Okay, so I am on the night train to Thessaloniki from Istanbul, it ended up being an over 12hour ride, but was fine as I had the sleeper cabin and got some shuteye. Here is a pic of my cabin, I forgot to add in the last posting
We left at 9:30 pm for Istanbul and arrived in Thessaloniki at about 10:30 am, and here is how it goes…
Day 79 Thur. July 9 *Thessaloniki
Arrived at the train station and I got off, walked outside and right away I was confused…..all the signs were in Greek, so of course I had no idea what they said. Thankfully my hotel was not far from the station, but to ensure I was headed in the right direction I called and clarified. Stopped quickly at the atm machine to get some euro's and off I went down the street. I found it pretty easy and it wasn’t far,thankfully. Checked in and they let me into my room right away, but I found it odd that I was in a room with 2 single beds, so I went to inquire and she ended up moving me, but still there were 2 beds, so she double checked my booking and once again I was moved to yet another room, this one was a double bed, had a fridge, t.v and a sink, as it was a shared bathroom in the hall. Here it is…..(actually a hotel, not a hostel)
1st room
2nd room
and finally my room
I have to say, although it was not a luxurious hotel at all, it was so nice to have a double bed for a change and no top bunk and the whole room to myself….. :) and well I was still a bit tired so I thought I would try the bed out and took a short nap. When I finally got up, I decided to take a walk down to the ferry agencies and see about my options to do some island hopping in Greece. I ended up finding some very cheap shopping along the way so stopped and looked of course and got a few things, and then finally got down to the main area of the city where the ferry terminal is and all the agencies. I went into the terminal and they said you have to book ferries only through the agencies, so I walked out and went to the first one I saw and well, wasn’t a nice experience. The woman behind the counter was not the most friendly person, she told me the only option I have is 3 islands, and I have to come back to Thessaloniki to go to Piraeus in Athens to get to any other islands, which is all fine but she didn’t have to be so rude. So, since she did not want to hear what I had to say or my travel plan, I walked out. I decided to get something to eat before tackling any other agencies if this is what I was going to have to deal with. I stopped and had a nice salami and cheese Panini, very tasty. Then crossed the street to check out a few other agencies, the first one I went into was a young girl working and she was much more helpful and explained how most of the ferries work and what islands they cater too, she looked up some options for me and schedules but the bottom line was still not a good outcome. Thessaloniki was not the best stop for getting to the islands and hoping, as apparently you only have the option to go to any of the Sporades islands (Skiathos, Skopelos,or Alonnisos) so I thanked her and walked out to think for a moment. I really hadn’t looked up too many of the islands but I had an idea in my head of the route I wanted to take so this was not working for me. I decided that since the first agency I went to was the main one, and they deal with all the ferry companies I went back to see if a different agent would be of any more help. Well to my surprise, she seemed much better to begin with and she did give me other island options through a different ferry company after she at least listened to my plan, but that option to those islands was only available on Mondays, and well I wasn’t staying in Thessaloniki until then. Left there with all the information to figure out a plan and decided to walk through the bazaar shopping area on my way back to the hotel. I got in and went to my room, grabbed my laptop to try and figure out a plan so I could get things booked and move on. I asked the night reception if he knew anything about the ferries, the agencies and the islands, and he was quite helpful, he took me into the office while he looked up some agencies and the general ferry company and what options were available to me. He suggested that I take a bus to Volos and from there go to Skopoleos (which he said was a nice island) and then that way I could just get back to Volos and take a bus to Piraeus to get to any other islands as Piraeus is the main ferry terminal which is in Athens. I thought, for tomorrow I will go buy a bus ticket to Volos and then go to the ferry terminal there and book a ticket to the island and see what happens. So, finally someone was a lot more helpful and helped me get somewhat of a plan, I decided to turn in for the night to get a good nights rest.
Day 80 Fri. July 10
I got up to my alarm and went down for breakfast, it was coffee, tea, melba toast, coffee biscuits, cereal (but they had puffed wheat's-yum) and some small desert cakes, I quickly ate and then back to my room. I got ready and sorted a few things out, made some notes so I knew my plan from the bit of research last night and went to catch the bus to the bus station. I got there and I bought a ticket to Volos, the woman ended up giving me 2 after I said one ticket for me, and she was of course very rude (wondering it is just the woman here in Thessaloniki that are moody), anyways. I left and took the bus to the city center to go tour around and see what there was to see here. I walked down to the “White Tower” (is a monument and museum on the waterfront of the city, capital of the region of Macedonia in northern Greece. Originally constructed by the Ottomans to fortify the city's harbour, it became a notorious prison and scene of mass executions during the period of Ottoman rule. It was substantially remodelled and its exterior was whitewashed after Greece gained control of the city in 1912. It has been adopted as the symbol of the city.)
this is an old photo of the tower
and here are some pics of things inside the museum
some of the views from the top
Here are some random pics I took on the walk to the Tower, along the harbour
from there I walked up along one street to get to the ruins of the Roman Palace. I stopped in a pharmacy quickly to grab something and well there I had another bad customer service experience. I walk in and start to look and this gentleman who was just sitting right in the middle of the store with some buddies of his, walks over to me and says something, so first I say pardon me, and then he speaks more clearly and in Greek so I say I only speak English, so he says “what do you want”, nice…now that is a way to great a customer for sure….crazy, so again, I walk out. (so conclusion it is not just the woman in this city it is men also……and I am not saying Greeks in general as I know some great Greek people, it was just in Thessaloniki, I guess they are not used to foreigners or tourists of any kind, oh well)
So, I continued to walk along and I came across the ruins of the Roman Palace and Hippodrome, some churches, the Arch of Galerius, and some other random shots,
Rotunda-This monument was built in 306 AD as the mausoleum of the Roman Emperor Galerius. Later the Rotunda became a church dedicated to St. George
Aghia Sofia-Built in the 8th century, it is a beautiful Christian church modeled on the magnificent church of Aghia Sofia in Istanbul.
The Arch of Galerius-To celebrate Galerius' victory over the Persians in 297 AD, this archway was built in 305 AD and reliefs were sculpted onto the surfaces of the arch depicting scenes from the battle.
A little history about Thessaloniki, since I have made it sound so bad, but that is just the few people I came across but there is so much more to the city:
Founded in 315 BC and named for Alexander the Great's sister, Thessaloniki became an important Roman trading center and an early center of Christianity. The Apostle Paul preached here in the first century and many churches were built in the Byzantine era. In the Middle Ages, Thessaloniki was repeatedly invaded: it was successively occupied by the Slavs, the Saracens, Crusaders, and Ottoman Turks until its return to Greece in 1913. The city suffered a major fire in 1917 and was occupied again in the 1940s by the Nazis. Today, it has a population of over 300,000, Greece’s second largest city to Athens. It is one of the oldest continuous cities in Europe. The city is like a living museum. There are Roman era ruins right next to modern high-rises and everything in between.
So there you have it.
I walked back to my hotel and decided to organize my backpack, so unpacked and repacked and got rid of some things. Then I took another short nap, when I got up, I walked down the street to this small restaurant to get a bite to eat. Returned to the hotel, grabbed my laptop and started looking up places to stay on the island, I was not having any luck and wondering if this was a good idea after all, so I checked a few of the other islands as well for the dates I needed and still no luck. Of course I was getting a bit discouraged with Greece and seeing the islands, but tomorrow is another day and I will have to see what it brings. So, off to bed I went to get up and take a bus out of Thessaloniki and onto possibly a beautiful Greek Island.
Day 81 Sat. July 11 *Athens/Santorini
I woke up early and went down to reception to pay my bill, and found out that apparently breakfast was not part of my room, oh well, got it one day. Grabbed my bags and walked across the street to catch the bus. I arrived at the bus station and just made a decision to forget about Volos and head straight to Piraeus in Athens, as I knew I would have better luck there getting a ferry to one of the islands. I went inside and asked to changed my ticket to Piraeus and they did it no problem and the bus was due to arrive in about 15 mins, so great timing. I grabbed something to eat and got a few things for the ride and the bus showed up and I jumped on. I got 2 seats to myself, yahoo! I watched some episodes of Curb and tried to nap,I took some pics of the great views
we had a couple of stops along the way and then finally we arrived. I got out of the bus and it seemed like a really remote area, so I was a bit nervous how I was going to get to the ferry terminal, I asked the bus driver and thankfully he directed me across the street to a bus stop to catch the bus to the ferry terminal. So off I walked over there and a Greek couple were also waiting so I asked them if they knew what stop it was to get to the ferry terminal and they were going the same way and told me to get off with them. The ride was pretty quick but was more then 2 stops as the bus driver said. I got off when I was suppose to and had to walk up the street a ways and I saw the terminal but didn’t see any agencies. I decided to go into the Mc.Donald's to use the restroom and grabbed some food and then asked one lady there if she knew where the agencies were and she directed me. I walked out and went over to one of the agencies, and they said there was a ferry going to Santorini at 4:45pm, at this point is was almost 4pm already. I walked out and thought about it while I went over to the ferry terminal to look into a tourist information center to get some more information on the ferries in general. Well that was not easy, I asked a few people along the way where it was and as I walked along from their directions I could not find it. I found another agency, went in asked about the ferries again and she said the only one available for today was the 4:45pm to Santorini, and well the more I thought about it the more I realized if I wanted to get to the islands and not have to stay in Athens, then I needed to get on that ferry. I walked back in and bought the ticket, it was about 4:10 at this point and I had to walk as quickly as possible to the gate I needed to get on my ferry to Santorini. I arrived at the gate and well the ferry was not there yet, so I waited along with many other people. Ok, a few of my friends know what happened next, I of course had no idea where I was going to stay in Santorini as this was an impulse day so far, going to Piraeus terminal instead of Volos, not knowing what island I was heading to, so hadn’t had a chance to look up places to stay, but thankfully for cell phones and text messaging. I messaged a few friends and asked them to do some looking up online for me of hostels in Santorini and send me the phone numbers, so there I was on the ferry calling hostels and hotels to find the best deal and one with the facilities I was looking for and finally I did book one for a night. (Thanks guys for doing that for me, appreciate it!) The ferry actually arrived almost an hour late and we were due to arrive in Santorini at approx 9:30 pm, it made 2 stops along the way and this was actually suppose to be the faster ferry. I had a nice seat with a table and a plug outlet next to me so I could do some blogging when I was finally calm after finding a place to stay. Here are some pics I took from the ferry
We ended up arriving at 11:30pm and although I found out that most of the islands have people standing at the ferry terminal offering places to stay, I am still glad I booked a place on the way. I went up to a taxi and gave them the address, and he had 2 other people in the taxi but told me to jump in, so I did. Off we went to get to Fira, the main city in Santorini. I ended up chatting a bit with the couple from France, and they were actually staying at one of the hostels that I called who told me if I did not arrive before 10:30 I could not book with them, and funny enough these people were arriving at 11:30 and they could stay there, but whatever. We got into Fira, after a crazy fast ride on the cliff side road, and my stop was first. I got my bags, paid the driver and went down the long steps to my hostel. The reception was very friendly and gave me my key and towel and showed me to my room. It had 2 bunk beds downstairs and then up very steep narrow steps there were 3 separate beds and one of those was mine. I met one roommate from Ohio, she was studying in Luxemburg and doing some traveling before going home.She had just been in Italy, so she was telling me a bit about it. I was extremely tired and desperately needed a shower after a day of travel and sweating like crazy but I also needed to look up some other options online for the rest of my stay here. So, I grabbed my laptop and went out to the patio/bar area as that was the only spot with wifi and got online to look up some other places. I found a couple cheaper spots and wrote down the information, chatted with a friend at home and then back to my room to shower and crash. I met another roommate from Australia, chatted quick and then took my shower. Very strange bathroom the shower was just open, no curtain, so needless to say there was water all over the floor. Finished and went to my bed to get some sleep, my mind was working a mile a minute so made it difficult to drift off and then when I finally did, the other 2 roommates came back and they were not quiet at all, crap. Finally I did get some sleep.
Day 82 Sun. July 12 *Santorini
Santorini is a small circular archipelago of volcanic islands located in the southern Aegean Sea. With black and red beaches, and towns set on high cliffs, breathtaking views and unforgettable sunsets. It is also known as Thera (or Thira) forming the southernmost member of the Cyclades group of islands with an area of approx 28 sq miles. Santorini is essentially what remains of an enormous volcanic explosion, destroying the earliest settlements on what was formerly as single island and leading to the creation of the current geological caldera. The island slopes downward from the cliffs to the surrounding Aegean Sea. The island is the site of one of the largest volcanic eruptions in the world, ‘the Minoan eruption (Thera eruption) occurred some 3500 years ago. (a little info and history)
Got up early and went down for the very minimal breakfast, had a bowl of cereal and a piece of cake and then back to my room to get my things to go. I called the other hotel to find out how to get there and quickly chatted with the 2 girls again. I checked out and paid for my one night and off I went to the bus station that was apparently 5 min away and signs all along to see where to go. (And you might be able to sense a bit of sarcasm there), cuz it was longer then 5 mins and I didn’t see one sign until I was almost there. Anyways, made it there and kind of a funny spot, there are a bunch of buses and tons of people standing around, a little man in the small building who you ask for information and all he tells you is to look at the board with the places and schedules. So I found what bus I needed to take and I waited, I just missed the earlier one, of course I did. So, I just chilled out and waited for about a half hour. Finally got on the bus and off we went to Messaria, another village on the island. Got there, walked up the street and found my hotel… Hotel Anny. I paid for one night and for tomorrows breakfast of 4 euro which better be worth it, and went to my room. It is a small little room, with another double bed, a fridge, t.v, desk, full bathroom (no curtain again, so weird) and a nice patio area looking at the pool…NICE.
So I just chilled for a few minutes and then went across the street to the grocery store and got some things, especially water, can’t drink the water here at all. Dropped everything off in my room and walked back to the bus stop to go back into Fira to check agencies again, I need to try and be one step ahead now. Here is a couple of nice pics along the way.
(thought that was a cool shot)
I got to Fira and went to the one of the agencies and I bought a ferry ticket to Milos Island, was only 17 euro so not bad. Then I wandered around the streets of Santorini and took some pics.
they numbered the steps as they are the ones you take up to the top for the cable car or the donkey rides down to the ports
bottles of ouzo, u see this in almost every shop
I walked along and checked out some of the shops, and then decided to go for a bite to eat. I went up to this garden patio restaurant and I ended up getting a plate of spaghetti and for an appetizer was feta salad, which was actually 2 big chunks of feta with some spices and oil, was very good. So I am guessing that North Americans came up with the crumbling of feta as most places in Greece serve the feta in chunks, who really knows. They bring you a basket of bread and then when you get your bill you are charged for it, even though you never asked for it….kinda tricky. The waiter smelt like alcohol and after I left I thought about it and for sure it had to be ouzo, I heard that most of the locals do drink this regularly. Anyways, I left and as I walked along the main street I stopped in another agency who had a deal for a half day excursion for seeing the volcano, hot springs and Thirassia island for lunch, I got a ticket and headed back to my hotel. I also stopped at a pharmacy as I had a toothache and great thing in Greece and some other European countries, I could get some antibiotics over the counter, so I did. Got back to the hotel and they staff were watching the Michael Jackson funeral so I sat and watched with them for awhile, it was in English with Greek subtitles. Then I grabbed my laptop and did some searching for hostels in Athens and Milos, I had no luck with Milos, so I decided to change my ticket and go to Naxos. There was a Michael Jackson movie on so I sat with my puter and watched some, then it got late, so I turned in for the night.
Day 83 Mon. July 13
Got up and went to see what was for brkfast since I paid 4 euro for it, and well it was very disappointing. There was no cereal, just coffee, tea, some bad orange juice and two kinds of cakes, so I had 2 pieces of cake and the o.j and went back to my room. I got online and went and booked my flight to Malta and send out some emails, packed my things and headed out to change my ferry ticket to Naxos. Got on the bus and to Fira, went back to the agency and the price to Naxos was crazy and the times were not so good. The hotel offers a free shuttle service to the port but I didn’t know if they could offer it for the times that the ferry was going, so I walked across to the tourist information and asked to use the phone and call to ask. The answer was no, they could not accommodate me for the time I wanted for my ferry but I went ahead and booked it anyways, as the lady told me that the buses run quite early so I would get there in plenty of time. I also booked a ticket from Naxos back to Piraeus. I left and walked along to get back to the bus station, so I could get to a beach and chill out for the afternoon. I ended up stopping and sitting down to have a yummy crepe. Then to the bus station, again I just missed the one bus so I had to make a decision on where I wanted to go so I knew what bus to take. There were the options of the black beach, the red beach or the white beach. As much as I wanted to see any one of them, I also didn’t want to go to an over crowded beach of which I knew most of them would be, so I choose the one close to the hotel that was suppose to be nice and quiet with black sand. I ended up having to wait like almost an hour for the next bus, so just sat there and waited. Finally it came and jumped on and my stop was one of the last ones. Some pics on the way…
I got there and it was small, black sand, some lounge chairs with umbrellas and so I walked over to an area on the sand and pulled out my towel and set up my spot.
It was a pretty windy day, so I just sat and chilled for a little while. The white towel I had was black within minutes from the wind blowing the sand onto it. I didn’t really like it there too much which is odd for me, I like beaches no matter what but the wind was too much so I packed up and decided to get the bus back to the hotel and go enjoy the pool for awhile. I had to wait for the next bus to come and it was about 40 mins and got on and got back to the hotel. I stopped in my room, and then went out to the pool. Chilled out there for a few hours and then back to my room. Took a short nap and cleaned up and then went to the lounge area and looked up hostels for Naxos and Athens and found one for Naxos with a shuttle pick up and confirmed that, thank god! I organized some of my pictures and then off to bed. Excursion tomorrow.
Day 84 Tues. July 14
Good morning! I got ready and packed a bag for the day and went to reception to let them know I didn’t need anything for my room, and they thought I was checking out today, so unorganized. So, had to wait for her to look up the information to see that I had already paid for an extra day, silly really. I ended up missing 2 buses and so had to wait for the next one to get to Fira to go on my excursion for the day. I got off in Fira and walked along to to steps to get to the cable car, ya I know I should have taken the donkey ride down but I didn’t have a lot of time. So, I took the cable car, got to the bottom and took some pics
the donkey ride and the route they take to get to the top
The boat arrived and we boarded on, it was a glass bottom boat with a nice open deck area, so I found a spot and relaxed while we got on out way. First stop to the volcano…The islet of Nea Kameni, it is one of the youngest volcanic landforms in the eastern Mediterranean. It is an active volcanic centre, its oldest rock formations date back 430 yrs and its most recent a mere 50 yrs. (a bit of info).
We docked up to the island and all got out to walk up to the crater of the volcano, it was a bit of a hike and a very hot day but all good. There was a tour guide who told the story of it in Greek and English, but he went ahead quite a bit and so I wandered along on my own and met up with me. Here are some pics (I know it is just rocks but pretty neat)
We jumped back on the boat and headed down to the hot springs, for a dip in the water.
can you see the goats … lol
that was refreshing on this hot day on a boat. Onwards to the small island of Thirassia, we docked up and had about an hour and half to 2 hrs, to chill out, eat, whatever it was we wanted to do.
I walked up to a mini market, got some water and a Bacardi cooler and then stopped for a bite to eat and got a lamb warp for 2 euro, great deal. I sat down and ate, ended up chatting with an American couple who were on a cruise through the Mediterranean….they go to Greece, Italy, Croatia and Spain, I asked them about Croatia, Italy and Spain as those are a few of my stops and they told me how beautiful they all are, so can’t wait to see. After I finished eating I walked down to the little swimming area, as you see below, that was where I chilled out and took a swim for a bit before going back on the boat.
squid, I think…..tons of seafood cooking on open bar-b’s
this was on the ground in front of a restaurant, thought it was neat
Back on the boat, and off we went to head to Oia, where some people could get off to stay and watch the sunset. Along the way we went over volcanic reefs…..the pics are not too clear as they were taken through the glass of the boat.
Once we got to Oia, I stayed on the boat to go back and we arrived back in Fira. I got off and took the cable car back up again (I know, again I should have went on the donkey ride but there was a huge line up, so no go) Got to the top and walked back to the bus station, jumped on the bus and back to my hotel where I dropped my things in my room and jumped in the pool. I chilled out there for a bit and then back inside, showered and went to the grocery store to get some food, made myself a couple of wraps and sat outside to eat with some wine. I chatted with the reception girl who was from Athens, she comes to Santorini for the summer months to work and then goes back in the fall. Talked about my travels and told her about couch surfing as I was looking it up at the time and she was interested, so I told her she would be a great host for something like that. I did some research online for flights and hostels for my travels and then turned in for the night, tomorrow is a ferry ride to Naxos.
Day 85 Wed. July 15 *Naxos
Naxos is the largest island in the Cyclades, 166 sq miles. It was the centre of archaic Cycladic culture. It is the most fertile island of the Cyclades. It is one of the most self sufficient islands due to agriculture as well as cattle breeding. It is also known within Greece for its potatoes and is also an exporter of a special kind of sand used in making sand paper. It became a member of the Greek state in 1832.
Got up and packed my things, went to reception to check out and check an emails quickly then off I went to walk to the bus stop.There I met a young girl from Thessaloniki, and we chatted for awhile. She was just in Naxos and told me all about it, said it was nice. The bus came and I jumped on and to the port, it was quite busy there as usual, so I went to this small cafe to have some breakfast. I was pretty excited about having a real breakfast for a change but I paid for it, a ham and cheese omelette and some oj, well I thought it was a good deal until I converted it in my head, both were 5 euro each, ya I know a freshly squeezed large oj for 5 euro which would be 10 cdn $, and a 10 cdn $ omelette, CRAZY! It was good but not that good, oh well, only once. So, I sat and waited there for awhile and I overheard a travel agent speaking to a Korean couple about Milos Island and how nice it was and that kinda bummed me out that I couldn’t find a place to be able to go there, oh well. I got up and proceeded to go into the boarding building to wait there for the ferry, and there were tons of people, so I dropped my pack and sat on it. The ferry was suppose to come in at 12:20 but was an hour late and we all got on, someone was sitting in my seat and she asked if I would trade so she could sit with her friend, (some girls are so gay!) so I agreed and ended up the seat I got was right behind a big pole, Nice, thank god it was a fast ferry. I sat and watched some episodes of Curb to put me in a better mood. We arrived just after 3 pm, so was a fast ferry. I got off and there were all kinds of people standing with signs for accommodations so I found my driver and got in the van. Arrived at the hotel/ hostel, they checked in the other couple and then me, we walked to one dark dorm room down stairs and it was full, so back to reception and to another dorm room – same and it was also full. By this point you can imagine I am a tad bit annoyed, so I inquired about a single room and the price was ridiculous of which he said he was giving me a deal, well forget it. So off to yet another room, and it was quite nice, there were two beds put together and then a separate bed, he said that I had it to myself, but I might have to change tomorrow. I just told him I wanted the room I reserved so I didn’t have to move and I could just settle in and well he went off, and went on to tell me how when he travels he has had to change rooms several times and I should just deal with it and if I didn’t like it I can cancel. Well, no need to get hostile, the problem is that they stand at the port and try to get people to come and stay at their hotels, etc and in this case they obviously forgot what they already had booked and so my original bed was given to someone else, so not my error, jack butt! Ok, so I finally got my room which was the one with the 3 beds, there was a kitchenette and bathroom and a balcony, was nice. Then I inquired that the ad on hostelworld stated that they had wifi in the rooms and again he went off and asked me where I saw this and that I needed to prove this to him. Ha….so I grabbed my laptop and logged on and showed him the ad and I was right, so I told him he needed to check that out and correct it. He had his tail between his legs…….I was guessing he was the son of the owner as this was a family run hotel and of course he was a spoiled brat and acted like it. Ok, enough of that.
So here is the hotel, my room and the balcony of my room.
After that I ended up sitting in the lounge area on my laptop for awhile to book a hostel for Athens and checked some for Malta to be ahead of the game. Then I went to the grocery store that was conveniently just up the road, got some water, food for brkfast and snacks and a few Bacardi coolers and back to my room. I sat out on the balcony and had a few drinks and chilled out, planned my next couple of days here. I met my roommate, Estelle from France, she is on summer vacation with her brother, they were doing some island hopping as well, so I gave her the booklet I got on the ferry that has information about all the different islands, then watched some t.v and crashed for the night.
Day 86 Thur. July 16
Got up and had a small bowl of cereal that I bought an some fruit and sat out on the balcony to eat, was a nice sunny day. Today I decided to rent a scooter and drive all around the island, so I transferred my licence onto a memory stick and walked down to the rental place. He was a very friendly man, he let me load the information onto their computer and they filled out the form. I rented an 80cc scooter and he gave me a deal for the day, Nice.
(funny for a rental it is nicer then the one I had in Bermuda…lol)
I filled out the forms, got a map and information about gas, grabbed a helmet (a crazy thing I actually noticed even in Thessaloniki, some people don’t wear helmets on their scooters… gotta b crazy man!) then I went back to the hotel quickly. I packed a bag and lunch and got on and went to find the gas station. It felt good to be back on a scooter again. :) I found the gas station ok and filled up and then made my way down to the ferry port where the Apollo Temple was and took some pics
some other pics around the ferry port
Beautiful!
So, I was on my way on an adventure of this small island of Naxos, I checked out the map and planned my route. The lady at the rental place said to stay on the main road and you won’t get lost and you can see everything no problem….Ok then. I ended up stopping at another gas station to try and fix the mirrors on the bike and ended up chatting with the man there who used to live in Toronto, and well he offered to come on my adventure with me if he hadn’t already been drinking….lol, he was very pleasant man. Off i go….I just followed the road and checked signs along the way for the different small villages and took lots of pics of the landscape. So I will add a bunch of pics and just mention when there is something significant to tell of any pics….enjoy.
The first village that I stopped in that I knew of (lol) was Apiranthos, known as the ‘marble village’ as many of the buildings and streets are made of the stone. So, I parked the bike, took some pics, used the restroom and sat down to have a desert crepe (yup again, they are so good).
this is the top of a church of course and all marble
this is a mini scooter….so cute
I walked along the streets for a short bit and then back to the scooter and jumped back on to keep going to see what else I could find.
this is mount Za, I didn’t go up there, just took a zoomed in pic of it (lol) it is the highest peak in Cyclades (3278 ft), and funny it has a small church on top
A lot of the ride was up, mountains, the scenery was breathtaking and the sun was burning hot that day. I didn’t stop as often as I would have liked but there was not many spots to pull over or to sit and chill to just look at the views unfortunately. But it was still a great ride. Next I stopped to see statue of dionysos
More riding, after that small break and more pics, I noticed all along the way there would be just random chapels in the middle of no where, far from the villages.
Ok, so as wonderful as it was with the sun shining down and the wind blowing through my hair, I was getting a little frustrated as the lady stated you couldn’t get lost, she assured me that there would always be signs for the villages, not the case. I would see a name of a place on the map and then I would never come across it on any signs and visa versa. I didn’t really want to keep going further up the mountain when I knew my final destination was so far down, so I did my best at navigating. I would stop and examine the map and then odd time there would be someone in some of the small villages but they barely spoke english so I was on my own. I was feeling pretty hot and so I figured out the way to Orkos beach, it is known for it’s water sports. And that it was, there were tons of windsurfers, water skiing, etc
so there I just watched for awhile, chilled and then back on the bike again. I was trying to find my way back at this point, and I instead ended up in some remote villages and up and down the mountain in all different spots, the views again made it all ok but soon enough I did get really discouraged. The funny thing I found out later was almost all the signs showed Horas, well, I couldn’t find that on the map and that was because it was Greek for Naxos, ha-ha!
I tried finding this statue of a boy in the village of Fiero and instead I got a pic of a donkey just random in the trees, a cool tree and a cool rock
more views
Agia Tower
Finally after 8 hours of riding the scooter and a very sore butt, I made my way back to my village of Naxos. I hate to admit that I missed out on a very classical shot of Greece on the way due to my frustration of being somewhat lost….it was a little old man on a donkey with the big bags of grain on either side and he was wearing a vest and a little hat, was perfect …and is a memory in my mind.
I made it back to the village and I returned the bike, and took a quick walk to the beach, the sun was setting so got a few good shots
Back to the hotel, took a shower and got changed and walked down to the small restaurant and had a bite to eat. I again got bread, ordered steak and had a small bottle of wine, was all very good, and they let you take the bottle with you if you don’t finish it in the restaurant , pretty cool. (Interesting the waitress was German) I finished my meal and chilled for a bit, then took my bottle and headed back to my room. Estelle was there so we chatted for a bit and she asked for the link to my blog so I gave it….Hi Estelle, I hope the rest of your vacation was great! I went to the lounge area to check some emails and then back to the room to turn in for the night. Tomorrow is an easy day on the beach. :)
Day 87 Fri. July 17 (Happy Birthday Mom!)
My alarm went off for Estelle and I stayed in bed for a little longer, and relaxed. She packed up and left and I was on my own. I finally got up and had my breakfast out on the balcony again and then put on my bathing suit, packed my bag and headed to the beach. It was a nice quick walk up the road and I found my spot and laid my towel down and soaked in the sun. The water was pretty shallow, so was nice to go in and get refreshed as I was out in the prime sun hours. Again I witnessed some topless sunbathers and was tempted but not brave enough (lol). I stayed there from about 11 am til 3 ish and then packed up and went to the grocery store quickly and back to my room. There was no one new in yet so had it all to myself. I chilled out for a bit and then decided to take a walk down to see the castle. Some more random pics
this was ruins inside a museum
I never got a shot of the castle as there was not a good spot to get one. I went back to the hotel, went to the lounge and got online, sent some emails to hostels again in Malta and searched some more options. Then decided to go to my room and work on my blog.This is a pic from on top of the hotel, thought it was kinda cute, a windmill and a donkey.
I did some blogging and finished a couple and then crashed for the night. Tomorrow is time to head back to main land…Athens.
Day 88 Sat. July 18 *Athens
I slept in a bit today, and finally got up, ate the some brkfast on the balcony and then got ready, packed my bags and headed to the reception area. I paid my bill of which, really stupid, I had to pay for air conditioning, yes you heard me right, in a hot place like Greece, they make you pay for the use of the a/c, how else will they make so much money…lol. I logged online quickly to check some things while I waited for the shuttle to go to the port. There was a group of Spanish girls in waiting for the shuttle as well and man they would not stop chattering…lol. Finally, he came and we loaded in and off to the port. There was a line up already and of course everyone wanted to be in the shade, so was a bit crowded. We waited for about a 1/2 hr and then the ferry showed up and we got on. This particular ferry there were no seats assigned so you just pulled up a plastic patio chair or a spot on the deck and that was your seat. I found a quiet spot and a chair and got comfy (well as comfy as I could) and just watched some videos on my ipod. The ride was about 5 hrs and there was a lot of people, but smooth.
We arrived in Piraeus approx 6pm and I sat aside for awhile to avoid the crowd of people trying to get out all at once. I got off and there was thankfully a free bus that takes you to the city center, right across the street from the train station. I walked over to the station, got a ticket and checked with the information about the train I needed to get where I had to go for my hostel. I got on the right train which was different from the directions they gave but all good. I got off at my stop and the rest of the directions were right to walk up the street and turn left, easy enough. I got in and paid for one night, as they said I was going to have to change rooms tomorrow, fine. I put my things in my room and chilled for a short bit.
I went back down and asked the reception some information about a walking tour and the area. He also informed me of a NINJA concert (Nine Inch Nails & Jane's addiction), cool…he was going and was jumping the fence, which I considered but not sure that is a good idea as a tourist. Oh well. I went for a short walk and got a bite to eat, a chicken souvlaki (was only 2 euro…nice) walked over to the sister hostel to check out the laundry, so I could go do mine one day before I leave. Back to the hostel and got online to check out emails and more hostels for my next stop in Malta as well as making a plan for my days here. I also ended up chatting with an Australian guy who was actually sleeping up in the mezzanine area with 2 of his buddies as the hostel was over booked and to the reception guy. Finally I went to my room and my roommates, who I didn’t meet yet were already in bed, so I had to sneak in quietly and go to bed.
Day 89 Sun. July 19
I got up early with the intentions to go on the walking tour today.I went up to the rooftop terrace for breakfast and well another disappointing one, just toast, so I had a couple pieces and then back to my room to get ready. I had to pack my things and check out as they said I would need to change rooms. When I went down to reception, they put my valuables in the safe and the guy was able to work it out that I didn’t have to change my room anymore, so I got the same room, and bed and I took my big pack back up there. I decided to since the guided walking tour was cancelled I would go on my own walking tour.It was a very hot day out, so got my water bottle and day pack and off I went. First I went to find the bus stop for the airport that I needed to get to for Tuesday. On the way there I came across the Parliament Building and again I was too late to see the changing of the guards, but I took some pics of them in their cute uniforms…lol
From there I walked along and came to the National Gardens, so I took a nice stroll through there, and saw the Zappeion (Conference and Exhibition Center, it was used during the 1896 Summer Olympics as the main Fencing Hall. A decade later, at the 1906 Summer Olympics, it was used as the Olympics Village) and I took a pic of all the statue busts, and some other random shots…
I followed the map to find all 6 of the busts, it was fun, like a scavenger hunt
I came across this turtle just in one of the gardens, random…
I walked along and came to the road again and found the Temple of Olympian Zeus. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temple_of_Olympian_Zeus_(Athens) I paid to go in and I took lots of pics from different angles, read some of the boards explaining the area. Pretty cool stuff
this is the ruins of the roman baths, of course doesn’t look like anything now
I then made my way back to the hostel, and along the main road is the Hadrian’s Arch, which is the entrance to the Temple of Olympian Zeus
I got back to the hostel and just double checked what was on the guided walking tour to ensure that I go see all of it. Filled my water bottle and went on to travel up to the Acropolis,http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acropolis_of_Athens to see the Parthenon http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parthenon
It was so hot and there really was not much shaded areas to rest along the way up the mountain to the top. I stopped a few times to take pics and just rest when I did find a bit of shade.
Theater of Dionysos
And here it is …. the top of the Acropolis - Parthenon and other ruins
Views from the top
This is the Temple of Olympian of Zeus from the top of Acropolis
This is The Hill of the Muses (Mouseion hill), also known by its modern name Philopappos Hill, and that is the monumental tomb of C. Julius Antiochus Philopappos, dating to 114-116 ADoff was in the distance, from the view of Acropolis.
Another church off in the distance - Church of Panaghia Kapnikarea one of the oldest in Athens, dating back to the 11th century.
I made my way back down
This is a pretty cool shot…it is the Acropolis Museum….but what is really neat is if you look carefully you can see the reflection of the Acropolis in the glass windows….pretty wild.
I decided to talk a stroll through Plaka,the picturesque old historical neighbourhood of Athens, clustered around the northern and eastern slopes of the Acropolis, and incorporating labyrinthine streets and neoclassical architecture. It is built on top of the residential areas of the ancient town of Athens there are lots of tourist shops, small cafes and restaurants. Motor vehicles are not allowed in Plaka, and most streets are too narrow, so can’t accommodate them anyways. Along the walk you can see some more of the ruins that are all part of the Acropolis
this is the same church that I got a shot of from up on the Acropolis
Thought this was worth a shot….outside a shoe store of course, very popular sandal in Europe
Well, finally after all that walking I was getting hungry so I found a restaurant on the way back to the hostel and sat down and had a feta salad again and stewed meatballs, it was very good……and I was smart this time and declined the bread..lol….was all delicious!
I walked back to the hostel, met one roommate, she was an Aussie, we chatted quickly and I took a short nap. When I got up I met another roommate, a fellow Canadian, from Toronto, Marcella, she was just on vacation within Greece and the islands, so we chatted for a bit while I got my laundry ready and then I headed out to the laundromat to get my things washed up. I brought my puter along as there was free wifi there, so I chatted with some friends from home and waited. Once it was finally done, I headed back to the hostel and got myself some homemade gelato on the way…yummy! I returned and grabbed my camera to go out and take some night shots of the Acropolis, the Arch and the Temple of Zeus
it is a blurry shot but through the Arch at the right angle you can see the Acropolis
I returned back to the hostel and crashed for the night. One more day and then off to Malta, so looking forward to it.
Day 90 Mon. July 20
So got up today to my alarm but then to the other girl turning the lights on, which was fine, I should get up and do some more touring. I went up to brkfast and just did toast again. Back to my room, got ready and grabbed my laptop, got a confirmation from the hostel in Malta and wrote out my information for my flight. While I was down in the lounge area, I chatted with the reception about the NINJA concert tonight and he was interested but he was thinking he would go jump the fence along with the other guys, so oh well. I finished online and headed out to go see the Olympic Stadium, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olympic_Stadium_(Athens). I walked along and I ended up helping a few other people with some directions even though I wasn’t even 100 % sure where I was going but I found my way.
I finally decided I was going to that concert so I walked over to the music store and bought myself a ticket. I left and walked along to Monastiraki, a flea market neighbourhood in the old town of Athens, and it is one of the principal shopping districts in Athens. This area has clothing boutiques, souvenir shops, and specialty stores, so you can imagine it was full of people.
Then back to the hostel to figure out my plan for the night and get info for getting to and from the concert. I spoke with the reception and he told me what metro I needed to take and then from there I needed to get a taxi up the mountain where the concert was. Easy enough. I packed all my bags so they were ready for my very early departure and I took a nap. I got up in time, changed and went to catch the metro. I got to the stop I needed and walked out to find a taxi, got one, got in and he found the spot, was only 3 euro but all up hill. I got out, walked to the entrance gate of Vrahon-Melina Merkouri Theatre in Ymittos and checked through. There didn’t seem to be too many people, it was a small venue, up in a mountain with just some bleachers there, I am sure it would be easy enough to jump the fence but being a tourist as I said, didn’t want to risk it.
I grabbed some munchies and some water and made my way right up to the front, right up to the stage…….so awesome!
Now, I have to tell you this was the highlight of my whole trip in Greece. For every country I have been to, I was always looking to see if there were any good concerts coming while I was there and I would either just miss one or there would be one once I was gone, so this happening while I was there and it being Nine Inch Nails and Jane’s Addiction, even better.
So, the opening act was Jane’s Addiction and there he was right in front of me Perry Ferrell……they put on a great show as usual. He is very enthusiastic and he talks to the crowd, they played all songs I was familiar with. The other good part was the crowd although very excited about the band, seemed to all be more of an ‘older, more behaved group’….lol…(didn’t have to worry about getting trampled on or smashed into) I got some good shots and then a few are blurry but just wanted to add them so you could see just how close I was……..AWESOME PEFORMANCE!!!
Perry Farrell, right there in front of me…very cool!
Next on of course was Nine Inch Nails….Trent Reznor was not as enthusiastic as Perry, he pretty much just stayed right in the center of the stage with the mic,except when he was playing the keyboards or guitar, but I was right in front of the one guitarist. The really cool thing was while they were setting up for them to come on, I chatted with a couple of guys from Greece and telling them the last time I had seen NIN in concert was when they were with David Bowie and they performed a couple of songs together that they wrote together and so after about maybe 3 or 4 songs, they said ‘ this song is a special tune that we have only performed once before with a good friend of ours David Bowie’. Thought that was very wild since I just got finish telling the same story from the same concert. Again…..GREAT CONCERT…… AWESOME PERFORMANCE!!!
Trent very intense singing……Awesome!
(yes these are a bit bigger, I felt they deserved a larger view…lol)
The show lasted about 4hrs or so, and then I walked out, I tried getting one of the security guys badges but the one really liked the bands so he didn’t want to part with it, darn. I made my way to the main road and there was a row of taxis thankfully, so I jumped in one and gave him the directions and he knew where to go and off we went. I chatted with him, very pleasant man, he gave me his business card in case I ever come back I can always call him to give me a taxi ride, thanks man. I got back to the hostel just after 1 am, got my laptop to check a few last minute things for my flight and the hostel in Malta and then headed off to bed for a couple of hours, have to catch the bus to the airport at 3:30 am.
I got up no problem, grabbed my bags, checked out and walked down to the bus stop, paid and got on. We had to wait for a bit as I was early and quite a few other people got on, and off we went. We arrived at the airport just after 4 am, and I took a walk around while I waited for the ticket window to open. Finally checked my bag in and thank god it wasn’t too heavy. I grabbed some brkfast and went to my gate and waited. Continue on the next post…..
So, there you have Greece, and I apologize for my disposition in some of my post, but it was a bit trying at times, but overall Greece is a very beautiful country and so much history there as well. I am glad I got the opportunity to see it and explore some of the history, I would definitely consider coming back to see some of the other islands and a few other regions as well, there really is so much more to see. I hope you enjoyed the visit to Greece as well, and next we move onto Malta, small island, just below Sicily. The birth place of my father. Can’t wait……see you in Malta!!!
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