April 7th, 2002

Samos, Greece

From Turkey to Greece
An expensive ferry, a 10k sprint, and finally sun!

At 8am from Kusadasi, Turkey we hopped onto the only daily ferry to Greece. It was the deal of a lifetime. The less than 10 mile ride, 1-hour long ferry to Samos, Greece was only $35.00!!!. It was so amazing that when I hiked over to the other side of the island, swimming back to Turkey would've been faster. There are some serious border issues between the two countries and tourist reap all the hassle. Not to mention, my American passport was questionable that an official straight faced phone call needed to be made. Absolutely bullshit!.... these passport control people... its all a huge front. They checked only my backpack, thank god, because all the illegal items were in the other bag....hah! I guess the trouble all started because I apparently look Turkish. So now I have permission to say I'm a Turkish tourist in addition to the popular Japanese I've been constantly getting.

On the Island there were things to do and the sun was shining. Temperatures convinced me to hop over the hill to the other side with the "sandy beaches". Lonely Planet's map was deceiving, as that hop over the hill was longer than I perceived. It took me an hour to reach the other end. After my 45 minute rest on the rocky "sandy beach", I was pressured to return to the port in less than one hour to catch the ferry to Naxos. I pumped up the most intensive uphill battle encountered in awhile. With dogs chasing my ass, arriving minutes before the ferry departed in sweat and hunger, my travel mate Elizabeth was happy to see I made it.

Samos is one of Greece's northeastern Agean islands just off the coast of Turkey. It is inhabited by a Greek population. It's landscape offers hiking upon mountainous ridges to windsurfing in its blue beaches.

Click on the "Samos" link or scroll down the page to view pictures of Samos.