Well, we've done it again. Our latest run-in with misadventure struck during our trip to the island paradise of Santorini last week. It never fails. Despite our careful planning and extensive research that goes into preparing for a trip to our next destination, misadventure always finds us. Remember Not Your Average Travelers in Turkey or Bull Run of Another Kind in the countryside of Cataluña? It seems to be waiting in the wings ready to pounce at that perfect moment when you've switched to vacation mode and have left the real world behind. "Relaxation? Not so fast!" it taunts. We are uncertain when or how it will strike, but we can be certain it will without fail. Santorini was no exception.

A jewel of the Aegean Sea, Santorini is one of the most famous of the cluster of Greek islands knowns as the Cyclades, and for good reason. The biggest island, Thira, is a crescent shaped outcropping of craggy cliffs left behind from a massive ancient volcanic eruption. Thira faces a handful of other smaller islands that are a result of the submerged volcano. Together, with the water-filled caldera at the center, this circle of islands is called Santorini - and it is undeniably beautiful.

Idyllic white-washed villages cling to the cliffsides as if to stake claim to their rightful position in paradise. Gracefully domed churches of the deepest and softest blues meld with the skies above and the sea below. Winding cobblestone paths saunter in, out, and around cave houses and boutique shops teetering on the edge of land and sea. And then there are the sunsets. Oh, those sunsets! I'm not sure I have ever witnessed Mother Nature put on a more magnetic display of color and beauty. Remember that vacation mode switch I mentioned earlier? The sunset on that first night flipped the vacation switch to "on".

Or did it?...

Sunset from Ammoudi Port

Sunset over the caldera from Fira

What happens when the one and only power transformer on an island explodes? In August? In Greece? BLACKOUT. The entire island is left without electricity and running water, and it remains this way for nearly two days!! Once the initial panic gave way to frustration and realization that no power meant no showers and no air conditioning after spending a day in the blazing summer sun, I resigned myself to remember that this is Greece. And not only is it Greece, but it is an island far from the mainland. I would have to cast my "fix it now" expectations aside and instead change my perspective to see the positives in this situation.

Oia with power

Oia without power literally five minutes after the picture above was taken.

So, what was the outcome? For those first 36 hours I found the Aegean to be quite refreshing and cleansing after a long day in the sun. Dinners by candlelight were enchanting and romantic. Restaurants hung lanterns from rafters and tree limbs which cast a soft glow in plazas under a harvest moon. Sleeping with the doors open allowed a cool sea breeze to fill the room, the distant sound of crashing waves lulling you to sleep. No wifi, no devices, no TV. We were officially off the grid and loving every minute of it. Establishments, including our hotel, gradually invested in generators that at least provided running water at all times, but power remained touch and go until Saturday, our last day. While we were grateful to have the comforts that electricity brings once again, we found ourselves longing for the simplicity and tranquility of the blackout.

Thursday night we found ourselves in the small canal town of Leiden in the Netherlands, sampling some farm fresh cheese and catching up with our friend Walt. I had noticed that Jeff seemed preoccupied by a large canvas painting on the wall. There wasn't much to ponder with this particular painting - a canvas rectangle divided in half between a royal blue sky and a flat green grass field, a silhouette of a windmill in the background and a curious milk cow gazing out from the foreground. Walt noticed Jeff's upward stare and said, "Oh, that? Well that's Holland. Cows, flat fields, and windmills." We had been to the Netherlands before nearly four years ago but saw nothing beyond the canals and coffee shops of Amsterdam. This time we set out to discover the country beyond city limits, a "Tour de Holland" adventure that would take us along western coastal roads, past northern landscapes, through eastern woodlands, and south to charming canal villages. I had a hunch the painting was missing a few Dutch details.

The alpine town of Mittenwald

Christmas in Bavaria is something straight out of a storybook. Majestic mountain peeks are blanketed in sparkling white snow, the countryside is peppered with little German hamlets draped in garland and decorated in twinkling lights, and even Munich, the big city, dons its holiday best that would even inspire Mr. Scrooge himself to feel the cheer.

Photo Journal: European Roadtrip 2010

I often think of Betty, our 1976 Volkswagen bus, who was more like a family member than a hunk o'junk hippie van. The simple fact that she had a name gave her an identity and a personality.

 Photo Journal: Edinburgh and the Highlands

As children, we grow up listening to the stories of generations past. We have a natural curiosity to better understand our world and who we are, all the while coming closer to finding our place within it. The younger we are the grander the reality of the tale, imagining the characters and events to be larger than life.

Looking out over the Bay of Biscayne, waiting in excited anticipation for hurricane Isaac to make his fateful mark in Southeast Florida, I find myself coming to the inevitable realization that summer vacation will come to a screeching halt in a week's time.

Happy Hour

Lounging poolside on the bay

I'm sitting on the balcony at my temporary home in South Beach, drinking a Corona and watching a subtle sunset over the bay. The sky is painted in hues of soft pinks and oranges, and each time I look up from my computer screen I find them slipping away to dull greys.

Those of you who know us best also know that when Jeff and I travel, we more often than not return with some of the most unconventional stories to share. We have an uncanny knack for finding ourselves in extraordinary situations in otherwise relatively ordinary places. Our recent trip to Turkey, however, takes the cake for extreme vacations. We have not one but three...read it...THREE tales of two tourists finding themselves in rather unfortunate circumstances.