Ramblings from Greece

So the final post on the March getaway, only posting this as I got three new photos, I just took them then realised what a lovely sequence I had on my hands. Leaving Sifnos at the end of my Greek getaways is becoming harder to do. This is the third time and trip four is already planned. At least I will have some company, next time I am homeward bound. Even Ronnie seems to have grasped the situation, having said goodbye to Mike’s son two days ago, he having taken the same ferry. After leaving Serifos, we rounded one of that islands tips, to gradually reveal a sinking sun, before it finally dipped below the horizon for last night.   At the end of the journey we got the call from the captain to go the the unloading point on the ferry, once I got there I saw a couple with a lovely back Labrador. I was in need of a bit of dog love, so I went over and asked if I could say hello. She was very friendly and periodically took to robustly washing my face, like Luna does. There was a lot ...

So I had a very disturbed sleep the night before my ferry was to sail to Sifnos. I got up the next day, the wind did not seem to bad, and using the Marine Watch  app, I could see my ferry departing Syros on time. So I knew all would be well. It wasn’t a bad crossing, but the rough seas made us late. Hazel and Mike were there to greet me, and we went straight off to the house of the people who run the Cameron restaurant. The house was built by the husband, he has done some amazing things in wood, tables, shelves all sorts. We had coffee, dried figs and Halva. They are a lovely couple and have this huge gentle giant of a dog called Tango. We then went to Hazel and Mike’s house and latterly watched the F1 opening race with our friend Kim. Mike’s son Chris is on Sifnos, it was great to catch up with him too. In the evening we had a lovely meal at Cameron and I saw their waitress, Anna who I have met before.  The next morning I spent time chatting to Hazel about my plans and in the...

So my last full day on Paros and I took the car out again. This time to a village I had driven past, but needed to  explore properly. So I had a wander around the old part of Lefkes, I would have cheerfully bought a coffee or a candle in the church but everything was closed up. I did see an old lady wandering the streets, but no one else really. It’s gone cold again, that strong wind is back. Temperature single digits. I did hear the church  bells, that was largely the only sound coming out of the village. Here as elsewhere Montbretia is flowering, I think in the UK June would be when it flowers. I have no idea what the pretty yellow building is or was… My  next village was Marpissa, this was a village of windmills, except only one was intact, the others derelict. Like Lefkes everything was shut up, but I think I did see a couple of people to say hello to. There was an old lady here to, with a stick, and she was was finding every step extremely painful to take. But she go...

So after a lovely warm day yesterday, the strong cold wind is back. There is a promontory to the North of Paros and I fancied a walk around it. It has a lighthouse and good views I hoped. Before I got there I stopped at this lovely beach and had a quick wander. So I started my walk on a well marked path. I was on walk number one, to the lighthouse. There were some new flowers to see, some I called poached egg plants, as the looked like a cooked egg. Then there these lupins, smaller than the ones we know, but in clumps they were amazing. You can see the rock that has been carved by the wind. It was blowing a gale. Some of the carving, was just amazing to see, fantastic shapes, holes, slots, everything you could imagine. The sea was literally boiling below me. In an hour, I got to the lighthouse, it’s must have been a feat to build it, it’s not the prettiest one in the world, but still looked nice. I then followed my way back to the car, by another route. This was on the sheltered side, ...

 A lesson learnt. Don’t judge a town by what you have seen and the neighbourhood you are in. Explore.  I was inspired by a post by a professional photographer on a Facebook group on Naxos and Paros. It was a spectacular sunset. Now you can say he got lucky with the cloud formation and so on. But he clearly knows his stuff. I went out, but probably a bit late. But what it got me doing was wandering a bit of the town I had not seen… looking for somewhere to eat…. I saw a sign saying ‘ old town’ or something like that. I expected narrow streets, like any Castro in Greece.  The first thing I bumped into is called a Frankish castle. It was built in 1260 by the Venetian Duke of Naxos out of bits of buildings. It’s hard to imagine it now, but it was elliptical in shape with a rectangular tower.  I must say I see a round tower and a rectangular keep, but I am no expert! Next on the history lesson was another bizarre building. This time a Temple to Athena. This building slipp...

 So on my way out for dinner last night, I saw some men taking down the masks off the utility poles. It was good I had been there in time to see them. I went to the Temple of Apollo after dinner and took a few night shots. The Apollo taverna was open, but I decided to go to my room and get ready for a fairly early start the following day. As I walked to the port this morning the ferry was there, and as for all my journeys so far, it was the ferry named Paros which was quite apt for today. The crew, I now recognise, having seen them several times. It will be interesting if when I come back in June, if I see that ship and crew again. The ferry left on time, for me it was a short journey but because of the positioning of the two ports, on the islands Naxos and Paros, the journey takes longer than you would think. But at least it was warm enough to be outside. As we neared Paros there were several little islands, you probably could not even stand on them, they were so small. After gett...

So before I set off in the car, I popped into the town to get breakfast and take some photos of this amazing shop, at least two floors, stuffed full of all things Naxos. I bought two presents for my Sifnos friends. Naxos town has real shops. All the ones, we have lost on our high street. For sure we have coffee shops here, but not at the loss of other types of shops, that we all use. I also found the reason about those ‘masks’ on utility poles. They were for the local carnival of course. My next challenge was to see if I could get into the huge church known as church Saint Nikodimos. I managed to, but the priest was there talking to someone and also a lot of light was streaming  into the church, making taking photos difficult. So I just got a couple. All the walls were painted. It was quite magnificent. So my travels today had been meticulously planned the night before, checking the place was in Google maps, undertaking the list in a sensible order. What could go wrong? Well I thin...

So last night I ventured out for something to eat. A lot of the places are still closed, but I found an Italian restaurant, celebrating its twentieth birthday that was open. They even had their own cat slouching on a sofa where guests are meant to be! But it was quiet, so I could leave him in peace. Eventually he wanted to be let out, I can’t see why, as it was blowing a gale! I had a lovely meal, on my way back near my room, I saw a little church in a garden, you could probably fit just one person in it. Sadly it’s in the corner of a garden, and impossible to photograph! In the morning, after buying my lunch, I went to hire a car. I had been given a super map by the people who run my rooms. The roads in the town are quite busy but as soon as I got out of it, they were quiet. I was heading to Apollonas, crossing the island straight across. The alternative is to follow the coast road, I did that on the way back. The island is bigger than any I have been to before. As I crossed the vario...

So I had my dinner at a place I had visited on my first night at Ermoupoli and waited until my ferry was close by. It arrived early but it ended up departing late so my arrival at Naxos was well past twelve thirty. The whole disgorging and boarding process is so chaotic, humans and vehicles don’t play nicely if they come into contact and it seems a minor miracle no one gets run over! Mike loves the ferries and he is right, they are the lifeblood of these islands. People catch them in the way Americans jump on planes. All the goods the lorries bring in keep the islands alive and thriving.  The folks who run the place I was staying at on Naxos told me because it was late, that they would meet me at the harbour. This was very kind given how late it was. After I had been dropped off at my place,  the daughter who is known as Kiki ( means Sunday) came by with a glass of Raki and a lovely little chocolate covered dessert. This I had for breakfast. Because of the lateness I had troub...

So on my last day on  Tinos,  I went to the South Western tip as I had not visited there before. It is quite nice, but deserted.  I then went to the village of Volax, the area around here is peppered with big boulders, they can’t be moved, so they built around them. It seemed a bit less deserted than other villages, but strangely enough empty houses had writing on the doors, windows and walls. I can’t read Greek, barely know a handful of words, so it got me wondering what was written down? A sort of Eulogy for the family who lived there?  My next village was on the coast and called Kolimbithra. It had two lovely beaches, two freshwater lakes. But surprisingly there was hardly any buildings for tourists, what was there looked a bit worse for wear. I walked along the beach, it was blowing a gale and lightly snowing as it had been all morning. There were loads of small jellyfish on the beach. Which reminds me I went back to the same taverna last night and had cuttlefish...