Our Trip To Hydra

We thought it would be entertaining to take the ferry to the island of Hydra for a few days, so we set out on planning our excursion. We had the choice of taking the ferry from the Athens port, Piraeus, or driving over to the Peloponnese Peninsula and catching boat there.

Don got online and checked out the ferry schedules and we decided to go out and spend the night and return the following day. So, he made his hotel reservation and then went back to the ferry boat site to make our reservations on the boat. Darn these ferry sites! They never work. He tried and tried and couldn't get our reservation accepted. Finally in exasperation he called Hellenic Ferry Lines on the phone to resolve the issue. Surprise! The ferry workers would be on strike on Monday, so no ferries that day. Well, ok, we will go on Tuesday, then. Well, no, we wouldn't be able to go to Hydra on Tuesday because the dock workers would be on strike that day. So, Don called and canceled our hotel reservation and we hope we are not charged. And we decided to try a day trip to Hydra on Wednesday.

The strikes in Greece have gotten very ugly. Three bank workers across the street from the Parliament died from smoke inhalation when demonstrators threw Molotov cocktails through the bank windows. We stayed away from downtown Athens on the strike days.

We got up bright and early on Wednesday and headed out around 7:30am to catch the Metro to Piraeus to catch the 9 o'clock ferry to Hydra. We got to Don's favorite parking spot, near the Citibank, and hustled several blocks along the very busy Marathon Road to the Pallini Metro Station. There we marched up to the ticket machine and tried to buy two tickets, but the machine would not take our paper bill. The nice woman waiting to use the machine finally took pity on us and gave us 2 1E coins to use. We tried to pay her back with dollars, but she just smiled and waved us on.
Well, that little hangup put us a few minutes behind schedule, but we had a cushion so we knew we could make it in time for the boat. We got on the train and made our transfer at the Monastiriki station and everything was going as planned. Oops. We sighed in relief too soon. The Blue line was having some repair work completed at one of the stations, so we had to get off and take a bus for part of the route. We arrived at a bus stop at a busy intersection, not the port, and everyone got off. Oh Oh. Now what do we do????

Luckily we saw a bus information stand and asked for help. We were directed to another bus, with after a lengthy cross-town trip, did deliver us to the port. Well, sadly, as we looked across the road, we saw our ferry to Hydra just pulling out. We missed it. So, we went into a ticket vendor shop and bought a ticket to Aegina instead. Hydra will have to wait for another day.
We had a nice ride out to Aegina and walked over to the archeological site which includes the excavations of ancient settlements built one upon the other, from 800BC right up until 1800 AD. There is a big temple to Apollo and a very nice museum to display the many artifacts, mostly pots and clay figurines, discovered during the excavations. There are very good descriptions of the various layouts of the towns and fortification walls as they expanded and improved down through the years. The setting of the ancient village is on a bluff between the current port area and another very pretty azure blue bay.

After the museum visit we walked around the town, enjoying the cute village and searching for Don's favorite ice cream bar. The town was very busy with crowds of teenagers on a field trip from school. The weather was quite nice, a bit breezy, but nice and sunny.We caught the 3:05 ferry back to Athens, and made our way by Metro and bus, back to our car and then home, never getting to Hydra at all.

Marathon Day

Marathon is the town just to the north of Nea Makri. Marathon has a very rich history. Many of us are familiar with the marathon race, and we have watched the Bay to Breakers and other well-known marathon races. Here is the myth behind the name:
The city-state of Athens was prospering and happy in 456 BC, but, the Persians wanted control over the Attiki Peninsula. When the rulers of Athens heard that the Persians were coming they decided to confront their enemy on the eastern coastline in the flat, marshy area of Marathon. This strategy effectively blocked the two mountain passes to Athens. The Athenians successfully held off the Persian army and finally, using a pinchers-style military attack, the Persians were defeated.

Wishing to notify their leaders of their victory and that Athens was safe from the Persians, a soldier was dispatched to run over the mountains to deliver the good news. He ran fast and hard, and arrived before the king. The dedicated soldier delivered his news and dropped dead at the king's feet.

The marathon race was adopted as an event in the original Olympics and was about 22 miles, but the distance was changed in 1908 so that the race would end at the Royal Box in London and the Princess and her family could watch the conclusion from there. It has been 26 miles and 385 yards since then.

Back to the Marathon region, we visited the site of the Battle of Marathon, where a huge mound tomb stands in memory of the soldiers who lost their lives defending their freedom. We then went out to the Marathon Monument, one lone pillar in a field. The Marathon Museum has artifacts from the ancient, prehistorical buildings and graves found in the valley.

Sanctuary of the Egyptian Gods-Nea Makri

After a few days of being lazy and hanging around the house, Don working on his photos and me listening to audio books and playing Monopoly (trying to be patient), we went out this morning to investigate the Sanctuary of the Egyptian Gods.

This site is very close to our house in Nea Makri, so we just walked over. The site is surrounded by fencing and it is now closed to the public. It was opened for the 2004 Olympics, but now is closed and in disrepair.
We walked around the fences, trying to get a look at the artifacts. The government has put up a storyboard and the EU spent some money on restoring the site, but I guess now that the Olympics are over the site will be left to nature again.
Right next door to the site is a Club Med. The facilities have a feel of the 1970s about them, and of course the Club Med was pretty empty.

We walked along the front of the facility and asked the guard if we could go into the grounds, but he didn't understand us, so we went on along the beach and the front of the Club Med. See google map. Then I suggested that we turn off the beach promenade and see if we could go around the Club Med facility to try to get a different view of the Egyptian Gods.

After several blocks of hike we realized that, as usual in Europe, it is not possible to go around the block. But, we again saw a big guard station to enter the Club Med. So we decided to try to crash, and walking confidently along the sidewalk we took advantage of the arrival of a delivery truck at the guard shack to enter the grounds and check out the Egyptian God Sanctuary again.

We were able to get a better view of the temple ruins and some of the hunky male guard statues that were discovered during the EU restoration. Then I spotted some stairs that went up to the top of the poolhouse and Don was able to get some good photos.
Some history of the site--the sanctuary was not built by Egyptians, but rather the Romans, who sometimes worshiped Egyptian dieties. They would come over from Athens to visit Nea Makri in the summer. Many of the upper class had summer homes in this region. They built the temple to Isis, guarded by 8 statues. There were hot, cold, and warm baths adjacent to the temple.

When we returned to the house Don looked up his favorite site EXPLORE & DISCOVER ATHENS, GREECE by Robert Horne

More pictures

Exploring Mykonnos

Thursday, April 22 already.

We both slept very well and enjoyed the sumptuous breakfast at our hotel. Then back to the town for more photos in the sunny, blue-sky day. The Mykonos painters were out in force, sprucing up for the summer season. It is customary here to paint white around all of the walkway cobbles, and white stucco buildings with blue, green and rust colored doors. Around every turn was another busy painter sprucing up Mykonos for the summer crowd.
Don rented a car and we drove around the island, exploring. We drove out along the one road, dipping down every few miles to visit another nice beach. Mykonos is the party island in the season, with lots of night life and great bikini beaches. Sadly it is not the season yet so the beaches were unoccupied except for one chunky guy in a Speedo. I figure he was from Michigan and heard about the great parties on Mykonos, so he booked his vacation at Paradise Beach and went down, sitting in the sun, getting his white skin sunburned to a crisp, while he waited in vain for those bikini girls. You need to wait a couple more months, Deiter.

So, we visited several beaches, stopped for lunch at the square in a quiet village where the host was quite engaging, and then drove up the hill to the ruined castle. We were back to the hotel by 3pm and as we sat on the terrace we watched yet another cruise ship arrive and the passengers take the tender into the town. Things will be hopping tonight. This cruise ship was the same one we saw in Santorini.
We sat on the terrace and enjoyed the sun as it set, dipping down, vivid orange, into the black water. The lights on the cruise ship came on and looked pretty sitting in the bay. We sighed some sighs and agreed life is good.The local transport guy made many trips up and down the hill delivering groceries, construction materials, equipment and luggage.
What is there to see on Mykonos? Beaches and beaches.
The next day we enjoyed a leisurely breakfast and departure from our hotel at around 1pm. As we went into the lobby to catch our transport to the New Port, the nice little lady, dressed in a modest printed duster called for the transport. This woman was there 24/7, it seemed, and we thought she was a dedicated cleaning woman. As we took the transport to the dock we chatted with the driver, who also manned the reception desk sometimes. She explained that that woman is her mother and owns the hotel. What a surprise! Talk about the millionaire next door. This hotel is very upscale, with top of the line decor and accouterments. Who knew the little, toothless cleaning lady owned it.The ferry ride went smoothly, stopping at Tinos and Andros before arriving at Rafina, where George met us and took us back home for our last week in Greece.

More pictures

Mykonos Arrival

The flight to Mykonos went well. We actually flew from Santorini to Athens and Athens to Mykonos. Each leg was about 35 minutes with a short layover in between. The flight attendants had to do beverage and snack service on each flight and by the time the middle seats got their orange juice it was time to pick up and buckle up for the landing. We learned not to get those seats in the middle of the plane if we wanted to eat.

Arriving in Mykonos we took a cab to our hotel, the Hera Hotel. The receptionist showed us to our room and we stepped out onto our private terrace to look out over the village of Chora and the Mediterranean Sea. Another stunning view.
After settling into our room we walked down into the town. More stairs and down, down, down. The weather was quite breezy, with some clouds coming in. we walked all along the waterfront, checking out restaurants, and then meandered through the narrow alleyways full of shops--jewelry, jewelry, more jewelry, postcards, sundresses, hats, guide books and more jewelry. So many little shops with the same merchandise in each. How do they stay in business???
At the end of the bay there are several large, old windmills. We explored around there for a bit and then turned to go back along the quay. The wind had whipped up and the surf was now cresting right at the breakwater, slopping up onto the walkway and many tables that had been set out for dinner. We decided to walk back into the alleys.
We made our way to Nikos where we enjoyed a tasty meal, and then back to the hotel.

Mykonos Pelican-Petros

Petros II

During our explorations of the town we ran across Petros. He is the very friendly town pet pelican. He is not shy at all and strolls around the sidewalk cafes begging for crusts of bread, visits the jewelry and curio shops, going into the shops and pecking at the glass display cases until the shopowner shoos him out. Petros has quite a history in the town's story and this guy is apparently the second generation. Click the link for more info.

Exploring Santorini

The next day we enjoyed a good breakfast at the Keti Hotel before setting out to explore.

First we visited the Archeological Museum where we found excellent displays of early Minoan civilization. There is a big, important dig in Akrotiri, on the northern part of the island, where an ancient city was found. The find was the result of stone quarrying for the construction of the Suez Canal. Many artifacts have been recovered, dating back to 6000BC. Some of the wall paintings and pottery designs were exquisite. The settlement thrived for many centuries, trading with many cultures from both the east and west. Eventually they left, perhaps due to the impending eruption of the volcano, and the Minoans disappeared into the unknown. Good display, good storyboards in English, worth a visit.
After the museum we decided to ride the local bus around the island, so we went over to the bus station and figured out which bus to take. We boarded our bus and set out through the narrow, one-way streets of Thira, and into the countryside. We were expecting a long ride with a few stops, but instead the bus turned off the highway and headed down the steep, narrow road of switchbacks to the old port. When we got to the port everyone got off and we were sitting there waiting for the bus to continue on. In the meanwhile, the driver was shutting down and looking askance at us. Don realized that the port was the end of the line and checked with the driver who confirmed this. He would not be departing for 45 minutes, so we got off to wander around the port.
As we strolled by the various shops Don spotted a cute little red Smart. He decided to find out about renting it and went in to negotiate with the rental agent. Soon he came out of the office, smiling. He bargained the guy down to E25 for 24 hours and we could drop it at the airport. Since the taxi to the airport was going to cost us E15 and the proposed bus rides would be about E12, we figured we could break even and enjoy the more flexible car tour of the island.

We headed out to the south of the island and stopped at a few villages and the black sand beach. when we arrived at the beach Don snuggled our Smartie in next to another Smart, and then we walked around a bit. By the time we returned there were 4 Smarts in a row, looking friendly and cute.

Next went to the town where the dig site is located. As we entered the town one restauranteur waved and welcomed us into his cafe, but we headed over to the site to explore. The site is closed, but of course we went up a dirt side-road and could then see over the fence. There was construction work going on, with big cranes and steel building components. It looks like they plan to cover a large area with these metal shelters.
Returning through the town, we did park the car and stop at the restaurant. The host was very friendly and so happy to have us, his only customers. We had a tasty meal of carbonara and souvlaki.After lunch we continued our tour, going to the hill town of Pirgos. This is a town of narrow alleys and whitewashed buildings. We wended our way through the alleys, up the hill, looking for the castle. We finally found the ruin, but walked all around looking for an entrance. Finally we found a way in, but it was steep, weedy stairs, probably not the official entrance. However, we saw another person standing on the wall above us, so we went up there and walked through the castle ruin and past the monastery and then we finally found the official entrance. As we walked down the hill we saw, clearly marked on the walkway, nice blue arrows pointing to the Kasteli. Don happily snapped shots of blue-domed churches, quaint scenes and beautiful views. Often his shots are foiled by the ugly utility wires that hang everywhere. Darn progress.

Finished with the south end of the island, we headed to the town of Oia, Ia at the north end. Here we finally found the famous blue-domed churches. There were lots of tourists here marching up and down the narrow alleys and streets. A cruise ship had arrived in Thira and the passengers were out in force, touring the points of interest. Don got his photos and we were done touring for the day.
Back to the hotel, skipped dinner because of our big lunch, and just snacked. Don has developed a liking for ice cream bars, those vanilla coated in chocolate and nuts, so we went to the market for one of those.

The next morning we got up at 5 and headed out for the airport to catch our flight to Mykonos.

More pictures

Santorini Arrival

This week we are going island hopping, so Monday morning we got George to drive us to Piraeus, the Athens port, and we caught the high-speed ferry to Santorini. This is the classic island that you see in all of the travel pictures, with white buildings clustered on a hillside and blue-d0med churches.The ferry ride was smooth and comfortable and much quicker than I expected. We arrived in the Santorini port and our hotel, the Keti, had a shuttle bus waiting to pick us up.
Don selected the Keti Hotel because of the comments he read on TripAdvisor. His favorite quote is from the woman who wrote to say that she was so elated with the view from her room she couldn't stop giggling.
When the shuttle arrived in the town of Thira our hotelier was waiting to meet us. He took Don's heavy bag and lead us down some well-marked steps. Then we went down more steps, and more and more and more. We wound through the labyrinth of whitewashed walls, down, down, down, until finally we came to a gate with the name, Hotel Keti. Down several more flights of stairs and then we went into the office to register. Down two more flights of stairs, and we were shown our room--a very spacious room with queen bed, desk, mini-kitchen, and bathroom. The best part is the terrace, equipped with table and several chairs and a view that leaves you breathless.After settling into our room we went out to explore. We hiked up and up and up the stairs to the main part of town. We checked out a few restaurants for dinner and found a little cafe full of giggling teenagers for a quick and inexpensive lunch. Then we set out to walk all along the rim path from one end of the village to the other. Don happily took photos of local scenes, whitewashed buildings, fabulous views and we searched, to no avail, for those quintessential blue-domed churches we see in the post cards.
Santorini Island is the site of one of the largest volcanic eruptions in recorded history, which occurred some 3,600 years ago at the height of the Minoan civilization. The eruption left a large caldera surrounded by volcanic ash deposits hundreds of feet deep and may have led indirectly to the collapse of the Minoan civilization on the island of Crete, 110 km (68 mi) to the south, through the creation of a gigantic tsunami. Another popular theory holds that the Thera eruption is the source of the legend of Atlantis. This excerpt is from Wikipedia. The city of Fira, or Thera, where our hotel is located, is perched on the rim of this crater. After a 6 mile hike and dinner we hit the sack to rest up for the next day.

More pictures of Santorini

Quarry Hike

These sculptures are part of the outdoor Quarry Museum, located down the hill from the entrance to the hiking area, and were created by the departing quarry workers who moved on to work another site when this site closed. Some have very interesting themes and some are quite beautiful. Don's favorite is the rock with the hole in it, which has cleverly carved feather wings around the hole which is shaped like a bird in flight. I liked the squiggly one in the lower left corner below.

After weeks of ruins and artifacts we decided it was time for a hike, so we drove up into the hills between Nea Makri and Athens. Driving in the hills is a fun experience, because the road is, of course, twisting and winding, with a double solid line and lots of blind curves. This affords the Greeks an opportunity to enjoy a favorite weekend pastime, passing on a blind curve. This is a common driving technique as the Greek drivers are not known for their patience. Don prefers to drive about double the speed limit, which is a bit slow for the Greek drivers, so they often choose to pass. As we drove through the ups and downs and twists and turns of the road, we were often passed on the blind curves, increasing our heart rate substantially several times.

Often when we taken this route we have seen, across the valley, a big white fortress-type building with huge doors and windows. This is actually the Dionysus Marble Quarry, and the white fortress we see is the white marble cliff and the doors and windows are actually the cuts where they are taking out the marble.

We drove on to an older site of the Dionysus Marble Quarry, which is no longer in use and has been turned into a historic park. It was a nice hike up a fire road to the old quarry site. Now, in mid-April, the wildflowers are in full bloom. The predominant flower is a yellow daisy, about the size of a marguerite. But we also enjoyed beautiful flowers in lavender, purple, blue, pink and the bright red poppy.

Many of the stone workers cozy stone cottages still remain intact and there are nice stone staircases and walkways they put in place when they lived there. We hiked around the site, admiring the workmanship in the cottages and stairways. There are cottages and staircases that go way up the cliff. We also saw a very steep chute that must have been used to winch slabs of marble down the mountainside. We had our lunch overlooking a lovely view down into the valley, which was full of very nice homes. (See top of the report)

After lunch we hiked back down the hill and headed back to Nea Makri. Don wanted to get a closer picture of the big white cliff where the current quarry operations are conducted, so we took a few side roads to explore and find a good place to take a picture. Google Map.

We found the main gate to the quarry, but it was closed to the public. We drove on for awhile. Then we pulled off onto a side road and followed it around the hill in hopes of a good view of the quarry. What did we find? There, in a bucolic green setting on a hillock, was what appeared to be a garden or park, surrounded by a great stone wall. We stopped to investigate and when we approached the enclosure I saw the engraving, in Greek, referring to German soldiers. Yes, it was a cemetery and memorial for almost 10,000 German boys who lost their lives in Greece. Plaque after plaque detailed the names, birth dates, and date of death of each young man. Another surprise reminder of the terrible cost of WWII. I felt so sad to think of all of those young boys losing their lives.

We continued down the hill and made it safely home, in spite of the blind curve passers.

More pictures