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Published: September 30th 2008
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After working Most of the coast south coast we decided we had better speed up and visit the islands. So planning a route with a few stops on the east coast of the Peleponnese with the finally destination being the Capital; Athens.
I won’t go deep into details about the other attractions of this journey so as not to bore. So just one I will mention, Dira Caves. These were amazing, I don't think there would be many to rival these, most of it is viewed by boat. I'll just let you check out some pics so you can make up your own mind.
The first impressions of Athens were like a wake up to the western world. Navigating around Athens proved to be a little trickier for me than I had thought (I then realized how much detail my maps lacked!) Going by some tourists hand books we had found a place at Rafina. This is just outside Athens but at one of the major ports servicing ferries to the Cyclades Islands and other island groups. Getting to Rafina eventually began to get on everyone’s nerves, wrong turn led us here and there but not quite to our
possible campsite. One thing I must point out is we did see more of Athens that maybe we would have - being we did not get lost.
The camp site was different, perched high on the headland above the beach and sea. The amenities were good, people seemed friendly. However not long after we settled in two coach loads of French students arrived. They were well behaved and did not bother us at all. Something I did admire about them was everyone of them slept under the stars in sleeping bags (something maybe Australians as a whole are not accustomed to since we do get rain quite often - just not in our dams) I guess Greece’s weather is a little more reliable… ? Anyhow Athens was like a mix of two worlds, they have a great underground subway to rival almost any around the world (thanks to the Olympics) however their roads sometimes seem to pop in and out of existence, turning from a highway into a single lane gravel road in an instant. I guess that is just Athens.
The weather was great, for summer it was not too hot but definitely equaling a Sydney summer
day in all conditions (just not as much humidity). A whole day was barely enough to see much of Athens ruins, walking from here to there is often 20-30mins. As expected the pantheon was packed but not to the point of immobility. All in all I can say it was very enjoyable.
We only stayed in Athens for a few days when we made a quick decision to grab the next ferry to any island. Discussing where to go did take some consideration however with the help of a very energetic and friendly English man living in Greece and working in tourism (who evidently tried to beg his way into coming with us) We choose the most famous party Island as our first port of call - Mykonos (part of the Cyclades Island groups)
The boat ride to Mykonos was pretty quick, we had a couple of stop overs on the way to unload and load travelers from other islands. Once we arrived at Mykonos it was approximately 10pm and dark. I had no idea where to go so I tried to stick to the main road and stay away from the smaller back streets. Driving a 20ft
Dira Caves
Maybe a bit of an over kill with the photos in the cave but we were in there for quite a while, it's very large. long camper van on the islands can be a little tricky and does turn a few heads as most people make their way around on scooters and quad bikes. Lucky for me and after a little adventure through the dark and rather quiet streets I found a nice piece of land -level and sporting a view looking over one of the harbors. After a nice meal we all turned in for a well deserved rest. Waking the next morning brought Mykonos alive in a new light. The island is mainly bare with tufts of grass and strewn with rocks. It is hard to imagine how it would be habitable. At first glance the only thing it appears to have going for it (and so most of the other islands as I was going to find out) is the beaches which have crystal clear water. (Something you tend to find almost everywhere in the Mediterranean Sea)
Items needed for a Mykonos life style;
Something to swim in (unless you are one of those free and easy exhibitionists)
Sun cream
Towel
Thongs (flip flops what ever you want to call them)
Money!
Anything else is optional.
Your days on Mykonos
(as some of you may be wondering) consist of this;
Wake up, have breakfast.
Find a beach or pool to swim or cove to dive.
Make or buy lunch.
Back to the beach/pool again.
Go to the store to buy food.
Make dinner or dine out
Visit a club or bar
Sleep
Besides a few archeological sites the other main attraction is shopping, which I may add is fairly limited (old town is quite small)
As a whole all the visitors to Mykonos keep to them selves or socalise rather well, but on that note I think it fair to explain one unfortunate but ever rising trend. That is the young Australian (mainly boys) who make Aussies look really bad. So, this is how our encounter went. (this was not the first time I had watched Australians over seas from a subjective view point)
Our first encounter was to be made on the ferry from Rafina to Mykonos. They stood out (If they were me they would probably say ‘like dogs b****’) they were the only people walking around the boat in the morning with beers in their hands. They kept pretty much to themselves only once
when I was passing by did I notice them yelling out at a group of young Greek girls. Their comments were harmless. Our first words were ‘I bet they are Australian’
Once we found our camping ground we were shocked to realize that low and behold there were the Australians again!
First I must define a word that sums up these types of Australians. In Australia we call them an Ocker.
Definition; An Ocker is a particular type of character: thought of as a rough and uncultivated working man. Think of the Australian characters in the Crocodile Dundee films, especially the Paul Hogan one, all stereotypical Ockers. An Ocker can be boorish and aggressive, blinkered, often strongly nationalistic in speech and outlook, though not lacking in tolerance and good humour, this is common.
The archetypal Ocker may be pictured in shearer’s singlet, shorts and thongs, leaning against a bar, sinking large quantities of beer. He will certainly be speaking in a characteristically slurred and mangled Australian accent with lots of slang, a lingo parodied.
To note, we also have Ocker women.
So there were the Aussies again, singlet, shorts and thongs and beers. They drank from when they woke
up till they passed out. They spoke or screamed on the tops of their voices all competing with each other for - well at first no one. (Until some new girls moved in) They stole other people’s food and drinks from the community fridge. They stole other people’s chairs - including ours of which they smashed up. They threw up here and there even right next to our camp site. They received complaints from other campers who could not sleep at 4,5,6,7am due to the Australians rowdy behavior. I was fortunate not to see them out at night for I am sure they would have been just as much the nuisance and thanks to my experiences from previous travels (much including staying in hostels) I always have my ear plugs. Needles to say once again the Aussie Ockers had done a good job spoiling things for others and giving Australians the ever increasing bad name!
Any how back to Mykonos, being that during the day there was not much more to do than lay on the beach, read or dive. Except that the water does not have anywhere near as much life in it as say Australian waters. This
makes diving rather boring so after approximately a week I began to get anxious to head off. (well so I found) After being on the move so much and seeing so many things the relaxation was welcome however self entertainment was beginning to become the problem so the answer was - move on to another island.
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