low or nonexistent in some of the canyons. Then Angie had the bright idea of taking an unplanned flight to Santorini, and what a great idea it was. Yes, the island is touristy, but it’s a beautiful setting, especially the whitewashed buildings at sunset. We enjoyed a couple of nights with great views of the Santorini caldera. We had rented scooters so we drove around the island, exploring the highest point and some lovely beaches. Cody also introduced me to a very subtle and stealthy way of peeing on the beach. Santorini was a great little excursion, showing the value of leaving room for a little spontaneity. We then spent a couple of days in Athens, checking out some of the famous sights and ruins. We also caught up with one of Cody’s relatives and had a nice dinner. Greece was a fabulous couple of weeks.
