Greece

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Athens city of history and birth of civilization. We had heard so many stories about Athens and Greece--dirty, unfriendly, broke no services crime demonstrations work stoppages. Well none of that was true during our visit to this historic and ancient city. The graffiti is bad and you notice it from the time the train leaves the airport on your trip into the center of the city. However the airport is efficient clean and easy to navigate and we had no problem locating the train platforms, we did have help from very friendly local Athenians. Upon arriving at Symntagna square we then hailed a local yellow cab to complete our journey to our hotel.

Our first night we ventured a few blocks from the hotel and found a great Italian restaurant and of course the ever present Greek salad and Pizza.

We decided on our first day to do a 4 hour walking tour that included the Acropolis high on the hill above the city. This was a very wise move and gave us a good overview of the city not to mention dipping our psyche into Greek mythology and history. You cannot hear about their history without mythology being a part of that history. I would not be surprised to learn that some Greeks still believe that a mythical god will appear and save them from their current financial dilemma. The Acropolis and the Temple of Zeus are amazing structures to view and you wonder how did they do this so long ago. However then you remember that it was done over decades and centuries and it all comes into focus. Day two was dedicated to a self guided walking tour and a visit to the Ancient Agoura (City), which contains the oldest and most preserved temple in the world and a replica of the original parliament building. We also took in the local Mercado with all the smells and vistas of animals and fish and their inner working parts now exposed to tempt a local to serve in tonight’s dinner. Every city in Europe has this market to some degree and Athens might be at the top of the list for the extensive list of exotica. Tonight is a roof top dinner with views of the Acropolis and then preparation for our 7:30 boat departure to the island of Santorini and it’s white washed house and blue domes and of course legendary sunsets.

Saying good bye to Athens at 6:30 this morning we taxied to the Port of Piraeus and Hellenic Seaways ferry to Santorini. This was a fast boat 5-½ hours instead of 9 and a very smooth enjoyable transit. Families with small children, elderly couples and a small amount of tourists mostly locals and the most surprising passenger, the dogs, every shape and size and the outside decks had built in kennels or they were leashed and roamed the aisles and decks with their owners. Barking dogs, laughing children and happy talkative Greeks. Talking not limited to each other but to loved ones miles away via the ever present cell phone. Alas no WIFI on the boat but we don’t need to be connected 24/7 or do we?

Santorini an island born from a volcanic eruption where one side of the island, the most picturesque and beautiful, overlooks the volcanic caldera and the white towns with their blue domes hang on the edge of the caldera and the blue Aegean sea below. This is picture postcard heaven and every turn is a new and what seems to be an even better picture. We stayed in Oia (EE YA) in the Caldera Villas and awoke every morning with the sun peeking over the edge of the caldera and the blue Aegean. We share this little town with the cruise ship people. Who arrive in the morning, then take the boat tender to the port and wait in line to ride the gondola up the side of the caldera to Fira town and then bus over to Oia to scurry thru the shops and meet their bus that afternoon to repeat the process in order to set sail from Santorini in the late afternoon.

We are here for 5 nights and on the 3^rd day rented a Smart Car, have always wanted to drive one since 2002 when we first saw them in Italy. So off around the island we went, black beach, red beach, white beach, all very gravelly and no sand but beautiful. We wanted to visit the ancient ruins of Akotiri but they were closed. We did manage to take some wrong turns however the island is small enough that you are never lost. We finished the day in Fira and cruised the local shops and Cathedral. Of course this was afternoon and the returning cruisers were ever present. The morning of our 4^th day we decided that a walk to a small church high above Oia was in order so started out early and we were greeted by the rising sun and the myriad of dogs that belong to the community and are fed and cared for by the locals. The 2 hour walk was very enjoyable and made even more so by the cappuccino and latte that waited for us at the Mezzo Café. We attribute finding the Mezzo to our new friend from Amsterdam, Leah, who we met the first night we visited the western tip of Oia to view the sunset. Sunsets!! This is the main activity in Santorini and everyone has their favorite spot to view the golden orb falling into the blue Aegean. It is great people watching as they scramble for the perfect place to view this daily occurrence, we were both watchee and watcher for sure and it is most fun.

We depart on the Greek Orthodox Easter, with its own customs and events. The first one you notice is that at Easter Eve Midnight they not only ring every bell of every church on the island but pyrotechnics become the event of the night. We have experienced fireworks as experienced at our own 4^th of July celebrations. However here it is not just the aerial explosions but the use of what appeared as home made IED’s. The explosions were deafening and that is all there was, no bright colors or star bursts only the bed shaking bang of a large explosion. Thankfully we had been warned by our inn keeper but we were still shaken from our bed at midnight.

Easter Sunday and we are on Sea Jets fast ferry to Piraeus (Athens Port) where we will change boats to our next destination the island of Hydra (EE-DRA). Upon arrival at the Santorini port we observed the crew of another ship cooking their Easter dinner. This consisted of a full lamb being rotated on a spit over open coals that were in a 50 gallon oil drum cut in half.

With 4 hours to kill at the port of Piraeus we decide to put our bags in storage and take the metro into the city for a late lunch. A smooth 20 minute ride and we are in the middle of the city below the Acropolis. Since it is Easter many of the shops are closed but the restaurants are active with the lamb turning on the spit over the open coals so lunch was had. Our hydra foil, The Flying Dolphin departs on time and our first stop is the island of Poros and of course the bombs are bursting and the Easter celebration is underway. Thirty minutes later we are at our destination, the island of Hydra and yes you guessed it the church is at the port and we are welcomed by multiple large blasts. This is an island with no cars but no shortage of ambience and beauty. We immediately extended our stay to 3 days.

Hilda of the Phaedra Hotel was a great host with insights into the town. There are donkeys everywhere to do the heavy lifting of carrying not only passengers but luggage, daily supplies of vegetables and other everyday needs but also they pick up the refuse. The clip clop of their hooves on the cobblestone streets was a morning wake up call. That and the ringing of the multiple church bells in the tiny town. The cats are everywhere and are fed by the locals every morning as well as they sit an beg from the fisherman who sell their daily catch at the port. We enjoyed the slow daily life and coffee at the café on the port as you watch the boats come and go and the ferries deposit and pick up their passengers. Since it was Easter the town was 110% full. This is possible because of the pleasure boats of every size docked in the harbor. The largest of these was carrying Air Jordan and his new bride on their honeymoon. Leaving Hydra we ferried to Hermione where a taxi took us to Nafplion and a 2 day stay and our room 125 steps above old town of cobblestone streets and Ottomon era churches and homes. We managed to dodge most of the rain drops on our second day but still enjoyed our time in the city. The highlight was visiting the Ancient Theater in Epidavaros, the largest fully intact Greek Theater in the world. It is a sight and the acoustics are amazing. The theater is 28KM out of the city but since this is where we picked up a car for the remaining time in Greece it made the journey easy. As we left Nafplion driving along the coast road thru small villages in route to our next stop Monevasia (the rock). However the journey was incredible as we left the sea side and climbed to 4,000 feet with the Elone Monastery hanging to the side of a cliff. We crossed over the spine of the Peloponisos. The small hamlets and the Fir Tree forest we passed thru reminded us of driving in the Cascade mountains of Oregon.

Monemavasia is a large rock just off shore and upper and lower town were built during the Byzantine reign in 1200BC. There is a lower town, intact, and the upper town on the top of this 1,000 foot rock that lost its last inhabitant a century ago. We climbed the zig zag stone pathway to the entrance gate at the top and were rewarded with great views of the lower town and the mainland. The history here is about building, conquering and then being conquered only to later come back and regain the territory. Ottomans‘, Turks, Greeks, Venetians, Greeks finally in their rebellion of 1821.

Now in the home of the Olympic Games, Olympia Greece, and what we learn is not what I was expecting. First the original games were too worship the gods and to test the strength of fellow Greeks. The original participants were soldiers and there was one winner in each of the 5 sports, running, boxing, wrestling, swords, and chariots. Winners were given an olive wreath and food for life. Events were all in the venue of war and fighting. Greeks were always at war with fellow greeks and during the Olympic games they all called a truce. The Olympic stadium is 84 feet wide and 600 feet long and all events took place here and those watching were on the surrounding grass embankments. The temple of Zeus and the statue of Zeus would have been impressive had the Romans not plundered all the gold and ivory but the building that encased the statue was massive and the impediments and many of the original statues are in the museum that give you the enormity of the building. Continuing to embrace the Greek mythology by visiting Delphi and the temple of Apollo and the story of the Oracle who foretold the future for the ancient greeks. This is an amazing site in that it sits at 2,000 feet in elevation on the side of a mountain and the views down the valley to the Sea of Corinth are truly breath taking. Here for 3 nights and then to Athens to catch a flight to Dubrovnik Croatia and say good bye to Greece. However since our flight is not till 8 at night and we missed the Acropolis Museum in Athens we will arrive early in the airport check our bags and then take the Metro into the city for lunch and tour the museum then back to the airport.

The Greek people are friendly and magnificent hosts. In a restaurant it is very common to receive a welcoming drink of Ouzo or a desert at no charge. After making a purchase in a shop you may receive a small gift, magnet, key chain nothing expensive but a way to say thank you for your business. A trip to Greece is a very pleasurable experience.

Ciao

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Comments

[Vicki]

Awesome!
Hi Bill & Mary, all your pictures are amazing...but your Santorini sunset is my favourite!! And I loved reading your blog as well...it felt like I was right there with you!! You will have so many wonderful memories to bring home with you...enjoy the rest of your holiday!!