YOLO!

After a very early and terribly turbulent high speed ferry ride, we arrived to Santorini, Greece, where we promptly fell in love with her.

The boat ride was hard on everybody on board, leaving Emma and Teagan barfing in the WC, while Nichola and Marjorie suffered quietly in their seats after listening to (and feeling - ew!!) the person behind them vomiting continuously.  Ick!!

Once on solid ground, things improved immediately and dramatically. As we drove up the mountainside from the port to our hotel, we were able to look down into the caldera, and up at the whitewashed adobe buildings so characteristic of the Cyclades Islands. I think we've picked out a few homes we'd be willing to live in in a pinch. I prefer the ones with colour, a blush of pink, a splash of pale green, a spray of blue... while Marjorie prefers the white wash with what I refer to as Santorini blue accents - shutters, doors, domes, although I repeatedly tell her that those last ones are reserved for churches!  We both agree that we must have a million dollar view, a beautiful tiled pool and quick and easy access to the beach!

YOLO (You Only Live Once) has been the motto of so many parts of our trip. Whenever one of us feels uncertain about doing something, another will pipe up with "YOLO!". Sometimes it's been about simple things like having to split up while riding a subway when you can't all get into the same entry, or persevering in walking up a tricky path on an injured foot when everyone else thinks you should wait and rest. But yesterday ... yesterday were some of our best YOLO moments all rolled into one.
While in Fira, after walking the rolling cobbled streets searching for Greek treasures, we decided to indulge in a spa. Not your typical spa - a Fish Spa!  Soaking our feet in tanks of tiny fish for 15 minutes was different, ticklish and fun. Admittedly, quite a fear for me to conquer but the rest of the girls were as cool as cucumbers about it, so I picked up their YOLO attitude and went for it. The tiny fish don't have any teeth and don't bite in any way, and really, it felt like a bunch of bubbles against your feet and legs.  Oddly relaxing...

This was followed by Henna tattoos for the girls ... Nothing wild, but still a thrilling first for them!
Then we capped off the day by offering the girls a parasail over the Agean Sea along Perivolos' black sand beach. Because all three could not go up together, Nichola went first and loved every peaceful and exhilarating moment of it, saying that the view from up above was incredible. Emma and Teagan followed, hooting and hollering all the way up, and down to dip your toes, and up again!  All 3 loved the experience and reveled in the views. It was a moment of heartful joy for Marjorie and I to see such appreciation and excitement in our children.

So much of this trip has been a once in a lifetime experience for all of us. YOLO seems aptly fitting.

And if there is something we can all take away in common from an adventure shared both personally and vicariously, it's that, in the grand scheme of things, you only live once ... Take a risk, try something new, eat good cheese ... (Especially if it's saganaki!)

As we hear from the vendors on the beach each day, "eínai kaló" ... Everything is good!
And so it goes with the Sisterhood...