Day 8: Cruising to the finish line.

 Without getting ahead of myself too much, it is starting to sink in that this part of my life is wrapping up. Sure, down the road, I may lead another student tour, but tonight is my last night in Europe with Saugus High School students and it was a beautiful one to remember.

We woke early to prepare for our cruise of the Saronic Gulf. Breakfast was as it was yesterday and most of us skipped it for a few extra minutes of shut-eye. The weather forecast predicted sunny and 70s, but that never really materialized. In preparation, most of the kids brought beach towels, bathing suits, and a change of clothing. A quick bus ride to the port and a long line of other travelers awaited us, but we quickly boarded and tried to find seats.

This section quickly filled up with tourists. The kids didn't want to sit with me, lol

The first part of our cruise was to the island of Hyrda. It was the longest single cruise we had as well. It took about 3 hours.  The ride was smooth and quiet. The ship had a huge waitstaff who floated about with speed taking orders and delivering snacks. I saw a few students ordering fries and got jealous, so I did too. It was a Pepsi boat, so I ordered a Ginger Ale too. 

Hydra is the most expensive of the three islands we'd be visiting, but is mostly known for being "carless."  They don't allow cars on the island. Goods are moved by donkeys or carts. It is all hills too.  I quickly made my way around and tried to find some of our kids. It was so small that they basically could finish with last minute shopping or get more ice cream.

Even though lunch was going to be served on the boat, I ordered a fresh pizza for the day

After about 1.5 hours, we boarded our boat again. This time our destination was the island of Poros. This island was even smaller.  The trip took about an hour or so and the boat transformed into a huge buffet line. There was pasta, salad, fish, chicken, and lots of desserts. I was content with the pizza I ordered (I don't really like buffets and this trip had a lot of them) so I was happy to just relax a bit.

Poros was basically one long boardwalk. It was filled with shops and cafes. The kids walked up and down and found ice cream and last minute souvenirs, lol. It was at Poros that I think we realized the forecast wasn't really going to clear up, sadly. It didn't rain and the temp rested in the mid to low 60s, so it was comfortable, but it wasn't warm. 

The clock tower high above the city

Laertis waiting for the kids to arrive to the boat.

Once everyone was back on the boat, we departed for Aegina. This is the largest of the three hours. We were going to have two hours here and this is the place where the kids could go swimming if they chose. It is also known as Pistachio Island. There are tons of vendors selling all sorts of stuff made with pistachios. At this point, fatigue had started to hit me, so I stayed on board for most of the time and watched our stuff.  I did run off to get a Diet Coke though.  I tried to snap a few pictures of the town, but it wasn't as photogenic as the others, lol.

A few of the kids braved the weather and swam

We boarded the boat for one last ride back to Athens. This cruise was about two hours. All told, we were gone for twelve hours today. It was relaxing and exhausting.  On the final ride, a bunch of people dozed off and you could tell a bunch of the kids were overtired. Our boat was followed by lots of seagulls and we even saw some dolphin cresting the surface of the water. By the time docked, the sun was setting and our group photo above couldn't be nicer.

We shared this experience with 19 folks from Carstairs, Alberta, Canada. They were an amazing group and after two days were started to become one big group. Our kids will find it hard to say goodbye. It reminds me of 2017's trip to Central Europe and our friends from Saskatchewan. While we are all tired and kind of homesick, we all also wish we had a few more days to hang out with each other in such a magical location. 

I am so grateful to their group leaders and adult travelers for welcoming us into their fold and being flexible to our needs when appropriate. I hope they feel similarly. I am also grateful to our two adult travelers, Mr. S and Janine Sullivan. They were so helpful and thoughtful to all of the kids. It honestly made my days much easier knowing I had their support. My gratitude extends across the Atlantic too. Karyn Huntsman, mom to one of our travelers and fellow traveler of mine back in 1994, provided every student with a goodie bag and a travel pouch...more than that, she has helped personalize items on the past three Eurotrips too....not asking for anything in return. The Saugus High School Alumni Association purchased sweatshirts for our group in 2015...they haven't missed a Eurotrip since. Their support has been consistent and unwavering. Our district is better off because of them.  This year, they allowed me to shift gears slightly and purchase lightweight zippered hoodies.  They look amazing and were perfect for this weather. My family and Friends on Facebook who have supported us since Covid...I love you all and appreciate everything you sent for our kids to use.  I know I am appreciated because you've proven it to me. 

I will most likely purchase internet on our long flight tomorrow. It will probably be the last entry into what has become one of the most important chapters of my professional life. If I fail and this is my last post...I will save my last bit of gratitude to those of you who allowed me to take your children to faraway places. Thank you for showing them why I believe that one must travel to learn.