A look at Syros’s coastline

 So the first day in the car, I decided to look at the lower half of the island and cross to the West, then go anti clockwise along the coast back to Ermoupoli. So far so good. The island is very green and there are loads of flowers open. It doesn’t feel as mountainous as Sifnos, there is no signs that any terracing has ever been done. One thing I do notice, even in the town, is the sound of the birds. I am not sure I have noticed them on Sifnos. As I drive around there seems more housing, you don’t get those gaps in housing between villages, that you see on Sifnos. Whenever you visit a beach, you can clearly see the rooms that will be full of holidaymakers later on, those villages do seem to have more about them, more inhabited buildings. There are more shops open in these villages, but the beaches are almost empty. I did see an old lady on one beach, another one collecting herbs.


This is Gallisas beach. After I walked around it and headed back to the car, I heard bells, sure enough some timid goats had appeared…


Sadly, when I got close they ran away. It was quite warm, but colder weather has been promised. Further round there was a little island still attached to the coast, I fancied a walk around it. But when I got there, there were signs, warning me that it was a military area, no photos and so on. I did see a few people swimming in the sea, on my travels, which must have been quite cold. When I got to most beaches, I often found a nice footpath or track, that  I could walk along and explore more of the coastline. I saw a few people doing this, but only from a distance.


By the beach at Megas Gialos was this church with an odd selection of bells beside it. They all seemed connected up to wires, it would have been interesting to see them in action. Sadly the church was locked up. 



My last photo shows a cliff face with a cactus like plant, which I have seen in California. It has pretty flowers, and being a cactus, can clearly tolerate the heat they have here and there. The Northern half of the island is not so peppered with roads. There is a resort on the West side I have not seen yet, then the road snakes up through the middle of the island. I imagine it degrades into a track suitable for 4X4 vehicles. If the road is not concrete or tarmac, I don’t go on it. The final thing to say  is that at my last stop, I noticed a large vessel in the sea which resembled the one berthed up at the harbour in Ermoupoli. Sure enough when I got back to the town, it had gone, it’s refit complete.

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