Ancient Delos

Saturday Sept 24^th

The sun had already set by the time the Transat rep finished the extensive orientation tour of Mykonos.

  Sitting on a small balcony outside a 4^th floor room in the Pelican Beach hotel, the ocean has lost the brilliant blue colour of this afternoon. Roosters are kicking up a bit of a racket in the adjacent gardens. The hill to the west is dotted with homes and small hotels, all cubic in structure and all the same lime white colour.

 A cool breeze is ensuring that no air conditioning will be required tonight.

  The ferry from Santorini was a tri hull which made the trip in just over 2 hours including a stop at Paros. The shuttle ride from the main harbour to the beach area took a little over 10 minutes.

  Located in the small beach area known as Platys Gialos it consists of about 15 smaller hotels (5 to 30 rooms) as well as 2 convenience stores and about 8 bar/restaurants, mostly located along a short boardwalk directly on the beach.

  The woman operating the hotel’s front desk already gave us a complete rundown of the best places to eat and the Air Transat rep. reinforced those suggestions.

  A short distance away, one beach over, is an area frequented by the European jet set and movie/music related celebrities. So we have been warned that even the cost of renting a chair and umbrella on that beach can run you 30-50 euro a day.

Sunday 25^th

 Dinner last night was at the one island not on the beach-Nikos Gallos. Decent food but rather slow service lead to a rather ho-hum experience.

Temple at Delos

 Today we caught an early bus into town in time to board a boat to the island of Delos. Inhabited since about 1300BC and the supposed birthplace of the Greek Gods Apollo and Artemis, it became a key trading centre for several hundred years-  from 600MB to 88 BC it had a status as a major commercial site as well as a religious sanctuary. Hosting a population of 25000 people, it was eventually attacked in 88BC by King Mithridates  of Pontus and the inhabitants driven out. Occupied sporadically till 400 AD it was finally abandoned and stands that way today. Excavated in the mid 1800’s it is now a Unesco site with only a few caretakers and archeologists living on the island.

Delos Panorama showing theatre and residential area

 The site consists of some 90 buildings and structures, many with walls intact. others with just remnants. A small number have been partially rebuilt using modern methods (beam and concrete supports) to provide a scope of their height. A guided tour provided insight into the history of the place. Then when the majority of the visitors left on the 1:30 boat, the rest of us- perhaps 45 in number- had the next 2 hours to enjoy the place in relative peace and quiet. It is quite an experience to walk alone along streets 5000 years old and to walk through temples that last had ceremonies in the same time period.

Santorini to Mykonos

Friday Sept 23^rd

  An early morning bus ride brought us to the small town of Kamari, a small seaside resort on the south east coast. With one main street and an intersecting beachfront pedestrian street,it is hard to get lost. Its beach is a distinctive black sand which seems to absorb heat from the sun, making it somewhat hot to walk on, At southern tip of the beach is an imposing rock face which rises up to become the Mesa vouno mountain.

  It takes about 20 minutes to reach the top of this rock via bus. At the summit, which is actually a pass between two mountains, lies the entrance to Ancient Thira. Following the massive destruction of the island in approx. 1700BC Santorini was resettled several times. Only in the 8^th century BC did these settlements become permanent. Thira is one of the resulting cities. Developed by various inhabitants, including the Romans, it evolved and expanded until about the 3^rd Century AD when it fell into decline.

  The site, first excavated in 1896, remains exposed for viewing but not developed or enhanced like Knossos. The ruins are believed to be principally from the Roman area and show a city with a large agora or market place, several temples, public baths and shops as well as many private residences.

 Located along the length of a steep ridge it offered views of both sides of the island, an obvious defensive advantage. The trip to its harbours in Kamiri and Perissa, several hundred feet below, could not have been fun, even with the well developed roads that the Romans built.

  A full tour of the site took a couple of hours and was often made challenging by winds that at times seemed to gust into the 60 and 70kph range.

  Following our tour we enjoyed a mixed grill of lamb, pork and chicken, in addition to a grilled calamari including the tentacles- delicious but not for the faint of heart.

  Returning to Firi in the late afternoon, there seemed to be considerably less tourists than yesterday. It seems only one cruise ship had docked today, making life a little more tolerable for us “longer term” residents.

  Tomorrow, without a decent sunset picture to show for my efforts, we depart for the island of Mykonos.

Wednesday 21^st. 10am

  After an early alarm (6:30am) and a quick breakfast we transferred by bus to the port for the ferry crossing to Santorini. At a distance of about 110km north of Crete, the trip is scheduled to take about 2 and ½ hrs. Known as a Mega SeaJet the boat, is equipped to transport several dozen vehicles as well as a couple of thousand passengers in several lounges. The ride is a little rocky but the seats, which are airline style, make the crossing reasonably comfortable. Due to the speed, it is a little breezy on deck. That has the benefit of removing the second hand smoke quickly from what is, unofficially, the boats smoking area.

competing ferry on Aegean Sea

 Around me several passengers seem to be turning various shades of green and many take advantage of the disposal bags that one of the crew is handing out.

4;15pm

 The island came into view around 10:30am. Approaching from the western side we could see a cruise ship ahead, sailing towards a mooring point in the centre of the caldera. ( Santorini is somewhat difficult to describe- see attached map)

  When we got even closer 4 more cruise ships came into view, all anchored in the deep water to the west of the island. This meant we would be competing for space with up to 10,000 tourists on the narrow streets.

  The ferries have a docking area some 6km south of the main town of Fira and when we arrived the parking area was jammed with a dozen or so buses as well as a small fleet of taxis. The trip to the hotel involved a nail biting serious of switchbacks from sea level to the rim of the caldera some 300 feet above. From there, a 7km trip north took us through Fira to the adjacent town of Firostefani.  The hotel, Santorini Place is a white jumble of cubes located some 100 metres east of the western face of the island. Our room faces east and looks directly onto the swimming pool/bar area as well as the east coast of the island, some 4km away and several hundred feet below. From the balcony, which measures about 10 feet by 30, two smaller islands can be seen to the southeast and east.

 After a quick lunch of buns, meat and cheese smuggled from the breakfast bar of the hotel we walked along the cliff pedestrian path ( Gold Street) towards Fira. The 15 minute trip followed a pathway taken by a couple of million tourists a season. The path meandered along the cliff face slowly descending to the main town. Along the rim dozens of restaurants promoted themselves as having the finest view, the most beautiful sunset, etc. etc- all rolled into the price of the meal.

 Santorini has a reasonable claim to its status as one of the most beautiful islands on earth, but with that many tourists competing for space, it is also one of the world’s most annoying places to visit.

map of island

 After a quick stroll around the downtown core we returned via the main road, somewhat away from the tourist path. The further one went the lower the restaurant prices and the cheaper the price of the house wine. The same applied to the small “supermarkets” which dot the island, with prices dropping as the distance from the centre increased.

Thursday 22nd.

The northern town of Oia is separated by about 5km from Fira. By road this turns into a winding 8km of narrow route which passes along the eastern side of the ridge forming the caldera. A flat plain to the east, and several hundred feet below the level of the road, seems to run the length of the island, It ranges from about  1 to 4 km in width and is dotted with small villages with hundreds of individual houses scattered in between.

 The town of Oia is located at the northwestern tip of the island and straddles the one main road. Consisting of several dozen narrow pedestrian streets, it is composed of small, mostly white, cube shaped buildings, piled almost one on top of another and spread up and down the steep slopes.

 With a scheduled 11 cruise ships expected today, the narrow streets were quickly filled with pale tourists, wearing nametags (or stickers bearing their ship name), following tour guides bearing stop sign sized placards identifying their group. With a scant half hour to visit the town they would get to see a small sampling of the towns offerings before scrambling back on a bus for the next destination.

typical view-Santorini

  Enjoying a more leisurely approach we spent a couple of hours exploring the towns many narrow streets, its numerous art, galleries and its varied scenic views of the adjacent volcano and the other islands.

 Some rather heavy cloud cover seemed to dampen down the brilliance of the white buildings making them a lot more comfortable on the eye, compared to a typical sunny day.

  The bus back to Fira failed to stop at the hotel bus stop, resulting in an unplanned ride to the centre of town and a resulting 20 minute uphill walk back to the hotel. Luckily it also gave us a chance to pick up a sandwich and some pastries for a enjoyable lunch at far less money than we would have paid for similar fare in a restaurant.

  With dark thunder clouds hanging over much of the island, a planned afternoon trip to the beach has been postponed until tomorrow.

last day in Crete

Throne Room-Knossos

Knossos, Crete- palace reconstruction

Tuesday 20^th Sept. 5pm

As we near the end of our third day in Crete it is clear that much more time is required to put even a small dent in the list of things to see and do.

  Yesterday a bus tour kept us occupied most of the day. Our first stop was the ancient site of Knossos, located approx. 5km south of Heraklion. The site is a partial ruin/ partial reconstruction of a Minoan Palace from approx 3000 BC. The site was first discovered in 1878 with excavation commencing in earnest around 1900. When studying the site it is difficult to know where the mythological legends end and where true history begins. Linked to various stories including that of the Labyrinth and the Minotaur, the reconstruction is largely based on the imagination of Arthur Evans. He was the principal archeologist who excavated the site. Due to the use of wood and stucco, as opposed to stone, in the original construction, little remains of the upper structures. The extensive use of wood enabled the buildings to withstand earthquakes more successfully than a stone structure. There does seem to be some evidence that the site was ultimately destroyed around 1600 BC by a tsunami originating from the volcanic destruction of Santorini. While the site is currently 5km inland from the Aegean its northern section did originally border the sea and it was actually a key Aegean port involved in trade with other centres of commerce.

 Following the Knossos tour the bus travelled east along the coast for several km before turning south , ascending to a level of 1000 meters in an area known as the Plateau of  Lasithi. A fertile area measuring approx 12km by 6, it is one of the key agricultural areas on the island. Much of the local potato crop is grown here as well as apples, pears, cherries, figs, walnuts and almonds. A brief stop afforded a visit to a monastery known by both the names Kardiottissa and Panayia Kera, the latter meaning Precious Lady, the former name relates to the ancient Greek names for both heart and walnut so its actual meaning is debatable.

  Lunch involved a stop at a “traditional Greek tavern” That is tour guide lingo for a place serving overpriced average food, and a kickback for the tour operator.

   Following lunch we made a brief stop at a family pottery ( more baksheesh for the tour guide!)  then a final stop at a place known as Diktaio Andro or the Psychro Cave. According to Greek Mythology this is where the mother of Zeus hid her son to prevent him from being eaten by his father, the god  Apollo The visit involved a rather strenuous 20 minute hike up the side of a mountain to reach the cave entrance, followed by a further 20 minutes to enter and exit a cave that I found to be rather anticlimactic. Actually, after seeing the ATM cave in Belize, almost any cave pales in comparison.

Fresco reproduction-Knossos

 This morning a trip by local bus to Heraklion took around 40 minutes. The first stop omnce we reached the capital was the museum of archeology. Essentially under renovations since 2006 only one room of key exhibits was on display. Several frescoes from Knossos were featured along with many examples of pottery and jewelry from both the Minoan Period and the later Dorian and Roman periods.

 After leaving the museum we walked through the downtown area, which features several pedestrian streets. Primarily geared to tourists the area consists of mostly cafes, souvenir shops and the occasional designer clothing shop offering expensive clothing in sizes too small for the typical Canadian. A walk down to the old port was rewarded with a glimpse of an old Venetian fortress as well as an old Monastery and surrounding ruins under restoration.

  The return to the hotel was a little challenging as the destination signage on the buses  was tricky to decipher. Fortunately a bus driver steered us to the correct bus.

  Arriving at the hotel by 2pm we just caught the end of the lunch service then spent the afternoon relaxing by the pool.

last day in Rhodes

By the time I left the hotel this morning the sun had barely crawled out of its bed in the Aegean Sea. It looked like it was in need of a coffee to brighten it up before it set about its daily chore of baking tourists.

   A few stores and restaurants were just beginning to open as I made my way towards Old Town. Arriving just before 7:30am, I found that I had the place pretty much to myself. That allowed me to take photographs of the various buildings and streets without trying to shoot around swarms of tourists. It was also still cool enough to make the walk a pleasant experience.

  Returning to the hotel, we quickly packed and had a somewhat late breakfast before checking out and parking our bags with the hotel porter.

  Returning to Old Town around 11am, we found the streets comfortably busy but not overcrowded, since only a couple of smaller cruise ships were in port and none of the passengers had been herded into town yet- probably doing the tour of Lindos first.

 Venturing off the main drags onto some of the minor side streets and alleys turned out to be quite an adventure. Unrestored ruins of churches, mosques and other buildings were dotted about the town. We walked these back streets for an hour or so, encountering very few tourists on the way. Returning to the central part of the town we soon found ourselves back in the swarm. After a rather overpriced lunch (40 euro) we returned to the hotel to await our shuttle to the airport

 A Dash-8 was our mode of transport for the 40 minute trip to Crete.

  Upon arrival we met our Air Transat rep who directed us to a  Mercedez Benz taxi for our trip to the hotel

  Suffice to say, the only way to make the trip even more frightening would have been to have been strapped to the hood of a Formula One race car. Oblivious to posted speed limits, road markings and other drivers, we reached speeds of at least 140kph at several points on the journey. I had always wondered what it would be like to be treated like royalty and what flashed through my mind was Lady Di’s final car ride. Luckily we survived the episode, emerging from the vehicle at the same time as another couple. They too had been subjected to a similarly hair raising ride.

  Sunday 18^th 4pm

Since we arrived at the hotel in total darkness we had little idea of our surroundings until we opened the curtains this morning.

  The Terra Maris is an all inclusive located on the side of a hill, just outside the town of Limin Hersonissos. Situated on the north coast, it is approx 35km east of the capital Heraklion. The hotel view from the balcony shows a rather dry rocky landscape dotted with white villas, olive trees, Cyprus and smaller evergreens. The sea is approx ¼ mile away, appearing pale blue and rather hazy because of the heat and humidity.

 The town itself stretches for about 3km to the east and seems to consist of one main street and a boardwalk with dozens of cross streets running between them and on towards the south into a range of rocky hills.

  The boardwalk reminded me of typical seaside resorts everywhere, with a seemingly never-ending line of restaurants, bars and souvenir shops all offering the same items as everyone else.

 Clearly geared towards a British audience, the bars all had large flat screen TV’s with chalk signs outside indicating the times of various First Division Football matches occurring throughout the day. Not once did I see any promotion of any Italian, Greek or German league matches.

With 3 full days on the island we have opted for one lazy day (today), an organized tour of Knossos for Monday and a bus trip into Heraklion for Tuesday. Knossos is an ancient site, with significant mythological roots located some distance from the hotel.

  The island itself is quite large, about 250km in length and about 70 km in width, divided into 5 provinces or districts, each with its own capital city. It is about as far south as one can go while still remaining in Europe so the temperature is somewhat uncomfortable with little in the way of cooling breezes. Clearly it is far too large to explore on such a short visit but worth bookmarking for a longer visit in the future.

   

 

Another day in Rhodes

FRIDAY Sept 16th

With another sweltering day forecast, I set the alarm for 7:15, hoping to make an early start before the heat meter got cranked all the way to “eleven” [ for all you Spinal Tap fans]

  A walk partway across town brought us to the D’Ambroise Gate of the Old Town. Entering through a large arched doorway, we passed through the outer wall, crossing the dry moat via a stone bridge. Directly ahead, the Grand Master’s Palace had the appearance of a medieval castle. Walking along the narrow roadways, it was not hard to imagine what this place would have looked like during its prime (1400’s)

  Consisting of about 15 main streets the rest of the town is broken up by a maze of alleys and narrow side streets numbering in their hundreds.

Old Town Rhodes

   For the morning we confined ourselves to the northern area where there is an old clock tower, a small mosque and the aforementioned Grand Master’s Palace. Essentially a home for the Grand Master, or leader, of the Knights Templar it is similar in size to the Tower of London, although somewhat lower in height. A large central courtyard is surrounded by the rooms that make up the palace. The original building was destroyed in the mid 1800’s by an explosion in a powder room and was rebuilt during the Italian Occupation.

 Largely unfurnished, the palace is a collection of rooms, mostly off limits to the public. A few on view showed a contemporary art collection and others, collections of artifacts from various eras.

  Leaving the palace and heading southwest, we followed a cobbled street known as Ippoton or the Street of Knights. Consisting of an endless line of tall, nondescript buildings, the street has been used in various movie sets over the years, most notably Guns of Navarone. [On close examination, one could see various crests above the doors of many of the buildings. At the time these indicated to the knights from various European countries where they would be able to seek out men of similar language, class and culture.]

  Surrounded by a dozen or so tour groups and with my camera battery on its last legs, we decided to make our escape so that we could be back at the hotel for lunch.

  Emerging from the Old Town, one could see that 4 large cruise ships were docked for the day, thus explaining the crowded streets.

  The Costa Fortuna was berthed closest to town and behind it 3 smaller ships that were mostly concealed by the bulk of the former- perhaps one was her sister ship- Costa Armanda Lega.

 After a delicious but rather overfilling lunch- pea soup, spinach and feta crepe, pork with potatoes and beans, caramel custard for desert- I spent a few minutes re launching my blog before taking a walk along the beach in front of the hotel.

  If one has ever been to a fishing village where the days catch is laid out on racks in the sun to dry, that is a good approximation of the beach at Rhodes.

 Endless rows of plastic loungers, partly shaded by cheap umbrellas and palm palapas, stretched as far as the eye could see.

"fish" drying on beach!!!

 Each one occupied by (depending on their state of doneness) a white, half baked, burned or nicely browned tourist.

  Decency and a lack of anti-nausea medication prevent me from giving a more detailed description of the scene. Suffice to say- topless bathing should require a maximum per pound limit and for men; someone needs to invent an abdominal unibra- or at least ban Speedo’s if they can’t be seen in a full frontal view.

day 2 Rhodes and Lindos

Thursday Sept 15^th

A rather late rise was followed by an average European breakfast at the hotel. Mostly cold meats and cheese accompanied by coagulated eggs (scrambled did not really describe the texture) and bacon that was definitely not part of a Weightwatchers diet..

 Heading for the downtown, we passed the bus station where a bus to Lindos was about to pull out. On a whim we hopped on the bus, making a sudden change of the days plans which until then were pretty unspecific.

 Lindos is a small village about 45km south of Rhodes along the east coast of the island

Lindos Bay as seen from Acropolis

  [ by way of an aside, the island of Rhodes might best be said to resemble a spearhead pointing north. The city of Rhodes would be a triangular tip to the spear. The island is approx 75km long and about 34km wide]

  The trip lasted about 80 minutes and passed through or near several of the eastern towns that are geared to the tourist trade.

 With a population of about 1000 people, Lindos is a collection of small white houses scattered across the side of a hill. Narrow winding streets restrict traffic to either foot or donkey. Dominating the town and several hundred feet above it is a fortified plateau or Acropolis surrounded by the heavy walls of the Knights’ Templar castle from around 1390 AD. The walk to the top is up a variety of steep cobbled and rough stone pathways, several of which served as the routes by which donkeys ferried people to the top. Travelling these paths required the artful technique of avoiding the numerous IED,s deposited by the terEeHawists!!

yours truly in front of restored temple-Lindos

 Arriving at the entrance to the site, I was able to negotiate a seniors discount on the admission charge. A steep staircase led up to the main plateau where ruins of several eras were displayed, some in various stages of restoration. A temple to Athena, from around 300 BC had been restored badly in the early 19^th century and was again being restored to correct the earlier damages. Other ruins included a Byzantine Church, Roman Temple and the fortifications of the Knights Templar The view of the surrounding bays and beaches was spectacular. One could also see the whole of the whitewashed village below.

 Returning by way of the one Donkey deposit free path down to the village, we passed women offering lace and embroidered table cloths for sale. Further down the winding path we re-entered the maze of streets which rarely measured more than 2 meters wide.

Shops,bars and restaurants offered a variety of enticements to the tourists returning from the Acropolis.

Lindos Village-Mostly white! watch your step!

 

 Following a quick meal of seafood pasta, octopus, mussels and shrimp, we hiked back up to the main road where we had a short wait for our bus back to Rhodes.

  A short wait, but a rather longer ride than the one there, as the bus entered many smaller villages that had been omitted on the way going.

 Arriving back at the hotel we completed the daily obligatory ritual- shower off all the road grime, sunscreen and salt then wash out the days clothing, setting it to dry on the balcony.

  Supper this evening was a buffet of more or less overcooked mystery meats and what at first looked like shepherds’ pie but turned out to be mousaka or as I prefer to call it mouse cacka!!! Convincing people that eggplant is an edible substance is, in my opinion the Greek way of playing a joke on the rest of the world.

 After consuming enough calories to ensure I wouldn’t die during the night, we set off for a brief walk in a westerly direction and discovered a warren of backstreets bustling with activity. People jammed sidewalks onto which fronted dozens of bars, restaurants and shops which seemed to have no lack of clientele. Menus in 5 or 6 languages promoted daily specials, cheap beer and chips, pizza and chips, various greek dishes and chips obviously we had stumbled into what might be described as Brit Town. Strangely, not a Curry takeout to be seen anywhere!!

Rhodes, Day One

Tuesday, Sept 13^th

   Finally, the day has arrived.

  In less than two hours I will be on board an Air Transat flight bound for Athens. Although I am gone for 18 days, I have, so far, no information on the transfers from Athens to the various planned destinations. Rhodes, Crete, Santorini and Myconos are the stops before arriving for a final 3 days in Athens.

Harbour area- Rhodes

  I have been to each of those islands previously. However, instead of a cruise based, 4 hour dash around the island, the trips will involve a 3 to 5 night stay, allowing a much better chance to look around.

  Amazingly, there is free wireless service in the departure lounge. Finally, Toronto Airport is emerging from the Stone Age.

 Wednesday 14^th

Rhodes Old Town at night

    So much for the intro yesterday. The battery was close to dead on the laptop so I wasn’t able to do the running commentary that I had planned.

  It is close to 6:30 pm on Wednesday and I am operating on 90 minutes of sleep since 7am Tuesday morning.

   The flight to Athens was barely tolerable. The only difference between Air Transat and Nicaraguan inter city buses is the elevation at which they travel. Both offer uncomfortable seats, no leg room and really bad food at inflated prices. The Air Transat staff do, however, have smaller butts so they don’t get wedged in the aisles!!!

  On arrival in Athens, Transat did have staff at the airport giving out packages containing some information, hotel vouchers and flight and ferry tickets. Further information was delivered upon arrival in Rhodes.

  The flight to Rhodes was a smooth 60 minutes with great birds eye views of several of the easterly islands.

 The hotel for the next three days is called the Mediterranean. Probably a 3 star by Canadian standards, it overlooks the eastern side of town and is about a km from the Old Town. To the east, the coastline of southwest Turkey is barely 10 miles away.

  Rhodes actually dates back to the fifth century BC but the current fortifications surrounding the Old Town are from approx. 14^th Century and relate to the Crusaders. The only battles that occur within the walls now are between restaurant and store owners as they fight over clients. Most of the “ancient” buildings were actually rebuilt during the Italian Occupation, (starting in1912 and lasting through the time when Mussolini was in power. It was eventually returned to Greece and is probably listed on E-Bay right now or maybe the Chinese government will buy it once they have full ownership of the USA.

 As a major stop on the Mediterranean circuit, the port is often the temporary home of several cruise ships, 4 of which were docked today.

 While Susanna slept off some of her jetlag, I made the most of my time, walking along the harbour front, taking in the sights before supper.

  After a passable meal at the hotel restaurant ( included with the room rate) we walked into the Old Town where we ran a gauntlet of dozens of restaurants and hundreds of stores for an hour or so until jetlag and shear exhaustion drove us back to the hotel for the night.

 With nothing finite planned for tomorrow, we will see what transpires after we catch up on our sleep

He's back on the road again!!!

After wasting the summer involved in mundane tasks like work and more work, I am happy to announce that I am back on the road again.
 A little safer, hopefully, and a little less adventurous than my last trip to Nicaragua, this one involves Greece.

Approach to Acropolis, Lindos

 Covering approx. 18 days, the tour should encompass, if all works according to plan, a visit to the islands of Rhodes, Crete, Santorini and Myconos.
If all goes well, some pictures will be attached to these updates