Island Hopping

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My Round the World ticket ended when I arrived back in the UK on 16 May. I then had three hectic days of quickly catching up with family and organising things for the next leg of my trip - Greek Island hopping around the Cyclades. I moved in with my Mum for those three days which were very reminiscent of being twenty again! i.e. Mum cooking and washing non-stop and me creeping in after a night out trying not to wake her up! Thanks Mum!

Was back in Heathrow on Friday 19 May for an overnight flight to Athens with Zoe and Clare. We arrived at about 5am and took the hour long bus trip to the port of Pireaus. We had no proper plan as to where we were going to spend the next three weeks, but the first boats started leaving at 7.30am and we decided to head for Mykonos. We took the slow ferry and the trip lasted about five hours. There were faster boats taking only half the time but costing twice the price, so Zoe had to slum it with us budget travellers! As with most of the Greek Islands, we were met at the port by a group of eager domatia owners competing to convince you to stay at their accommodation. It's great as you get a wide choice, can haggle on price and they transport you to and from the port so heavy bags don't have to be dragged too far. Our apartment was about 200m from the beach in the little village of Ornos and we crashed out on the beach for the afternoon to catch up on the sleep we'd missed out on the previous night. Sunday was a full day on the beach and on Monday a local taxi boat ferried us to Elia beach which turned out to be a popular place for nudists. I hasten to add that our white bits stayed covered! Two days of beaching it was great for recharging the batteries, but I soon realised that can no longer just do the laying on the beach all day thing. My feet were itching to take me exploring and so on Tuesday Clare and I got the boat to the neighbouring island of Delos. We wandered amongst the ancient ruins of temples, theatres and amazing mosaic floors and then climbed to the summit of Mount Kythnos for beautiful views across the Cyclades. Taking the boat back to Mykonos in the afternoon, we then ambled through the cobbled, winding streets of Mykonos Town with its whitewashed houses, numerous churches and the famous row of windmills on the hill overlooking the port and town. Bizarrely there were also three or four pelicans wandering about the squares posing for photos for the bemused tourists.

Having done some research using Lonely Planet and Rough Guides, we decided that we would like to visit the Little Cyclades, a group of six smaller islands. However as there were no direct boats we first stopped at Naxos for a couple of nights. On Friday we transferred to Koufonissi which is the most populated island of the Little Cyclades, but was still much smaller than either Mykonos or Naxos. We chose to stay in Finikas which was a ten minute walk from the main village in the port. There were a couple of tavernas however as it was still early in the season they were both closed, so Finikas consisted of our apartments and the beach! the island was easy to explore on foot and small enough to walk around in a day. We did half one afternoon and the other half the next day, The coastline was beautiful with lovely sweeping sandy bays, gorgeous emerald sea and was totally unspoilt. Unfortunately there were signs of construction work getting underway so it doesn't look like it will retain its untouched look for much longer, but at least the Greeks know how to create tasteful resorts with their whitewashed low level buildings.

On Monday we headed back to Naxos to get a connecting ferry on to Santorini the same day. I had been to Santorini before, but loved it the first time round and definitely wanted Zoe and Clare to see it too. The capital of Fira was expensive so we opted to stay in Karteradhos which was only a fifteen minute walk away, but much cheaper and to Zoe's delight our accommodation had a swimming pool. Despite having seen it before, I was still amazed at how the capital is dramatically perched on the edge of the caldera, the crater of a volcano the heart of which sank below the sea during a violent eruption many moons ago. An earthquake in 1956 destroyed a lot of the capital, but they still rebuilt in much the same place! On Tuesday we went to Ia, a village at the north of the island which is renowned for its fabulous sunsets. We grabbed our viewing spot amongst the remains of the old Venetian castle and waited an hour for the sunset. Unfortunately cloud appeared in the last ten minutes so it wasn't as spectacular as we had hoped, but was still pretty good. On Wednesday I took the bus from Fira to Imerovigli and then did a nine km walk to Ia. The views were stunning, but so vast they were difficult to capture on camera. Fortunately strong winds made the couple of steep stretches bearable in the sun and it was really lovely walk. I then spent a couple of hours getting snap happy and taking zillions of photos of the blue domed churches and quaint buildings which were clinging to the edge of the caldera as in Fira.

On Thursday we arrived on the small island of Folegandhros where we had planned to stay for two nights, but on arrival we discovered that there was no ferry on Saturday so only ended up staying one night. The Hora (main town/capital) of Folegandhros was a gorgeous collection of tiny platias filled with outside cafes/restaurants and with traffic banned from the village centre it was pleasantly peaceful.

Our ferry got us to Milos at midnight on Friday/Saturday, but we were still met by domatia owners even at that time. On Saturday Clare and I took the bus to Plaka and then walked through Trypiti to view the early Christian Catacombes, where tomb lined corridors eat their way back 200 metres into the rock, and also the remains of a Roman Amphitheatre which overlooks the sea. From there we continued our walk along tracks back to the port of Adhamas where we were staying. We had planned to do the island tour boat trip on Sunday, but unfortunately it was cancelled due to high winds. Instead we hired a car which Clare kindly drove all day. The roads were pretty quiet and weren't too hairy, but I still would have been too much of a wuss to drive! We explored most of the north coast during the day, but the highlight was definitely Sarakiniko. The weird, bright white, smooth rock formations dazzled against the bright blue sea and the inlet made for excellent swimming as the sea was much warmer than other places we had swam. In the evening we drove down to the south coast to have a quick look at the beaches of Provatas, and Poleohori where the volcanic sand is hot and steam vents wam the sea. On Monday I tried to reach the little village of Klima, but the coastal track I was following petered out, leaving only gorse/rock covered hillsides. I picked my way through and ventured to the top of a couple of the hills, but decided that I was either going to get lost or break my ankle and so turned back. Plus we were leaving Milos that afternoon and I didn't want to risk missing the ferry!

We arrived in Sifnos on Monday evening, the only island we've visited where domatia owners aren't allowed to try and get custom at the port. However, we had been given a recommendation on where to stay and so had booked ahead and still got picked up on arrival. We have a lovely room with a big balcony overlooking Kamares bay and it's been a nice island to finish on. Yesterday Clare and I got the bus to the capital, Apollonia, and from there we walked to the tiny Kastro on the coast. We then followed the coast path and eventually hiked up to Artemonas. Once again beautiful views. Zoe has done a couple of walks with us, but has been more than happy to spend time sunning herself on the beach the rest of the time. Understandable really as she has to go back to work next week unlike Clare and I who have another five weeks! We leave Sifnos tomorrow and should arrive in Athens in the evening. Zoe returns to the UK on Friday, but Clare and I need to head to Lefkas on Saturday so that I can meet Anna and her friends on Sunday for a week sailing in the Southern Ionian.

It's still early in the season, so the nightlife has been very low key, with just the odd glass of Ouzo or two in one of the waterfront bars. It's also meant that a full menu isn't always on offer in the restaurants, however this is probably still the best time to experience the Greek Islands while the beaches are pretty much deserted, it's easy to find accommodation and prices are still low. It's great to have had so much time in Greece as I love the chilled out, laid back way of life, the locals are so friendly and helpful and I had forgotten how much I like the food. Just as well I've had so long to work my way through the menu (minus the pesky Greek salads of course!)

That's all for now folks, but will hopefully update you again once we hit Italy.....

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