Last Day!

Day 8 – Hiking up to Ancient Thera on Santorini; Back to Athens

This morning I got up very early so as to be packed and ready to go by 8.  Our guide took me and the other intrepid hiker in our group to do a pretty strenuous hike on the other side of the island.  It started in a little village called Kamari on the east side of the island and went straight up a mountain to the ruins of Ancient Thira, a city that was buried under the volcano of the 17^th century BCE and then resettled in the 8^th century BCE.  The archeological site is really worth seeing.  It is atop a mountain with amazing views out over the whole island.  The ascent up the mountain, however, is a real heart thumping, leg burning climb!  The hot sun didn’t help either.  We were really sweating as we made the ascent.  About half way up there we came upon(what else??) a little church shaded by trees built right into the side of the mountain, next to a cave.  We stopped there to catch our breath and cool off before completing the climb up to Ancient Thira.  After we toured the archeological site we descended down the other side of the mountain to the village of Perissa famous for its black sand beaches.  We rested there for a bit and had some refreshments before catching the bus back to Fira, the village where we were staying.  Having checked out of our rooms we had to keep ourselves busy until the bus came to take us to the airport.  I got a gelato and then went back to the hotel and sat by the pool in the shade, reading and enjoying a Greek salad for lunch.  My feet needed to cool off after hours in the hiking shoes in the intense heat!

Then we made our way to the airport and flew back to Athens and returned to the same hotel we started in last week.  After a brief break to shower and cool off, we headed out for our final dinner.  Our guide really hit a home run with tonight’s restaurant choice.  The food was outstanding and a couple of the dishes had flavors that you can’t even find in the United States – the ingredients just aren’t available there.  We had another Greek salad (and no two are ever alike!), then an eggplant dish with tomatoes, spices and yogurt with spices, then a dish with cheese (that looks like pita), grilled with vegetables inside and pesto sauce drizzled on top (see photo), then a chicken dish that looks like something your grandmother would have made with Campbell’s Mushroom Soup over chicken, but the sauce was absolutely delicious, with a spice that is sweet and savory at the same time (and some unpronounceable Greek name), cheese, and it is served over a pasta that looks like a Wheatabix biscuit and sort of has that consistency, only its pasta, and it too is a bit sweet.  That was the winner dish of the entrees, although the pork with tomatoes and spices was excellent too.  Then dessert came out with no less than four options – an orange cake with orange drizzle, profiteroles, a brownie like chocolate cake thing (only not as rich or sweet as a brownie) with ice cream and hot fudge, and three scoops of vanilla ice cream with what looked like raspberry or strawberry drizzle, but was something also unpronounceable, a Turkish spice that is really good but not like any flavor we know in the US served over a gooey cake made from the same fruit.  We rolled out of there more full than full!!  Good thing we had a longish walk back to the hotel.

I leave in the morning and should be back in Rochester, all things being equal by 6:30 tomorrow evening.

Santorini - Hiking the Caldera

Day 7-  Hiking the Caldera on Santorini

Today we took a long walk/hike along the caldera, which is the ridge on the West side of the island formed when a huge volcano erupted in the 17^th century BCE, creating a bay between part of the island and a small piece that is now in the middle of the bay area.  The caldera is actually the rim of the crater created when the volcano erupted, which now looks like a large reddish cliff rising out of the sea. The walk is really beautiful, up high along the cliffs looking down on the deep aquamarine sea with cruise ships and small fishing boats dotting the water.  There are hundreds of resorts built on the cliffs and there is a stone pathway that goes literally for miles.  At some points between villages it becomes rocky or dirt paths and for a short piece of it we were on the main road, squeezing ourselves against the hill beside us to avoid being smashed by huge tour buses and crazy motorbike riders!  We climbed up to the peak of the hill near the village of Imerovigli where there is, of course, a tiny church! 

On our way up toward the village, our guide remarked on an unusual amount of car traffic, which he said he’d never seen before.  He asked one of the drivers where they were going and it turned out that a church up on the hillside, the Church of St. Ilias (from Greek Helios, meaning Sun) were having their patronal festival today and everyone was going up there for that.  When we arrived at the church there were lots of local Greek folks there having their festival.  They invited us to enjoy the food, so we had a midmorning snack of large chunks of bread, fava soup and capers!  They also had local wine dispensed from a spigot on the wall of the back of the church social building!  Quite a nice little mid-hike treat and it was great to be away from the tourists and with local folks.  I stopped into the church, which was quite beautiful as are all these Orthodox churches and chapels.  They really go all out with iconography, candles and incense.   The people coming to the festival stopped first in the church, reverenced all the icons (they go up to them and kiss them and say a prayer at each one!!) and then they join the party behind the church.  They have picnic tables and benches out behind the church under the shade of some trees so they can enjoy their food and conversation out of the intense sun.  We continued on after our little snack and finished up at the tip of the island in the village of Oia, perched high up on the cliffs.  Part of the pathway there is all volcanic rock, deep red in color and a bit slippery to walk on.  Oia is a beautiful little village, crammed with shops, artist’s galleries, restaurants and guest houses, mansions and hotels.  Cruise ships dump thousands of visitors into the village every day for shopping and dining.  It’a a madhouse trying to negotiate the little stone passageways and every conceivable language is being spoken – I heard Brits, Germans, French, Dutch, and Korean just in the 45 minutes our guide gave us to wander about before we gathered for lunch.  In all we walked seven miles, some of it a mere stroll along stone village lanes and some of it more strenuous hiking up small mountainous terrain.  Fortunately, even though it is very hot today, the breeze along the Caldera is stiff and constant, so it keeps you cool even when you’re working hard!  Lunch was more simple today (which was fine because I was pretty full from the bowl of fava soup and bread I’d had at the church party!).  We had gyros in a little café in Oia with salad and tzadziki. 

We got a couple of hours rest back at our resort and then went into town for dinner.  We ate at a restaurant on a terrace overlooking the bay and saw the sunset from our dinner table.  We had another feast – fava dip with bread soaked in olive oil, another salad (and no two salads are ever alike here!), tomato balls (basically deep fried tomatoes with herbs and spices), and then for entrée we had chicken and shrimp in a garlic cream sauce with rice, and mushroom and cheese and white wine risotto.  For dessert watermelon, mango mousse and a very light cake the name of which is unpronounceable!  After dinner I did the shopping circuit again getting last minute gifts. 

Tomorrow we have a “free” morning.  Two of us are going with the guide on a more strenuous hike up one of the mountains at the southern tip of the island while the rest of the group are doing more relaxing sightseeing.  Then in the afternoon we fly back to Athens. 

Arrive Santorini

Day Six  - Naxos to Santorini

This was a quiet day, mostly spent making the transition from Naxos to Santorini.  We had a free morning and most of us slept in.  I went down to breakfast at 9 figuring I’d be the slug in the group and everyone was there, including our guide!!  I spent the last morning in Naxos walking on the beach and then along the harbor up to the temple of Apollo (the ruins of the temple, actually!)  We had to be at the dock at noon for our ferry, which didn’t show up until 1.  By the time the hordes were loaded it was 1:45 or so before we left the harbor.  It was a big, luxurious ferry and I stayed out on one of the outer decks enjoying the scenery and the sun and reading while we sailed to Santorini which took 2 ½ hours.  We had picnic lunch on the boat – Greek salad in a sandwich!!  When we arrived in Santorini, it was a bit of chaos getting everyone off the boat – an amazing number of people are on the ferry, plus cars and trucks and disembarking is something of an exercise in organized chaos.  Our bus was waiting for us and drove us up the winding road on the side of the volcanic cliffs to our resort.  The place is amazing!   Spread out over many acres, with no less than four pools!  Our rooms are in the farthest cluster and it is something of a hike from the reception area to the rooms.  They are beautiful little studios overlooking the pool and when you step outside there is a beautiful vista of the island.  I’ve included a night shot of my little area in today’s photos.

We walked into the town for dinner and had another absolutely delicious meal.  Our guide has yet to repeat a dish at any restaurant we’ve gone to.  Greek food is far more sophisticated and delectable than one would guess from eating the American versions of it.  We started off with homemade bread with a dip made from yogurt and mustard, then had salad (for the first time with lettuce in it!!), feta cheese in filo pastry with ouzo and honey (unbelievable), zucchini balls, mushrooms in wine with spices, then a pork dish with gravy and spices and peppers served in a hollowed out loaf of bread and two chicken dishes – one with ouzo and honey and one with white wine and garlic.  We finished off with a dense chocolate cake with biscuits cooked into it. ( Very good and not as rich or gooey as a brownie but on that order. ) And our guide ordered a Greek dessert wine that tasted like a cross between sherry and port.  And we enjoyed local white wine with the meal.  I’ve included a few food photos for the foodies among you!!  Then I walked around the main area of the town which is teeming with shops selling everything from kitschy souvenirs to high quality artwork, textiles, jewelry, clothing, restaurants and bars and gelaterias galore.   The streets are all very narrow little stone paved lanes that wind like a labyrinth and are for pedestrians only.  As I emerged from one shop there was a line of six or seven donkeys walking down the lane right in the midst of all the tourists!  And I left after 11 and everything was still going full speed.   People don’t sleep over here in the summer I’ve decided!

Tomorrow we have a long hike so I’m off to bed.  It will be hot, but not as strenuous as our climb up the Mountain of Zeus.

Mountain of Zeus

Day Five – Mountain of Zeus

Today we had the most spectacular hike up the mountain of Zeus.  It is the highest point in all the Cyclades islands, rising to 3000’ at the summit.  We started the hike at a tiny little chapel, Santa Marina, one of the many little chapels that dot the hillsides on these islands.  The door was open so I went inside the chapel and took pictures.  It was really sweet.  Full of icons, a stand for the skinny Orthodox version of votive candles, a teeny, tiny altar also replete with icons and many stacked up beside it so they can rotate the images.  I loved it, needless to say.  We began our hike right next to the chapel, going alongside farm fields with goats enjoying the sun and then ascending steeply upward to predominantly stone paths.  The views up there were stunning and the wind was ferocious.  I felt like I needed weights on my ankles not to blow right off the summit. Once up there you can see for miles out over the Aegean.  They say on a clear day you can see all the way to Asia Minor.  It was hazy and there were some clouds on mountains across the way from Zeus Mountain so we couldn’t see that far, but it really was a magnificent view.  Our little group of five has two fast hikers (me and the father in the father/daughter duo) and a couple of very slow ones, so Lloyd and I reached the summit about 20 minutes ahead of the rest of the crew.  Our guide stayed back with the slower folks who seemed more nervous about the whole venture and Lloyd and I just barreled on to the summit.  For the first time we were not the only hikers out there.  We passed several groups of European tourists, at least one French group and one German group.  Truly the views up there out over the islands and the sea on all sides was just breathtaking.   I hated to come down! 

The descent was not too bad although I did use my trekking poles in some spots where there were a lot of loose rocks to save my knees a little strain!  Again, Lloyd and I got to the bottom way ahead of the others so we rested by the chapel till they all caught up.  Our guide had bought food for a picnic and made it right there by the chapel and we enjoyed a delicious, simple lunch before continuing on.  He made a salad of tomatoes, cucumber, green peppers, capers seasoned with oregano and dill, sea salt and olive oil, we had tuna with dill and oregano, some sort of beans in tomato sauce, bread drizzled with olive oil, sea salt and oregano and apples in honey and cinnamon for dessert.  He also had a liqueur that tasted like apples with cinnamon.  Absolutely lovely picnic lunch!  Then we walked down the road, through some intricate paths and then through a little village into the town of Filoti where we were met by taxis to take us back to the hotel. 

Once back at the hotel I took it easy, going down to the pool to enjoy the sun and read for awhile.  Then we went to dinner at a little seafood restaurant right down at the main harbor area where we looked out at the sea and the yachts anchored in Naxos port.  By the time we were finished with dinner (another fabulous Greek salad with local cheese, tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, potatoes and more, eggplant broiled with spices, tomatoes and local cheese, saganaki, then shrimp in oyzo sauce, calamari and octopus(I passed on those!) and two kinds of fish -a grilled tuna in butter garlic sauce and a local fish the name of which I can't remember! Dessert was yogurt with figs.)  Delicious.  After dinner I walked around the harbor area which was absolutely hopping with activity.  There are labyrinthine little streets off the main harbor drag that are quaint and tiny and filled with artsy shops, bars, restaurants - sort of a Greek version of Commercial Street in Provincetown only in quaint old Greek village style!  And coming back at 10:15 things were just getting going down there - lots of nightlife in Naxos in the summertime!  I got a little lost trying to get back to the resort - all those twisty, windy little streets got me turned around but eventually I found myself on streets I recognized and was able to wander back without too much trouble. 

Tomorrow we have an easy day.  Free time in Naxos till our boat at noon and then a boat ride to Santorini.  Once there we have time to wander there before dinner.  No hikes tomorrow.  I may have to go for a power walk in the morning to work off some of the food I'm consuming!!

Naxos with Goats!

Day Four – Tinos to Naxos

Today we arose early to have breakfast and make a 9:30 ferry for our voyage to Naxos.  When we got up the wind was fierce making the sea extremely choppy.  Our guide advised us all to take Dramamine as the trip on the ferry was likely to be bumpy.  We got through breakfast, piled all our luggage into the cabs and got to the pier only to learn that the ferry had departed Athens and then turned back because of rough seas.  That particular boat is a small passenger boat and is not suited to rough sea conditions.  So we wound up having to wait until noon to get a high speed ferry to Naxos.  I wandered around the port village and sat in a little café looking out at the harbor and the boats and watching all the old Greek men gathering for their morning coffee clatch – talking animatedly away at each other while fingering the ubiquitous “worry beads” that are part of Greek culture.  When we finally got on our ferry it was quite a luxurious boat.  We sat in Business Class, a lovely lounge with plush chairs and had spanakopita for lunch and then most of us napped during the two hour journey to Naxos. 

When we arrived in Naxos we went to the hotel to drop off our luggage and put on our hiking gear and then went inland for our hike.  It was a very beautiful hike up in the hills of central Naxos.  Naxos is a much bigger island than Tinos and is more fertile.  We walked through miles of farms and goat grazing grounds.  Naxos is famous for its marble and we started the hike at an ancient marble quarry, where they have unearthed some marble statues dating to the 7th century BCE.  The trails were pretty easy to navigate being mostly marble stone paths through the hilly farm country.  When we were up in the hills between Potamia and Hilkios we ran into a herd of goats sunning themselves on the rocks!  They were really cute and completely unimpressed with us.  Like on Tinos, the countryside is dotted with teeny tiny churches in the most unlikely of places and the little villages stand out on the landscape because of their white buildings against the mostly brown and green landscape.  We stopped in Potamia for a drink from the spring and a short rest and then ascended the mountain near there and came down the other side to Hilkios.  In Hilkios we visited a distillery that produces Citron, a native Greek liqueur made from the leaves of the Citron plant.  Citron looks like an overgrown lemon but is tougher and not as sweet as a lemon (which is saying something given how not sweet lemons are!!).  We tasted the Citron – three varieties – strong, medium and weak (in terms of alcohol content!).  It was quite good.  Then we had dinner in a little family owned restaurant where the dining area is outside under a grape arbor.  Beautiful bunches of lush green grapes hung from the “ceiling” over us and there was a lovely breeze.  Once again the food was outstanding – fresh, homemade bread, tzadziki, Greek salad, saganaki cheese, and a variety of grilled meats – pork, beef and homemade sausage.  We finished of with baklava that was swimming in honey.  Absolutely superb! 

We got back to our hotel by 8-ish, hot, sweaty and tired!  Tomorrow we do our hike in the morning, up to the mountain of Zeus, the highest point in all the Cyclades. 

Hiking Tinos

Day Three – Hiking on Tinos

We were up early again, this time so we could get an early start on our hike for the day before the heat became too intense.  We left the hotel at 8:30 and were driven up into the interior of the island which is a whole different world from the village by the seaport.  Very tiny rustic rural villages on the hillsides and absolutely no one around except the very few locals who might be out walking.  In four hours of walking/hiking we only ran into a few local people.  NONE of the tourists that clog the town where we’re staying go out to the interior of the island.  So as we walked it felt like we were the only people alive on the island.  We walked through farmland, some of it under cultivation, some of it feeding ground for livestock (mostly goats, a couple of whom bleated plaintively at us as we made our way through their territory!)  The landscape at this time of year is very dry, arid and brown as it has been hot and dry for a long time.  Some of the trails we walked were dirt paths on the edge of a farm, some were rocky, some were paved, and some were steps made of stone in the hillside.  We walked up to the highest point on the island, a hill just above a Catholic Church with a large marble cross that can be seen for miles around.  We climbed right up to the cross and from there could see all of Tinos and across the sea to the neighboring islands.   It was extremely windy up there – I felt like I needed a tether to keep from being blown off the top of the peak down into the valley!  I’ve posted a some pictures we took up there, one of the whole group and one of me – you can see how windy it was, and one of the view looking out over the landscape from that summit.  We were grateful for the wind, though, as it kept us cooler.  Once we descended from that summit down into the valleys and small villages it was exceedingly hot.  In one little village we stopped for coffee and brief break.  We walked into a small little room, very nicely appointed, with a small kitchen, a clean bathroom, a refrigerator full of water and sodas and the essentials to make coffee.  It is a “self serve” coffee shop.  You go in, take what you want, leave money on the table, make your own coffee and close the door behind you when you leave.  They’ve got a TV in there, a small library with books, tables and chairs – its really very nice and just open for whomever happens along!  We took a little break there before continuing on our way.  

The countryside is beautiful and the little villages look like something out of a story book.  All the homes are white with blue trim, and there are teeny tiny little churches dotting the hillsides, that are opened when sacramental needs arise (Baptisms, weddings etc.) but otherwise are not in use.  They are so tiny they can only fit a handful of people in them.  The landscape on this island is also dotted with large, stone dovecoats, a hallmark of Tinos.  Doves are raised and kept in these dovecoats all over the interior of the island.  As we walked along one path we could see many dovecoats in the distance and then saw a number of the doves flying around nearby.  It felt like the Holy Spirit was swooping by as I looked out at them. 

When we finally emerged onto a regular road again, our driver was waiting for us and drove us back into town.  We had lunch in a small family owned restaurant on a little side street.  The food was, again, magnificent!  Homemade cheeses with fresh baked bread, salad, artichoke pie (kind of like quiche without a crust), followed by a pork dish in a sauce with local cheese, and then minced beef/pork patties with spices and tomatoes and fried potatoes.  We ended with watermelon.  Needless to say, by the time we’d consumed all that we were totally stuffed!

I walked around the village a little bit after lunch but then returned to the hotel to cool off and peel off the sweaty hiking clothes.  Even though the beach is nearby, I didn’t much fancy broiling in the mid-day heat so opted for the hotel pool, which doesn’t require a walk and has some shady spots to sit. 

At 6:30 we convened again and walked up the hill in the village to a huge Greek Orthodox Church, Maria Pelagia, which is the Greek version of Lourdes.  An icon of the Annunciation was found here centuries ago and was believed to have miraculous powers for healing. People come from all over to pray for healing and receive blessings, holy oil and water from the church.  There is a red carpet that starts down at the dock and goes all the way up the hill to the church and supplicants walk that carpet on their knees if they are going to ask for healing.  While we waited to go into the church a woman was crawling along the last stretch of the carpet just outside the church grounds and just before the carpeted steps that lead up to the church itself.  Amazing to watch!  We went inside and it was absolutely packed with folks praying and offering candles and receiving healing oil.  Orthodox priests were chanting the entire time and the place was a typical Orthodox sanctuary with hundreds of hanging votive lamps, icons, incense and candles everywhere.  We then went down into the crypt, which is where the baptistries are and saw several enormous metal baptismal fonts.  (See pics of church and fonts.  Impressive.)

Then we went to dinner at a really lovely restaurant right by the Aegean Sea.  We sat outside on the patio overlooking the water.  As always, the food was spectacular and we walked away stuffed.  Salad, a broiled eggplant dish with tomatoes and gruyere cheese baked onto it, a cheese that was grilled with sesame seeds, bread, and then chicken with parmesan cheese and rice. We finished off with Greek apple pie (more like apple cake) and vanilla ice cream.   All the restaurants that our guide, Dimitrios picks are places the local Greeks eat.  There aren’t many foreign tourists in them.  They are all family owned and the food is just unbelievably good. 

Tomorrow we leave here for the next island – Naxos. 

Athens to Tinos

Day Two –Acropolis and Ferry to Tinos

            Our day started early with an 8:00 visit to the Acropolis and Parthenon.  It is so hot we needed to get there early before the heat became too unbearable.  Our guide was an extremely knowledgeable Greek/English woman who really knows her history.  She regaled us with the history of Greece from the third millennium BCE through the modern era in less than an hour!!  And her grasp of the details of the various temples and ruins in the Acropolis was truly impressive.  It was wonderful to walk those historic ruins, despite the enormous crowds and the intense heat.  Even though we went early , it was in the 90s and climbing in the two hours we were there.   After that visit, we took a quick private bus tour of the city of Athens before Katerina had to leave us.   Then we drove 45 minutes to Rafina, slightly north and east of Athens and had lunch in a little Taverna next to the Aegean Sea at the ferry port.  Lots of seafood and vegetables, with apples soaked in honey and sprinkled with cinnamon for dessert.  We then had some time to wander around the little village before our ferry left at 2:30.  We were on the ferry for 2 ½ hours, during which time most of us slept.  It is an enclosed boat with air conditioning and comfy seats so we all crashed.  The jet lag and heat of the day caught up with all of us.

           We arrived in Tinos at about 5:30 and came straight to our hotel.  It’s a lovely small family owned hotel on a quiet little side street very near the water and the main shopping area of the seaside village.  I went out to scout the town a bit after we arrived but it was completely dead.  Nothing open, no one around.  They do siesta here from 3-5, although in the summer heat it seems to extend about 6:30.  Truly nothing is open and no one is around. Then the place comes alive by 7:30-8:00 and by 10 is really hopping.  We had a delicious dinner with grilled vegetables, eggplant salad, tossed salad, bread and then pasta with shellfish cooked in olive oil and garlic and finished up with greek yogurt with sour cherries for dessert.  I now know why the Greeks are famous for their yogurt – it truly is the best I’ve ever eaten.  After dinner we wandered around the main shopping area down near the water.  It was really hopping with tourists and nightlife, bars and tavernas and coffee shops and stores selling everything from jewelry to Eastern Orthodox icons and children’s toys.  This is a very popular spot for Greeks to come for their summer holidays and the place is teeming with holiday-makers.  Even at 10 it was very hot, although this island has a good stiff breeze that makes the heat more endurable.  The rooms in our hotel are like small studio apartments and very authentic to the architecture of the homes on Tinos.  Whitewashed exterior walls with blue trim, matching the sky and sea.

              Tomorrow we are up early to get on our hike by 8:30.  It is going to be very hot again, so we need to get the hiking done by mid-day so we can then come back and go to the beach or cool off in the pool.