We played and then walked down to the beach from our Airbnb. Along the way we stopped at some small shops to get essentials and non-essentials: a big bottle of cold water, snacks, more sunscreen, a bucket and shovel, and two very overpriced snorkels. Nick is an avid snorkeler / scuba diver and I am not, so he is eager to start training Millie as his future ocean friend. I was not thrilled about spending $35 on a snorkel that she would probably refuse to put on, but nevertheless, he persisted.

We set up shop on a couple of lounge chairs under a straw umbrella and immediately got to building sand castles.

It was very hot but the water was perfect. Just cold enough to feel refreshing, just warm enough that it didn’t require any “getting used to”. It was crystal clear and the waves were gentle.

We swam, built more castles, and collected rocks. Nick walked down the beach to scope out the Olympos ruins and Millie and I just hung out. Her new thing is saying “let’s chat” and then saying “so ask me questions”. It’s a very one-sided conversation but I love our chats. We talked about her favorite parts of the trip (ice cream and swimming), her least favorite (boring ruins), who she misses (Louise, Margot, grandparents), what she misses (Minnie Mouse toy), and if she wants to go home (no).

When Nick got back we convinced her to try the snorkel. She was nervous but we talked through it all and she agreed to give it a go. I watched the snorkel lesson from the shade of the chair.

They were out there for 20 minutes and she ran back screaming about how much she loved it. She was so proud of herself. Nick was right. $35 well spent.

We ordered lunch to the beach and swam more until we couldn’t handle any more sun. We walked back to our Airbnb, back through the town and up the hill.

We all showered and got ready to hike to see the eternal flames of Mount Chimaera. These are caused by gasses leaking from the mountain which create flames when mixed with oxygen. We had heard that you can roast marshmallows on them so we knew Millie would be all in.

We were right. I’ve never seen her hike up a hill so fast and with so few complaints. Sugar is a hell of a drug.

When we got to the top we roasted our mallows and watched the sun go down. It was an incredible sight and fun to imagine that these have been burning for hundreds of years.

We briefly spoke to a Russian guy who asked where we were from and shared that he works with people at NASA in Houston because he does Mission Control for the ISS. Millie told him she would like to be an astronaut, but only if she can have a rainbow helmet. This whole town seems to be entirely Russian tourists.

We hung out up there as the sun went down so we could see the fires in the dark, and then hiked back to the car.

We got back to our Airbnb which has no electricity. Not ideal because it stays in the 90s all night here. Millie was so tired that she didn’t care. She told us this was the best day of her life and passed out immediately.