To plan, or not to plan, that is the dilemma we have faced. Earlier in the week, we sketched out a rough plan of what we would do each day whilst here on Alonnisos, but on Monday we were hungry and didn’t want to wait for the evening bus to the Chora, so we changed that plan. On Wednesday, we loved our day on the local town beach, so changed plans again and went back there today.
Its good to have some idea of what you are going to do on your travels, but those plans don’t need to be set in stone. Its only taken a couple of days and we are already operating on “Greek time” – taking things slow, and letting the world wash over you, like the clear, refreshing Aegean sea.
Lunch was simple: bread, breadsticks, fruit and veg picked up fresh that morning, the day was spent reading, swimming or just staring into the vast blue yonder. What plan could better that?
And this evening we did make it back up to the Chora, and enjoyed a wonderful meal, in a lovely – yet not twee – taverna with magnificent sweeping views out to sea. With the vibrant hues of a the setting sun providing the canvas as we awaited the bus for the ten-minute trip back down the hill, it was the perfect and picturesque end to an unplanned day.
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.
This morning we took the bus from the port/harbour (Patitiri) up to the old town, or Chora, (or Hora depending on how you want to turn your Greek into English. My Greek remains limited to a few very basic works, but I am starting to make an effort to at least look at words written in Greek and think how they might be written in the English alphabet, but I digress.)
A ten minute, and 1.80 euro each, bus ride from “town” delivered us to the Chora to be rewarded with magnificent sea views and a charming village of old buildings and cobbled streets tumbling through the town. We spotted a swallows nest, with youngsters big enough soon to fly the nest – perhaps an apt metaphor as we find out tomorrow what our youngest has scored in his final exams and his degree classification.
For all its charm an beauty, the Chora has been touched by tragedy. In 1965 it was hit by an earthquake, with many inhabitants forced to live in tents for two years before being made to move down to the port of Patitri. Life – and residents – have returned to the Chora, but we saw more than one dilapidated building for sale, and one begins to dream ….
More poignantly, we encountered a memorial to 9 citizens of Alonnisos that were put to death in the second world war, an important reminder of man’s inhumanity to man, and must not be forgotten.
The busses to and from the Chora are not frequent, so we walked back to Patitiri down the old donkey path, a wide cobbled path that wound its way down through the countryside. It was a pleasant “amble”, if somewhat hot, and after about 30 mins we stumbled back into town and rewarded ourselves with our first gyros of the trip.
And then we found a new swimming spot. Not the easiest to access, and all surrounded by rock, but there was a ladder to allow you to get into and out of the water. (Although, of course, I found an alternative way into the water …)
Swimming in the infinity of the deep blue sea, surrounded by pine clad cliffs, I was in heaven.
Our first full day in Greece and after a quick swim in “our” pool (our apartment block is owned by the owner of the small hotel opposite, and we have full use of their pool)
we headed, via a bakery for breakfast, to the beach on the inlet parallel to the harbour (we are staying on the top, between the two). As the crow-files, possibly less than 100 metres, but the geography of the island dictated a 10 to 15 minute walk, past some sunflowers
but it was so worth it.
The beach was not big, perhaps 100m wide (?), largely organised (ie covered with sunbeds – 15 euros for a pair and umbrella – and some tavernas, bars and mini-market fringing the beach) but with un-organised space at either end. We found ourselves a rocky jetty to settle down on, and before long I was in the water. It was/is the perfect swimming spot – easy to get in and out, the water crystal clear, getting deep quickly and the cove extended outwards for a couple of hundred metres, flanked by rocky cliffs, topped with green pine trees full of “singing” cicadas. For me, it was perfect.
I found a rock to dive off, and spent quite some time swimming in this idyllic spot. It wasn’t just the perfect water, the surrounding scenery was serene, I loved bobbing around in the water and looking up at the roots of this pine tree, exposed, no do doubt, by some rock fall.
And then, with a loud hoot, a Seajets ferry hoved into view, heading for port in the adjacent harbour: my holy trinity was scored – Sea, sun and Seajet ferries.
We enjoyed a late lunch on the seafront ,
before heading back up the hill, happy and contented after a full dose of Greek medicine. A perfect way to start our latest Greek adventure.
And so another Grecian Odyssey begins – this time two weeks in the Sporades, a group of islands off the east coast of mainland Greece, perhaps most famous for providing the breathtaking backdrop to the film Mama Mia, much of which was filmed on the island of Skopelos (and we shall be paying our due homage to the movie, and the Swedish super-group Abba later on our travels.)
Today, we flew out from Bristol on a surprisingly empty jet (plenty of empty seats), landing on the island of Skaithos some three and a half hours later. Levels of concern did rise a little (a lot in Becky’s case) as everyone else collected their bags and headed off into the sun, whilst we, and one or two other worried souls, were left bag-less as the luggage carousel ground to a stop.
However, our worry was short lived, “oversized” (or, more accurately, mis-shapen) luggage was delivered to a separate door in baggage reclaim, and, a few minutes later we were reunited with our bags. When using hold luggage, we use rucksacks – much easier to negotiate the chaotic, and often, cobbled streets of southern Europe with a bag on your back, than trying to trundle a large suitcase along a busy and bumpy pavement.
We then caught the bus – 5 mins and 3 euros each – into the town/port, were we had a few hours to kill before catching our ferry – a rather sleek looking hydrofoil straight out of a James Bond movie – to our first destination, the island of Alonnisos.
The journey was swift, if a bit “sporty” (aka rough and bumpy) stopping off at a couple of ports on Skopelos before terminating in the calm waters of Patitiri on the island of Alonnisos. It was picturesque and pretty as we climbed a hill (always a hill!) to our accommodation, before heading back into the harbour area to enjoy a delicious Greek meal, before returning “home” and collapsing tired, but happy, into a deep sleep, dreaming of adventures yet to come.
We woke a little worried – the forecast had suggested rain (again!) this morning, but on rising, although the sky was peppered with big grey and white clouds, it wasn’t raining (yet) as we headed out, hopeful in shorts, T-shirts and fleeces (but leaving other coats behind) for breakfast. We chose an indoor setting to eat, and were glad we did as we saw umbrellas open against rain that began to fall. But by the time we had finished, so had the showers, and as the day wore on, the clouds got fewer, and the sun got stronger.
It was a day of wind and sun, which meant finding a sheltered spot and lingering, whether drinking coffee, or eating local pastry delicacies for lunch. We did walk some of the walls of the old town, affording a good view across the roof of the city and to the mountains beyond. Heraklion is not pretty, but it has grown on me over the last 48 hours. Everywhere is better when the sun shines, and today the sun shone and when sheltered from the wind it was very warm in the spring sunshine.
Blue is the colour of Greece, and we enjoyed fifty shades of blue, from sea and sky, to the painted woodwork of classic Greek fishing boats.
The sea, blown by the north wind into a small swell, did not entice me in.
A lone olive tree, against and azure blue sky rising from the infinity of the deep blue sea – the epitome of Greece.
After a couple of days of rain, and cold, we were overjoyed to see the sun shining and the sky blue, and with no definitive plan in mind, we set off to amble around Heraklion. First stop was, of course, coffee; given the city is on the north side of the island, finding a breakfast spot in the sun was not straight forward, but we did and settled down to sup coffee and soak up so sun and warmth.
We then headed through the city and began to stumble on some impressive buildings, like the Cathedral above, before hitting the (old) city walls, turning right, and heading towards the sea, and we began a pleasant stroll along the sea front. Although the sun was warm, there was a stiff breeze blowing in from the north and although we spotted a good, small, swimming beach, I was not to be persuaded to enter the cold looking sea.
We found this driftwood “boat” that I have called “Dignity”. One of my favourite songs – as much for the wonderful lyrics as the tune – is Deacon Blue’s “Dignity” and it was written in Greece (hence the line ‘sipping down raki’)
And then we reached the old fortress and harbour wall, the latter providing shelter from the wind. It is a long, long (too long in Becky’s opinion) harbour wall, and we walked its length in peace and sunshine, the blue sea to one side if us, blue sky above us, and in places along the wall, murals and art work to break the grey concrete facade.
I also read of how Zeus transformed himself into a bull, seduced Europa, and rode with her down to Crete. She bore him three sons, including Minos, who came to rule the island. The lands above Crete were named for her, and that is why Europe is so called.
The mermaid sculpture at the top of this blog post was found halfway along the harbour wall.
Wandering in the sunshine, it was a lovely way to spend the day.
And I’m telling this story In a faraway sea Sipping down raki And reading Maynard Keynes And I’m thinking about home and all that that means And a place in the winter for dignity
After a day wandering the harbours of Piraeus – to be fair, largely killing time, there is not too much to see and do -a delicious final gyros for lunch and packing our rucksacks for the last time (I shan’t miss that, although now have it down to an art form: everything has its place) we set of at circa 6 pm for the 8 minute walk to the metro, to get the tube to the airport (9 euros each, a little over sixty minutes travel) for our flight just before midnight.
Two minutes out from the hotel, my phone blared that I had text. I paused to take a look, and my heart sank: “Sorry your flight is delayed, please check your app for details.” So I did. And my heart sank further – a two hour delay. We decided to press on, leaving Sophie (our daughter back in the UK) to investigate whilst we entered a wi-fi black-spot of the underground. From what she could gather, it was due to air traffic control problems – the outbound jet from Bristol was at the airport, and passengers were called to the gate.
By the time we arrived at the airport – fresh after a comfortable journey – the situation had not improved, and as the clock ticked on, the prognosis worsened – for no discernible reason (to us in Greece, anyway) the jet was not departing Bristol. I was beginning to suspect the flight might be cancelled. At the end of our odyssey, we don’t want to leave Greece, and it looks like Greece doesn’t want us to leave!
However, we still had to go through the motions of checking in our luggage, so I joined the back of the queue, reckoning by the time I reached the front either our aircraft would have left Bristol, or the flight would have been cancelled. Sophie was monitoring the flight on flight radar – as I progressed along the queue she messaged to say the flight status had changed to unknown – that sounded omminus. But a few minutes later, tracking the flight on the map, it began to move along the taxiway at Bristol airprot; progress and hope! As I edged to the front of the queue it was holding before final turn onto the runway threshold. But then it held, and held, and held. My hope began to ebb. I reached the front of the queue, as I looked at my phone to change to my boarding pass I saw the aircraft begin to move, its speed increasing: 40 knots, 70 knots, I couldn’t keep looking as I had to hand in my bags, but I knew she was taking to the air, and the chances of our returning home – albeit late – suddenly looked likely.
As I type, we should be an hour into our flight, but we still have an hour and a half before our (new) expected departure time. But we are coming home. The odyssey ends. Its been wonderful, I have loved every minute and would happily turn the clock back a month and do it all again.
Exharisto, Greece, you have been a wonderful host.
We hadn’t really intended to go into Athens on this trip – we have a couple of nights in the port city/suburb of Piraeus, built into our trip in case there was any problems (weather cancellations) with our ferry before our flight home tomorrow. We’d thought we’d spend a calm day mooching around Piraeus, avoiding Athens in the height of summer. But the hotel staff this morning suggested that there really wasn’t too much to do in Piraeus so we decided to head into Athens.
We hopped on the metro (7 mins from our hotel) which is the end of the line, so no problem bagging seats, and had a comfortable and cool 20 minute trip into the heart of Athens (a return ticket was circa 2.50 euros) and what a good decision it was – Athens was wonderful: not the hot, crowded, dirty, polluted city I had feared. We got of the metro at Monastraki, happened to look up, and saw the Acropolis towering over us from afar!
We headed into the Psirri region, which ended up being my favourite, a chilled, quirky part of the capital – quite probably recently “gentrified”, but still retaining a uniqueness and charm. Street art was in abundance, so Becky was in her element and we spent a couple of hours ambling aimlessly through its streets, taking in the ambience and culture, never feeling threatened or at risk.
We wandered from there through Plaka, and then up to into Anafiotika – a still lived in labyrinth of white houses and tiny alleyways
… and views:
This area was a fortuitous find – we discovered it whilst looking for more street art like this:
Whilst I do like a good story, and history is a great source of many a fantastic tale, neither of us are too much into ancient ruins (although that, perhaps, does not bode well for me: after a day traipsing the hot streets of Athens, I certainly feel like an old ruin) and after lunch, rather than visit Hadrian’s Library, The Agora or other sites of antiquity, we headed over to the Olympic stadium from the birth of the modern Olympics in 1896. The heat was immense, so we didn’t go in, but it was spectacular to look at from outside.
We wondered back through the cool green oasis of the National Gardens, saw Greek soldiers in their “fancy” uniform guarding the Parliament building before sitting down for a refreshing ice cream – it was hot, although I do think that a month “in country” has helped us to acclimatise and cope with the high temperatures in the city: it didn’t feel overwhelmingly hot, but that ice cream was welcome!
I really enjoyed our day out in Athens – it felt like a bonus day and the city itself was much “better” than I had expected. Very different from the laid back nature of the islands, but I’m very glad we went.
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.
