If you guys get a chance, go on the Greek Adventure with Dimitri! The trip is one of these great things you'll want to share with everyone! Here's my quick trip report.
From the start, things were well planned. Jessie from Kite Adventures took good care of us (e.g., made a checklist of things to bring). And the moment I stepped out of baggage claim at the Athens airport, Dimitri was flagging me down, calling out my name -- must be the kite/golf bag that tipped him off.
When everyone in the group was greeted by Jessie and Dimitri (we all arrived within an hour or so of each other), we headed for the water! You're thinking, "Jet-lag?" Sure there's a 10 hour difference between Athens and Southern California. But kiting was a fantastic break from the long plane ride. We all suited up for a down-winder.
After kiting, we ate well. Dimitri, doing a great job as tourguide, gave us a rundown of the local food and even ordered for us. This was pretty much the pattern for the entire trip: kite all day, then Dimitri would take us into town for dinner (he took us to beautiful restaurants -- with outside seating, on the water's edge, very nice -- and got the group seated quickly, a good thing after a long day of kiting), by the time we finished dinner, most of us were exhausted and just wanted sleep (this would be around midnight or 1AM, yeah, the Greeks eat their dinners REALLY late).
And the places we went to were beautiful! Well, there was one beach we went to that looked great from afar, but, um, was pretty dodgy. The wind was blowing a smooth 30 knts at that beach. So even at the dodgy beach, we had an awesome time!
Dimitri also had Skywalker boards to demo. I liked the board I demoed so much that I rode it for the entire trip, using the board I brought with me just one time.
The best part, though, was having a pro as part of the group. We would share tips and experiences with each other, and Dimitri would share his thoughts with us. He's a great teacher -- walking us through the steps of a particular trick.
As a group, we took photos of each other. Dimitri was right there with his SLR and took amazing photos of us riding and jumping with his telephoto lenses. By the end of the trip, those of us with iPods ands laptops went home with over 1,000 hires photos from various cameras on them.
Anyhow... Fantastic trip. Amazing memories. Beautiful photos. I got back to CA late last night (Sunday night) and am completely exhausted. But I can't wait to share my trip and experience with anyone who'd listen.