Greece - Day 7 (Mon. 9/2/24)

Super hot and humid today again. After breakfast, we rode the bus to Kyllini to board the Levante Ferry to Zakynthos Island in the Ionian Sea. During the hour and a half ferry ride, a woman approached us and set this card in front of us. 

She wanted us to buy an overpriced keychain from her. Mike thought it would be nice to buy it for Jee Hye. He even tipped her.

Zakynthos Island

Nikos driving our bus off the ferry 

We shopped for a bit in the heat. I bought some cheap slides because I made the wrong decision not bringing sandals. Then we had a group meal at a traditional Greek restaurant. Lots of food. We always ate outside in the heat. That seems to be the way they do it.  Then we checked into our hotel, where we had a nice big suite with a balcony and a great view.

 Laundry became necessary. After I started washing the clothes in our little sink, I reevaluated my definition of dirty and washed only about half of them. 

Dirty water in our tiny sink after I washed the clothes. Mike was the spin cycle. We hung them on the balcony to dry.

We rode the bus about 30 minutes to Laganas Beach. 

Very little sand, lots of bars, restaurants, and rocks. It cost 10 Euro per chair, so we shared this chair. I was mostly in the water anyway, so it worked out.

The water felt great and was clear after you got out past the rocks. The salt content was high enough that I could float pretty easily. I had my phone in a waterproof case around my neck, but it must have drifted off my neck while I was floating, because at some point I realized it was lost at sea. I panicked and prayed (in that order, sadly). Mike and a few other guys (some had brought snorkels and masks)  helped me search the sea floor, which was about 12 feet below the surface. I wasn't even sure if it would have sunk or floated, so I was also scanning the waves. We hadn't been looking long when a group of young British dudes held up my phone, still safe in its case, and asked if it was ours. A big cheer arose and I yelled, "It's mine!" Many thanks to everyone who helped me look, to the British kids, and to God. Very, very grateful. I had to tell that story about 78 times to the people who weren't actively involved but had heard about it.