Greece 2009 - Day 6 Sifnos, Apollonia

The first job of the day was to take the short walk down to the village to buy some breakfast items. Even at eight o’clock in the morning the place was busy and the mini-market and the bakery were doing brisk early trade. Kamares has the feel of a strong community and the residents were chatting and being sociable in a way that we rarely see at home.

After breakfast on the balcony we caught the ten o’clock bus at the stop just outside the hotel for the short trip to the capital of Sifnos, Apollonia. The trip took about fifteen minutes and the bus dropped us off in the busy main square. Apollonia is in the middle of the island and all of the roads pass through this hectic spot and all around there was snarling traffic in a crazy traffic dominated street where it was important to keep our wits about us if we weren’t to smeared into the road and become permanent residents of Sifnos.

We disappeared as quickly as we could into the back streets of the town where the peace and tranquillity of the narrow shady lanes was in complete contrast to the main road. It was already very hot and there was a long steep climb ahead of us as we made our way towards the blue domed cathedral at the top of the hill. Stopping regularly to poke into hidden corners and side streets we met an Italian who was resting half way up the hill and he explained how he had set out with the objective of walking right across the island but at this half way point he was thinking of changing his plans and finishing the journey by bus.

At the top there was a panoramic view of most of the island and we could see the sea in the east but mountains blocked the view to the west. We could see all of the capital, which is in fact made up of four separate villages that as they have grown have simply merged into one big town. There were a lot of blue domes scattered along the streets and I counted twenty-five churches, which seems rather a lot for a town that only has a population of about a thousand permanent residents and by my calculation that is one church for every forty people. There was no alternative but to walk back the way we came and once back at the main road we stopped at a trendy taverna and had an expensive mythos (€4), you know, one of those that is served in a posh glass and with an unnecessary bowl of peanuts.




There was no wind at all anymore and with a cloudless sky it was really very hot. After returning to the room and an hour on the balcony we walked down to Kamara and explored some of the back streets that are tucked away behind the busy main road from where steps rise steeply with a giddy speed that quickened the pulse rate and brought us out in a sweat so we were glad of the air conditioned shops where we searching for take home souvenirs amongst the pottery for which Sifnos is famous.

We skipped lunch today and after Kim had made her selections that she would return to buy later we went to the beach for a couple of hours to enjoy a swim in the shallow water of the bay, which was a perfect temperature for just standing around with the water gently lapping around our legs. It was Saturday and at a taverna just at the edge of the beach there was a party where local people were celebrating some sort of event with passion and gusto. Everyone was having a really good time and on the way back to the hotel I watched for a while to pick up some tips on how to party in Greece in preparation for my planned birthday celebrations somewhere in Greece in 2014.

It was a lazy finish to the day as we sat on the balcony, read our books, drank wine and chatted to the nice couple in the next apartment. When the sun went down there was an excellent sunset and after it went dark we retuned to the little port for evening meal at one of the little tavernas by the water.

I like Greek tavernas, they are almost always friendly inviting places and the food is inexpensive and good value and it rarely disappoints. I like the carefree ambiance and the complete lack of formality, outside wooden tables and rattan chairs, check tablecloths, extensive menus and unhurried waiters. I like the cheap paper table covers so you can spill food and drink without worrying about the laundry bill, I like the certain company of scrounging cats and I especially liked these in Kamares because they had the most perfect setting by the sea.

Greece has a culinary tradition dating back thousands of years and over the centuries Greek cuisine has evolved and absorbed numerous influences. Typical dishes include souvlaki, fried meatballs, squash balls, octopus, shrimp, squid, feta cheese, olives, stuffed vine leaves, tzatziki eggplant dip, small sausages and giant beans. For evening meal, Greek tavernas serve such specialties as moussaka, kebabs, pastitsio, stifado, braised beef with onions and paidakia, which is delicious grilled lamb or goat chops. My personal favourite is Kleftiko, which is a knuckle of lamb, cooked slowly and served with vegetables and rice. In Greek, kleftiko means stolen meat and according to legend, this dish would be made with a lamb stolen from a flock as it grazed on a hillside. The thief would cook the meat over many hours in a hole in the ground, sealed with mud so that no steam could escape to give him away. It was on the menu tonight so we had that and a chicken souvlaki and shared a bit of both. We had a final drink and the friendly lady owner gave us a clean paper tablecloth as a souvenir.

It was a lovely clear night with a bright full moon and as we finished the day on the balcony we both wished that we had planned to stay longer here in this perfect place.

http://www.greekrecipes.gr/grs/grsp.php?recipeid=205

Greece 2009 - Day 5 Sifnos, Kamares

Once on board we made our way to the open top deck and made ourselves comfortable in the sun. We knew all about the Agios Georgios because we had used it last year so we knew the best place to sit. After the commotion of leaving the harbour the ferry settled down on course for neighbouring Sifnos and it was quite perfect. There was a calm blue sea, electric sunshine and a cloudless sky, with a mythos in hand I could have stayed there on the top deck for a fortnight but it was only a short forty-five minute journey and as we watched Serifos disappear behind us in haze of heat we quickly approached Sifnos where we had stayed last year but needed more time to see the things we missed.

The boat arrived in the port of Kamares early in the afternoon and the apartment owner met us in the busy main street and drove us no more than five hundred metres to the hotel and without any fuss showed us to our little room at the top of the pretty little hotel complex. It was absolutely delightful with traditional decoration and furniture and a terrace with a glorious view over the beach and the surrounding countryside and although I cannot adequately explain why we felt immediately at home.

It was a beautiful day and from the balcony there was an unbroken blue sky and we were surrounded by scrubby hills that were not attractive at all but paradoxically very attractive indeed. Apparently the whole of the summer through late July and August had been spoilt by continuous high winds but today there was not a hint of wind and the place was simply idyllic.

On the downside, somewhere along the way I lost my sunglasses. I was very attached to those sunglasses, I found them on a golf course in 2003 and they have been with me ever since.

After we had settled in we wasted no time in going back to the harbour where there was a great selection of tavernas set along the side of the water with the sea lapping gently in a soporific sort of way and an enormous amount of fish swimming around in the expectation of being thrown chunks of left over bread. Kamara is a lovely sort of shabby chic village with a strip of lively, colourful shops on one side of the main road and temping tavernas and bars on the other. It is all nicely understated and feels warm, friendly and safe. We choose a table at the water’s edge and had a leisurely meal that probably included Greek salad and calamari but I was just so relaxed that I simply cannot remember, I was so happy it was like being wrapped in a comfort blanket.

After lunch we picked a spot on the beach and lay in the sun and went for a swim and squandered the rest of the afternoon as it just casually slipped slowly away towards sunset time. Back at the Sifnaika Konaika apartments we enjoyed early evening on the balcony of exactly the same room as last year that we had liked so much we specially requested again. I had a cup of tea and then came to my senses and followed it up with a mythos and then there was the best part of the day when Kim found my sunglasses – I had left them in the car on the journey from the port to the hotel – what a relief!

Later we walked back to the port and we ate in the harbour of course, at a taverna with green tablecloths and a traditional rustic menu and we spent a whole evening eating, drinking and feeding the fish with the over generous portions of bread that were served with the meal. We both liked Serifos but we liked it here better, it seemed more relaxed, more friendly and best of all less expensive. When we had finished our meal we climbed the hill back to the apartments and sat on the balcony with a bottle of red wine until very late.

http://www.sifnaikakonakia.com/index.htm

Greece 2009, Day 3 Serifos, Hora

The next morning the anticipated spectacular sunrise just didn’t happen because although the sun arrived as regularly as it ever does its first appearance was obscured by a hill on the other side of the bay and then by an inappropriately placed building opposite the hotel. This meant that we would have to wait until we would be in Folegandros in a few days time where we knew we could rely on the early morning solar experience. It was a bit windy still and while we had breakfast on the balcony, consisting of pastry, fruit and an excellent cup of tea we could see the boats in the harbour moving about restlessly at their moorings in response to the swell of the sea.

Today we were planning to visit the Hora about five kilometres and a twenty minute bus ride away and by the time we pitched up for the ten o’clock ride the wind had dropped, there were no more clouds rushing in and the sky was an uninterrupted blue. The little green Mercedes bus was at least thirty years old (probably more) and the driver took the fares, blew his horn to indicate departure and set off on the only bus route on the island. Every seat had retrospectively fitted seat belts but this must have been only to satisfy some EU directive because it was impossible to use them because they were neatly strapped up and secured with those little plastic ties that can only be released by cutting through them completely.

So without the security of a seat belt we travelled to the top of the mountain through several hairpin turns and going back and forth across the face of the mountain until we came to a spot where the bus was able to turn around and leave the passengers at the entrance to the lower square of the village. There was an alternative way of reaching the Hora but that involved an arduous climb along a mule path which interlaced several times with the road but it looked like hard work and so definitely worth the €1.40 fare on the bus to ride in relative comfort to the top.

After visiting the redundant windmills, now being converted into holiday accommodation, we followed the signs to the Kastro and passed through pretty streets where the walls of the buildings squeezed in close to the narrow lanes and tracks but then opened out into the delightful main square of St. Athanasios about halfway to the top that was a complete contrast to the agoraphobic streets that led to it from all directions. Here was the immaculately whitewashed church, the neoclassical town hall, which was in need of a bit of attention, a traditional taverna called Zorba’s with blue doors and windows and Café Stou Stratou a trendy ouzerie across the square selling coffee and traditional Greek snacks to a handful of customers. We passed through without stopping and continued towards the top and the little church of Church of Agios Konstantinos from where there was a terrific view in all directions and especially down and over the port of Livadi stretched out below.

The Hora of Serifos is one of the most spectacular and attractive in the Cyclades, it is how I imagine Ios might have been if it hadn’t been discovered and turned into a Euro pleasure zone because here there are no bars or nightclubs and best of all no shops either. On the way back down we passed by renovated houses which shared the streets with various abandoned properties where a glance inside revealed the truth of a hard life without utilities from only a relatively short time ago. In the gaps between the buildings there were great views over the barren rust coloured hills that reminded me of the bodywork on my first car, a Hillman Avenger, and the now calm inky blue sea in the bay of the harbour that looked like a giant inkwell full of Quink.

After we had circumnavigated the town we returned to the main square, which was by now basking under a hot sun, and we stopped for refreshment and a rest. A nice feature in the bars and cafés in Serifos was the hospitable habit of providing customers with a jug of cold water. I was unsure of this at first because I was brought up with a paranoia of drinking water abroad, so bad that I used to wash my teeth in bottled water in case I inadvertently swallowed a millilitre or two. In fact the first time that I went to Greece, to Kos in 1983, I had to have typhoid injections and a certificate to prove it! Well, how things change and now it appears to be safe to drink the water across the whole of the Eurozone without suffering ill effects or an upset stomach and this was certainly the case in Serifos.

After the stop we took the bus back to Livadi and made plans to return again the following afternoon. It was hot now so we rested and enjoyed the view from the balcony and then later looked for somewhere to eat. We quickly passed by last night’s disappointing restaurant choice and selected a traditional fish and meat taverna on the beach just beyond where the pavement ended and a dirt road began. Waiters crossed the street with trays of food, wine, and beer to customers who were dining by the sea. The restaurant was welcoming, the seafood was delightful, the staff were friendly and we were accompanied by a flock of gregarious ducks. We had made a much better choice than the previous day so thought we might return later.

In the afternoon we went for a couple of hours to an alternative beach behind the town where there was the welcome shade of the whitewashed armirikia trees but could have done without the booming music from the beach bar that spoilt the otherwise ‘get away from it all’ mood of the place.

In the early evening we sat on the balcony and watched the lights in the bay twinkle into life and as the main street started to get busy with the first of the evening’s diners we returned to the friendly taverna on the edge of the town and had a second good meal of the day. At the end of the second day we were in full holiday mood now and beginning to enjoy Serifos and although we agreed that we probably prefer Sifnos (our next stop) we were able to reassess our unnecessarily negative first day thoughts which now seemed to have been a little bit hasty.

Greece 2009 - Day 2 Serifos, Livadi

It was a windy day and the high winds whipped up the sea into little white meringue peaks on top of the pitching waves. Although we had an allocated seat on board we preferred to stay outside for the entire journey and watch the islands slipping by as we made our progress towards Serifos. Serifos occupies an important part of Greek mythology, since its name is connected to two of the greatest heroes of the mythology, Odysseus and Perseus, while it is also said that the Cyclopes lived in its caves. More recently the island was famous for the mining of iron ore and as we approached the south west of the island we could clearly see the remains of the old workings that only finally closed down in 1963.

The ferry arrived at eleven o’clock and we were surprised to find the port of Livadi unusually quiet and without the normal reception committee of dozens of apartment owners trying to find a customer. It was all very lethargic as we left the windy ferry port and set about locating our hotel. This didn’t take long and we found the Hotel Naias one street back from the main port road and it turned out to be a traditional little place, basic and clean but without any frills. I was expecting something different but at least we had a nice balcony with a good view over the port and its crescent shaped beach fringed with cafés and tavernas. Outside it seemed to be getting windier and shutters were rattling, furniture was being rearranged and the taverna umbrellas were flapping madly as though going through some pre take-off routine. We left our bags, closed the room and went immediately to the harbour to get acquainted with the place.

At almost midday it was time for a mythos but as we walked along the road we were surprised to find many of the tavernas were closed with little sign of life. Finally we choose a place with blue umbrellas and tables on the thin strip of sandy beach and we selected one in the sunshine. We will never know if this place was open or closed because Kim’s patience tanks were on empty and after only two minutes or so she decided that service was too slow and insisted that we move on to an alternative place a little further on where the yellow umbrellas and trendy furniture had caught her eye.

The Yacht club was a nice place with a mix of holidaymakers taking snacks and local men drinking coffee in that languid sort of way that elderly Greek men do. The down side was that this turned out to be the most expensive place in the village and I suffered a case of severe shock when a small beer cost a whopping €5 and the food was equally expensive. I worried that this might be normal on Serifos and I began to mentally recalculate the holiday budget but after we left and walked through the village we checked the menus in the other places and were relieved to find that on average prices were a lot closer to what we were expecting and we didn’t go to the Yacht club again because I don’t appreciate paying Covent Garden prices on a little Greek island.
Whilst these string of Cycladic islands are all the same they are all completely different at the same time and Livadi had a unique quality that set it aside from other places we have visited. Serifos is not a popular holiday destination for overseas visitors and a bit like Amorgos (in my opinion) a place that the Greek people have sensibly kept back for themselves because close to Athens it is convenient to reach and it doesn’t suffer from the excesses of, say, Santorini or Mykonos.

There was no sign of the wind easing off and big white clouds were being blown in from the northeast and were tumbling dramatically over the mountain and the Hora at the back of the port. It wasn’t unpleasant and after we had poked about the village for a while we collected our swimwear and made for the beach and the first swim in the sea for almost a year. The sea was warm and inviting and the sand was lush and comfortable, so much so that I spent most of our two hours on the beach catching up on lost sleep from the day before.

Two hours on a beach is quite long enough I find so before we could get bored we left and went back to the taverna with the blue umbrellas for an afternoon drink and where this time at least three different waiters attended to our table and tried to persuade us to eat and we had to explain to each of them in turn that it was too early but we might return later. Leaving the taverna we looked for a mini market for alcohol and nibbles and were surprised by the high cost of the wine, especially noticeable for me having just returned from France where I had stocked up on wine at an average price of €2 a bottle. We selected the cheap plonk in the cardboard container and it turned out to be surpringly good.

We did return to the taverna with blue umbrellas but evening meal was a disappointing experience. We didn’t order a lot and the owner didn’t seem to like that, the food was delivered in a hurry and there was no friendliness and a distinct lack of hospitality about the place. Perhaps he was just having an end of season off day but we never went back again to find out. He was certainly more attentive to a large table of young Australians from a sailboat party who were spending lots of cash, drinking heavily and making the average English football supporter look as though they have impeccable manners.

The end of day one and over a final drink in a seafront bar some mixed views about Serifos, a beautiful island but a bit expensive and not as friendly as all of the others that I have visited and I didn’t feel as welcome. It was becoming chilly and there was no let up in the wind so after we had finished we went back to the hotel and went to bed in anticipation of a good sunrise in the morning and a planned bus ride to the Hora.