Hi friends!
Thanks for following along on our journey. We appreciate every single one of you.
Since the last blog, we have experienced so much in such a little amount of time. We spent one week on the island of Santorini, Greece for our honeymoon. We experienced some MAJOR jet lag. There is a seven hour difference from Greece to the USA. The first day we arrived in our hotel, we fell asleep at 11 am and woke up at 7 pm. Every day we were in our hotel, we would fall asleep at 6-8 pm and wake up anywhere from 4-6 am. We both took at least one nap every day, too. Finally almost two weeks after we started this journey, we feel like the jet lag is over…thankfully!
Our honeymoon was absolutely beautiful. We had a private infinity pool and indoor cave jacuzzi. We relaxed for the most part, ate a lot of dessert and street food, and explored some of the main parts of Santorini. (If you ever have the chance to eat a bubble waffle with gelato, do it. You won’t regret it.) Santorini is a such wonderful island. Right now, it is winter in Santorini and about 80% of restaurants, stores, tours, etc. are closed. This is the main part of the year that they do construction, building, and painting. The weather was nice a few days but it mainly stayed in the mid 50s. That’s a bit too cold for me (Ally). It only rained once and it was super windy some days, but it still was wonderful. We rented a car for a day and went from one tip of the island to the other. We got to see so many different cities, beaches, and views in such a short amount of time. One quick story: We were trying to drive back from the lighthouse at the end of the island to our hotel when all of a sudden people started flashing their lights at us. I (Ally) had the map in front of me the whole time trying to give Mario directions. Little did we know we were going uphill in a manual car on a one way road. We were the crazy white people that were going the wrong way. After we realized, Mario pulled over and since there was nowhere to turn around, he had no other choice than to go backwards. Then, our brakes stopped working. It was not fun. Thankfully, we got to the bottom and didn’t crash. Moral of the story: Stay calm when your car brakes stop working and try to figure out the one way streets. And to all the women that help your boyfriend/husband with directions in a place you’ve never been, I applaud you and I understand how hard it is.
We’ve learned so much from this journey already. Our official backpacking trip started on Saturday (December 8th) when our honeymoon ended. Backpacking isn’t easy. Traveling isn’t all fun, pictures, and eating out. It is hard to fit all of your stuff in packing cubes and put them the same way in your backpack every time. It’s hard to know all the measurement and weight requirements for every airline. It’s hard to figure out transportation in another language in a place you’ve never been to. It’s hard to watch how much money you’ve spent and how to live without an income. It’s hard for someone to cancel your housing plans a few days before you stay there and having to find somewhere else to stay. It’s hard to drive a car and not know where you are, which roads are one ways, and where you can and can not park. It’s hard not being able to see family or friends for a long time and having to keep up with the changes between time zones. It’s hard to have patience with your spouse when all of these things are happening. But with all of that said, the Lord has been so good to us and has helped us grow individually and as a couple. We really enjoy traveling together despite the numerous challenges that are put in front of us. We are thankful for each other and the fact that we get to spend this time together. There are so many more positives than negatives when it comes to traveling and for that, we are grateful.
With love,
Mario & Ally
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