Everyone made it onboard yesterday, and off we go! About half of the EXPLORERS group arrived a few days early to enjoy Athens, and the rest arrived yesterday. Little by little I've met the University of Illinois group. It really helped that one of the EXPLORERS was wearing his orange "I Block" Polo shirt!

This morning we woke up in Kusadasi, Turkey. The majority of the people onboard headed out to visit Ephesis. Lots of photos were taken, and it's only been one day! After the tour we got to enjoy a Turkish rug demonstartion. Though some folks were tempted to make a purchase, I didn't see anyone do so. One of the highlights for me was visiting the ancient "public toliets," which are very worn down. It was basically just a large room with marble benches with holes in it. So much for privacy!

There are about 13 other alumni tour groups on the boat right now, so a lot of school pride is walking around via pins, T-shirts and room signs. One of the big questions floating around on the boat is, "What school are you from?"

Go Next, our tour operator, is hosting a reception tonight for all of the alumni groups onboard. I'm looking forward to meeting all the EXPLORERS travelers on this rushed first day, though most everyone ended up on a different bus.

Tomorrow we will wake up in Santori, Greece!