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.