Let the Fun Begin ... Mykonos, Here We Come!

Off to Greece                                                                

Friday, October 13, 2017

After a whirlwind of activity at home including the final touches on a renovation and Iain and Elaine’s wedding, we were finally able to put our energy into preparing for our trip to Greece, Norway and Sweden.

A strange combination of destinations, you say? We agree. Originally, we were going to Poland, Greece and Morocco for about 5 weeks. But we did not have the time or energy to plan it so we changed our plans to only include Greece – about 3 weeks. Then, two weeks before we left, an email came through to me advertising November as one of the best times in the year to see Aurora Borealis. Iceland was the suggested location. But we had already been to Iceland so I did some research and learned that the North Cape in Norway is reported to be the best place in the world to view the Northern Lights. Spontaneity, adventure and perhaps a bit of foolhardiness led us to a quick decision to add Norway and Sweden to our destination list. Discovering 3 scenic railways helped us along as well. Even though there will be limited daylight by the time we get to Norway. Of course, limited daylight will enhance our chances of seeing the Northern Lights.

So, on Friday, October 13, we rumbled down the runway in Toronto and flew directly to Philadelphia. Yes, that’s right. Philadelphia. From there, we boarded an American Airlines flight to Athens. The flight was smooth all the way. The service was good and the seats as comfortable as economy class can be on a long haul flight. In contrast to our preferred plan, neither Jim nor I could sleep during the journey. Two movies, some silly games and some reading filled the many hours.

Saturday, October 14, 2017

But the best spectacle along the route came in the last hours before dawn. The sky was absolutely clear, not a cloud to mar the view of the land and sea below. Through the darkness, we could see the bright lights of many European cities and towns as our flight path flanked the north coast of the Mediterranean Sea. It was spectacular, indeed. Nice, Monaco, Cinque Terra, Sorrento, Salerno, Rome, Naples … on to Athens. Just before we reached Athens, the sun rose over Greece. The colours were magnificent as the landscape came into view, changing from a shadow to real form in the fresh daylight.

We clearly saw the rugged and mountainous landscape of Greece. And so very many islands!! It was an amazing sight from the air. Once on land, we cleared customs and immigration and had our luggage in less than 30 minutes. Talk about efficiency!! And then we found the bus that would deliver us to our hotel in Rafina, 25 minutes from the airport. The Avra Hotel welcomed us warmly and soon we were enjoying an afternoon nap, much needed due to our sleeplessness during our flight.                                       

Refreshed we struck out to explore the village. Russian olive trees, eucalypts, dusty pine trees and brilliant flowers awaited our viewing. There were even a few palm trees and cacti, referencing the climate enjoyed by this area. Not unike the 2017 fall season at home, unseasonably high temperatures have extended the Greek summer season. Brilliant blossoms were abundant in gardens and along the roadsides. Garden fresh vegetables were still available to provide exquisite flavours to freshly made salads.

We walked from the Avra Hotel to the line of shops at the dock. The street was peppered with a myriad of restaurants and ticket sellers for the many ferries that depart from this dock. We selected seafood for lunch – shrimp for Jim, squid for me – and were not disappointed with the flavour and the quality of the meals that arrived. It was so lovely to be able to sit outside as we enjoyed our food. In fact, it actually felt a bit hot to us. As we ate, a real live organ grinder passed in front of our table. Of course, we gave him some money and he serenaded us with his aging yet well-loved instrument. How charming it was!

After lunch, we continued our stroll of the village and sat on the waterfront to watch several fishermen at work. Sadly, for them and us, nothing was biting today.

The warm sunshine attracted people to the beach, even this late in the season. We were told that there are some brave and crazy people who swim in this water all year round. Albeit, it is a bit chilly in January.

We returned to our hotel in the late afternoon and enjoyed another nap. Dinner followed in the hotel restaurant. As we had at noon, we ordered a Greek salad. The two Greek salads were quite different one from the other but equally delicious. Roma tomatoes and feta cheese were the common ingredients. The other ingredients were quite varied and the dressings were very different as well. One had a significant lemon flavouring, while the other was olive oil and seasoning, quite sparsely applied.

We also enjoyed a Greek coffee, intense in flavour, thick on the tongue and dark grounds in bottom of cup. It is similar to espresso but unique at the same time.

We retired to our sea-view room from which we enjoyed the brilliant blue of the Aegean Sea.

It was windy with waves pounding the breakwaters even in inner harbour. It made us wonder what the sea will be like when we sail to Mykonos tomorrow. Our ferry leaves at 7 am.

Sunday, October 15, 2017

We arose early this morning (6 am) and made our way to the hotel breakfast room. A feast awaited our arrival. On the serving table was an array of fruits, breads, Greek yogurt, cooked eggs in many varieties, along with European breakfast options such as sliced meat and Swiss cheese. We had a hearty start to our day.

We made our way to the ferry terminal where we boarded a ferry to Mykonos. The ferry took about 5 hours to make the trip and we stopped at two other islands along the way – Andros and Tinos. All the islands looked quite dry with very little green in the landscape. A great deal of rock lined the shores, some of it vivid white, casting a brilliant hue under full sunlight. Occasional villages popped up along the shoreline; almost all the buildings were bright white, many with blue trim.

We read and slept along the way, thoroughly enjoying the voyage in spite of the somewhat rolling seas where there was open water. All in all, a pleasant journey.

Our hotel hosts picked us up from the ferry dock and took us to the Damianos Hotel where we had a short orientation to the island, the town and the hotel itself. We had a short nap in our room (we have still only been in Greece about 27 hours) and went to the hotel restaurant for lunch. Delicious food awaited us – another Greek salad, different again, zucchini and feta spring rolls (superb) and homemade moussaka. This is a family run hotel and all hands were on deck to ensure our comfort and satisfaction.

Situated high on a hill, we were able to enjoy the beautiful views of the harbour and the Aegean Sea during the early part of the afternoon. Then, we went to the Hertz car rental agency and picked up a vehicle to use while on Mykonos. What a tiny but bright red car. With a standard transmission. We headed directly out into the countryside to enable me to refresh my happy memories of driving a standard with almost no traffic around us. With only one stall, the skill returned and I was ready to proceed back into town. The biggest challenge of the day was finding our hotel again and making our way up the incredibly steep driveway. It was a relief once we were actually parked and ‘back at home’.

It is not often that we travel at a pace that allows for reading and writing during daylight hours. Given the view we have from the terrace outside our room, this seems to be a civilized thing to do. So, I have finished my first book already and had time to write this diary as well.

A very light dinner completed our day – pork sausage seasoned with mustard, lemon and olive oil and a bread, cheese and tomato dish that was also delicious. Shared. We also shared a carafe of ouzo and enjoyed it thoroughly. Baklava from a local bakery awaited us in our room. Soon after it was time to say good night.

Monday, October 16, 2017

Today we made a very slow start. It is clear to us that adjusting to time zone changes is not as easy for us now as it was several years ago. Neither of us slept through the night. I slept late this morning and only about 90 minutes later was ready for another nap. We are listening to our rhythms and honouring the need for more sleep. Thankfully, after a reasonably short nap midday, we were ready for an adventure.

We took our little red car on quite a work out today. Although the island of Mykonos is only 12 kilometres wide, the roads are narrow and winding in every direction. Except for the main thoroughfares, most roads are more like laneways, meandering around the countryside with frequent and sharp curve, peppered with potholes and guarded proudly on both sides by sturdy stone fences. In many, maybe even most, places it is tricky for two vehicles to meet and successfully glide past one another without touching. Happily, the posted speed limit is 30 kph in most places and most drivers honour that.

Our first destination was Ano Mera, a small hillside village with a lovely town square situated adjacent to a monastery. Not surprisingly, the monastery had a vivid white exterior with red accents on its doors and shutters. (There is a law in Mykonos that buildings must be white so everything in Mykonos is painted white with brightly coloured accents – mostly blue and red.) Unfortunately, the interior of the monastery was under renovation so we were only able to enjoy the exterior and the surrounding gardens.

What we were pleased about was the quiet atmosphere of the village square. Four busses from cruise ships had just finished lunch and were leaving as we arrived. What a boon to a flagging economy they must be. By the time we were ready for a coffee, the square was virtually deserted and we were able to have a good long chat with the proprietor of the café we chose while his staff were preparing our coffee and snack.

We are truly humbled by the amount of English that is spoken in the towns and villages we have visited so far. Of course, Greek is the first language of the land but, for those involved in the tourist industry, English is considered essential, the universal world language. Speaking only English and a modest amount of French, Jim and I feel under-schooled in language proficiency compared to so many Greek people as well as tourists from other European nations who also speak 2 or 3 languages.

We shared a piece of delicious orange pie and a cappuccino before heading on our way. It was time to leave the main road and travel cross country, up hills and down, watching for signs that might assist us to reach our destinations.

We learned many things about driving in Greece today. No turns on red lights; stop signs at traffic circles are only suggestions; drive slowly; watch for places along the road where pulling off to allow another car to pass would be helpful; motorbikes and ATVs share the roads with cars and trucks; no helmets on motorbikes or ATVs; local drivers will pass on hills and on double white lines; always push in the clutch when starting the car. I am sure many more helpful hints will come our way as we drive during the next few weeks.

The countryside is somewhat surprising to us. Yes, the ocean water is pristine blue/green. Absolutely beautiful, even the whitecaps.  But the landscape itself is rocky and barren. Very brown and red/brown in colouring. It is hilly, almost mountainous in places, and the roads rise on precipitous angles because there are no winter conditions that preclude steep roads. Along the occasional creek bed, we found a grove of bamboo, several eucalyptus trees, some wildflowers and lots of sedge grass. Cactus of various kinds grows wildly in fields and along fence lines, speaking to general lack of rainfall on this island.

We arrived at an extremely scenic location with two road signs in front of us. The Greek one was, indeed, all Greek to us. But the English one spelled the situation out very clearly – a bold red line indicating the end of the road with the warning that if you proceed further down a very treacherous and narrow road, there was no option of turning around at the bottom. Hmmm, time to park the car, I think.

We were actually looking for a highly recommended (Trip Advisor) restaurant (Kiki’s Tavern) where we wanted to have lunch. I backed the car along the road we had just driven while Jim scouted on foot. Kiki’s was located at the bottom of a steep side road and there was one parking space left. Down I went and managed to successfully back into the space without scratching the fender on the nearby stone wall.

As Jim scouted the terrain for the restaurant, another car pulled up behind us and indicated they were looking for the same place. As it happened, we all arrived at the door of Kiki’s at the same time and struck up a conversation while waiting for tables. It was no surprise that we decided to dine together. Carolyn is a physician working in London, UK, and her partner, Basil, also living in London, is a retired owner of a shipping country with ships that ply the oceans of the world. But the story goes on … in fact, Carolyn is Australian (from Adelaide) and Basil is Canadian (from Montreal). It also became evident that Basil speaks fluent Greek, having a Greek father and having lived in Athens for 4 years earlier in his life. Needless to say, the conversation was lively as we explored the various paths we had each followed to arrive where we are now with respect to life - careers, children, grandchildren, politics and future plans. Basil, using his best Greek, ordered us a delicious lunch of sea bass and four types of Greek salads along with some lovely white wine. The time we spent together will remain a highlight of our experience in Mykonos.

Following lunch, we once again set out across country and explored the northern regions of this island. The road meandered along the coastline, sometimes at sea level and other times high on the hilltops. The route afforded good views of the sea and the vessels that were at the new port, specifically three cruise ships and various private craft.

As the sun set, we headed toward our hotel, making stops a fruit stand for some grapes and at one of Mykonos’ many bakeries for a treat tonight. No need for dinner, for sure. We have settled into our room and can hopefully anticipate a much better night’s sleep tonight.

Tuesday, October 17, 2017

After a hearty breakfast, we took our little red rental car out on the back roads of Mykonos again. We checked the map; we knew the road; our destination was Super Paradise Beach, a famous island beach. Within ten minutes, we knew we had missed our turn and were heading into parts unknown. Thanks to Google Maps on Jim’s phone, we were able to determine another route to get to Super Paradise. We simply had to turn right at the next road. No problem!!

Turn right we did, onto a road that was hardly wide enough to allow one car through, let alone one coming from each direction. The potholes in the road seemed large enough to swim in, no beach required. And, it was tough to even get into second gear because the twists and turns were so close together. You know a road is both circuitous and narrow when, at each bend, there is a mirror to indicate whether you are going to meet another car going the opposite direction with no space for either of you to pass.

Yet, we carried on. Along the way, we spotted two donkeys with very long ears, three horses, some skinny sheep, a goat standing on the roof of a garage, a few scrawny cattle and two animals that might also have been sheep but they were huge!!! Cactus was abundant and otherwise barren land and stone fences were our constant companions. Happily, there was very little traffic, mostly cars driven by tourists and a couple of busses and trucks. They provided a challenge to even the most experienced driver. On one occasion, a full-sized bus was overtaking me and met another full-sized bus coming from the opposite direction. I pulled off the road and let the two busses manoeuvre their way past one another. In the end, one of the drivers honked and gestured at me as if I was the one taking up all the space.

But the best was yet to come …. We had climbed high into the hills and it was clear that we would have to descend to get to the beach. What I did not anticipate was descending all the way at the same time. We came upon a warning sign to slow down to 10 kph and a slope sign that indicated a grade of 15%. We went a long way down in a hurry even at 10 kph. And then came the second sign – slow to 5 kph and a slope of 20%. At the bottom of this part of the slope, the power poles were padded with a high pile of old tires and the nearby buildings were barricaded in the same way. It occurred to us that someone at some time may have lost control and taken out the pole and/or the building. Nonetheless, we did safely reach sea level and the beach was worth the drive.

The water was a bit chilly for swimming at Super Paradise Beach but the sky was clear blue, the air was warm, the sun shone brightly and the aquamarine water in this sheltered cove glistened before our eyes. It was indeed a piece of paradise. October is low tourist season and by November 1, most tourist facilities have closed for the season, reopening in March or April. So the crowd was thin on this Monday morning and we were able to relax for a while, enjoy a beverage and soak in the ambience.

Speaking of enjoying a beverage, the menu at Super Paradise had some interesting options. Beach fare for sure with some Greek elements for the more daring diners. An array of beverages that was a bit daunting. Apparently, in high season, Super Paradise Beach is the place to come to party and their alcoholic drink menu reflected that. And price was no object. There were bottles of liquor available (yes, full bottles) starting at 100 Euros ($150.00 Cdn). Wine was also available by the bottle ranging from 100 Euros to 280 Euros. But champagne was where the action must have been. Champagne prices started at 120 Euros and ranged up to 22,000 Euros – yes, 22,000!!!

We knew we were not at the beach for us so we decided to move on. We searched for the road that would take us further east to Paradise Beach, reviewed as the finest beach on Mykonos. But alas, there was no road forward. We would have to retrace our steps … including the 20% and the 15% slopes. First gear was such a good friend during our ascent. Thank goodness we did not meet another vehicle nor did the car stall. Whew!!!

A few winding miles further, we landed at Paradise Beach. The roads to this beach were very driver-friendly by comparison. Paradise Beach is also a party place, with live music and dancing starting at 4:30 daily in season. As we were there in the morning, we were not tempted to stay for the action. We did like the beach a lot though. The beach was clean, the water was closer to the bar, there was plenty of protection from the sun with shade sails and umbrellas, the alcohol was a lot less expensive and the staff was friendly and helpful. But the water was still chilly.

I had occasion to test out the friendliness and helpfulness of the staff. Jim and I had a drink (coffee and water – how boring) and then I went in search of the ladies room. Once in, I chose a cubicle and locked the door. All was well. The cubicle was clean, well equipped and fully functional. Until … it was time to exit and the lock was stuck in place. I was trapped in the cubicle with no means of escape. I turned and twisted the lock, pushed and pulled on the door and even looked for an alternate exit from this small space. But I really was locked in. So, using my teacher voice, I began to call “Help”, “Help me” in English, of course. I do not know how to say that in Greek. Within a few minutes, I heard the rustling of feet, apparently trying to determine from whence came the yelling. Eventually, there was someone in front of my cubicle who had figured out what the problem was. He spoke some encouraging words in Greek and left. Momentarily, he returned, apparently with a tool that opened the lock from the outside. The door swung open and I was free again! I thanked him profusely and went to find Jim who knew nothing of the adventure I had just had. I do wonder how long it would have taken for Jim to wonder where I was and what was taking so long.

Back on the twisting, turning narrow roads as we made our way to the city again. I dropped Jim off in the core of the town to explore the pedestrian area. I returned to our hotel for a nap. (Sleep had totally eluded me last night … it was after 6 am before I finally drifted off.)

Later, we reconoitered and headed for dinner at a nearby restaurant, Karavaki, full ocean view with another wonderful sunset to enjoy. The food was again superb – another form of Greek salad (who knew there were so many variations?), grilled calamari with tabbouleh and a mushroom risotto to die for. We shared it all and at every morsel. The meal was finished with a portion of mango sorbet. Again delicious!! We sat beside a honeymooning couple from California and had a very pleasant conversation. All in all, a lovely way to end our day.

Wednesday, October 18, 2017

Well, I slept … and slept and slept. 10:30 pm until almost 9:30 am. I was tired, obviously, but I also now feel adjusted to the time change. Whew!! To say that we had a leisurely morning is putting it mildly. We enjoyed a delicious and generous breakfast on the patio overlooking the sea. The wind had let up overnight, the sun was shining brightly and there were far fewer whitecaps on the water. All of this boded well for our ferry trip to the next island. We packed our bags and spent the next hour simply relaxing at our hotel, sitting outside our room where we could also watch the water and the water traffic. It is a busy harbour. Many ferries and cruise ships come and go from Mykonos; there is always something moving in the harbour. I am reading a frivolous novel and this was a perfect way to wait.

All too soon it was time to leave the Damianos Hotel and board our ferry to Naxos, the next island we are visiting. Our hotel hosts drove us to the port and we got on the ferry, found comfortable seats and reluctantly said farewell to Mykonos.