Going Up North

Thursday 30 May (Day 37)

We took the bus to Egiali today which is on the north side of the island.  Once we arrived we played our normal game of hunt the footpath.  It took us about 45 minutes to find it, with hindsight we should have just followed the serious looking hikers who were on the bus.

The footpath took us to the village of Tholaria where we had a coffee and then walked back down.  The bus back didn’t leave until 6pm so we found a taverna where we had a late lunch and read our kindles.

In the evening we went to a Pizzeria.  According to our guide book it is the best Pizzeria in the Cyclades, the pizza was very good but thinking about it, it could be the only pizzeria in the Cyclades.

Friday 31 May (Day 38)

After yesterday’s exertions we went on an easier walk today around the bay of Katapola.  Tomorrow we leave Amorgos and head for the island of Koufonissia on the Scopelitis Express.  We have to be up early as it leaves at 6am.

Tholaria

 View from Tholaria to Egiali

 Walking around Katapola Bay

Onwards and Upwards

Monday 27 May (Day 34)

Amorgos is a hiker’s paradise.  There are lots of footpaths that crisscross the mountainous terrain.  The only problem is finding them!  We knew there was a footpath to the town of Chora somewhere but could we find it?  In the end we just walked up the main road which wasn’t very busy but it made for a hot walk with the sun radiating back from the road.  Chora itself was very quiet, we thought it was a ghost town to begin with but we did find a very nice café.

The walk back down was much easier because we managed to find the footpath.  The sign said it took 55 minutes but that must have been at mountain goat pace.

Tuesday 28 May (Day 35)

Another walk today, this time to the ancient Minoan town.  This time we managed to find the path but by the time we got to the town all the Minoans had left.  We saw a beach at the end of another long path so we ventured down hoping we could walk back to Katapola along the coast.  Alas, there was no way round so we had to walk all the way back up. 

Wednesday 29 May (Day 36)

Amorgos is also famed for its monastery.  The timetable said that the bus to left at 09:45 but when we arrived at the bus stop at 09:30 it was just pulling off so we only just managed to get on it.

When we alighted at the monastery bus stop there was still a long walk up lots of steps to the monastery itself.  We knew we had to wear appropriate clothing so I was in jeans and the climb was hot work.  At the monastery entrance the sign said that ladies had to wear skirts and that they didn’t have any spare clothing to borrow.  As Tracey hadn’t even packed a skirt she decided to wait outside while I went in for a look.  In the porch there were lots of skirts so I threw one at Tracey so she could come in too.

The monastery somehow clings to the side of the cliff 300 metres above sea level so it is very narrow.  There are only three monks left now and we only saw one of them.  When we got to the top a very nice chap offered us sweets, a drink of water and a liqueur.  Well worth the trip.

How many ships in this photo?

 The road from Katapola to Chora

 Chora windmills

 The Monastery

 "I'll throw you a skirt"

 300m down

Skopelitis (not so) Express

Saturday 25 May (Day 32)

The hire car had to be returned by 10am at the port this morning so we bade our farewells to Timos and set off.  Our ferry, ‘The Skopelitis Express’ wasn’t due to leave until 2pm so we had a few hours to relax in Chora.  Amorgos is only 16 nautical miles from Naxos and although it’s an express the journey takes over six hours because it calls in at quite a few of the Small Cyclades Islands.

We arrived in Amorgos just as the sun was setting.  Our accommodation is called ‘Georgia Studios’ (which is strange because it was on my mind).  The photo on the website showed a view of the building from the port with a big red circle round it and a big red arrow pointing to it but we couldn’t see it anywhere.  Fortunately a young lady met us and we followed her to our room.

Sunday 26 May (Day 33)

After breakfast this morning there as a knock at the door, the owners had brought us some home made soft cheese and a couple of cucumbers grown in their garden.  We spent some time today exploring the area.  The town we are staying is called Katapola which means below the town as it sits below the main town (again called Chora).  There was a very happy looking fisherman at the port who had caught a small 4 foot shark and was proceeding to dissect and sell it

We cooked a meal in our room in the evening and ate it on our balcony while watching the sun go down.

Calling in at Koufounissi (we will be staying here next week)

 Arriving Katapola, Amorgos

 Shark fin soup?

 The Skopelitis 'Express'

Sunday morning at Church

The Curious Kouros's

Thursday 23 May (Day 30)

While we were having breakfast this morning a young and attractive Greek lady arrived, asked me to put my shoes on and come with her.  I complied immediately but when she asked me for my driving license and credit card I realised that she had come to deliver our hire car.  Ah well, never mind.

We took the mountain road to the tiny hamlet of Appollon.  Before we arrived in Appollon we stopped to see two Kouros’s.  A Kouros is a male statue made from marble.  These were made 2,500 years ago and were thought to be accidentally broken on site so were never delivered.  Naxos was and is known for its marble hence the statues.

Appollon is a quaint seaside hamlet, we stopped there and read a while before heading back along the coastal road and stopping at an even larger Kouros.

By a happy coincidence we are in Naxos at the same time as the 15^th Domus festival: http://naxosfestival.com/ so in the evening we went to a Jazz and Blues event.  Two guys were playing the piano, guitar and saxophone (two at a time obviously) and they were excellent.

Friday 24 May (Day 31)

It was our last full day with the car so we visited the villages that we hadn’t yet been to.  Our first port of call was Halki which a lovely small town with some nice local craft shops such as:

http://www.fish-olive-creations.com/

Next was Filoti (Naxos’ second town) which wasn’t so good.  Apeiranthos was another lovely place that we got completely lost in.

At the concert last night we met an Australian woman who said she had cycled up Mt Zeus the day before so we thought we would go and take a look.  When we got there we couldn’t quite work out how she had got up so rough and steep a path.  We knew we could never make it to the top so we aimed to get to Zeus’s cave (about half way).  The path became so bad that we turned back with the excuse that we weren’t wearing walking boots.  While we were having our lunch we noticed people on their way down wearing flip flops!

The last couple of days have been quite windy and the sea has become quite choppy  - just in time for our six hour ferry journey tomorrow to Amorgos.  Our next blog entry could be a little green in colour.

Kouros 1

 Kouros 2

Appollon

Kouros 3 (and me)

 Jazz and Blues evening

 Halki

 Mount Zeus

 The current residents of Mount Zeus

Temple of Doom

Tuesday 21 May (Day 28)

Yesterday we spotted a small church close by, clinging to the side of a cliff so this morning we thought we would go for a little walk before breakfast.  However, the lane soon petered out so we were unable to reach it.

As we enjoyed the beach yesterday we did the same again today only we caught the later bus home so that we could stop in Chora Town for an evening meal.  At least the climb back up to where we are staying isn’t so arduous in the cool of the evening.

Wednesday 22 May (Day 29)

Today we went to the small town of Sagri by bus.  About 3km from Sagri is the Demeter’s Sanctuary.  Demeter’s Sanctuary is a ruined temple (yes, another one) built 800 BC and later converted to a church in 600AD. 

Once you get away from the sea the island of Naxos becomes quite mountainous.  The highest peak is Mt Zeus which only a few metres lower than Snowdon.  We somehow lost the road signs to the ruins within seconds of leaving the bus so instead we had a very enjoyable (and rather hot) walk down little lanes and along dried up river beds until we reached our destination.  There was supposed to be a ticket office somewhere but I think we must have got in through the back entrance.

Timos has organised a hire car for us for tomorrow and Friday so we will be able to explore further afield.  There must be some more ruined temples we can visit!

Ana Plaka Beach

 It's there somewhere!

 By the time we'd got there it was ruined

Life's a Beach

Sunday 19 May (Day 26)

We started today with another philosophical breakfast discussion with Timos.  Today’s subjects included Eurovision and Margaret Thatcher.  The only thing we could do after all this intellectual stimulation was walk to the beach.

Ag. Georgios bay is close to the town and is very family friendly.  While we were sitting in the taverna a children’s party was taking place but we weren't offered any cake.  Sunday is obviously the family day as the normally empty cafes were full of local people although we did notice that some contained women and children while the others just had men.  

Monday 20 May (Day 27)

Timos had to work today so we missed out on our breakfast discussion.  We are staying in the ‘Paradisia Villas’.  It contains about 12 studios and there are only us and another English couple staying here who are pretty much doing the same thing as we are.  Today they are off to their next island so they kindly gave us their leftover wine and veg.  This does mean that we have the whole place to ourselves (including a large swimming pool).

We braved the local bus system and went to a beach called  Ag. Anna.  Naxos may be Greece’s best kept secret. The beaches here are amazing, they are sandy, tree lined, virtually empty and many have a taverna just a stone’s throw away.  If you like beach holidays then this is the place to come. The only problem is the lack of an international airport so you’d have to fly to Santorini and take a ferry from there then either go back to Santorini or fly back via Athens.

Ag. Georgios Beach

Main town of Chora

Sunset view from Paradisia Villas

 Paradisia Villas (all ours!)

Santorini to Naxos

Thursday 16 May (Day 23)

The ferry from Santorini to Naxos wasn’t due to leave until 3:30pm so we had a restful morning before taking a bus to the bus station then another bus to the ferry port.  When the ferry docked and the rear doors opened it seemed as if the whole of humanity was disembarking.

The passengers getting on to the ferry consisted of older people (like us) and young backpacking types.  We surmised that the old people were going to Naxos and the young people were going to Paros or back to the main port of Piraeus in Athens.

We arrived in Naxos at 6pm and all of us old people left the ferry.  A taxi took us to our accommodation where we met Timos the owner.  Timos is an English teacher at the local school, a very intelligent chap who loves to talk about the current problems in Greece and Naxos.  We coud have listened to him all evening but we needed to walk down to the supermarket to get some supplies.  Timos's mum also gave us a jar of her delicious homemade strawberry jam so that should make breakfasts a bit more interesting for a while!

Friday 17 May (Day 24)

Today we walked down to the main town (Chora).  There is an old venetian part to the town with quaint narrow walkways.  Naxos doesn’t have an international airport so it’s very quiet.  They did start to lengthen the port to accommodate cruise ships but it was aborted due to environmental reasons (don’t get Timos started on that!).  We managed to find our way out of the warren of alleyways to walk along the seafront before walking back up the hill.

Saturday 18 May (Day 25)

Took another walk into Chora to see the temple of Apollo (another one).  The temple was very 'Stargate-esque', if you walked through it you ended up somewhere else in time and space.  We also tried to work out the local bus system so we can visit more of the island later in the week.

Santorini (Fira) from the sea

 Naxos (Chora old town)

 Temple of Apolla (Naxos)

Living on the Edge

Wednesday 15 May (Day 22)

Having spent yesterday getting our bearings in the rain we were very pleased to awake to a beautiful sunny morning and planned a day of further exploration around the island and a chance to take many more photographs of this amazing place.

After a delicious breakfast we set off to walk along the caldera wall (rim of the volcano!) into the main town of Fira.  Once in Fira we headed straight to the bus station and caught a bus to Akrotiri which was the ancient capital city of Santorini.  It was built in 4500 BC and completely destroyed in the volcanic eruption in 1640 BC.  It has now been partly excavated and parts of the ruined city are now visible and housed in a fantastic exhibition space.  There is some mystery surrounding the ruins as unlike Pompeii no human remains have ever been found.  There has also never been any gold found on the site although it is believed that the ancient inhabitants were extremely rich.  We even saw a pre-historic toilet!

We then caught the bus back to Fira and another bus out again in the opposite direction to go back to Oia for a wander through the picturesque village again clinging to the rim of the volcano, a coffee stop with a magnificent view and of course, to watch the sunset before heading back to our village for a pizza and a well-earned rest.  It would also appear that Santorini is the perfect place to takes photographs of brides for promotion purposes.

We are leaving Santorini tomorrow to head to our next island destination of Naxos where we have 9 days in the same place so hopefully there will be an opportunity to do some much needed clothes washing.

Santorini has been everything we thought it would be and more.  It is an amazing place with the most magnificent views and a very special atmosphere.  We have wanted to come here for so long and now we can finally say we have done it!

 Akrotiri ruins

You wait ages for a bride and two turn up at once! 

 Table for Two?

 Everyone loves a sunset

 and finally... the sunset photos