Tag: Ferry

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A Pilgrimage to the past – day 3

Plans!

Having planned our route and itinerary way back in September and October, it was in May that our plans began to unravel. Our route was based on the availability of ferries from one island to another, and accommodation booked to accommodate the days they sailed. But a part of our planning was scuppered by the Lefkada Palace ferry not being granted a licence to operate, creating our first hurdle, how to get off Zakynthos and over to Ithaca.

Instead of hopping on a ferry in Zante town a=on Saturday morning, sitting on a ferry for a couple of hours and arriving on Ithaca, the only solution I could find was to get an evening ferry from Agios Nikolaos in northern Zante on Friday night, then a taxi across Kefalonia, stay a night in Sami, before catching a 30 minute ferry to Ithaca the next day.

To add to our difficulties, I could find no bus to take from Zante town to the port, so a 60 euro taxi looked liked the only option. But once we’d landed in Zante I made two key discoveries: starting this week, there were two busses a day from Zante town to the port, to coincide with the two, not one, ferries to Kefalonia – there was also a morning sailing from Zante to Kefalonia but Fotolife some reason this does not show on any electronic ticket booking platform.

Anyway, it was up with the sparrows (6am alarm) for a 30 minute schlep – ladden with our heavy packs – across the habour in Zante town (of course, the bus stop was the other end from where we were satying)

But it was beautiful, serene and calm,

before catching the bus to the port. It was only the two of us on the bus, it was air conditioned and we got to see some of north Zakynthos which looked beautiful, and possibly worthy of a return visit in the future

We arrived in the port ten minutes before our ferry, persuaded the crew to let us use our tickets for the night time sailing, and soon we were on our way to Kefalonia

When we first realised our plans needed to change it was a disappointment, but we enjoyed a simple crossing to a new island (for one night only!) and then had a lovely afternoon in Karavomylos on the outskirts of Sami, ending the day with a picnic on the beach outside our apartment.

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The Sunny Sporades – day 4

Engineering

Over the years, we’ve come to learn that shade is a vital commodity on the beach and would typically buy a beach umbrella when we first arrived in country, use it for our holidays, before leaving it behind in our accommodation, hoping that the next occupants may use it.

For our last few trips, however, we have taken our umbrella with us, packed in the bag along with my rucksack for the flight (although this does mean it needs to go in oversize luggage with the added risk it doesn’t make it smoothly to your destination as happened on our flight here ) Today, loaded up like a pack horse with normal beach stuff, plus the umbrella, and a couple of chairs, we headed of to the town beach for the day.

It is a beach that has captured my heart …

but was a stoney beach and, with a bit of a breeze, some serious engineering was needed to secure the umbrella. A couple of years ago, we bought a “screw in anchor” for the umbrella pole – great for sandy beaches, less so for stone, so some excavation to place to bury this as far as possible (not far!) and then build a base of rocks up around it. But my real achievement came three weeks ago one Sunday morning back in England. Thinking ahead, I used jubilee clips and plastic tie wraps to create a couple of loops on the poles – we took a reel of ribbon with us on holiday and were able to create guy ropes for the umbrella, secured by a couple of big rocks. As the wind got up, the umbrella fluttered in the breeze but stayed anchored in spot all day. I must say, I was rather pleased with (and rather enjoyed) my civil engineering first thing in the morning!

Chuffed with my efforts, I went for a swim in the clear waters. Whilst I explored the bay, Becky built a tower of stones …

Having been bitten by the engineering bug, I thought I, too, could build my own tower, so I did …

With gyros on the beach for a (late) lunch, it was a lovely chilled day on the beach

before ambling back through town – stopping for coffee and ice cream – on our way back to the apartment. A shower later, we headed back into town for a meal and as we returned to our room for the final time we (well, I) took the opportunity to get up close and personal with a Seajets ferry docked up overnight.

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A Greek Odyssey – day 29

A slow boat to China Athens

This afternoon we left our final island – Syros- and took a slow boat to Piraeus, the port of Athens. Not being in any great rush to get to the city we had taken the cheaper option of sailing on Blue Star Ferries – Blue Star Paros – a big, old fashioned roll on roll off car ferry rather than the sleek and swift catamarans of Seajets and Fast Ferries. The journey was fine, and certainly didn’t seem like four hours. Once we were on the boat, we did regret our super economy tickets (pretty much down in the bowels of the boat, with an oar each. I jest, of course. We were entitled to roam the middle and upper decks, sitting on cafe chairs, or plastic patio chairs) and found some super comfy “airline seats” that hadn’t been occupied. We sat in them, and waited to see if anyone would come and claim these numbered seats, they didn’t. There was then an announcement that you could upgrade your seats, so I went to see the Purser and for 14 Euros each we could claim our seats for the whole trip, I paid up, and we settled down to enjoy the trip. No-one subsequently came to check our tickets, we needn’t have paid the money, but for peace of mind and comfortable bottoms, it was worth it.

Arriving in Piraeus was a bit of a culture shock – after 4 weeks of chilling on various Greek islands, taking life at a leisurely pace, the noise, bustle and speed of this port city was an assault on the senses. It is a different world to the one we have lived of late – bright lights, rushing people and unforgiving traffic. We have a couple of days here, we will enjoy it but, I think, perhaps not as much as the sedentary island life of Sifnos, Syros et al.

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A Greek Odyssey – day 22

Thunder, but no wind

Thunder approaches!

Today we moved on from Antiparos (via Paros) to our next (and final ) island destination of Syros. Our ship for the journey was Fast Ferries “Thunder” – a magnificent vessel that took us swiftly and smoothly to our new home in less than two hours, including a stop to download and upload more passengers on Mykonos.

As ever, boarding was controlled mayhem – Paros as a port is busy, busy, busy (having arrived in the port about two hours before we were due to sail, we sat in a waterfront taverna for brunch, and I thoroughly enjoyed myself watching a fleet of ferries arrive and depart. When it was our turn to board we now know what to expect, strap on our packs, join the queue and head up the ramp when directed to do so. It is a great way to travel.

As one Blue Star Ferries ship departed, another arrived!

Ever since we landed in Santorini, a fairly stiff breeze has blown – good for making the heat bearable, not so good for stirring up the sea. Today, though, for the first time in three weeks there has been no wind. That made our crossing super smooth, with the sea as calm as a mill-pond, but it did mean that when we docked in Syros it was hot, hot, hot. After checking in to our apartment, we eventually dragged ourselves away from the air conditioning and went to explore the town – for 2 nights we are staying in the port/capital Ermoupoli, before we cross the island for our final five days. Bigger, and not so tourist dependent than anywhere else we have been, it is a pretty town, but with an architecture more Venetian than the whitewashed Greek houses we have encountered so far.

In the evening, at 7.30pm, we caught the free “mini bus” (mini because the journey is small, not the size of the bus) up to Ano Syros – a town on the hill overlooking the capital. I think everyone else had the same idea as the bus was packed (good job it wasn’t a minibus as we think of them) but after 10 minutes of standing we de-bussed in Ano Syros. But this wasn’t the end of the trip – we then had stairs, lots and lots of stone stairs to climb to the top and visit the classic cathedral atop the hill. If I’m honest, Ano Syros, and its cathedral are probably better seen from afar – when you are in the cramped, cobbled streets you can’t really see to appreciate its beauty. But as we descended from the top, we did see a magnificent view across the domed roof of another church, looking out to the calm sea, and surrounding islands, in the late evening haze. It was beautiful.

Rather than play sardines in the bus to come down the hill, we decided to walk back to our apartment – circa 15 minutes, all downhill, but some of the stairs were punishing on ageing knees! As the sun had set, the temperature had dropped to a manageable level and before long we were back in our apartment, wondering where the day (and night) had gone.

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A Greek Odyssey – day 16

Farewell Sifnos, Yassou Antiparos

This morning it was time to leave Sifnos, and head for our next stop of Anti Paros. Shortly before 9 am, we boarded our last Seajets ship of our journey – Super Jet – for the 50 minute hop to Paros. This vessel was smaller than the previous two we had travelled on, and was foot passenger only, no vehicles. Since our arrival in Santorini a couple of weeks ago, the wind has blown and I will confess to having Googled wind speeds and ferry crossings, and was a little concerned to read that smaller vessels are more likely to be cancelled than larger craft and I figured if we were to hit a snag in our travel plans, it would be this crossing. However, for the last few days, I’ve seen this ship arrive and depart twice a day from Sifnos, so I was confident we would sail today and, bang on time, she docked in Sifnos, and we boarded ready for our journey.

However, a few minutes out of the safety of harbour we could see, and very soon felt, the swell in the sea, often the waves capped with white horses. It was a somewhat bumpy journey – I can now see why these ferries do get cancelled in bigger seas – and we were all happy to reach the sanctuary of Paros port, where we disembarked. However, before we could do so, I had to find our bags from under a pile of luggage – in part I don’t think it was stowed well in the first place, but also it had been thrown around during the choppy journey.

And that still wasn’t the end of the road for us, we still had to get to Anti Paros.

A little disconcertingly, as we walked off the ferry I saw I sign that said ferries to Antiparos were cancelled due to the weather/sea state, however these were the direct ferries from Paros port to Antiparos, we had always planned on getting the bus to Pounda, and then getting a ferry from there. Asking around, it seemed that those ferries were still running, but we had just missed a bus, and needed to wait an hour for the next bus. We went to a cafe and had a coffee and cake (the most expensive so far 5.50 euros for a coffee!), and watched in a mix of awe and horror as big ferry, after big ferry, after big ferry arrived in the port, disgorging ever more passengers. Paros port was heaving, crowded and chaotic and we were glad when we finally boarded our bus, and then the next ferry (7 minute crossing, 1.50 euro each) to the relative calm of Antiparos, and our new home in Pavlos’ Place.

We had a little explore, I had a swim in a sea that Becky described as more like Cornwall than Greece (but the sea was much warmer) and in the evening we headed out for something to eat. Following (another) delicious meal, our plan was to have a quick wander before returning to our apartment, but as we walked it became clear something was happening at the church by the port.

It transpires that today – July 15th – marks the start of the three day festival of Agia Marina in Antiparos. There was a big church service (the church isn’t big, many people were outside its whitewashed walls) and big chunks of bread were being handed out to anyone who wanted them. They were cut from large circular loaves (circa 50 cm in diameter) – we had seen a couple being carried in the street earlier in the day. Then there was music and dancing on a stage – we stayed to watch a group of school children dance to a Greek language version of Bella Ciao. And literally as I type, the sky has just lit up with a magnificent display of fireworks. A surprising end to an eventful day!

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A Greek Odyssey – day 15

… and relax.

Today, we didn’t venture far, deciding instead to simply cross the road to “our” beach, hire a couple of sunbeds and umbrella (15 euros for the set for the day) and relax. We are now about mid-way through our greek adventure and this is the first day that we have done very little. It was quite refreshing to do very nothing other than lie back, read, have a little snooze, and then plop into the sea when the mood took you. The weather remains hot (its been around 30 all trip) but the wind is quite strong – most of the time this is refreshing and keeps the temperature bearable – perfect almost – but at times it gusts and anything not weighed down is whipped away, and any exposed flesh sandblasted by sand blown across the beach. On balance, the wind has been a good thing, but it has, at times, been menacingly strong.

And a day spent on our beach has given me ample opportunity to indulge in my new hobby of ferry spotting. I have enjoyed getting to know the schedules and the different ferries, and watch them dock in the port on the end of our beach. Seajets Champion Jet 2 is definitely my favourite, a magnificent vessel best seen head on, when it looks like some futuristic vessel from a ’50s sci-fi movie. It is the ferry we travelled to Sifnos on, tomorrow we leave the island headed for Paros (and then Anti Paros) aboard the much smaller Seajets Super Jet 2. It will be a shame to leave Sifnos – we both love the island – but new horizons await.

^^^ As the sun sets, the ’50’s sci-fi craft Champion Jet 2 heads into port, shortly after Super Jet headed off into to the sunset, en-route for Paros and beyond.

^^^ Another ferry spotted today – definitely not Super Jet 2!

p.s. Like us – it’s (football) not coming home. Last night, England lost 2-1 to Spain in the Euro 24 final.

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A Greek Odyssey- day 11

New horizons – Sifnos

This morning we bade farewell to Milos – an island we both enjoyed, and would be happy to return to – and sailed to Sifnos, a fifty minute journey aboard Champion Jet 2. Once again, there was no scope for dilly dallying around, as soon as the sleek, futuristic looking ferry docked, we were boarding, and cast off into the blue horizon within minutes. Another comfortable and quick ferry journey, and it felt like that no sooner had we set sail than we were docking in the port of Kamares – our home for the next five days on the island of Sifnos. We arrived at the same time as another, much larger, ferry and passengers and vehicles from both vessels disgorged at the same time and as we strode forth of the boat we passed a long, very long, line of passengers waiting to embark on the two ships. Once again, competence masqueraded as chaos – like everything Greek, it just works, even if to the north-western European eye it looks like it possibly can’t!

Our room at the Aphrodite Hotel was ready, so we hot-footed it across the bay – struggling under the weight of our rucksacks (both of us asking ourselves what we didn’t really need to bring), checked in and headed out for a quick explore …

… and bite to eat, including the most delicious Greek salad I’ve eaten all trip (and I’ve had a few – none of them bad)

The island, and this resort, is pretty and whilst it has all that we need – tavernas, a mini-mart, comfortable, clean accommodation – it does seem years away (behind) the instagram glamour of Santorini. As the sun began to set, we headed up a small hill (not effortlessly, I was carrying an enormous meal in my belly after a very persuasive taverna owner encouraged me to try a range of local dishes – I wasn’t to sure about the chick pea soup, but he was insistent, I’m glad he was as it turned out to be delicious) to a small church to take in the view across the bay in the fading, colour changing light. Very pretty, and very peaceful, the odyssey continues.

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A Greek Odyssey – day 9

Kimolos calling – a mini-hop

Today we did a “mini-hop” taking the ferry from Milos to neighbouring Kimolos, and back again. To make the journey we had to get the bus to Pollonia on the north-east tip of Milos, then take a ferry across to Kimolos. We were foot passengers, but the ferry also took cars and motorbikes, but it was a much more sedate affair – both whilst loading and sailing – than our Seajets ferry from Santorini.

On arrival in Kimolos we gathered our bearings and walked up to the Chora (a chora is the main village on a Greek island) and Kimolos’ chora was as pretty as any we have seen. In some areas, behind the whitewashed facade, the buildings were tumbling down, long abandoned as locals will have left the island, but elsewhere the buildings were in good repair and typically charming, an example of the tourist dollar doing some good – we both fell in love with Kimolos and may well return at some point in the future – it will be interesting to see how the island develops, but for now it is perfect.

On our way up to the Chora we spied a lot of cacti, and then noticed it growing wild as far as the eye could see. It seemed to be a theme on the island and we spoke – well gestured – with a lovely old local man who spoke no English (and I (as of now, but have resolved to correct this) speak no Greek) who, I think, grows the cacti, and they use them on the island as an antiseptic when you have a cut but, like many plant growers the world over, he was lamenting a lack of rain. At least I think that is what he said! Anyway, he was a smiley, happy man, and all the locals we encountered seemed happy and friendly.

After a while exploring the Chora …

… we headed back down the hill to the beach (rema beach) in the cove next to the port, and it is a new favourite of mine, eclipsing the moon beach of yesterday. The water was turquoise and crystal clear, and the beach fringed by colourful fisherman caves carved into the rock. Some are still untouched, other than by sea, wind and sun, but a handful have been renovated into small air b’n’b accommodation.

I went for a little explore around the bay, and wondered if it would be possible to jump of this bridge:

… it wasn’t (the water wasn’t deep enough for a safe jump from that height) so instead I swam under the bridge and discovered a sea cave that extended for, say, 20 metres, under the cliff face, the roof of the cave getting ever lower, but never reaching the level of the water. Although the sea in the bay was calm, there was the odd gentle wave and the noise – the boom – as they bounced off the back wall of the cave was something to hear. I will confess, on my first exploration, as the sunlight diminished and darkness developed as I got further and further into the cave, I heard the boom of a wave against the wall and I saw the swell begin to return in my direction, I did allow my imagination to create a leviathan stirring, a kraken awakening, and swimming swiftly from the gloom to take me, the latest foolhardy soul to venture into its realm, as its prey. I beat a hasty exit, pleased to emerge into the glorious sunshine. (Later in the day, having rationalised the sounds and sights of the cave, I headed back in to conquer my fears. I am here, writing this blog, so, for today, at least, rational thought has won over myth and mystery.)

After a wonderful and relaxing day (other than encounters – real or otherwise – with creatures from the deep) we caught the ferry back to Milos, having found a new favourite place.

(For info, the ferry runs from Pollonia on Milos to Psathi on Kimolos, taking about 25 minutes to make the crossing, which cost 2.80 euros each, one way, as foot passengers. I don’t know the cost of a car, but think it was less than 5 euros. The ferries ran fairly regularly, with a hiatus in the afternoon. The ferry timetable can be found here: https://kimolos-link.gr/en/dromologia-osia-methodia/ )

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A Greek Odyssey – day 5

All change

Today we made our first “hop” on our island hopping adventure, leaving Santorini and heading for Milos. The two islands are two and a half hours apart by ferry, but a world apart in what they offer.

We’ve pre-booked all our ferries for this trip (I think we booked them back in February) and checking in and getting our tickets could not have been easier: 48 hours before we were due to sail, check in opened, I logged onto the “Ferries in Greece” website (we booked our tickets through them) filled in a quick form (my name and booking number) and our e-tickets were emailed to us. Simple. In true “dad” style, I made sure we arrived at the port in plenty of time – about 2 hours early! – found our loading gate, and sat and waited. I watched a couple of other ferries come and go, and then it was our turn …

It may look hap-hazard and chaotic, but it wasn’t – it was well practised cattle herding and it worked. We were released from our holding pen (the check in gate) and shouted at, whistled at and gesticulated at and some five to six hundred foot passengers were shepherded onto the ship in minutes, and we were sailing before we’d even dropped off our bags in the hold (different zones for different final destinations.)

(Becky has told me that I must now always wear my bright pink t-shirt on days that we sail, so that she can quickly pick me out in the crowd!)

As a boy, we used to regularly cross the English channel by ferry, and I remember roaming these giant ships, often going on deck for fresh air to settle my stomach and fend of sea-sickness; with this in mind, I had visions of taking to the deck, enjoying the wind in my hair and the sun on my back as we sailed over blue seas and past islands rising from the water, so I was a little disappointed to learn that you couldn’t go on deck, you couldn’t go outside at all during the trip. But everyone had an allocated seat (although Becky and I were seated in front and behind, not next to, each other) and although we were in economy class, the seats were spacious and comfy, a very pleasant trip, and I even managed a short snooze before the stern doors were lowered and we were herded off the ship into Ademas port on the island of Milos.

And first impressions are very favourable – what we have seen of Milos so far is picturesque and charming, a typical Greek harbour with beautiful water, bustling yet relaxed at the same time, a very pretty place. I think I will enjoy our time here.

(And for the record, just to place this day in time, we woke this morning to the results of the general election (we had voted by post before we left home) – delighted to see change and a new hope. And who knows, perhaps now we can take our first tentative steps as a country to returning to Europe: believe me, things are better here than at home)