Milos Magic

It seems like we saved the best for last. We arrived at Milos Island around midnight from Naxos. It was a 6 hour plus ferry ride, stopping at Ios, Sikilos, Folegrandos, Kimolos and then Milos. Even though our accommodation was only a reasonably short distance away, we didn't fancy walking in the dark hauling cases at that hour of night. There were taxis aplenty at the port all happy to take your money. As usual,  no meter was started and some random guy jumped in the front - supposedly he knew the driver. Comfortable accommodation about a 10 minute walk from the port and very quiet at night. 

Caramelising our dessert

View from our restaurant - first dinner Milos

Free liqueurs (Mastica) and free dessert---yum!

We booked a sunset cruise on board a catamaran which was a wonderful experience, enabling us to see a part of the island only accessible by boats. Arriving at the designated collection point, we realised pretty quickly that we were the oldest by at least 35 years. 

We swam in these beautiful waters - swimming through the cave

My titanic shot!

Adrian and I were very amused by the young women on board the catamaran with us, unashamedly posing for photos, preening themselves to maximise "the look" -  lying just so on the net, undoing their gorgeous locks to make sure they were sitting just right over their shoulders and with perfect pouts, they were ready for today's Instagram shot. Adrian suggested I do a Titanic. Having neither the gorgeous locks nor the voluptuous boobs, this was the best I could come up with. Given my spectacular disaster when leaving Santorini, I was tempting fate - might have catapulted off the tramp into the Aegean!

Posing "unashamedly"

Bear Rock

Food and wine were provided and even a Mojito offered and accepted as the sun went down on a spectacular day.

Summer Solstice Sunset

And then I hit the deck! ...so what happened? 

On my way across the asphalt leading to the entrance to the huge ferry with more than a thousand other travellers leaving Santorini, hauling or carrying luggage of varying sizes, I tripped on uneven ground. I did a total face plant, ripping flesh off several knuckles, wrists, palms and my upper lip and bruising both knees. It was awful and left me very shaken up. As the Greek ferries don't hang around long,  we were ushered into the gaping maw of the ferry and escorted via the lift to our seats. But, I am grateful that I did not break any bones. 

[Adrian's account: I was walking across the area where the trucks park before they drive onto the ferry when Fran, who was just in front of me took a dive onto the tarmac.  After retrieving her suitcase (which had been scattered in the fall), I helped her up. She had blood on her face and hands.  She was very shaken up and shaking and a passing passenger recognised that she was in shock and gave her a sugar lolly.  The lady in charge of loading the ferry calmed us down, summoned a crew member to help us and he ushered us onto the ferry, up a service lift to our seats.  Incredibly, Adrian was able to find handkerchiefs for the blood (later discarded), some ice for her swollen lip and some Betadine, anti-bacterial cream and band-aids to perform some basic first aid. During the ferry ride Fran was able to recover from her rather delicate emotional state.] 

We were met by George (of course) at Naxos port two hours later and transferred to our hotel - Hotel Grotta - barely 5 minutes away. This is a small family run hotel with a reputation for great service and amazing breakfasts - known as Mama's breakfast. She must be a very busy Mama. The photos don't do justice to the diverse food on offer. 

The kindness and warmth of the owners at this small hotel in Naxos has been immeasurable. The mother Catiana who greeted us, when told of my accident, immediately offered wine from the family vineyard...wonderful. The next morning one of the adult daughters greeted me with "are you alright?" Then proceeded to give me gluten free bread, snack biscuits, small cake and brownie. This morning, she gave me even more GF food.  I had previously advised them of my dietary needs. 

We have hired a car to see more of the island, exploring the beaches on the SW coast on our first day and today we embarked on a tour of some of the most charming villages in the mountainous areas of the island - Halki, Filoti, Aperanthos, Moni and lastly to a distillery established in 1896, which makes kitron, a speciality lemon-like liqueur only produced on this island.

We had front row seats for some drama in Filoti whilst enjoying a cold coffee under the plane trees at "Taverna Platanos' along with some of the locals. A policeman appeared, complete with a very loud whistle, and proceeded to shoo away any cars that threatened to park on either side of the street near the tavern. He had his work cut out for him. It was quite comical to watch and we thought someone important must be arriving. Sure enough a black Audi appeared with two other cars in tow and out stepped several glamorous looking Greeks. One very attractive lady then proceeded to the cafe, complete with her minder, to shake hands with the locals. And then on to other nearby cafes to do the same. The three old Greek men at the table next to us were nonplussed when she shook their hands, one by one, but were rather more pleased when the accompanying paparazzi wanted to take their picture.  

She totally ignored us as we wouldn't be voting.  Of course they were politicians with the Greek elections only 5 days away. I just happened to be waiting to go to the bathroom when one of the politician stepped out. I gave her my best smile, complete with scab on upper lip and said "Kalimera" and extended my hand to be shaken. She responded "Kalimera" and then shaking my hand (2 handed Poli-like shake) and touching my arm,  made a rather long comment also in Greek. We think she was probably saying "What the hell happened to your lip"? Or maybe she saw my swollen lip and said, "Please don't smile". 

Three politicians

Three policeman

And several minders and paparazzi

The village of Filoti

Little church high up in the mountains at a crossroad

View from the little church

Suffice to say that our excursions around the island to see some of the traditional villages and way of life would not be possible unless Adrian was willing to drive. 

Our hotel room has a great view of the doorway (portaro) of the Temple of Apollo - an iconic symbol of Naxos - which stands on a small island joined to the town by a short causeway. The tyrant Lygdamis started building it in the 6th century BC, but it was never completed. 

It is wonderful to see sunset on the summer solstice from our hotel as we did tonight whilst enjoying a glass of wine. 

Iconic image of Naxos - Portaro of the Temple of Apollo

82 Steps

We enjoyed our three night stay in Santorini, staying in Firostefani. It is further up the rim of the caldera by a 5 minute walk from Fira, the main town, where cruise ships disgorge thousands of tourists each day. We had an errand to run in Fira the day we arrived for my friend Ann to find Nic the jeweller. Weeks before we left home, Ann had lost one of her favourite earrings which she had previously bought here. Using Google maps we navigated the narrow streets of Fira, full of shops and stuffed with travellers, in search of a replacement earring. We eventually found Nic 

Our little apartment was very comfortable, adjacent to the pool, with a small hot tub. Our glutes got a workout every time we went anywhere as there were 82 steps to climb. And that was just the beginning - steps up and down everywhere on Santorini.

We had planned a quiet time here, recharging our batteries, sitting by the pool, eating, drinking and admiring the views. And sitting by the pool was very relaxing.

Enjoying a cuppa and the view

However, on our first full day we decided to take a "stroll" after breakfast and ended up walking 10 km up and down steps and paths, gravel, rocky and in parts, paved, all the way to Oia. On seeing the white township way in the distance, Adrian commented "we're not walking there". But we did and it was really interesting allowing many different views of the island. 

Oia-  the white area at the tip of the island

Maybe halfway

Along the way at some high vantage points, we saw several models being photographed dressed in glamorous gowns with metres of material in striking colours. No hair dryer was required to get the "gusty" look. The wind took care of that!

Fortunately we started relatively early and it took us 2.5 hours. The entrance to the top part of Oia has an attractive wide paved pedestrian zone which became congested as the streets narrowed and the throngs of tour groups clustered. So we jumped on a local bus and headed back to our digs. 

It seems that white is the designated colour to be worn on Santorini to emulate the whiteness of the surrounds. Lots of shops sell white goddess-like gowns with the Greek symbols embroidering the neck or waistlines. I didn't get one!

Ventured to the public bus terminal on day 2 to grab a bus to Perissa Beach, one of the famous black sand beaches of Santorini, laden with all the requisite paraphernalia . Chaos reigned at the terminal, with buses reversing and people milling everywhere. Neither the ticket seller nor the drivers could tell us which bus of 6 parked there was going to Perissa. Unfortunately on arrival at the beach, it started to rain. As we wandered along the beach café strip we stopped to look at a menu and the spruiker seized his chance. “Do you like wine?...Come in, we give you two free glasses” That, with the increasing rain, sealed the deal. Then as we were getting ready to go they presented us with another two free glasses of wine!! A brief reprieve from the weather allowed a short stop on the black sand, before rain sent us into another café for a hot coffee. 

Lunchtime view at Perissa Beach

As mentioned, we have been enjoying the Greek wine., both red and white.  One I really enjoyed and remembered from Persephone, our walking guide in Athens, was a red from Santorini, called Mavrotragano…delicious and full bodied.

Last dip in the pool at Agnadema apartments

There is no denying that the views on Santorini are stunning, and we are glad that we have seen it, but we  are happy to move on to our next destination - Naxos Island, the largest island in the Cyclades - and hopefully a slower pace. The delightful porter, Guiliano, from our apartments,  carried our suitcases to the top of the 82 steps, hoisting one on his shoulder and the other in his hand. He certainly deserved the tip we gave him, having also carted them down the 82 steps a few days earlier. 

If we thought the bus terminal was chaotic, the port was worse. But after the trucks and cars were loaded, it was time for the thousands of passengers to load, streaming across the asphalt pulling and carrying their luggage.

All was going well and then I hit the deck!

 

 

Who invented Lego?

Delphi and Meteora were both wonderful sites to visit, but again involved climbing into the heavens. We have learnt that Greece is a very mountainous country, involving extensive travel between the various historical tourist attractions. Whilst we prefer independent travel, a bus tour on the mainland allowed Adrian to enjoy the countryside, rather than focus on hair raising traffic and winding roads. 

Delphi was very impressive, although no hot water at the hotel for any of the guests at the commencement of the day was not so impressive. Getting to Delphi involved a steep ascent. Just when we thought the road could go no higher, there was another turn. We were in awe of George, our driver. 

Lower site at Delphi - function of the round building is unknown

Much of the information given us in Greece has focussed on mythology and the gods and goddesses,  their power and the respect Greeks had for them. We learnt about the Delphi oracle. The"Pythia" (oracle) would be seated next to a hole in the ground inside the Temple of Apollo from which vapours would arise. She would chew on olive leaves and go into a trance-like state and start chanting gibberish. Priests would act as "interpreters", conveying the meaning of the Oracle’s pronouncements to those seeking answers to their questions, giving them guidance in their future decision making. They would return to their homes to make some sense of what they'd been told.  A lot of the mythology helped the Greeks explain the world in which they lived. 

Above the Temple of Apollo

Treasury house at Delphi

At one of the sites at Delphi we have proof that the Danes did not invent Lego in 1932 as described in Google, but it was the Greeks in the 4th century BC. 

Ancient Lego

 

Then on to the plains of Thessaly which lead to the celestial heights of Meteora. Adrian experienced motion sickness at the top, feeling dizzy from being so high. The monasteries would normally be peaceful places to visit but with busloads of tourists cheek by jowl in the very small interior spaces, albeit retaining the appropriate sense of respect, it wasn’t very serene. The artwork was stylised and portrayed some very graphic and brutal scenes. Barbaric times!  And within a small ornate chest inside a cabinet was displayed the top part of the skull of St.John the Baptist…supposedly. For those who know their bible, he lost his head at the hands of Salome.  The gardens were beautiful though and the views absolutely stunning. How could they build those monasteries up there? Originally there were 24 but now only 6 remain, where nuns or monks reside. 

Monastery at Meteora

Hanging on for grim death

The rocks of Meteora

Taking time to smell the roses

We met some really nice people on the bus tour including two young French couples. They were very interested to hear about our previous travels in their country and it gave me further opportunity to practise my French. We also met a couple from New York and two young Mums from San Diego travelling in Greece, whilst their husbands looked after the children. 

 

It was a long ride back to Athens on the last day. En route, we learnt that a protest was planned in Syntagma Square less than 100 metres from our hotel. Things were heating up as the bus tried to get us as close to our hotel as possible and we saw police armed with protective shields. Not sure of the reason for the protest but we think it was related to the ship going down with African refugees off the coast of Greece, apparently headed for Italy. Suffice to say the roads were closed and we had to haul the suitcases the last 200 metres past the square where a crowd had gathered with loudspeakers blaring, just prior to the scheduled start of the protest. We headed out for dinner and saw another crowd approaching with banners and loud speakers, chanting their protests. We didn’t stick around to see what happened when they met up! Maybe on the same side,  but who knows?

 

Instead we had an enjoyable last meal in Athens with a view of the Acropolis and seated adjacent to the Ancient Agora and were treated to some fabulous Greek music – Guitar and Bazouki. The Bazouki player was brilliant, fingers moving so fast. Some spontaneous dancing from two women from Cyprus who were dining at the restaurant, was good to watch. 

We saw again one of the French couples from the tour and they stopped to eat where we were dining. They made a point of bringing their glasses of wine to our table to say "cheers'  and on bidding them Adieu afterwards, they enveloped each of us in a three cheek kiss. And we didn't even know their names. Such a pleasure to meet such lovely people. 

 

Today the sun is shining and we have arrived in Santorini.  The next 12 nights will be spent on three islands in the Cyclades and we expect it to be very relaxing.

En route to dinner

Sunset in Santorini from our restaurant