Greece 2011, Paros to Amorgos

We had to set the alarm today because there was an early ferry at half past nine so we woke, packed and went downstairs to be the first on the breakfast terrace. After several cups of tea and an above average continental breakfast we paid up, said goodbye and rejecting the offer of transport walked to the port. Turning down the lift was something we quickly regretted because the pavement was uneven, our bags were heavy and even though it was early it was already quite hot.

Soon after we arrived at what is euphemistically described as the departure gate our boat, the Anek Lines, Artemis, arrived on time and we made our way with the handful of fellow passengers to the top deck in the sunshine and as soon as everyone was on board it set off and slipped out of port. The Artemis, named after the Greek Goddess of the wilderness, the hunt, wild animals and fertility (so quite a spread of responsibility), is a slow boat with a reassuring rhythmic throb of a reliable old engine and we sat in the middle of the boat and took comfort from that.

At first the Artemis closely followed the rugged coastline of Paros punctuated every now and again with white Cycladic churches and little fishing villages and then past the picturesque port of Naoussa on the north-west of the island and soon after that the island of Naxos started to reveal itself. Just a hazy outline at first but getting sharper with more detail as we got closer in the way that a water colour painter might start with the first blurred colour wash and then progressively fill in the detail.

The Artemis called in at Naxos and exchanged some old passengers for new ones and then set off sedately south down the narrow channel that separates Naxos from Paros and ahead of us we could make out the island of Ios. Around the south of Naxos the coastline became more inhospitable with jutting peaks and deep rocky gorges and this made me realise that these are actually the bits of the land that the sea doesn’t want and a short while later we entered the islands to the west of Naxos called the Little Cyclades.

Artemis called first at Iraklia where in the small port the sunlight was dancing like dainty fairies on the corrugated surface of the gently rippling water and then after we left a few minutes later we were in Schinoussa which looked like an island that time had forgotten! Out of Schinoussa a Cycladic wind came from nowhere, the seas started to froth and build into frothy meringue peaks and the salt spray reached all the way up to the upper deck forcing people inside. Not us though. We kept our steadfast resolve and remained up top.

Sometimes Greek ferry journeys feel very functional, a case of just leaving somewhere to get somewhere else but this was not one of those journeys, this was much more like a pleasant five and a half hour Aegean cruise, sitting in the sun, watching the islands slip by one by one with a book in one hand and a can of Mythos in the other.

After Koufonissia the rough seas died down as quickly as they had sprung up and soon we were approaching the southern Amorgos port of Katapola where we would be returning in a few days time. The ferry continued its journey along the west coast of Amorgos, an island shaped like a seahorse and rising like a wall of stone from the sea almost in a no-man’s land between the Cyclades and the Dodecanese, dry, brown, arid and hot and after forty minutes we arrived in the northern port of Egiali where we were met by the owners of the Hotel Filoxenia who unnecessarily transported us by mini bus the one hundred metres or so to our room, which was lovely and facing west was sure of a good sunset later.

We were hungry so had a late lunch and after that took a walk around a half asleep town then bought some wine and spent the rest of the afternoon on the generous balcony of our room. As we prepared to go out for the evening a small herd of goats passed through the grounds and although I tried to remember I don’t think I have ever stayed in a place before where wild goats roam freely.

After capturing the pictures of a glorious sunset in the harbour we walked into the town for evening meal. There was a lot of choice but one in particular seemed popular so we decided that that was where we would dine. There were no spare places and people were standing around in a predatory sort of way waiting for a table opportunity and elbowing their way to empty chairs as they became vacant and somewhere in all this we ghosted in like Martin Peters and jumped the queue. After a short misunderstanding about the evening special menu we sorted out our choices and had a first class meal at the end of an excellent day.



Greece 2009 - Day 16, Blue Star to Piraeus

The Hotel Korali put on a good breakfast and we were amongst the first in the dining room because we had an early start and a nine-thirty ferry to catch for the return journey to Piraeus. The hotel owner drove us to the port and with a day of disasters behind us we were optimistic about better prospects for today.

The Blue Star Naxos arrived on time and there were a lot of passengers to get on board before it could leave again. The Blue Star ferries can carry one thousand five hundred passengers and two hundred and fifty vehicles and the line of cars waiting to drive on board stretched all along the port and back to the town square. When the gate was opened we pushed our way on board and made for the top deck where we had plans to find a seat in the sun and we found some at the back of the boat which we estimated would enjoy the sun all the way to the mainland and we settled down and after the boat had loaded up and left the port watched Naxos slipping away behind us.

We had chosen good seats and they would have been perfect except for a group of Swedes next to us who couldn’t seem to settle down and they kept rearranging the furniture, changing seats, which seemed to involve a lot of unnecessary pushing and shoving and talking to each other in very loud voices. Soon we were following the shoreline of Paros and within an hour the ferry was pulling into the harbour for its last stop. The port was heaving and there was the usual chaos associated with a big ferry coming into town. Cars, busses and big trucks were all competing with the foot passengers for a place on the quayside but despite the fact that there appeared to be absolutely no organisation at all everyone finally got on board and there were no fatal accidents and soon the boat was under way again with a four hour journey ahead to Piraeus.

The restless Swedes had a picnic, which meant more furniture reorganisation and then thankfully they settled down for the journey. Other passengers manoeuvred themselves into preferred positions and everyone found their own way of passing the time. We finished off the last few pages of our books and then from my map I tried to follow the route and identify the islands on the way. We slipped between Serifos to the south where we had started our adventure fifteen days ago and then Kythnos to the north and I wondered if this might be worth a visit so I looked it up in the Island Hopping guide and it said not so I removed it from the emerging itinerary for next year that was beginning to take shape in my head.

As the mainland came into view the last hour of the journey began to drag as we started to look forward to being on dry land again. From the sea Athens was laid out before us, nestling beneath the mountains to the north, east and west (Parnitha, Pendeli and Hymettos) and the Saronic Gulf to the south. Out at sea, where we were, the expanse of grey concrete, which formed the outer environs of the city, shimmered brightly in the strong sun and it looked much more attractive than I guessed it would from up close.

Piraeus was hot and noisy, the traffic was as we remembered it when we left, pushy taxi drivers were touting for business, the lucky-lucky men were selling counterfeit goods and there were dusty road works just outside the metro station. The metro at rush hour was not a pleasant experience. It was overcrowded and felt dangerous and without a seat we stood and guarded our possessions for fear of pickpockets. We were glad when after eight stations we arrived in Omonia and changed lines to a less crowded train and travelled the three stops to the Acropolis station where we emerged from the underground tunnels back into the open air and the oppressive heat of an Athens September afternoon.

We knew roughly where the Royal Olympic hotel was and with some helpful directions from a taxi driver found it quickly, crossed the busy main road and presented ourselves at reception. The Royal Olympic is a five star hotel and we don’t usually do five star but I had spotted a good deal and broken the normal rule. It was very smart and plush and I felt a little out of place and conspicuous in dusty sandals, a salt streaked shirt and a battered backpack, which I put down as inconspicuously as I could and well away from the Versace and the Louis Vuittons. The supposed deal was a €650 executive room for €120 and the room was nice and I was happy with the price we had paid but it certainly wasn’t worth €650.

The trouble with five star hotels of course is that they have five star prices and after I had got over the shock of the mini-bar prices (€7.50 for a small beer) and had a good laugh at the restaurant prices I slipped out of the hotel and found a little shop with alcohol at sensible prices, purchased some cans of mythos and a carton of cheap red wine and sneaked it through reception as discreetly as I could and took it back to the room.

After we had had a drink on the balcony and tidied ourselves up we declared ourselves presentable enough to wander around the hotel and we made for the top floor roof garden and restaurant where there were some stunning views over the Temple of Olympian Zeus directly opposite. The restaurant looked nice and it was being fastidiously prepared for later but on account of the prices we knew we wouldn’t be dining there so we left the hotel and walked to the Plaka to identify alternative arrangements.

It was late afternoon and the streets and the shops were busy but the restaurants and tavernas were short of customers and every few metres we were stopped and encouraged to go inside and eat. It must be obvious that five o’clock in the afternoon is not the time most people want to dine and we turned them all down with a smile and a promise to consider going back later. One man fancied himself as a bit of a comedian and was quite entertaining and his menu looked interesting so we thought we might let all of the others down and go there.

Greece 2009 - Day 15, Ios to Naxos

Because of the uncooperative ferry schedules today was prematurely our last day on Ios. When we woke the weather was good again and after breakfast we walked to an alternative beach on the other side of the bay just for a change. To get there we passed the port of Yialos and its immaculate blue flag beach with a fringe of bars and tavernas and continued out of the village climbing all the way until we reached the tiny beach that had caught our eye yesterday from across the harbour.

It was a pleasant stony beach, which we had practically to ourselves and we swam in the sea and then sat in the sunshine for a while listening to the gentle waves rearranging the pebbles as they washed over the shore. We couldn’t settle however and we quickly became bored so we walked slowly back to the harbour, stopped for a drink and then returned to Homer’s. We had a drink and a swim and a bit of lunch and then it was time to go so we said goodbye to everyone returned to the room for the last time and packed and then Vangellis drove us the short distance to the port to wait for our ferry to Naxos.

Unfortunately it was another Highspeed ferry but at least we could sit out on the top deck and it was only a short journey to the island of Naxos a few kilometres to the north. We arrived in the early evening and then things started to go badly wrong. Very badly indeed!

We had booked a hotel but there was no one there to meet us as they had promised so I got cross about that and decided that we would stay somewhere else instead. When we returned to the port most of the hotel mini buses had gone and there were just a few people left selling rooms. One woman was especially persistent and this should have been sufficient warning to move on but for some reason, and I don’t know why I did this, I allowed her to persuade us to go with her to her accommodation, which she promised was of a very high standard. She drove through the town’s one-way system and I became terribly confused and then she stopped in a dinghy side street and invited us to follow her. She took us to a seriously below standard room lacking anything that we would normally insist upon in the way of facilities, including an en-suite bathroom, and before I knew what was happening she had relived me of €30 and then she was gone. One look at Kim and I knew that I was in a lot of trouble so before it could get any worse I ushered her out of the room and promised to find a proper hotel.

This was easier said than done. The first one that we liked was full and the second had a room that smelt badly of smoke and Kim wasn’t happy now and was leaving me in no doubt about it. In desperation we walked all the way back to the harbour, found a taxi and went back to the original hotel that I had booked and thankfully it turned out to be just fine! Kim still wasn’t happy however and one thing was certain – she wasn’t about to let me forget it.

Then the situation got even worse when I overruled her directions to walk to a restaurant that we knew because we had been there two years ago and when we arrived there she was clearly right and I was hopelessly wrong. Luckily the restaurant was just as good as we remembered it and we had a delicious and substantial meal that was finished off with complimentary cake and ouzo. I liked the ouzo but was not so keen on the cake that had to be discreetly taken away and deposited in a litterbin a little way up the road.

Anyway, after that things improved a bit, we found a shop to buy some beer and wine and we returned to the hotel following Kim’s accurate directions this time and then we sat on the balcony and played cards. Kim was still sore so we did fall out a bit so I dealt with that by getting a bit pissed and when the ouzo had gone went to bed and hoped that tomorrow would be different. It was a bit of a shame because Naxos is a nice island but tonight all I wanted to do was to get away.