The Pros and Cons of Off Season Travel (aka how we ended up on a plane to Santorini)

Pros:

Everything is empty. You get entire hostels to yourself. You get the entire Parthenon to yourself. It's fantastic.

Everything is cheap.

Everyone is stoked to see you.

Cons:

Things may or may not be open

Things may or may not operate as scheduled.

The storm of the century may or may not sweep through.

While we've enjoyed our off season travel, it certainly has led to some hiccups. We arrived at the docks several hours early to catch a Ferry from Athens to the island Naxos. We were informed, once there, that wind had led to a cancellation for all ferries. The agent suggested we try the 7 am ferry. At that point, there was no storm. It was the calm before the storm that was to arrive the next day. We figured that if boats weren't going out tonight, they certainly wouldn't be going out tomorrow. We crossed the street, bought some drinks, connected to the cafe's wifi, found a flight leaving to a different island (Santorini) in two hours, and sprinted across Athens (aka sat on the metro for an hour), and hopped on a plane! We went from so heart broken over our canceled island plans to so happy! Thank goodness for smart phones, credit cards, and flexibility.

So beautiful. 

So empty. 

So stormy.