Where do I start? The past nine days have been amazing and we have seen so many different places, each one better than the last. I’m sure you can all imagine that the Greek islands were never going to be anything short of brilliant, so there were no surprises at the beauty we encountered, that said, we certainly weren’t disappointed.
We booked the trip with Rob and Alicia, our friends we met on our Christmas/ New year tour, so all four of us set off on Friday evening – destination, Bodrum, Turkey! We only just made it to our gorgeous wee hotel, before we conked out, only to be woken a few hours later to beautiful, glorious sun streaming in the window – SUN! Needless to say that after a dismal London summer, we were very happy to see this long lost friend!
We absolutely loved Bodrum and spent the morning wandering the cute Turkish streets, buying jewellery and souvenirs at an amazing market, and watching the All Blacks smash Australia of course at a Turkish bar right on the beach, where despite it just having past 10am, we kicked the day off with a few quiet beers. Start as you mean to continue and all that…
After the game, we set off for the port where we were anxiously waiting to see our accommodation for the next eight days. When we spied a 121 ft super yacht, we weren’t disappointed! After excited squeals, we went for a quick dip in the ocean, before trundling back to meet the rest of the tour group. We hit the jackpot and they were all lovely – around 30 of us in total. After a bit of social chit chat, we mooched off into the town for some more sight-seeing and shopping, before we hit a beach bar with bright pink sun loungers and spent the afternoon sipping away at £3 mojitos, whilst lying on sun loungers and swimming every five minutes. Sounds like bliss? I assure you it was. Life doesn’t get any better! After a good five hours of this, we set off for dinner with the group, where we dined right on the beach, before checking out Bodrum’s nightlife (which is great by the way). We stopped off at my favourite market to spend the rest of our Turkish lira 9for which I was given a few extra bits and bobs on account of being such a great customer!), as we were setting off for Greece the next day, and spent the night sleeping on the top of the deck beneath the stars.
Sunday morning we woke to find ourselves somewhere between Turkey and Greece – right at the border in fact, while our tour leader tried to suss out all of our Passports, whilst we lay on our sun loungers at the top of the boat. Bonza! And so we set off to Kos, a Greek island in the Cyclades, continuing the gorgeous pattern of sailing for a few hours, anchoring for a swim in the bright blue Aegean Sea, drying out in the scorching sun… and repeat!
We docked in Kos in the afternoon, where we spent the remainder of the day exploring this big, but exquisite island. Our first stop was for an infamous Gyros, which is essentially a Greek kebab type pita thing, which also contains hot chips. They’re everywhere in Greece and at just €2 a pop, you can’t go past them. This was followed by a glorious pineapple sorbet, which we’d stuffed our face with the day before (in-between mojitos of course), before we wandered through the alleyways of the island, shopping, eating and visiting all sorts of ancient site. This was also the island where Hippocrates came from, so there was a fair few sites to see. We headed back to the boat for a quick change and a cheeky beer, before we all set off for dinner to a gorgeous Greek restaurant, followed by a few bars and clubs. This is where the night gets hazy for me – not because I drank too much, although I did have a fair few drinks, but because we all had a shot of the traditional Greek drink – ouzo! I was told by my neighbour at dinner that the last think I’d remember was the ouzo, and sure enough his prediction came true. The next thing we knew it was 8am, and we were once again sleeping beneath the stars on route to Amorgos.
This is where the dream started to fizzle, before quickly turning to a nightmare. After stopping for a swim and breakfast, it quickly became quite choppy and although the sun was scorching, the wind was blowing a gale – at a rate of seven believe it or not, and at eight, the police don’t let you sail. To say I was sick is putting it lightly. I was lying there in the sun unable to even move my head to look for the sunscreen and despite knowing that I would be completely burnt, I simply couldn’t move. I retched and retched until there was nothing left, but did this stop the sickness? No! It continued for the 10 hours it took to reach Amorgos – a trip that usually lasts four hours. There was comfort in the fact that 80 per cent of people were feeling sick as well, with a few of the team worse off than me. One poor Australian lad was so sick he started to spew up blood! The crew were darlings and felt so sorry for us – sea sickness was a foreign concept for them, but they did their best, keeping a close eye on us to make sure we didn’t go overboard, whilst we clung to the sides retching like there was no tomorrow. UGH – one of my top five worst days of all time!
When we got to Amorgos, a completely untouched and authentic Greek island, everyone went for food (the cooks couldn’t cook a thing given the swells) and despite not being able to stomach anything, I made a half hearted attempt at plain spaghetti. I was a little crook and unsettled for the next day or so.
We wandered around beautiful Amorgos, had dinner on the boat (again, all I could manage was a few dismal bites), before our tour leader decided that enough was enough – it was time to dance away our sickness with some traditional Greek dancing! Brad was quick to volunteer and when it became clear that we would all have to give it a go, I swallowed back the nausea and threw myself into one of the traditional dances. It was great fun! Admittedly, I got off to a slow start, but I soon got the hang of it – despite my dance being significantly harder than the rest (or so I like to think). It was a lovely relaxed evening and you could almost hear the locals chuckling away as they looked on at us in amusement from the comfort of their tavernas!
As you can imagine, the next day we were slightly nervous about sailing and when we woke at 5am to major swells, I closed my eyes and sent a few prayers up! Thankfully Kyriaki, our tour leader, had said the night before that she always likened sailing to being a baby and rocked in your mother’s arms, so I concentrated on this analogy which soon had me back asleep. Not for too long though, as we were very keen to be awake with a camera at the ready as we sailed on in to beautiful Santorini! I could harp on about how beautiful it is, but you’ve seen those picture postcard shots, you know the drill. Let me just say though that it is EXACTLY how you would imagine. SIGH! Ugh, what a perfect island!
What is not how you imagine, nor what the bloody tourist board advertises, is freaking donkeys! Santorini is essentially a volcano, so the only way up the 650 steps is to walk (unthinkable – especially in the heat), cable car or the more traditional route of a donkey’s backside. After easing any concerns I had about the welfare of the donkeys etc (they only do two trips a day, are very well looked after, and essentially live in conditions rivalling the Ritz), I jump on the back of a donkey, where I prepare myself for a beautiful cultural experience, connecting with Mother Nature, with amazing views to boot. What I wasn’t prepared for was the utter hell of sitting on the arse of a crazed donkey, which careered up a hill, slipping every few steps on donkey sh*t, stopping to do its business, running into walls where I was grated against a brick wall until the stupid thing decided to take a step to the right, or rammed into other donkeys – let it be said, these donkeys have never heard of the ‘merge like a zip’ philosophy. After a few wails and screams, I was lulled into a false sense of security, thinking things can’t get any worse, when lo and behold I am met with a stampede of donkeys charging towards me downhill, whilst I am trying to go uphill. Once again, I’m being grated against the wall, terrified for my own life, while my donkey picks up the pace and decides to get a bit of a sprint on. I’d like to say that I had a bad experience and all the other donkeys were placid, but alas – the terrified screams around me suggested otherwise. Brad’s donkey, true to form, was an absolute brute and took it upon himself to charge through the other donkeys, causing great unsettlement amongst the pack, terrifying the other donkeys into a canter/ bottle neck type situation, whilst his pushed its way through, bullying the other donkeys into submission. Just when it couldn’t possibly get any worse, his donkey lets out an absolute stream of donkey diarrhoea – covering the legs of the poor Australian lass behind him, and splashing back at the rest of us. Much to Brad’s amusement of course – he was bloody loving it. Shortly after the sh*t shower, my donkey decides he’s had enough and angle parks himself amongst a pack of donkeys, refusing to move. It’s up to me to try and slide off, avoiding the kicking legs of the other rabid creatures. I then huff and puff my way up the rest of the stairs, slipping over on shite myself. When I stop for a rest, what do I see? A nasty little Greek man bringing up the rear, with a stick in one hand. You guessed it; he’d been travelling up with a friend of ours from the boat, who would take it in turns to rap one of the donkey’s backside causing it to surge up the hill, whilst the rider was screaming like a banshee. It provided much amusement and he spent a good few minutes chuckling before deciding on another victim.
Needless to say, the donkey ride was quite an experience, but one I have no desire of repeating. Excuse my language, but put simply it was f***ing terrifying! Not at all what the brochure advertises.
After the crazed means of transportation up the hill, I was keen to stick around on my own two feet for a while, but Brad had other ideas, and after a quick tour of the town, we were off on a quad bike on a four wheel drive adventure. Somehow a few of the other boyfriends had also managed to twist the arms of their unsuspecting better halves and we ended up with a crew of eight in total. We spent the day exploring the entire island, going from beach to beach before watching the sunset in Oia – what is said to be one of the very best sunsets in the world. It’s bloody beautiful, that’s for sure! Santorini gave us the most perfect day and we absolutely loved this island and felt so privileged to have been able to see it in as much detail as we did. Brad and I made quite the team as he was the lead driver, whilst I navigated the group to our next destination. I like to think of myself as a female Abel Tasman, but I must give some credit to the road signs which may have assisted my navigation. Moral of the story, I was awesome.
After dropping off our quad, we then hot footed it to dinner, where Kyriaki had organized the most amazing meal for us at a local restaurant. The great thing about this tour as it’s all run by locals, so they know the hidden gems and can also organize the great deals for us as they have a new tour passing through each week. At our little restaurant in Santorini we ate ourselves sick on Santorini fava beans, tomato balls (even I thought they were amazing), tzatziki, deep fried cheese etc, all washed down with ice cold Greek beer. We then went to a club, but after a full day of exploring and a huge meal, we couldn’t fit in another drop, so decided to call it a night. As the cable car closes at 12am and the donkeys were fast asleep in their suites (and even if they weren’t, I’d have sooner cartwheeled down the mountain then got back on one of those hideous creatures), we had to walk down the twisting, 650 stairs, stopping every few seconds for another glorious photo opportunity. We had been warned that by night the stairs were quite hard to navigate, particularly as you step in donkey doo every two minutes, but it was a beautiful journey all the same. Let’s just say, I won’t be wearing those jandals again!
Next stop Ios! As if the weather was making up for it’s bad behaviour on Monday, we had a glorious day’s sailing causing us all to turn to each other and smile enthusiastically saying things like, ‘yes, this is more like this – this is what I signed up for.’ The sea was beyond blue and we spent the whole morning floating on lilos, jumping off the boat, screaming and smiling having a gay old time. It was also one of our friend’s birthdays, so the revelry began early with a few jagermeister shots on the house! The day was perfect, with sun, fun and sea, and when we docked in Ios in the afternoon, the theme continued. Ios is so pretty – quite chilled out and authentic, but it’s also known as the party island, so it has its fair share of bars. We headed straight to the main beach and what they call the ‘Far Out beach Club.’ Like the name suggests, this outdoor bar is on the beach, complete with hammocks and a massive pool, as well as cheap cocktails. We spent the day swimming, playing volleyball (for which I was on the winning team – it doesn’t matter that I didn’t actually touch the ball), relaxing in the sun and dancing. A bunch of us left at around 7pm to get ready for dinner, whilst a few of the boys continued partying, Brad included. Another delicious dinner later, as well as a bit of dancing on Brad’s part and we woke up to find ourselves still in Ios – not Naxos like we had expected.
To cut a long story short, the wind had picked up overnight and after the boat attempted to make it out of the harbour, the swells were so big they actually broke the engine, so we had to turn back and head in – at the Port Police’s orders! Thankfully we were only awake for a part of this, so we put the rocking and noises down to a spinning head from too many slushy strawberry daiquiris! After being informed that we weren’t going anywhere, we decided to head into town again and do some more exploring, given Brad has missed out on this option the day before, choosing the lure of Far Out over sight-seeing. It was then that we discovered Greek pies – which are mouth-wateringly glorious. In fact, my mouth is watering as I even type their name. We shared a spinach pie, before wandering down to another beach where we snoozed, swam and hunted for shells – each one prettier than the last. Dinner was prepared on the boat by the chefs and it was once again, amazing. We were so spoilt throughout our entire trip – fresh feta for breakfast, with eggs, olives, fresh bread and the most amazing selection of fruit. A delicious hot lunch every day – moussaka, stuffed eggplant, stuffed peppers, stuffed vine leaves, cheese rolls (get this – spring rolls stuffed with feta!)… We were well impressed!
The next morning we once again awoke to find ourselves in Ios, and by this stage we were starting to get mildly concerned. We had a ferry booked out of Mykonos to Athens the following day, but we were nowhere near this location. Don’t get me wrong, there are far worst things in the world than being stranded on a beautiful Greek island, but the threat of our return flight to London left us a little concerned. We spent the day reading and sunbathing, whilst exploring the island and lying on beaches, not to mention stuffing ourselves with countless magnums, whilst keeping one ear out for news from the Port Police as to whether we would make it to Mykonos in time. When we were told that evening that we’d be unable to sail until the next morning earliest, we decided not to risk it and booked a ferry from Ios to Athens for the next day, as well as accommodation in Ios that night. A couple of our friends had done the same thing, and whilst we knew we would be okay, we didn’t want to risk it. It would be fine if you didn’t want to see Athens, but as we were both really looking forward to exploring Greece’s capital we decided to jump ship (excuse the pun).
So that night, feeling far more relaxed, we all spent a glorious last evening together dining at a rooftop restaurant overlooking Ios, and laughing ourselves sick – a perfect evening!
The next day we were sailing at midday, so we had a lazy, leisurely morning which involved more than our fair share of Greek pies for breakfast, followed by a few more – they’re so good, we just had to eat as much of them while we could! We then boarded our super speedy ferry and after spending the trip snoozing, we were in Athens before we knew it. Our first impression? It is HUGE – I just can’t believe how big it is and it seemed to go on forever (a bit like this blog entry I bet you’re thinking).
After an easy metro ride to our hostel, we checked in and headed straight for their famous rooftop bar which has the most glorious views right over the Acropolis and Parthenon, managing to time our arrival with happy hour! C’est la vie! We watched the sunset, whilst sitting on cushions on a rooftop with the most beautiful views, sipping ice-cold beer, which was much needed given the 37 degree heat. It was a lovely night. What’s more, we’d managed to strike it lucky and were in Athens for their infamous full moon party, which meant all of the ancient sites were open and it was free to wander around. We headed straight for the Acropolis, where we stumbled across a big Greek concert and whilst we couldn’t understand what they were singing, we could bop along and smile at the locals, gazing out at the most beautiful and ancient building in the world. Not a bad way to spend a Saturday night.
The next morning we woke up early, keen to make the most of the free breakfast out hostel offered, as well as get out and explore. There was much to see after all! We took advantage of the walking tour offered by our hostel, which provided a great ground to Athens, including the seven archaeological sites. Given the extreme heat and lack of sun protection, it was very hard to stay focused, but after an ice-cream and souvlaki stop, we got a second wind and managed to keep the enthusiasm levels up!
Athens seems to get such a bad rap and we really can’t understand why. It’s a beautiful city and is so bustling, ancient and exciting. Of course, it’s completely different to the Greek islands, but it is freaking amazing in its own right. We just don’t understand how anyone could ever have a bad word to say about it! Granted there are a lot of stray dogs and cats, but as our guide said – the people of Athens don’t see these dogs as a problem. Rather, they view them as something to be loved. They’re all well-looked after, a little too well-looked after if we do say – some of them are quite podgy truth be told. One little thing started marching alongside the guards, when they did their weekly ‘changing of the guards ceremony’ – it was the darnest thing!
A few facts for you (we all know a blog entry isn’t complete, without a lesson from yours truly)
• The Greek flag symbolizes their motto ‘Freedom or death’. The Greeks believe that if they can’t be free (they’ve had quite the history of being taken over by other countries) then they would rather die.
• Greek soldiers have large pom-poms at the ends of their shoes, which may look cute and comical, but they are used to hide knives and nails, which are used as a last resort style weapon!
• It is compulsory for all Greek men to serve in the army after university, for a minimum period of nine months. Get this – the only way you can get out of it is to have a physical disability, be mentally unstable, or…. GAY! In the 70s apparently countless hippies were pretending to be gay in order to get out of the compulsory service, so they’ve since toughened up this law and decided that if you’re just a ‘regular homosexual’ you have to serve, but if you’re feminine you’re given a pass card! When you do serve your monthly salary is just €8. The Greeks believe that it is not a job, it’s a service to your country, so the €8 is just to help pay for the odd pack of cigarettes!
• If you want to be a parliamentary guard (Greek beefeaters if you will) then you must be a minimum of 6”2.
Our last few hours in Athens were spent wandering aimlessly (a great way to see the city), drinking copious amounts of ice-cold Fanta, sneaking in a few more souvlakis and checking out the local flea market.
When we said goodbye to Greece, we knew that deep down it meant saying goodbye to the sun for another year, as the British summer doesn’t quite cut it. The Pilot put it perfectly when he announced upon touching down in London, “it’s a typical London summer day today – cloudy and raining.” The high was a whole 10 degrees less than the lows in Greece! That said, it’s nice to be back in London, where you can flush your loo paper (in Greece you are not allowed to flush anything down the loo – it all goes into a bin beside the toilet – as you can imagine, with the heat and smell, it aint pretty).
So that’s it for me folks. Apologies for the essay length entry, but really – did you expect anything less from me?
Yassos!
x
