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Published: March 30th 2007
An early morning ferry and no alarm clock meant i had to call on the "shake me 'till i'm awake" services of the athens backpackers staff. I was shaken at 5:30am and caught the ferry to Syros. I had found a cheap camping ground on the internet in the town of Galissas on the western side of the island. I ignored the spruikers waiting at the port and caught the bus to the other side of Syros. I found someone who spoke english and asked for directions to the camping ground. She informed me everything in the town was closed untill the summer. Being a Sunday the bus wouldn't be back for another 3 hours. I headed on down the road, not really knowing where I was going or what i would do when a man in a shop yelled out "my friend, you looking for a room?" As we walked to his friend's hotel around the corner he informed me i was the first tourist of the year ! A very nice place and i imagine a fraction of the cost compared to the peak season. I went for a walk around the water and read my book for
a couple of hours. When i returned to the hotel the owner and his friends were having a Sunday afternoon BBQ. He invited me for a drink and sat me down next to the one person who spoke a bit of english. They kept putting food on my plate and beer in my hand. Pork steak in lime juice and all kinds of salads. As the afternoon went on they became more lively and the dancing started. Classic Greek music pumping and plates being smashed at the feet of the dancers. I knew i couldn't miss out on this. I jumped up and grabbed a plate and smashed it on the tiles, then another. Smashing things is fun. I was then dragged into a group dance. Four of us paraded around the table and around the pool area untill the song was over. I'm so glad i had this authentic Greek experience. No tourists, just a bunch of friends having a good time. It was so much fun !
The next day i caught the ferry to Mykonos. I again hadn't booked anything prior to my arrival. I asked a couple of american girls if they wanted to share
a cab into town. They had booked a place in town and I decided I may aswell stay at the same place. When I asked the owner how much for 2 nights, she replied 40 euro. Thinking she meant 40 euro for the 2 nights i agreed. I later found out she meant 40 euro per night for 2 nights stay. Despite the cost it was a great place, right in the centre of it all. I went to a cafe to get a few beers and a Gyros (pronounced jeer-ross). I have seriously been living off these things. Almost every day i have one for breakfast and dinner. They are basically a kebab but much better. The pita bread is thicker and sweeter almost like a pancake. Filled with meat - usually pork but also chicken, Tzatziki (which is simply awesome....you haven't had tzatziki untill you've had it in Greece), onion (if you are so inclined), tomato and hot chips. Some places also top it off with salt and paprika. They range from E1.70 - E2.00. I took my beers down to the water and enjoyed a good sit. My attention was diverted to a woman's scream nearby. A
tourist being taunted by a local with a giant lobster. As she and her partner came past i noticed he was wearing a Billabong jumper. I figured they must be Australian so i said hello. We chatted and it turns out they are from Collaroy on Sydney's northern beaches. We arranged to have a drink the following night. We found a bar that was open and basically had it to ourselves for the night. Mykonos and Greece in general would be very different in the summer. There aren't many tourists anywhere at this time and because of that not everything is open. I was hoping to leave Mykonos after 2 nights but I soon learned that the Greek ferry system is a shemozzle. There were no ferries the day i planned to leave. So after staying an extra night I booked a ferry to Santorini, being warned it might not leave due to bad weather. It did leave and my new aussie friends Christine and Shane were on the same route. We made it Syros where we were to change ferries. On arrival we were told the next leg was cancelled beacause of the bad weather. The spruikers were then
The plates
These are the actual plates that were used for lunchvery welcome to sell us a room. We got a cheap room right on the harbour. After dinner and a few beers we hit the sack hoping the next day would bring us better weather. We woke to a perfect day. Blue skies and no wind. We booked our tickets from Syros to Santorini with a change at Paros. It was due to leave at 4pm, arriving an hour before our ferry on Paros would leave. After sitting on the dock for a couple of hours with no ferry in sight we went back to the office to ask about the delay. We were informed the ferry to Paros would be leaving late if at all and the ferry from Paros to Santorini was cancelled. All we could do was laugh at the absurdity of travelling to Santorini one island at a time. Our ferry to Paros eventually left around 10pm and we were greeted on Paros by a freezing wind. We quickly found a cheap hotel and crashed. The next morning our ferry left Paros without drama and hallelujah we made it to Santorini ! It was an amazing sight as we pulled close to the island. It's huge
brown cliffs with beeming white buildings atop, almost as if Santorini was snow capped. I parted ways with Shane and Chris and was driven from the port to my hotel by the owner. After dumping my bag in probably the nicest place I've stayed in so far, I walked up to the shops to get some food and beer. I've drunk almost every night since I've been away, so don't be suprised if I return with a huge beer gut. On the walk up i bumped into Chris and Shane who's hotel was just around the corner from mine. I got my supplies and when i returned to my hotel I sat out in the courtyard drinking beer and eating olives. The owner came out with a free glass of tequila (it might have been ouzo but it tasted like tequila). The next day was Greek independence day. Unfortunately i slept in and missed the morning festivities in town. I walked into the town of Fira and around it's outskirts. Santorini is amazing. Definately my favourite part of Greece. Its thin and long so you can see the ocean on both sides wherever you are. That night i went round
Mykonos
This is where i stayed to Chris and Shane's for a few drinks then to an Italian restaurant. The next day we hired a car and drove around the whole island. Being a bit dusty from the night before it was nice to be chauffeured around the island. Chris made us delicious chicken burgers that night and in the morning they dropped me to the ferry port.
My ferry to Crete eventually left and made it's way to the town of AG Nikolaos. I obviously didn't pay attention when i bought the ferry ticket because i expected the ferry to go to Iraklio, an hour and a half from AG Nikolaos. (If you look up these places on a map note that there are several different spellings of all the Greek towns in english). After wandering around for a while trying to find the bus stop, i eventually was heading towards Iraklio where i changed buses for the town of Rethymno where i had booked a hostel. Rethymno is a cool town and my hostel there was basic, but right in the heart of everything and the manager was so nice. I felt adventurous and went for a walk to a part of town
Mykonos
This is the view from out the front of where i stayed i passed on the bus which looked interesting. After walking for a solid hour i ended up in a small town which wasn't were i intended to go. I got a taxi back and decided to play it safe for the rest of the night and went to a bar near my hostel. The following day i walked around town and visited the Fortezza. I went to the cinema in the evening and saw "300". Which i think is cool to see a movie about ancient Greece in Greece. After an hour of the movie there was a 5 minute intermission........interesting. After the movie i went out with a couple staying at the same hostel. A Canadian guy and Swiss girl. We ended up drinking 'till 2:30am. Later that morning i caught the bus to Hania, which is where i am now. Another nice place with a cool Harbour area. Tomorrow I fly to the Bulgarian capital Sofia. I've thoroughly enjoyed the Greek Islands. I would love to come here again in the summer time.....I didn't end up making it into the Aegean.
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Ames
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You lucky bastard :)
Hey Dane!!! You damn lucky bastard, the greek islands are certainly beautiful! and the whole authentic 'greek bbq' would have been an awesome experience! i think the stupid photo request is a must! My request is your ever growing beer gut! lol haha that way no one will be too shocked once you get back to oz! i await in anticipation for your next submission......its a bit of a highlight! LMAO take care buddy, safe travels love ames and rosey