Travel to Mykonos

There is no question that the Greek Islands are stunning.  Clear, turquoise waters reflect the sun in constant blue skies.  Rocky islands rise directly out of the water. Some have a desolate beauty - sun baked vegetation mixed with white rock - while others contain oases of green from olive trees, grape vines and fig trees. When going from one island to the next, we were never sure what visual treat would lie in the next harbor and the surrounding countryside.

As we boarded an early morning boat from Samos Town (the taxi driver from Pythagoria to Samos was absolutely nuts!), we prepared for our last long ride.  Our ending plans of a few days on the island of Naxos were dashed as the ferry schedule made it impossible to visit and return to Mykonos in time for our flight.  So, we're off to Mykonos in the hopes of finding lodging - high tourist season is just shifting into gear - and enough activities to entertain us - Mykonos is big on bars but meager on other servings.

From Greek Trip - Samos

Hera's Home

It's hard to imagine a bustling city over 2000 years ago.  Renting a scooter, we headed west from the town of Pythagoria.  Our route took us through the ever-present olive groves as we first went away from and then returned to the ocean.  The ruins of Herion are rumored to be the birthplace of the goddess Hera.  The entrance to the site is along the "Sacred Way" and as we walked, fortunately there were few other tourists, I tried to envision marble statues lining this paved road.

From Greek Ruins

At the end of the Sacred Way, Hera's temple must have dominated the view.  Today, one column remains and it is thought that this column is only half of its original height.  (I think that this is one temple that I would really like to see reconstructed - it must have been massive!)

From Greek Ruins

The site itself is still being uncovered and many of its treasures lie in the archaeological museum in Samos town and the statues currently displayed at Herion are replicas.

kouros (male statue thought to date from the 6th century BC) 

From Greek Ruins

part of the Geneleos Group (the original is in the museum)

From Greek Ruins

Pythagorous

Is the Pythagorean Theorem one of the few bits of information that remains in most minds after leaving middle school?  Pythagoras was a Greek mathematician who developed quite a cult following and is today immortalized by a2 + b2 = c2

We spent two nights in the town of Pythagorio, which is located on the island of Samos.  It was one of the quietest towns on our trip.  Other than the collections of tourist t-shirts, this statue is the only indication that Pythagoras also walked along this harbor.

From Greek Trip - Samos

24 in Kos

The clock all of a sudden appeared to move with an urgency.  Our three weeks in the Greek Islands were rapidly coming to an end.  Suddenly, the island of Kos was relegated to a ferry stop-over.  A few sights...

Archaeological excavations engaged our wondering eyes.

From Greek Ruins

Hippocrates Plane Tree, which seems in need of some medicine itself, stands in a sheltered plaza.  It was enticing to think of Hippocrates teaching his students under the shade of this tree.

From Greek Trip - Kos

Hanging delicacies made us think about lunch

From Greek Trip - Kos

The massive walls of the Castle of the Knights held many statues.

From Greek Ruins

The cat

From Greek Trip - Kos

Sitting in the Square

A lone light post stands tall in the center

Cafes match up on opposite sides

  split by criss-crossing cobbled pathways

  holding people escaping from the mid-morning sun

  while sipping coffee and smoking cigarrettes

The light post watches many pass its shadows

  a bicycling blur

  slow-moving tour groups

  a young child escaping his mother

People watch people watching

  hats of all shapes

  skin of all colors

  languages of all sounds

When will my shade run out?

From Greek Trip - Kos

Lindos

The coastal views from the acropolis of Lindos are impressive but our eyes were quickly drawn to the turquoise waters held in the natural lagoon at the base of the hill.  This small town is a short bus ride from Rhodes Town and the surprising lack of wind heated up the day.  Dodging donkey-riding tourists, we left the hilltop perch for the cool waters of the lagoon.

From Greek Trip - Lindos (Island of Rhodes)

Rhodes Town

Time passes when traveling. "Hurry up to wait" the saying goes and we've done plenty of it. This time we wait for a boat to spend the next 12 hours of our life on.  The boat is late though this tardiness is welcomed with less frustration than one would expect.  The reason is that whoever dreamed of the ferry schedule between Crete and Rhodes must have had a bad day.  Leaving at 3:00 in the afternoon for a 12-hour transit does not put travelers into port at a decent hour.  So, our boat was fortunately late though by the time we were able to board, people were antsy.

The ferry boats are huge and this one is a dinosaur of the Greek fleet.  It is the only boat comparable to the ones I traveled on during my last Greek Island voyage and the boarding procedures have not changed.  One large Cretan male was in charge of holding back the hordes of people determined to race onto the boat the second it docked.  His personality and yelling kept the crowd in check for some time but we were engaged in a red light-green light game.  Each time his back turned, the swelling crowd lurched forward until stopped by an abrupt turn.  Eventually, he tired and a mad dash ensued.  Not to be outdone, we raced.  I guess this is where packing light and taking only small packs is a benefit.  Unencumbered by wheelie bags, boxes or the like, we were quickly on and searching the boat for our "territory".  As deck passengers, we are meant to fend for ourselves so the open hallway space provided ample room to spread out and enjoy the hard, concrete floor.

From Greek Trip - Rhodes

Grabbing a few hours of sleep, we eventually made our way to the deck to watch the sun rise as we entered the port of Rhodes Town.  Recommended by many people, we were excited to visit this medieval town inhabited by the Ghosts of the Knights of St John.

From Greek Trip - Rhodes

"Good morning.  Did you just arrive on the ghost ship?" greeted Mikail as we hesitantly made our early morning appearance into his domantia.  Fortunately, he had a room and we dropped bags to explore the narrow stone alleys before the tourists and vendors awoke.

Wandering up a deserted Avenue of the Knights, we passed the "inns" of each country.  Back in the day, the Knights of St John lived in this section of the Knights' Quarter.  They were divided into houses based upon origins and at the top of the avenue lies the Palace of the Grand Master.  Today, the palace hosts a museum which we found ourselves touring without much company.
Beautiful corridor:

From Greek Trip - Rhodes

Inside the palace, room after room spread out.  Each room had its own mosaic on the floor, though most were brought from Kos, an future island of visit.

From Greek Trip - Rhodes

The narrow streets of Rhodes Town provided a welcome resting place for a few days as we enjoyed the old town.

Harbor Siesta

The cries of swallows punctuate dynamic swoops
Distant rumblings of harbor boat traffic follows
  a lazy breeze entering windows
High ceilings and wooden-planked floors allows the air
  to explore corners of the room
The town will soon rise from slumber
  hungry tourists seeking Cretan specialties
  vendors hawking knick-knacks
  laughter bouncing off cobbled alleys
But at the moment, it's hard to resist siesta's call

From Greek Trip - Hania

6.29.11 - No Transport Day!

For the first day in what seems forever, we are not moving in any type of transport.  Be it bicycle, taxi, bus, boat, plane or train, we are not doing it.  Instead, we enjoyed the sun, the beaches and each other's company.  How lovely!

From Greek Trip: Paleohora

Hiking the Samaria Gorge

The bookends of this day were beautiful though absolute hell for Krista.  It all began with the rude beeps of a 5:00 alarm.  Aren't we on vacation?  Jarred out of sleep, we pulled on long sleeve shirts - the wee morning hours are surprisingly chilly - and followed our sleepy feet to the bus station.

After buying our tickets from a red-eyed Greek who also appeared to be awake too early, we ordered two coffee freddoes.  The french presses magically appeared and within moments freshly-brewed caffeine coursed through our veins.  This warmth stayed with Krista for the first few minutes of our bus ride but the nonstop curves put her down for the count.  I sat back and watched the sun slowly rise over rocky hills densely planted with olive trees.  The bus snaked back and forth through small villages but the olive trees were constant.  A net lay bunched up at the base of most trees.  My guess is that the trees are shook during harvest times as the nets are spread out to catch the precious cargo.  If I saw thousands of olive trees during this ride and each has hundreds of olives, what are the chances I saw the tree from which the olive you last enjoyed came from?

At the end of the two hour ride, we dipped under an extended row of modern windmills, skirted the town of Omalos and arrived at the entrance to the Samaria Gorge National Park. This gorge, reportedly the largest in Europe, is filled with beautiful scenery from its mountain beginnings to its oceanic mouth.

From Greek Trip - Hiking the Samaria Gorge

The beginning of the hike was hectic as we navigated around many groups of people.  We saw them all - from trekking pole equipped warriors to the grandmother in her nice dress, big hat and large picnic basket to the people who must have been disappointed at the "no-high-heels" sign.  After several steep switchbacks, we finally left the crowds behind and had the rest of the hike almost to ourselves.

At one point, we crossed a bridge and entered the deserted village of Samaria.  In 1962, the gorge became a national park in order to protect the kri-kri (a wild goat).  Though good for the goat, the villagers of Samaria had to pack up and move out of the now-protected zone.  The buildings seemed to be in decent shape after almost 50 years of abandonment. 

From Greek Trip - Hiking the Samaria Gorge

The highlight of the gorge is near the end of the hike as the walls come close together and allow for a narrow passage created by the ever present creek (not as spectacular as Zion's Narrows, but quite nice).

From Greek Trip - Hiking the Samaria Gorge

Finally, we exited the park and arrived at the small coastal village of Agia Roumeli. Hours ahead of schedule, we enjoyed the hiker's beer of reward, went swimming and waited for the boat that would take us home.

From Greek Trip - Hiking the Samaria Gorge

The final bookend?  A bumpy, two hour ride on the Neptoune that provided spectacular views of the Cretan coastline but was only marginally more comfortable than the bus journey many hours earlier.

From Greek Trip - Hiking the Samaria Gorge