Holy mackerel, Mykonos ripped my body apart and threw it to the seagulls. With every passing minute on the ferry, my head swirled against the motions of the waves and filled with pain. It’s so sad, when your body becomes a victim to disease on the road, but I tried to wipe away my horrifying expression and enjoy as much as possible this most anticipated destination: Santorini.

Here’s what one can expect from Santorini…

Riding Donkeys in Greece

• All civilization lies at a high elevation on the island. It takes a while to get places.
• Buildings really do cling to the cliffs and present those beautiful cityscapes.
• The beaches are both calm and crazy and all are clothing optional.
• Scooter and ATV rentals abound, making it very easy to get around and love where you are

Climbing caused my head to throb – I could barely open my eyes to the gorgeous sunset falling over the rooftops. And without the ability to open my eyes, I couldn’t rent a scooter and therefore discovered no beaches. Sadly, I did not see Santorini the way it was meant to be seen.

My weary body did, however, muster up enough energy (after 18 hours of rest) to go on the optional tour with the group: to walk over the Santorini volcano, swim in hot springs and ride a donkey from the water to town. Views were blue, rocky, and gorgeous at every glance, and luckily, the heavy smell of sulfur in the hot springs had no affect on me. I could barely breathe, let alone smell! We covered our faces in hot mud from the floor of the hot springs and my struggling complexion caught a break with its healing effects.

We boarded stubborn donkeys at the base of the cliff, only to laugh and scream all the way up. They would run, stop, bite each other, squeeze our legs against walls and other donkeys and I couldn’t help but make as many “ass” puns and donkey references as humanly possible.

Santorini has the parties and the peace. I wish I could have experienced and loved both, but instead I dealt with the realities of travel: the occasional disease caused by exhaustion.