mail is delivered via DONKEY here

Yes, people actually deliver mail on donkeys in Greece. It is so cool here!  We were in Athens for a day and then made it to the Island called Zakynthos.  It is BEAUTIFUL!! Chris and T left Friday, so it is just Tina and I now. 

We are in a beach town, and everyone is so nice.  It is a small town and I feel like we know people here now.  On wed we hiked about 2 miles to a famous beach and laid out there most of the day.  Thursday we rented a car and drove all over the island exploring.  The lady who runs the hostel we are staying at is SO nice and she gave me her mountain bike for the rest of the time I am staying here- its AWESOME. So every morning I wake up and mountain bike all over the island.  It is so fun but really hilly- I get pretty tired.  It is BEAUTIFUL though and this morning I had to stop to watch the sun rise.  Today was the best day yet.  I woke up, biked all morning, and then Tina and I rented a boat for the day.  It is SO cheap to rent a boat here.  We were thinking that someone would be driving us around, but nope, they just show you how to drive the boat and then you’re on your own! It was SOOO funny.  We boated all over the ocean- to the famous caves and to the most famous beach here. It was one of the coolest things ever.

My mom is coming to meet us in Athens on Tuesday and I am so excited.  I can’t believe I have not seen her in 5 months.  I have basically been counting down the days for her to get here since I found out she was coming.  When she gets here we are traveling to 2 other islands in Greece.  She is staying about 10 days and Tina and I can’t wait.

Something I have learned is backpacking is TIRING. And sometimes we have no idea what we are doing;)  We have missed trains, buses, booked questionable hostels (never trust the pictures on the websites) but at the end of the day it is a great laugh and we are having the time of our lives.

I miss and love yall.  It is so weird being gone for an extended period of time.  I can’t believe I am going to come home to my sister with a big belly!!

Driving our SUPER fast boat....

The island we drove and parked at!!

Italy!

ITALY IS AWESOME!! We started in a town called CinqueTerre, and it is right on the Mediterranean ocean.  It is 5 towns about 4 ish miles apart, but the cool thing is that you can hike from town to town through the hills and you’re staring at the ocean the entire time.

We really have had a blast. We have soaked up some sun (we were sun deprived going to the Caribbean to England), we have hiked everyday, and eaten really good food. Yesterday morning we went on a 5 hour hike to the town furthest away from us, and got there by noon, laid out at the beach, shopped, ate dinner, and then took the train home.  It was amazing.  I cannot believe we are getting to do this.

We left CinqueTerre and made it to Rome today!  We went to the Coliseum and walked all around the city.  We leave Rome Monday morning and are heading to Greece! Woo hoo!!

It is weird that YWAM is done, but it has been cool getting to tell people here in Italy why a person from Canada, Minnesota, New Mexico. and Texas are traveling together.  We only get one more week with the 4 of us, and then its just me and Tina!

Love and miss yall so much.

 Hiking in CinqueTerre

 one of the towns in CInque Terre

the Coliseum!

almost done!

It is soooo crazy that we are done on Tuesday.  This past week we have stayed in Sheffield, England and have been gardening (just FYI- gardening here means picking veggies AND clearing glass out of pig pens- we got to do both;), painting schools, doing street work, and playing music on the streets.  Playing music on the street is my FAVORITE thing we do- we play worship and set out the guitar case to collect money, then we take the money we make (which is surprisingly a lot- toot toot) and buy food and tea for homeless people.  It is so much fun.  People who know the songs will sing with us and it is just so fun to do with the team.  I seriously have the best teammates in the world.  They have made England so much more enjoyable.

Today was our last day of ministry and we start debrief tomorrow. Its basically a time of reflection and good-byes.  We are leaving Saturday morning at 2am (woo hoo) and catching a bus to the coast in South England.  We are staying in a cottage for about 3 days, then Wednesday me, Tina, T, and Chris are headed to ITALY!!! We are going to CinqueTerre, which is the beach in Italy- moving here from the Caribbean we feel a little ocean deprived, so we are so excited to be back on the ocean- especially the Mediterranean!!

I will definitely still have a blog backpacking through Europe.  The first 2 weeks will be the 4 of us, and then is it just Me and Tina until we come home.  I am coming home November 21 so I will be home for Thanksgiving- my dad's request;)

Me and Tina are so excited to explore Europe- it is just so weird that YWAM is ending.  God has been too good to us and I feel like I have learned more than I ever could have imagined.

I miss yall like crazy!

Helping ladies with their backyards

Home sweet home!