Greece Trip - Day 16

11 July, 2009 – Athens and Home

We had a bit of a flight scare late the previous night of rumours of a strike at the airport – no planes going in or out of the Athens Airport, luckily it was not true and flights were going, but possible delays will occur. Donnal and I both wanted to go and see the old Olympic Stadium and both of our flights were not until later in the day, so we took our last tour of Athens together. We took the metro to Syntagma Square and then walked through the National Gardens to the Temple of Zeus and Hadrian’s Arch, then along the road to the Olympic Stadium. Three buses of people had arrived at the stadium, so it was pretty busy and we had to hustle to the fence line to take some photos. Donnal dropped her camera lens cover the fence and a guy jumped over the fence for her – so I thought that was sweet. We escaped the crowds and went for a stroll back through the shaded gardens and then walked through the Plaka area. We stopped at a bakery and bought spinach and feta pies and baklava for lunch and then ate it on a step in the shade.

Donnal and I took the same bus to the airport, our flights were only a few hours apart and Donnal preferred the idea of waiting in the air conditioned airport for her flight, and it was good to have some company. There was a fantastic duty free food shop in the airport where I bought some Greek Kalamata olives, olive oil and five different flavoured tapenades – delicious. I also bought some biscuits that I hope are the ones that Mum really likes.

After boarding the plane and it taxiing to the runway, we had to wait 1 ½ hours to leave – there were strikes on various times where no planes could arrive or depart. I was lucky and had a whole row of 3 seats to myself, so I just lifted the arm rests and had a snooze while we waited. When we finally arrived at Stansted Airport I had to wait for the next train to Cambridge, and when I got to Cambridge I had just missed a train and would have to wait nearly an hour until 11pm (1am Greek time for me) for the next train. I was tired and just wanted to get home, and I was cold – it was raining here and I only had on a singlet top and skirt, so I caught a taxi home.

I am now obsessed with Greek Cuisine and have looked up some recipes of some of the traditional food I enjoyed on my holiday. I have been having Greek Salads every 2nd night or so for dinner and have been enjoying my Ios honey on fruit salads.

Greece Trip - Day 15

10 July, 2009 – Naxos to Athens

It was time to leave the lovely Cyclades Islands and head back to the main land today – back to Athens. When we were on our way to the port, the rope holding the back door to the van and holding our luggage in broke and our luggage all fell out onto the road!! The guys quickly jumped out and re-loaded the van, tied another rope down and hoped it wouldn’t happen again. Donnal and I were in the back seat, so we held onto some bags to make sure they didn’t fall and push the door open again. The driver stopped at their office in the town before reaching the port and gave us all a little keepsake – a magnet that was a pair of flip flops with a painted scene of blue and white churches and islands in the background. It was very sweet and fit into our theme – we had the naming of the footwear battle - Australians call them ‘thongs’; English and Canadians call them ‘flip flops’ and New Zealanders call them ‘jandals’.

The ferry trip back to Athens was a slow one and took 5 hours, so Sheeba, Donnal & I snuck into the reserved seating area and hoped that we wouldn’t get kicked out of these comfy plush seats. The ferry stopped at Paros Island on the way to Athens and the boat got really full; one lady said that one of our seats was hers but then she went down a few rows to where her friends were, so we were lucky with that one and could enjoy our seats all the way to Athens. I had a snooze on the ferry, wrote in my travel journal and listened to my ipod to make the time pass. When the ferry was approaching Athens, we set off down the inner stairwell towards the lower deck as our bags were in the lowest level in the cargo hold. The door opened and a group of us headed out around the trucks and got our bags. There were only a small number of us down there, so I don’t think we should have actually got out so soon, but oh well – it was too late now. It was quite hot and stinky in the car area, so we opened the door into the hall area that was at the bottom of the escalator and right at the exit – we would be the first ones off the boat. The doors opened at the top of the stairs and 3 boys came running down and came to a sudden stop when they saw us standing there – the eldest one said “how did you get here?”. Linda tapped the side of her nose and said “secret women’s business” and we all just laughed.

When we got to our hotel in Athens, Donnal and I took the metro to go and see the New Archaeological Museum near the Acropolis. The museum had only been open a few weeks and was only €1 entry fee until the end of the year. Parts of the flooring were made from transparent tiles so you could see that were found under the ground during construction. On the second floor of the building they used the same see-through flooring in some of the areas, so you had to be careful if you were wearing a skirt as the people on the lower floor could see up it! The museum was really interesting and was full of sculptures and set out in the groups according to age. They had walls that were full of jugs, plates, bowls, utensils, figurines and jewellery from various eras. I find it intriguing to see such decorative items being used in such an archaic time and wonder what their lives were like back then for them to have time for celebrations and festivals and to be able to adorn their houses with such lavish ornamental items. The most interesting thing I found in the museum was a reconstruction of the east and west facades of the Parthenon. They had a small recreation and then had drawings and explanations next to the actual pieces that were on display. I found it sad to hear that many pieces of Greek history are still in British Museums in London; and that the Brits won’t return them to Greece, so they have plaster renditions of those pieces with a note in the bottom corner stating where the original pieces are being held.

It had cooled down a little and clouds were covering the town when we came out of the museum, so we decided to walk back to the hotel. It was a nice walk along the pathway past the Acropolis and Thissio, past the olive trees and mounds of ruins. It was our final night dinner that night, so we went to a restaurant in Plaka that Donnal had been to when she first started the trip. I went with totally traditional food as it was going to be my last dinner in Greece – I had lamb souvlaki. After dinner we all went to an ouzo bar that was close by; two walls of the bar were full of shelves that were lined with different coloured bottles with a backlight and then the other wall had wooden barrels with old taps on them – it was a trendy little place. We decided to go with random flavoured shots, so Donnal picked out flavours for us – I had a melon hot, it was very nice – she picked well. After the bar, we strolled through the shop lined streets and then went to Syntagma Square and watched the guards perform their routine in front of the Parliament building.

Greece Trip - Day 14

9 July, 2009 – Naxos

We had an early start this morning to go on our hike. It was only Theresa (leader), Donnal, Linda and I that ended up doing the hike. We set of at 7:30 in a taxi to the village of Apiranthos in the centre of the island to start our hike. The taxi driver was such a lovely fellow, his family have always lived on Naxos and they have farm land with crops on it; and he told us the history of the island, how the island has changed from people trading their produce with others just to live and how now it all for money. He also told us how tourism has changed the island, and he was so positive – if there was a negative to the story he would always end with the positives or a hope of better times. We bid him farewell at the village and sat down to check the map – this is the first time that Theresa has done this trip and it is only the 3rd time overall for Intrepid, so we up for an adventure! While we were reading the instructions and looking at the map, an older gentleman rode past on his donkey – it was very sweet to see some of the old ways still in practice. Our taxi driver was telling us that when the village was first built, there were no roads to get in and out of the village so the builders had to use donkeys to carry all the building materials up the hill into the village. Obviously, some locals still like to use this mode of transport.

We set off climbing through the streets of the village until we reached a road that lead out of the village and towards our mountain. Once we had climbed about ¼ of the way up the mountain we thought we should take a photo of us trekkers with the mountain behind us. We were nearly up to the summit when our hike instructions were not too good and we took a straight, when we should have taken a left. We backtracked a bit and then took the other road and then found the rocky path that lead straight up the rock cliff to the church at the summit. The path up there was rock and gravel, and then steps were built for the last climb up the side of the rock face. We finally made it to the summit and to the church. The view out over the Apiranthos village was breathtaking – the islands and sea looked surreal as they were covered in a haze and it looked like the sea was covered in clouds and the islands were mountain poking up through the clouds. We looked down over the other side of the mountain to the village that we were going to next – at least the rest of the journey is mainly downhill. We had to go back down the path we came up and continued along the pathway until we found the pointer to lead us along the track down towards the village of Moni.

We zig-zagged along the narrow, rocky goat track down the other side of the mountain and could hear the clanging of bells as a herd of sheep trekked up through the valley. Once we got closer to the bottom of the mountain, the terrain changed and flattened out a bit. We looked back up to where we had just walked and were amazed that there was even a track there – it just looked like a rocky cliff. This track was actually a little trickier, the rocks and dirt moved at times when we were climbing down and it was easy to lose your footing – you wouldn’t fall a long way, but you could land on some very spiky bushes. There were hundreds of goats living in this area of the mountain, and we could hear them scurry as we approached. The younger ones were quite curious, as they would scurry away but then come back and have a look at us – they were probably thinking something like: “what are those fools doing in this weather!” It was really hot and we were all getting quite tired. We each bought 1.5 litres of water each and we were thankful that we did, we were sweating out more than we could put in. There was very little shade on the hike and when we did find some, we had a pit stop and cooled down for a bit before moving on. We could see the village but couldn’t find the right way to it. We stopped seeing our hike markers and realised that we must have taken a wrong turn somewhere along the track.

We were now hiking in full sun, through low scrub and had to avoid the spiky little bushes, so slowed down quite a bit. The properties surrounding the village were all fenced off and we had to climb up a steep dirt hill to get to a part of a fence that was open and had a path way beyond it. We had finally made it to the village. The path took us between farm land and past cherry trees with little cherries hanging from its branches; plum trees, vegetables patches with artichokes ready to pick and the entire pathway was lined with fennel. When we reached some houses there was a water pipe pouring cold fresh water into a trough and we thought we had just gone to heaven. The farmer was there and we asked him if we could have some of his water – Linda put her whole head under the running water and we all splashed ourselves with the water to cool down. We told the farmer where we had just hiked from and he just grinned at us and was probably thinking the same thing as the goats.

We came across a little store in the village and got cold drinks and ice blocks and enjoy a seat in the shade. It was now midday and later we found out that the temperature was about 38 degrees and extremely humid – we could feel it for sure. The lady at the shop was very friendly and came and had a chat with us while we sat outside, she gave us some plums and told us where we could go to get a taxi called for us. We said goodbye and then found the cafe she had told us about and the ladies there rang a taxi for us. Our timing wasn’t great though, the ferry had just got to the port so the taxis were all there, so would have to wait. We didn’t mind. We went and sat in the terrace that was covered in grape vines and had another cold drink. It was too hot to walk to the next village - Halkia; it would be another 1.5 hours (according to the notes) in the full sun and it was just way to hot.

The taxi eventually came, and we got him to drive us to Halkia and to wait while we visited the Citron distillery. We bumped into Patrick, Heather, Steve and Jo in the village too – they having lunch and had just been to the distillery also. We jumped back into the cab and went back to our hotel in Naxos town. Sheeba had my room key, as I had left before her and she was off on a bus tour that wouldn’t be back until late in the afternoon, so I had to wait while the hotel arranged to get a spare key for me. I wished I had worn my swimmers on the hike so I could just strip off and jump straight into the pool. Instead I had settled with dangling my hot, swollen feet in the pool water until I get to my room and get changed. We spent the rest of the day at the pool, we had a bit of a snooze on the sun lounges – Linda said that Theresa, Donnal and I were all a sleep on our lounges so she took a photo of us – we were probably snoring too!!

By dinner time we were starving – Donnal and I had a toasted sandwich at the pool when we got back from our hike, but we were still famished by dinner time. We went to a restaurant that was close by and was recommended by the brothers at the hotel – Oasis. The waitress was so friendly and helpful and the food was great. I had a Chicken Marcello – not very greek, but I was hungry and that sounded good, and it was delicious and a fruit salad and honey for dessert.

Note: the bottom photo was taken from just outside the village on Moni, and is looking back up to where we hiked down - the rock mount at the top second from the right has a small dot on top of it - that is the church at the summit. The photo above it is a zoom in from that same spot to the church.

Greece Trip - Day 13

8 July 2009, Paros to Naxos

We went for a tour of the archaeological museum first thing in the morning as we had to leave in a few hours to go to Naxos. The museum was small but really interesting as it explained the mythological beliefs of the Greeks and the importance these figures had on the people at the time. One description caught my attention in particular, about the Sphinx: "According to Greek Mythology, the Sphinx was a terrible monster with a woman’s head, body of a lion and wings of a bird. She was daughter of Typhon and Echidna (or Orthros or Chimaira). Seated on a rock, on Mount Phikio in Thebes, she asked the following riddle of anyone who went near her: What being on earth has four feet, two feet, or three feet, is the only one of all the beings that move on earth, in the air and in the sea , that can change its form and moves most slowly when it has most feet? She then killed those who gave the wrong answer. Her victims were innumerable, because nobody could solve this riddle. Only Oedipus gave the correct answer, that the riddle referred to man in the three stages of life, who as a baby crawls on hands and feet, when he grows up he walks on two feet and in old age he uses a stick for walking. The Sphinx after the solution of the riddle jumped from the rocks and was killed."

This morning was a hot one – it was already 34 degrees and humid at 9:30am – while we were standing at the port waiting for our ferry. By the time the ferry got to Paros it was already quite full and we had trouble finding seats in the shade. We eventually found some seats on the very upper level in a room with no air conditioning or breeze, but it was at least out of the sun and it was only a short trip. When we got to Naxos, the two brothers that run the hotel were at the port with a van to load our luggage and drive us to the hotel. The brother that drove us was very friendly and told us about the island and also drove us along a sand track to show us where we would walk to get to the beach, town and supermarket. We had a pool again!! Yee hah!! We were all so hot that as soon as we had our bags in the rooms we all headed to the pool and that was where we spent the rest of our day. The pool area was brand new and had a bar that served both drinks and snack food. The pool had jets along the seat like a spa and a fountain up out of the water on the side of the pool.

When we were all having showers getting ready to go out for dinner late in the afternoon, we had a power surge – the lights had gone out and the plumbing was live. I was washing some clothes in the basin (standing in a pool of water on the floor) and when I went to turn off the tap I got an electric shock from the tap, it went in one arm and out the other. I had to leave the tap running and went out to see if anyone else had been zapped. Jo and another lady were in the shower when it happened and both got shocked when they reached for the hand-held shower jet. So that was our afternoon entertainment, and unfortunately a few of the group didn’t get to have showers before dinner.

We went for a walk through town and out to Apollo’s Gate – the Portara, which sits on a point out from the port. The gate was built in the 6th century BC and was going to be a temple to Apollo, but war broke out and the temple was never finished, and it is only the gate and a few marble stones that remain. It was the perfect time to visit Apollo’s gate, as the sun was just starting to set and you could capture the sun behind the gate in photographs. We had an easy dinner that night and then continued our walk through the old parts of the town. Donnal and I ended up losing the group when stopped to take some photos of a castle, so we just took an easy stroll through the cute streets of the old town. Some of the shops we found were so adorable, they had local made crafts and my favourite shop had painted ornaments that looked like ancient artefacts.

Greece Trip - Day 12

7 July, 2009 – Ios to Paros

We took our last ride on our bikes this morning to the top of the island and to Homer’s Tomb. When we made it to Homer’s Tomb, we spotted hundreds of bee hives scattered down the hill and across the land out to the coastline. There were bees and butterflies in the bushes near the track where you could hear the constant hum of the bees; and on the other side of the track you could hear the clanging of bells coming from a herd of goats. I loved it! When we got to Homer’s Tomb, there was a stack of rocks on top of it – we each added a rock to the mound: our own little addition to this historic spot.

After Homer’s Tomb, we drove along the bar lined street of the party beach – Mylopotas. The bars and restaurants were very funky, they had lounges and wicker furniture, hammocks hanging between trees or poles and plants galore as decoration. They were empty though at this time of day, as was the beach (except for a few remaining people sleeping on the beach from the previous nights party). We dropped the bikes and scooter back off to the hire place and then walked down through the town back to the port area for lunch.

Donnal and I decided to go on a honey finding mission – we wanted some local honey! We asked in a few shops and were told each time that they don’t know where you can buy local honey, so Donnal had the idea to ask the people at the friendly family restaurant. The son was out front setting up the table for lunchtime, so we asked him – he made a 10 second phone call and then directed us to the Scooter Hire place on the other side of the port!! Who would have thought to look there??!! They don’t usually sell the local honey to tourist, they only sell it to locals, the restaurants and friends of the restaurants, so we were very lucky to be able to buy some. We both got a huge jar of the honey and they lady back at the hotel tapped the lid for us to help prevent spillage on our travels.

It was another quick ferry ride to our next island – Paros, and then it was a short walk from the port to the hotel on Paros. It was even hotter and more humid in Paros, if that was at all possible, so we were all fatigued and sweaty by the time we got to the hotel. I opted to have a bit of a rest and catch up on my travel diary in the air conditioned hotel room for a few hours. Donnal was feeling a bit sick, so she went for a sleep. We caught up later in the afternoon and went for a walk along the beach (which was only about 30 metres from the hotel) and bumped into Steve and Jo sitting at a bar under the trees on the beach. We sat down, had a cold drink and chatted to some ladies who have moved from Scotland and Sweden and have lived on the island for the last 10 years.

The group met up later in the afternoon to go for a walk of the town. We visited an Ancient Cemetery that was discovered along the shore line, the oldest tombs dating back to the 7th Century BC and then up to the 4th Century BC. We then visited one of the oldest Churches and Baptisteries in Greece, which was built in around 300AD. I have seen many churches in my travels but none as quaint and as impressive this one. It is made from marble and stone and is the church of 100 doors. In the upper level, ancient frescos can still be seen and it is a wonderful angle to look at the height of the altar or to look over into the rooms of the lower level of the church. The round building that is the baptistery was beautiful; the sunlight beamed through the windows of the round ceiling and cast shadows across the room. There was a service about to begin in the church, as people and priests were gathered in the outdoor areas having the traditional refreshments before the service.
The main street of the town along the coastline is not very impressive and I wasn’t sure if the island had much to offer when we arrived, but once you make your way into the maze of streets in old town the town comes alive.

The streets are beautiful, clean, quaint, traditional and welcoming. The narrow, windy streets were full of gift and craft shops, local produce stores, cafes and restaurants. Part of the Castle were discovered and the architecture was intriguing – it was made up of a jumble of different shapes and sizes of marble and were put into a cylindrical shaped part of the building.

We found a restaurant that was recommended by a previous group that was set in a garden terrace. The food was fantastic, again. This time I had stuffed lamb for the main and baklava for dessert – delicious. After dinner we found a shop that sold goods made from Olive tree wood. The colours and grain in the wood was gorgeous and it quite a rare wood - I bought myself a bangle and an olive fork. We also found a cute wee shop that sold local produce like honey, olive oil, soaps, preserved fruits and spices. I bought some Thyme Honey in a sweet heart-shaped jar with a little doily and ribbon over the lid. When we were walking back along the main street towards the hotel around 10pm, the streets were alive – kids were playing in the squares and the restaurants were full of local just sitting down for dinner.

Greece Trip - Day 11

6 July, 2009 – Ios

We went for an early morning walk up through the steep, narrow streets of the town of Chora where we stopped and chatted to a group of older locals who were sitting around outside a church enjoying an early morning chat over coffee. We then walked to the outskirts of the town, out past the windmills and up a hill to an old amphitheatre. At the amphitheatre, we had an awesome view of the island - one direction looked back over the town and out to the port and in the other direction we could see the party beach, Mylopotas. We continued walking up a track towards an old church where Donnal & I got to ring the church bells! It was still quite early, mid-morning, but it had already heated up and it was very humid, so we walked back down through the town and back to the hotel to get the bikes and explore some more of the island and find some more beaches. We went to the very bottom of the island and along a very windy road that in the long run took us to the beach called Manganari - the beach with five coves.

The beach was like a lagoon, each section was protected by the coves and the water was a perfect temperature. We stayed in the water until our fingers went wrinkly and our stomachs told us we were hungry. For lunch I had a huge bowl of fruit salad with local honey drizzled over the top – it was delicious. Scattered all over the island we have seen bee hives – little wooden boxes painted in blue and white just like their houses, and the honey I have had here is divine, very delicious. Another thing I noticed as we were riding along the windy roads of the island was the rosemary. There were large mounds of rosemary all along the roadside and because we were not in a car and in the open air, I could smell the rosemary as we drove past them.

After this beach we tackled going back up the hill and performed the usual drop off and pick up routine with the bikes and then went back to the first one we visited, Agia Theodoti, as it was the nicest beach we found. I picked up a few small marble pebbles from the beach to take home with me as a keepsake too. We again stayed in the water until we went wrinkly and it got a bit late. We decided to head back to the hotel and go for a swim in the pool and catch up with the rest of the group.

Greece Trip - Day 10

5 July, 2009 – Santorini to Ios

We had a relaxing start to the day before we had to pack up and get ready to go to the next Island, Ios. We slept in a little and went to a cute cafe and had crepes and juice for dessert. This time I had a crepe with walnuts, banana and honey – it was delicious. We then strolled through the streets looking at some souvenirs and the local crafts for sale. We had another catamaran style ferry, so the trip took only an hour to get from Santorini to Ios. We were met at the port with a fellow from the hotel who loaded up our bags into a van and then we took the short stroll on foot to the hotel. We were lucky to again have a pool at the hotel!

There was virtually no traffic on this Island and the local buses only take people to two beaches, so if we wanted to explore more of the island we had to find our own way to get there, so that afternoon we hired some 4-wheelers and a scooter. Steve and Jo hired a scooter; Patrick & Heather hired a 4-wheeler bike and Donnal & I hired a 4-wheeler bike to all go on an intrepid style adventure of the Island. The first beach that we went to was Agia Theodoti. We stopped for lunch at a cafe near the beach before heading to the water. The water was clear, cool and very salty. I was looking down through the water at the marble pebbles when a wave slapped me against the face and I copped a mouthful of very salty water! After cooling down at the beach for a while we headed off the find another beach.

The hill back up from the beach was quite steep in places and the bikes didn’t have much power, so it was quite funny to watch as Donnal and I slowly overtook the others as they struggled to make it back up the hill. Donnal and I were the lightest, so our bike was able to keep going, but Patrick and Heather struggled to the point where their bike stopped and started to roll backwards!! Heather had to jump off and start walking up the hill. Steve and Jo had a similar problem weight wise. Steven tried to weave the bike from side to side to try and keep the bike going and then he had to put his feet down and try and push the scooter up the hill. Eventually Jo jumped off and started running alongside the scooter. Donnal dropped me off at the top of the hill and then went back to pick up the others. As the island was very hilly, this happened quite often and it was so funny. We would be driving down a hill towards a beach and we were all thinking that it will be a struggle to get back up. The guys would have fun passing Donnal and I when they were going down a hill and then we would wave as we went past them going up the hill.

We stopped at the Psathi beach too, which is supposed to be the ‘surf beach’. The water was shallow and had big slippery rocks in the sand. We had to slide onto our bellies and then skim across the stones to get into deeper water. The water had a little ripple of wave going through it and you could feel the tidal push and pull that you feel at a surf beach, but there were no real waves. We didn’t stay long at the disappointing ‘surf beach’ before heading back up the hill and then back to the hotel to meet the rest of the group for dinner.

Theresa found us the sweetest family run restaurant along the portside were the food was fantastic and the family were extremely friendly. They invited us into the kitchen and then showed us the fresh fish they had and other dishes they have prepared before we chose our meals. The chef gave me a big hug when I was in the kitchen, they were so nice. I chose fresh grilled fish for dinner.
After dinner Heather, Donnal, Sheeba and I walked up the hill to the main town of Chora to check out the night scene. All the gift shops were still open and there were lots of bars but they weren’t busy yet, in fact most of them were still empty. They told us that they don’t really get busy until around 1-2am and the crowds are in the 16-23 year age bracket.

Greece Trip - Day 9

4 July, 2009 – Santorini

I got to say a final farewell to most of the group who were leaving that day before heading off to the beach with Sheeba. None of the beaches are in walking distance, so we had to take a bus out to one of the main beaches – we chose a black sand beach called Perivolos Beach. We found some sun lounges under an umbrella at a section of beach that we didn’t have to pay to hire, so that was a bonus. We ordered some fresh fruit juices and some spinach pies for lunch that was bought out to us as we relaxed on the beach. The sand was so hot though! It was so hot that I nearly burnt my feet running about 3 meters across the hot black sand towards the water! I warned Sheeba when she was about to come out for a swim, and she wore her flip flops to the water’s edge. We spent the afternoon snoozing on our sun lounges at the beach, occasionally bothered by people selling kaftans and jewellery. A group of people were going around giving massages, so we treated ourselves to another massage on the beach. Sheeba got her legs and feet done and I got a full body massage that lasted 50 minutes – it was divine.

We eventually had to leave the beach and go back to the hotel to freshen up before meeting the new tour members of the next trip. When I was in the shower and the luke warm water ran over my tummy I realised it was sunburnt! I had spent the whole day in the shade of the umbrella, I have no idea how I got my tummy sunburnt. The only thing Sheeba and I could think of was when we first got there I was laying on my tummy on the sunlounge for a bit, and this was before I put sunscreen on my stomach, and we wonder if somehow the heat off the black sand radiating through the mesh of the sun lounge was enough to burn my tummy. Very strange, because for the rest of the day I reapplied sunscreen constantly and was always in the shade.

Our new travel companions are two couples – Steve and Jo from New Zealand who are semi-retired and travelling around the world at the moment; and Patrick and Heather from Canada.

Greece Trip - Day 8

3 July, 2009 - Santorini

The group met early in the morning to take the long picturesque walk along the cliff edge into the next little town. Donnal, Christine and Jo had their little orange costume from the previous night and at one point (in a quiet part of the outskirts of town) they all started say “I’m hot. I think I need to take my t-shirt off” and then proceeded to strip down to the orange crop top and mini shorts – the look on the tour guides face was priceless. It was an initial look of shot and then total amusement. A little later in the walk we came across a couple who had been married for 2 years, but the wife bought her wedding dress with her so they could get photos of her in her wedding dress on the beautiful Island of Santorini – they were a very sweet couple, and it was a cute idea. The girls in their orange bits got photos taken with the ‘bride and groom’ saying that they were the bridesmaids! We eventually reached a lovely church on a point along the cliff edge, with a wonderful view back at the white-wash town on the top of the sheer cliff looking over tranquil boat filled water.

We walked back to the main town and then went our separate ways. Sheeba, Linda and I decided to take a boat trip to the Volcano and Hot Springs a little later in the morning. After booking our tickets, we still had a bit of time so we decided to walk down the donkey track that zig-zagged down the steep cliff side. There were hundreds of donkeys along the track. A heap at the top in the shade resting; ones carrying people up the track, and others lined up at the bottom waiting their turn. Most of the donkeys looked plump and healthy, but there were a few that did not look very good. They looked skinny, old and worn out. They were the ones that the donkey men / owners rode – the men weren’t very nice to them, they whipped them to keep them going. It was quite sad to see that side of it, and it did make me a little upset, but the main thing I had to remember was that the majority of them looked healthy and they are doing what they are designed to do – carry loads up hills.

The boat that took us out for our trip was a wooden Viking looking boat that had an upper deck that we found a table to sit at. The water was very calm and the journey was very peaceful. The first stop was the Volcano where you could get off the boat and walk up the black rock and solid lava pathway to the crater of the volcano and back again. The next stop was the Hot Springs – a warm, sulphur water cove. To get to the springs we had to jump off the side of the boat into the sea and then swim around the boats to the cove, it was so much fun and something completely different. The cool water around the boat was a very welcome reprieve from the sweltering heat of the day. The sulphur water was a rusty colour and it was not hot, just a warm temperature. What I found funny was that this tiny little island that is home to the hot springs and no human inhabitants has a church right next to the springs! There are churches all over Greece and in the most rural and obscure places, and yet they are regularly used – I find in amazing that people take such a tough journey to their spiritual havens. The boat trip finished by going around the back of the volcano and then back to the port. We took the easy way back up the town – the cable car.

We wandered around the shops and bought a few souvenirs, and I bought an aqua blue summer dress and a Christmas Bauble. Before heading back to the hotel we stopped a bakery cafe and treated ourselves to some baklava – yummy!

That night we took the bus out to the tip of the Island and to the town Oia – the perfect spot on the Island to enjoy the remarkable sunset. The group took some snacks and Di bought some Ouzo and we all sat together to watch the changing sun as it set over the sea. After the sunset, we headed back to Thira for our final night dinner with this group and to also have a surprise celebration for Sheeba’s Birthday. Sheeba had kept her birthday very quiet, but Theresa knew the date and she organised a postcard that we all wrote on and a little birthday cake for her. Our meal was again delicious; I have fallen in love with Greek Cuisine and aim to find some great recipes when I get home. After dinner we went out to a bar and enjoyed a few drinks and some dancing together. Donnal, Sheeba, Linda & I are continuing on the trip, but the others in the group are finishing up in Santorini to either continue travelling elsewhere or to go back home.

Greece Trip - Day 7

2 July, 2009 – Mykonos to Santorini

We got to sleep in a bit this morning as we didn’t need to check out of our rooms until 11am and then didn’t have to meet to leave until just before 2pm. After our sleep in, Donnal, Jo, Sheeba and I dropped off our backs at the accommodation centre, and then went to a nice cafe for breakfast – I had a chocolate and banana crepe with a fresh orange juice. We then strolled through the quaint white washed streets looking at the wonderful arts, crafts and souvenirs. I bought myself a beautiful blue and green necklace and matching earrings in the shape of a flower set on a gold background. Donnal & Jo bought some locally made leather gladiator sandals. We had fun taking photos at the church of many angles – trying to capture an action shot of us jumping from the steps – it took a while, but we got some good shots. We also bumped into the local tourist attraction – Petros the Pelican, so it was a very productive morning.

We took another catamaran to Santorini, so it was a short trip and we got there by early afternoon. Santorini is an amazing Island to see – one side of it has high steep cliffs where the volcano erupted and the white buildings of the towns are scattered along the tops of the cliff. The couple in the group and their friend from Noosaville were meeting up with sons in Santorini, the sons had been travelling for the last 6 months, so they were very excited and anxious to see them. They were the first ones off the ferry and raced down to see their sons, it was quite sweet. We had a bus drive us up the steep cliff to the town of Thira, to our hotel. Thira is the main town on the Island, so we were in an ideal location – close to the pubs, shops and sightseeing.

Once we were all settled we went for a walk through the town and along the top of the cliffs so we could see the volcano and other small islands that were situated close to the cove. There were a few cruise boats sitting in the bay along with smaller boats transferring people to and from the main land and Viking looking ships used for day trips to the close Islands. There was a zig-zagged path going down the side of the cliff towards the small port where you could use a donkey to carry you up the steep climb, or you could simply walk back up or take the cable car.
For dinner we went to a very popular family run Taverna. We had to wait a while to be seated, but the food was delicious; this time I had stuffed tomatoes and peppers. After dinner we went out for some drinks at a not so local place – Murphy’s Bar, where they were still doing ‘happy hour’ drinks and cocktails. Donnal, Christine and Jo spotted some merchandise for sale and all decided to buy the bright orange crop top and mini-shorts – a bargain at only €10! They changed into the little costume and danced around having the time of their lives – it was quite entertaining to watch and be a part of. Di was getting people up to dance and we were really making the bar come alive – who needs to find a party when you can create one yourself?! Because the music wasn’t exactly the best, the girls got bored and left, leaving Sheeba and I to continue dancing the night away. The music got better just after they left, so they really missed out, but Sheeba and I had fun as the bar got busy and the music kept playing.

Greece Trip - Day 6

July 1, 2009 – Mykonos

This morning we took a trip to the Island of Delos to visit the famous archaeological site – it was the birthplace of Apollo and Artemis. Delos was a very important Island; it was a holy sanctuary and people travelled from all over to visit this mythological place. The island is covered in ruins, parts of temples, amphitheatres, roads, houses, wells and more. One famous statue on the island is the ‘column with phallus at the Stoivadeion’ – it is a column with a man’s genitals on top – the two balls and the shaft (although the shaft is broken off)!! So of course, we had to hunt down this piece of art and have our photo taken with it! It is quite obvious through this and other artefacts - including statues, frescos and artwork - that the Greek were quite obsessed with sex. You can even buy a calendar that has ancient pictures of sexual positions on them – very interesting 

We visited the amphitheatre, House of Dionysus, the Terrace of Lions and also the museum. While we were wandering around we noticed an underground water system all over the island. There were steps leading down to wells or water fountains where people went to collect water and the underground water system could be seen all across the Island. Some of the mosaic floors could still be seen in its original location, others had been moved to the museum for restoration. There were little lizards running over the marble and across the pathway, they were very cute and they are also virtually the only inhabitants of the island.

We then took a ferry back to Mykonos and I wandered around parts of the port and town before heading back to Paradise Beach. I ended up meeting up with most of the group waiting for the bus to take us to the beach, so that was good – we could spend the afternoon together. We found a posy along a busy section of the beach, under the umbrellas on nice sun lounges, a few of the group headed further up the beach were you didn’t have to pay for the umbrellas and lounges and had room to lay your towels on the sand. A popular game at the beach in Greece seems to be a tennis type game with wooden paddles, as I have seen people of all ages playing it each time I have been to the beach. It was nice and relaxing watching the dive boats come in and out, and the small boat taxiing people between this beach and another beach that is only accessible by water, watching some great looking people stroll past and going for a quick swim every now and then.

About 5pm music started pumping from the nearby Tropicana bar so we packed up our beach bags and headed up to join in the fun. There were two chicks dancing in swimmers and platform shoes on two podiums and a guy in the middle dancing too. The tables were full of people in their swimmers dancing and drinking and the crowds were getting thicker. After a few minutes a guy with a microphone came to the podium to get the crowd going – he was only wearing a g-string that had an elephant on the front – get the picture??? The things he was saying were really quite crass but it seemed to get the crowd up and dancing and having fun – we found it hilarious. We stayed there for quite a while and then decided to go back to have a shower, get changed, have some dinner and come back later.

About 11pm we headed back to the bus stop to go back to the beach, we then found out that the Tropicana Bar closes at 10pm and it is a Ministry of Sound Nightclub at the beach that opens at 11pm, so we paid for entry to the club and headed back to the beach. The club was very cool – it had an open ceiling, a large pool in the centre, lounges and chairs all over, large LCD screens and a stage. We bumped into the brother and sister duo from the previous night at the club, so we caught up on the day’s events with them. The club had a light display that was a huge outline of a guy dancing projected across the nearby mountain. The club didn’t start to get busy until around 2am and they played mainly electro music, which I don’t mind – I can dance to anything, but they others had had enough, so we all headed back to the town.

Greece Trip - Day 5

June 30, 2009 – Syros to Mykonos

This morning we had to leave out little town of Possidonia on the island of Syros by ferry. The water was so smooth and such a deep blue. It was a short ferry ride to the wonderful Mykonos, only an hour. We had a private bus pick us up from the port and take us through narrow, winding, rock walled country roads to the main town of Mykonos. The streets of the town were full of people, scooters and cars and were very congested. Our accommodation is apartments near Little Venice and the Windmills, a perfect location. The buildings here are square, white-washed with blue doors, railings and shutters; and have narrow street ways going between them where both people walk and others ride scooters. I had a traditional Gyros for lunch – it is kebab style meat, with lettuce, tomato, onion, tzatziki and potato chips rolled in pita bread. We walked past a beautiful church – Paraportiani, on the corner of Little Venice that overlooks the sea and is known as the church of many angles. It is all white and is one of the most photographed churches in Greece, it was truly amazing and you have to see the photos to truly appreciate its beauty.

After our walk around the town, Donnal, Jo, Sheeba and I took the bus to the very popular party spot - Paradise Beach. The beach was full of thatch umbrellas and sun lounges right up to the water’s edge. The water was nice and cool (not too cold) and I was again amazed at how clear the water is around the Islands.
That night for dinner we went to a restaurant that had been recommended by two different people and it was definitely worth it – the food and service was fantastic.

Donnal had gone to a friendly restaurant one day in Athens for lunch and was given a little note with the name of the restaurant in Mykonos and also the name of a waiter – when she handed that to the waiter out the restaurant, he was so happy, he showed it to the other staff there and we were given two extra carafes of wine with dinner and also some watermelon for dessert. My meal was divine - I had sumptuous lamb cooked in the oven with rosemary and potatoes; it was so tender that it melted in my mouth.

After the meal a group of us went out to have a few drinks and enjoy the fun filled atmosphere of Mykonos. We went to the Veranda Bar which was set on the water in Little Venice and overlooked the Windmills. We found some new friends for the night there too, a brother and sister from Canada who are travelling together (I think they were glad to find some other company!), so we all went bar-hopping. The Scandinavian Bar was the best, if we had know, we would have stayed there because the other bars (like the Space Bar) looked great from the outside but were just boring and virtually empty inside.

Greece Trip - Day 4

June 29, 2009 – Syros

This morning we took taxis to the hill top church of St Georges at Anos Syros – the medieval part of the Island, just above the main town and port area. The view from the top of the hill was lovely – it overlooked the port area, the tranquil sea and the tops of churches buildings. We walked down through the jagged streets, between white-wash square houses with blue windows and doors where the locals stepped out of the houses to say hello or “Kalimera”. We came across a very sweet old lady, who showed us the correct path to take to the museum and into the town. This part of the town was so quaint and cute. The main town was also nice, but had the usual touristy feel to it once you got closer to the waterfront streets and shops.

After visiting the port town, we went back to our little village on the other side of the Island and headed straight for the beach. They have umbrellas and sun lounges along the beach, so we took up a lounge and then went straight for a swim in the clear water. The bar took drink orders from out seats and they also had people walking around giving Chinese massages, so I had a leg and foot massage while I lay on the beach under my umbrella. It was such a relaxing, fun filled summers day.

That night for dinner the entire group went to a family run tavern close to the beach. The family were so excited when we arrived and the smiles never dimmed. They were so friendly and welcoming. The son – George, was our waiter, and his mother “Mamma” and wife were the cooks. George’s English was fantastic and we fun chatting to him and telling him how great the food was. The food portions were huge and the flavours were devine – everyone in the group was more than pleased with the food and wine. After our meals, they gave us platters of yoghurt with preserves fruit on top and platters of various plums and apricots from their orchard. We asked for “Mamma” and his wife to come out and we thanked them for such wonderful food and said our goodbyes. We then went to the beachside bar and had some Ouzo to complete our night of Greek traditions. It was a great night and a great beginning to our Greek holiday.

Recipe from Syros:

Aubergines Imam
Ingredients: Aubergines, oil, garlic, onion, puréed tomato, sugar, salt, pepper, potato
Method: Cut the aubergines in 4 and remove the bitterness by soaking them in water. Clean the potatoes and cut into cubes then fry them in oil. Fry the aubergines in the same oil and squeeze a clove of garlic into the pieces. Strain the aubergines and potatoes. Fry the onions, puréed tomatoes, salt, pepper and sugar separately in oil and then add the aubergines and potatoes back into the pan and let the mixture simmer until the sauce blends.