Mykonos to Athens (pictures to come)

After arriving in Mykonos via one of the fast ferries, we rented mopeds, drove up to the Northern part of the island to check out a few beaches before heading back to get cleaned up for dinner. We ate at a restaurant called El Greco which was right on the coastline. Our table overlooked the water and we sat down to eat a lovely meal watching cruise ships dock and listening to the waves crash. Steph got adventurous and tried some seafood risotto… apparently it was awesome but hard work to eat since she had to de-shell everything!

After dinner we decided it was time to check out Mykonos Centre. Steph and Mark opted to ride the bus in while Susanne and Chelsea went on their trusty little moped. We were moving right along on our way down to the centre when we rounded a corner and a police officer pulled us over into what looked like a checkpoint… we weren’t speeding! Hmmm… why are getting directed to the side of the road? Oh well, we’re not about to argue with police officers in a foreign country so we pull over. These two women come over dressed like they are ready to hit the town. One of them whips out a badge and says that we have to get off the bike so that they can search us for drugs and other illegal substances… they are undercover narcotics officers! Phew… at least we know we’re not getting a ticket at this point but are still a little nervous as you can imagine. They search through everything we have… seriously inspecting hand sanitizer and lip gloss as possible drugs… then they come across Susanne’s back medication.. uh oh… they are a little concerned about this one and ask a bunch of questions but luckily let us off because her name is on the bottle.

Back on the road again! We drive towards the downtown until we have to stop and park the moped because it is illegal to drive in the downtown area. We start walking through what it called “Little Venice” a massive labyrinth off shops, bars and restaurants that all look the EXACT same. It’s a pretty lively place with a lot of young people… music blasting through the narrow streets and people everywhere. We start making mental reminders of how to get back to the moped but it wasn’t easy. Believe it or not, we actually run into Steph and Mark who were also downtown for a stroll and eventually find our way out!

Thursday was spent sightseeing the most beautiful and popular beaches and getting the last few swims in and rays caught before heading back into a sweltering Athens. Mykonos is very different from Santorini. Santorini’s famous white and blue churches are white and red in Mykonos, buildings look a bit more square versus the round roofs in Santorini; we saw no wineries on our travels here whereas Santorini is full of them due to the volcanic rock which apparently is a haven for wines to grow due to the rich soil. Mykonos, however, has the kind of white, sandy beaches you see in pictures whereas most of Santorini’s beaches we visited were more “pebbly”.

Mykonos is definitely a party island. It starts with the number of 20 something’s on the ferries, continues with mopeds flying around with young girls in bikinis with flowing hair and huge sunglasses and then ends in the late hours with parties downtown. Beaches and streets are pretty empty in the mornings, as the island seems to “sleep in” from the night before. Christina, who runs the pension we stayed in, told us that you often see 3 or 4 people on a moped at 8 a.m in the morning (likely still inebriated) coming home from all night parties. A nearby bakery serves as something close to Halifax’s pizza corner and makes a killing off these folks who are starving in the mornings after partying all night and stuff themselves with pastries and bread. So glad we got to experience this island where many famous rich Greeks have homes. We overlooked one of such homes from our balcony. Socrates (forgot his last name) who owns a soccer team, is a millionaire and had a home built into the cliff with an elevator which was blasted into the rock and which ends within the cliff below where his yacht is docked. Just like James Bond. His home is guarded by guys who apparently carry machine guns, which Christina found out when she used Socrates’ driveway once to turn her car around. The lifestyle of the rich and famous, fun to have a glimpse at it.

We got back into Athens late in the evening and made our way to our new home for two nights, Athenstyle. We happened to arrive back in Athens on the first full moon in August” the one day of the year where as Acropolis is not lit up by the usual floodlights but is open for the public to view it in the bright moonlight. Chels and Susanne climbed the slippery marble stairs once again to view this spectacle and counted themselves quite lucky to be able to witness this fairly unique event at around 12:30 a.m. or so with hundreds of other visitors before it closed at 1:30 a.m.
Athenstyle Hostel is close to Monastariki Square right next to Athens’ flea market where we spent most of today, our last day. Great location with a view of the Acropolis from our patio. Chels and Susanne wanted to see the 2004 Olympic Stadium and made their way via Metro and bus. The outcome was a bit of a surprise. A huge complex which everyone surely remembers from TV broadcasts, but surprisingly very little of it is used today and most of the site looks desolate and like a ghost town. Pools are empty, weeds are growing and we could not even find one set of the Olympic rings anywhere. Not etched into stones or buildings, only a few signs of the “Olympic Stadium” or “Tennis Courts” remain but without them, one would not be able to draw the parallel from the remaining pools, indoor pools, stadiums etc. to the 2004 Olympic games. Quite amazing really. All this money spent on them and no use of what were incredible facilities after 5 years already.

So here we are, all packed for our 3:30 a.m. departure to the airport tomorrow (in 4 hours), hanging around as little group of four in our room with Greek television in the background asking the famous question one seems to ask at the end of every trip. “Ready to go home?” Yes and No. It was a fabulous trip with so many great memories, but I guess we are all lucky to have the kinds of lives at home that we also miss.

So we are on our way home to see friends and family we missed, but as soon as we get home, we will likely all start planning our next trip. If we are not doing so already…. ;-)

Will drop another note during our travels home maybe if we have another experience such as Conair…cheers.

*Pictures are coming in the next few days!

Beaches & Moped: Santorini

Santorini to Mykonos

Tuesday Mark and Steph went to a wine museum which they quite enjoyed for about 6 Euro or so which gave you a couple of wine tastings and a tour. Then they hung out by the pool and relaxed. Chels and Susanne were off on a moped adventure again. This time we had to rent one bike for the two of us as you need a motorbike license to rent a bike in Santorini which Chelsea did not have. Susanne, however, happened to have taken a course years ago right after university and still has a class “A” license which allowed the rental for us. So we stepped it up to a 125 cc “machine” (as Chelsea calls it) and took off for a day of visiting beaches and seeing the countryside. We saw the black beach (mostly volcanic rock), went to the red beach, then a white beach where we had some snacks (more octopus for SD)

We then joined Steph and Mark for dinner at a popular little place close to Pension George’s later in the evening. The seafood was supposed to be really fresh at this restaurant and as it turns out, they were right! Susanne was more than happy with her grilled squid (they brought the whole thing out, not sliced or cut up…yum!). Mark and Susanne finally tried Ouzo (I know, about 10 days too late, but we just never got around to it as the wine is quite cheap). Well, Susanne is a Sambuca fan and was a bit disappointed with Ouzo compared to Sambuca. Does not quite have the kick and is sipped over Ice. It was OK, but not quite what we all expected.

We strolled around again in the town of Fira in the evening. It is a really bustling place with a lot of people in the streets, bars open all hours of the night, stores open until midnight and very much geared toward tourists and their wallets. Fun place, though!

We left Santorini today after dropping the moped off, doing a bit of shopping in Fira and hopped on the hi-speed ferry to Mykonos via Ios and Paros. It was called the “Flying Cat 4” and looks kind of like “The Cat” at home. We arrived in the afternoon and were welcomed by a German lady named Christina who runs Mama’s Pension just outside of the port. We lucked into a great place again. Both the Santorini and Mykonos hotel were recommended by a friend of Steph’s and we owe her a bottle of wine, I think. There is a pool next door which belongs to an aunt or cousin, some other relative runs a restaurant next door; the whole street seems related and Christina is a bundle of energy who told us exactly how we best spend our time to see most of the Island in the one day we have here.

Off it was to the rental agency again: this time an ATV for Steph and Mark, and another moped for Susanne and Chelsea. Mykonos has about 10,000 people on the island in the winter, and about 30,000 in the summer. By the amount of young people on the ferry it was quite obvious why Mykonos is known as the party island. We drove around the Northern part of the island before sunset and Susanne had to kick Chelsea off the moped a couple of times as this little moped is only a 50 cc and really struggles making it up hills. While Steph and Mark lucked into a more powerful ATV, we ended up coming to a complete standstill going up two hills and just about fell off the bike because we were laughing so hard! Susanne would kick Chelsea off, make it to the top of the hill and then let her back on. We learned later how to take better run-ups and how to duck and weave to be the most aerodynamic….this is all at about 40 or 50 km/hour so we must have looked like quite the beginners… it was all good though!

Tonight, we are staying at the hotel to enjoy the views from our balcony during the sunset and are then heading into town for supper and a glimpse of the party scene. Tomorrow we are off to visit some of the other beaches (some of known as party beaches and we are almost expecting something like Miami Beach during Spring break). Everyone stays up all night here, we are told, so we are curious to see how things shake out.

More pics from Santorini

Stunning Santorini!

Sunday morning we had a flight booked to Santorini. The half hour flight was not much more expensive than a ferry and would save us hours which we thought we would rather spend on the Island than in transit.

Our morning started at 2:45 a.m. as we had to catch a cab to bus X95 which would take us to the airport. Some went to bed at 11:30ish, whereas Susanne had gone to bed at 2 a.m. Our little travel adventure began when getting on the bus which was at about the same time some bars and parties likely finished. 4 young Greek guys, who were obviously inebriated, dressed in plastic emergency rain ponchos, surgical masks and “fragile” tape wrapped around them popped onto the bus and made their way toward the back where we were sitting. They had a video camera going and thought of themselves as being pretty funny and entertaining. They all kept bouncing and banging around the bus as it made its way around corners and through stops. Wow, I don’t think I was ever THAT young….

We got to the airport with an hour until our flight and started up in the long “Aegean Airlines” line. When we had not made it to the front with 30 minutes to go until departure time, we asked some questions and found out that we had to go to counter 119, then 78. Service in Greece’s transportation system, is horrendous and whether it is a person at a bus station selling tickets or this customer service rep at the counter, most experiences include getting the feeling that one has annoyed the person asking the question and getting an answer so short and often incomplete, that one really has to fill in the blanks and hope for the best.
Whoever thought that we wouldn’t get our exercise on this trip was wrong… We had about 15 minutes to drop our bags off, make it through security, and run to gate 31, which of course, was the last one in the terminal. It was like a slalom race which ended with us getting in line behind 5 or 6 of the last passengers. Phew, running in flip flops is always a challenge. ;-)

We thought we just made it only to then see some other folks “strolling” over who were behind us in the line-up and who were obviously much cooler about the plane having to possibly wait for them. But: we made it and enjoyed the very quick ascend/descend as Santorini which is only 200 km’s from Athens. To fly into Santorini at 6:30 a.m. is a real treat as it is sunrise and the surrounding coloring adds to the already beautiful scenery when flying over the Island. Santorini used to be circular, and seismic activity and volcanic eruptions made part of the Island sink, leaving a caldera of cliffs which are stunning to see from land and sea.
We got into town at 7 a.m. and had to wait for our rooms so we strolled into town, only to run into people who were still up from the night before. The capital Fira “never closes”. Stores, bars and restaurants are open pretty well 24 hours and everything is geared toward socializing, it seems.

Our accommodations at Pension George’s are excellent with loft apartments and a nice pool where we hang out most of the day after naps. The evening was spent walking around this town and Steph/Mark went out for a nice anniversary dinner.
We found out about a tour called “See Santorini in One Day” which we planned for Monday.

It was an excellent tour starting at around 9 a.m, saw some sights including a castle, some churches via bus, then climbed onto the 18th century replica King Thiras and continued on via boat. We took a tour along the coastline, stopped at a little island with an active volcano (no bubbling lava, no worries) which we had to climb (more climbing, surprise, surprise) and then anchored in the water a few hundred meters close to the sulfur hot springs. We were told to “jump” which we did and then had to swim over, periodically passing little “turds” which were made of sulfur and smelly. The water got warmer and warmer as we got closer to the little bay housing the hot springs. The water got warmer and it was neat to swim in them with dozens of others who were also trying to avoid swimming into the floating turds.
We got back on the boat and stopped at an Island for lunch (more calamari , hmmm) where we had some really bad service and Mark was ripped off by being passed a $20 Euro bill as change from his $50 which was ripped and seems to be useless on this island. Will check with a bank to see if they may exchange it.

We ended the day by being dropped off in Oia which has the longest and most sunning sunsets on the Island. We had to again climb from the water all the way up steep steps to make it to the top, deciding to forego $5 Euro donkeys which line the cliffs at various points of this island to help those that don’t want to or can’t climb on their own. I can see the need for alternate transportation, but what a poor life for these little donkeys though. They have become a bit of a symbol for Santorini, alongside with the white churches with blue roofs. The churches have a neat story. There are over 500 churches on the island as all families used to have their own church. The white and blue churches go years back in the tradition where blue was a symbol for the sky and white for waves. They are indeed beautiful and very picturesque in the sea of roofs.

The sunset was spectacular and parts of Oia fill up starting at around 7:30 or so with people lining streets and roofs to get the best glimpse of the stunning setting over the water. It was over by 8:20 or so and followed by an applause from the crowd once the last sliver of sun disappeared behind the horizon.
Absolutely amazing!!!

Island Aegina: pack a moped, sun screen, and a bathing suit

We decided to forego a planned trip to Olympia (would have been about 9 hours on a bus), then looked into car rentals and found out that our Canadian driver's licenses are worth a whole lot of nada here; you must have an International license. Susanne has one somewhere in a drawer at home, but did not bring it. So the "let's trade the bus for a car for a day idea" was out the window and when out for a drink last night, it was suggested to us by an Australian guy with a cool accent that a day trip to the nearby Island of Aegina would be a great way to spend a day without much travel in vehicles. We hopped on the metro after our "scrumptuous" free breakfast (one piece of bread with either nutella, jam or happy cow cheese...hmmmm...moooo) and arrived in Piraeus to take the one hour ferry over.

The metro here is amazing. 1 Euro and you can take it anywhere on the three metro lines for 1.5 hours, really affordable. Once we got into Aegina with a population of about 11,000 people (plus tourists, of course), we rented 2 mopeds for Chelsea and Susanne. Steph and Mark opted for an ATV they could share and we set out to explore the Island. What a drive and scenery! Beach after beach alongside the road, tavernas, and nice vacation homes. There is definitely some money on this Island ;-)
We split up for a few hours to give Steph and Mark some time to hang out. We figured that sleeping in a room of 4 with bunk beds and hanging out with us girls 24/7 would maybe tire Mark out after a while....what a guy though, loving this whole "one guy with three ladies" which he seems to get from waiters a lot of restaurants.

It continues to be super hot and sunny. After three weeks in this heat, we seem to not pay attention to temperatures anymore. Likely high 30's or so. Mark got a raccoon burn from his sunglasses (we've all had one at some point, I'm sure) and the rest of us have stripes and tans in all kinds of different shades and colors from various tank tops, bathings suits and straps. Chelsea called my tan on my legs "looks like Neopolitan icecream" today. Darker on the bottom, a bit reddish higher up from the moped ride when the shorts ride up a bit (usually nice white shorts tan from the build...yes, excellent!) and then definitely whiter at the top where bathing suits are now trying to catch up with areas that did not see the sun for a few weeks during the build. Just a treat to see from far away, very sexy ;-)

Got home at around 9 pm and packed for a few nights on the other Islands. Are flying into Santorini at 5:30 a.m. tomorrow morning and staying there for three nights, then one night in Mykonos before coming back to Athens.

We have now been on this journey for three weeks, one week to go. I think we have the conversation every day that we just cannot believe how much we have been able to see and experience. Every single day brings something new which is in its own unique way so memorable.

To buzz along open roads on a little moped in flip flops and pull over whenever a beach looks kind of fun, to then walk into the water which is clear, often turquoise and warm like bathtub water....definitely a memory I will cherish ;-)

One little note: tomorrow, August 2nd, is Steph and Mark's first wedding anniversary, they were married August 2nd of 2008. Steph and Mark, we all wish you a very special day in the beautiful and romantic Santorini (yes, they have their own room for that night!) and wishing you many, many more years of happiness, health and lots of laughs.