mmm... gyros...

9 hour overnight train from Santiago to Madrid: 47 euro
2.5 hour plane ride from Madrid to Rome: 59 euro
8.5 hour overnight train from Rome to Brindisi: 30 euro
8 hour ferry ride from Brindisi to Corfu: 24 euro
sipping a pina colada while lying on the beach in Greece: PRICELESS

We thought we were brilliant for our travel plans to get from Santiago, Spain to Corfu, Greece. It was the longest 48 hour period of our lives and I seriously considered jumping off of the ferry after about 5 hours. In Madrid, Pablo, a friend from the camino, picked us up from the train station and took us around Madrid for a few hours before taking us back to the airport. That was the saving grace.. had we had to wait the entire time, we would have been 3 really grumpy kiddos. We realized we conquered all modes of transportation though... we also took the subway from the train station to the airport in Rome, took a van from the train station to the ferry station in Brindisi and a taxi to our place in Corfu. Oh yeah, and we walked all the way to Santiago :) Throw in a horse drawn carriage and we've done it all.

Corfu is beautiful and sooo different than the last 20 days I've been in Spain! We're spending the next 5 days at a resort on the island and couldn't be happier to throw our clothes all over the room and have a fridge to put food in instead of carrying it on our backs. Right now it's just Catie, Michael and I, but Molly (Catie's sister) and Lauren will be joining us tomorrow. Our room is nice but simple. There's one bedroom, a bathroom (with a bathtub!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) and a main room with small couches/beds and the necessities for a kitchen. We have a balcony that stands just over the pool and from it, you can see the Ionian sea and just on the other side, about 20km away, is Albania.

We have been here less than 24 hours and have already found our secret hole in the wall diner that we've visited twice. Maybe it's not such a secret hole in the wall, since there's always so many others eating there, but we think it's our little secret. It's fantastic and we're pretty sure the waitstaff loves us! I had a greek salad last night with the house wine and tzatziki, and a gyro today (thought of Kat and Cody while eating it). I'm not going to write anymore about the food because I only have 10 minutes online and I could use it all up on just that... I'm getting a little teary eyed right now because I'm so excited for my next meal from there.

Tomorrow we're planning to go into Corfu town, the capital of the island, and check out what it has to offer. Apparently Corfu has a pretty big night life, so we think maybe we'll teach them how Americans dance? Frightening thought. Also in our plans: possibly rent mopeds to check out the island (depending on price), swim in the sea, drink pina coladas by the pool, challenge people to a ping pong tournament (they have tables!), and Michael proposed kayaking to Albania. I'm thinking that last one may not happen. We'd also REALLY like to go to Athens but we're (maybe just me?) a little naive and thought it would take just an hour or two to get there so it'd be an easy day trip. Apparently it's more like a 8 or 10 hour trip. So we may head there on Saturday when our time here is up and then potentially go straight from Athens back to Venice. I really really hope we make it there for at least a day.

Oh yeah- the last few days in Santiago were wonderful. Thursday we went to the pilgrims mass at noon which was very calming, however all in Spanish. There is something pretty amazing about sitting in a mass service in a language you don't understand. I sat with my Spanish friend, Pablo, and he attempted to translate but it was pretty useful. It's tradition, if they receive enough donations the day before in mass, that they swing a huge ball full of incense between the aisles of the pews. Unfortunately, they didn't on Thursday. Rumor has it that they use to do this because of the stench of the pilgrims. I'm pretty sure that's why they still do it. We're not a good smelling group.

The rest of Thursday and Friday we spent enjoying the city and all our friends from the pilgrimmage. It was fun to just sit in the plaza on Thursday and watch pilgrims we've walked with previously stagger into the city, cheering to greet them. We went to an outdoor concert, ran into some people from Helena that Catie and Michael knew and that taught my cousins (DJ and David Michael) in elementary school, ate octopus which is famous to that region, and even got a free dinner at the 5 star hotel that serves 10 pilgrims dinner every night. And went shopping at the european REI equivalent.

Thanks to everyone reading and commenting on the blog.. I'm having such a blast and don't want this trip to be over but I do miss my family and friends and those that I'm use to talking to. So thanks :) Happy Fathers day to all the dads, uncles, grandpas reading this and to the best dad of all- my papa! Love you!

And of course.. buen camino