I love a great day….A day when you wake up, not quite sure what the plans are, not really having any real expectations, and by the end of it all, you find yourself in bed thinking, “wow, how fantastic was that?!” That’s pretty much how things were for Jessica and I the other day, on what is quickly becoming our favorite island…Folegandros.

The day started out fairly regular. We woke up late as usual, which isn’t entirely our fault. We’ve found that during the day, things on Folegandros are quite peaceful, but the spunky Greeks come out at night…and they can be quite loud….all night long. We don’t sleep much here in Folegandros. So this morning, we strolled over to our favorite café…the one with the cute waiter and the best Nutella covered warm donuts, and sat for probably a good two hours. Surprisingly, this has become one of the things I love most about this trip to Greece. I love not feeling rushed, and being able to sit as long as I like at a restaurant or café, not having an agenda, or a list of to do’s, but being able to simply sip a hot drink while enjoying a good book, or writing, or just people watching. These cafes have quite the ambiance going on. Each one is so unique and charming. They could be serving me dog food, and I’d probably still come back for the beautiful setting. No offense to Starbucks or Muggswigs, but you just don’t get that in Ohio.

Now incase you were nervous that I somehow traded in my scrappy, slightly crazy, adventure seeking personality for the calm simple life of a coffee sipping book reader, you have nothing to fear…this is where our day gets really good.

On our first day in Folegandros, Jessica and I went running. We took separate routes, but crossed paths about midway into our run. We were both grinning….a little giddy I guess over seeing for the first time just how beautiful the island was. Jess removed her headphones just long enough to tell me, “We have some adventuring to do!” I knew exactly what she meant. The mountains all around us were practically begging to be climbed and explored. I knew it was only a matter of time before we set off on what I like to call a free climb.

Today was the day.

Now incase you missed it in the above paragraph, it was actually Jessica who first mentioned the idea of “adventure” here on this island….not me. Sometimes I get blamed for a lot of the crazy situations we get ourselves into…and most of the time that is a fair accusation, but despite being the totally chill, laid back Jessica that we all know and love, you should also know that she has quite the spunky, tough, wild side. So even if she claims that things were my idea first (like buying that ridiculous dog raft)…..you can’t always believe her…she’s a crazy one that Jessica, and this was as much her idea as mine…and what a great idea it was.

Back at our place, we packed a bag, and put on our hiking gear. We opted for tennis shoes this time (this was serious, no sandals allowed). We set off walking. Our goal was to find the perfect challenge. We walked out of town a ways, and then spotted it…our mountain. The one we were destined to climb up. We mapped out our route. Turns out getting to the mountain would be quite a challenge in itself…hiking up and over the countless stone fences and thorny bushes that litter the Folegandros landscape was no easy feat, and with me stopping to take pictures every five seconds, it wasn’t very fast either. We finally made it to our mountain, and began to climb. This would be the easiest part of the whole day. Like mountain goats, we scurried up the mountain with ease. At the top we took in the exhilarating view, and claimed the mountain as ours. No, we didn’t pee over the side, but we used the pretty green rocks we found to spell out our names….we’re pretty artsy.

On the way down, we decided to head for the water. This opened up a whole new set of challenges for us. At one point we were climbing sideways along the rocks, sandwiched between two cliffs….It was great:) We did come across a skull, that unfortunately was right next to what Jess called a shear drop off (although in my opinion, it wasn’t that bad), so we had to turn around. The final stretch of our decent to the sea below was a little treacherous. I found myself sliding down the mountain on my back, while Jessica, slower to act, and probably a little bit wiser, found a path. I have to admit to being a little freaked out after my fall, and just a little bit injured, so I was very close to throwing in the towel, and heading for home…this is where I am thankful for my friend. When she asked, “what do you want to do?” and I answered, “I don’t care” (which really meant…ouch, that really hurt, and I want to leave), Jessica said, “Let’s do it”, and so we continued on. I’m so proud of my gutsy friend.

We made it all the way down to the giant rocks, where the waves crash, and it’s as good as watching fireworks. We took off our shoes and socks, and stayed for a while, reading our books, snacking on popcorn, and taking in the show. What an awesome site.

The way back was a little less dramatic. We luckily found a path that weaved us right back to the main village square. We were probably quite a site, all sweaty, dirty, and bloody. It was around 8:00 so we decided to finish the day by watching the sunset from the famous church that sits atop the island…As only the two of us could do, we somehow managed to sit on top of the church….amazing…. a perfect ending to a perfect day.