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Greek Islands Day One

Boarded the ferry this morning for stop number 1, Mykonos. The ferry was hot and humid but I stayed on that top deck so if it sunk I would at least have a chance of swimming! We stayed away from the main town at Paradise Beach, lots of youngsters on the plonk from the night before and would probably keep going until they left the island! Got settled in then sat on the beach with a warm (they don’t understand the concept of cold here) glass of non-alcoholic beverage! Headed into town that night for group dinner, and a bit of an orientation walk. Saw the famous windmills and little Venice. Nice dinner then off to the cocktail bars. We then went off, exploring all the little white houses and shops that make up the classic Greek Island look! I’m now starting to relax and enjoy the trip, and the homesickness is slowly disappearing! It is very beautiful here and the people are all very friendly (usually gay too…). I think the Islands look like Afghanistan. Because the wind blows hard all time, there is no vegetation and rocky mountains everywhere!

Day two

Spent the morning sleeping in then got our breakfast which included something they call orange juice and I call water and sugar with some strange orange dye! We then went into Mykonos and shopped shopped and shopped, and then they all had their siesta and Mykonos turned into a ghost town, so we went and had lunch, then when things livened up again, we sat in a bar in Little Venice with a glass of wine and watched the sun set while writing postcards. Beautiful.

Day three

Slept in again this morning which is surprising considering the music here starts at about 2pm and stops at 7am in the morning! Spent another day wandering Mykonos and just enjoying looking at the buildings and the ocean. Ate gyros again for lunch (like a kebab, but smaller and with hot chips!) and nutella crepes. I am putting on weight but I will go to the gym when I get home….! Tonight we watched the sunset from the windmills and headed home on the bus. I’m sure the bus driver was on happy pills, we spent the whole trip listening to bad disco tunes that blared out of the two tinny speakers at the front of the bus, while he yanked the steering wheel from side to side in time with the music (dont forget it was disco techno crap). I shouldn’t worry about the ferry sinking I need to worry about falling off a cliff in a bus!

Day four

Today we walked over the rocky outcrop to Paraga beach. We found a nice shady spot under the trees, near the beautiful water set up our towels then realized that all the bathers were completely naked. Now that fine except that they were almost all 70 years or older and resembled leather handbags! Oh well, we looked at the scenery and not them! Went for a swim…I thought the water was supposed to warm here?

Paros day one

Caught the ferry to Paros today. Nice air-conditioned comfort this time, if the ferry sinks I know where the exits are! We settled into our “luxury” hotel (great compared to what we have been staying in!) then headed around town for a look before heading home for a kindy nap before dinner. Had dinner at a local restaurant then off to a cocktail bar for drinks and sheeshas.

Day two

Today we hired a scooter for 10 euro and filled it up for another 4 euro and we were off! We first headed to the town Lefkes for a look. It was great here, not too many tourists and lots of locals. We spent time looking at the church and the cemetery here, before jumping back on the scooter and heading to Naoussa. It is a fishing village with good shopping and food. When everyone had their siesta, we jumped back on the scooter and rode down to the bottom of the island to Aliki and Angeria (don't think they are spelt right, not sure that it is even close!). There wasn’t much to see but the ride was nice, even if it was hilly and windy! We sat by the ocean and watched the sunset while eating 2.50euro gyros! We headed back through all the little alley ways to get home, and found the local hangout and lots of shopping.

Santorini day one

We returned the scooter today and then jumped on the ferry to Santorini. Another greenhouse! We arrived into the port and before the ferry had even turned around to dock they were lowering the drawbridge! We were confronted by this sheer mountain, absolutely huge and again barren! We caught the bus up the zig zagging road into the town of Fira, the main town. Santorini Island was once a huge volcano that blew its top and sank half of the island. Many people believe that this is where the City of Atlantis is. We had another group dinner tonight on the cliff face which also overlooked the old port where the cruise ships now dock, and the donkey trail, and watched the sunset which was as usual beautiful. We then headed to a cocktail bar to watch the soccer. I have discovered my favourite cocktail so far…a fuzzy naval!

Day two.

We slept in (we do that a lot these days!) and then headed in Fira for shopping. I’m in love with the cliffs and the way the shops and houses cling to them. Tonight we had bikkies and dip, and wine for dinner. The nicest wine I have had since being away and only 4 euro a bottle!

Day three

Today we hired a scooter, and visited the black rock beach near Perissa. It is bizarre to see the colour of the beach! We had a nice lunch here near the ocean before jumping back on the scooter to the red rock beach. We got lost along the way and ended up on top of a cliff - the views were spectacular though - and as an added bonus, we could see the road we actually wanted to get on! After a bit of confusion at a big intersection we found our way to the red rock beach. It sits in a nice little cove and is surrounded by cliffs. After photos (No swim) we jumped back on the scooter and headed to the hotel for a rest. We decided to head to Oia (pronounced ee-ah) in the afternoon to watch the sunset from the old ruins from the big earthquake in the 1950’s. I decided I wanted to get back before it got too dark, we were on a crappy scooter and we were going to take the cliff road home. Well the cliff road certainly was high up, and very busy! I had to keep pulling over for buses to overtake me! We were close to town when I took a hairpin turn too slowly and as a result the scooter wouldn’t go up the hill. I haven’t laughed that hard in ages; we could’ve walked up quicker! We were going so slow that the scooter was wobbling all over the place! To make matters worse we were only about 1/10 of the way up the hill when the petrol light came on! I laughed harder still and wobbled up the hill to the town… but alas! It actually wasn’t’ our town! We were one town too early and lost! So after getting directions we headed down the hill, with the petrol light still coming on and off. It was a relief to get back home about 10 mins later! At least we could’ve pushed the scooter if need be!

Day four

Returned to scooter today and then caught the bus back to Oia for shopping and exploring. I bought a clock from here which is being shipped home. Made by a local artist it took me about 4 hours to decide if I actually really really wanted it (which I did) because it was so expensive! We headed back to Fira for a rest and then walked the 588steps down to the old port. This is also the donkey trail, so it absolutely stunk! And when the wind blew, it would blow dried donkey pooh everywhere! We finally made the bottom, it was lower than we thought, and waited to catch a donkey back up (I was not walking it!) the donkey ride was an experience. Geoff was shitting himself the whole way up, making Donkey faces (I have picture evidence!) and I admit, I wasn’t very keen on my donkey. He zig zagged up the stairs, and liked to get close to the edge! We finished our day with dinner at a cliff restaurant and I had this awesome mousaka.

Ios Day One

Arrived into Ios mid afternoon, and set up camp in our little wooden tent…yep wooden tent! It wasn’t actually that bad it was bright and fun, but that’s about it, so I organised for and upgrade for the next night. It’s amazing what 2 euro can get you! Went spent the afternoon lazing around one of the 2 pools the resort had, and went for a little look at the beach. We had group dinner beside the pool before gathering around the big screen to watch the final of the soccer. After overtime, there was no real use going into town as the last bus was the one we would have to catch, so then no way home and I was definitely not walking. So we retired to bed.

Day two

Today we spent another day by the pool, catching up on blogs and photos. Had a real yummo pizza for lunch, then another for dinner. That night we went into town with the rest of the group. After being told that Ios had nothing, we found it actually had quite a lot. Good shopping and eating, and lots of exploring. We caught the last bas back into Ios camping and retired into our new digs.

Day Three

We checked out early and went into the town in Ios. We went for a hike to the very top of the rocky outcrop, where there is a church. The view was amazing; you could see almost 360 degrees. Down below was a big church with a blue roof, which also had good views. We did some more shopping before getting an ice-cream and finally giving into Geoff’s persistence to go home. We caught a late ferry back to Athens and arrived about 10pm. Lucky there was a few others staying atthe same accomodation in Omonia so we could walk in a group. Funny story, a girl was walking back to her accomodation and saw all these people crowded arounded a car. As she walked passed she saw the slumped body of a guy whohad been shot in the head. Yep dodgey place athens!

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