Next (and last) stops in Greece: Mykonos and Santorini.
After bidding a pre-dawn good-bye to my folks, Aman and I left from Athens for nearby Piraeus, the port city where we caught a boat for Mykonos. One of the largest and busiest passenger ports in the world, our taxi pulled up to Piraeus amid loads of other vehicles, coming and going, and traffic police quickly directing vehicles this way and that. It was chaos, and I was nervous about picking up our tickets, finding the right boat, etc. while still on crutches. Kindly, our driver ignored whatever instruction we received from the police officer, and instead, rolled down his window to explain that he had an injured woman on board. I flashed my walking sticks and shot an innocent, hopeful look in an effort to help us skirt whatever rules were trying to be explained to us. Despite some initial hesitation on the officer’s part and an ensuing argument between the driver and the officer, thankfully, whatever the driver said worked. After getting the go-ahead, our man waited with me in the car (in a no-waiting zone) while Aman ran to the ticket office and got our tickets. We then drove (through an authorized vehicles only area) straight up to one of the biggest Blue Star Ferries in the port. Instructing me to wait in the car, our man ran off and got the attention of a ferry attendant who came back minutes later with a wheelchair for me. Unsurprisingly, I was not all too excited about being carted in a chair again (the second time this summer), but it was somewhat necessary. The ferry was way bigger than we had expected; as Aman and I commented upon boarding, it was the biggest boat that either of us had either been on. The lower two levels held cars and commercial trucks carrying deliveries of everything from ice cream to building supplies for shops on the islands. The upper levels were reserved for the hundreds (if not thousands) of passengers, and outfitted with several cafés, bars, fast food counters, bakery stands, and gift shops. Not that we had ever been on a cruise ship before, but we imagined that this is what one might resemble.
Aman and I were escorted to the elevator, lifted six floors up, made it through the crowds, and eventually settled down at a table on one of the outside decks. It was a beautiful morning, with not a cloud in the pale blue sky. We grabbed a couple of spanakopitas and frappe coffees from the nearest vendor, and quietly watched the action on the pier down below as the tables around us filled up with fellow passengers and the boat prepared to leave.
Aman, waiting patiently for the moment of departure:
Soon, we were off! Just one of several large ferries coasting gracefully through the sapphire blue waters of the beautiful Mediterranean Sea. It was a few hours at sea before we finally came across the islands of the Cyclades. (The Cyclades is one of several island groups in the Aegean Sea–both Mykonos and Santorini belong to this island group). The brown, barren islands with their white stone houses stood in stark contrast to the deep blue of the sea. Our vessel made lightning-quick stops (sometimes, fishtailing into port, which was kind of fun) to let some folks off and pick other folks up in the neighboring islands of Tinos and Syros.
Finally, it was our stop. Mykonos.
The dry, brown landscape of Mykonos is marked by white, cube-shaped houses that have colorful shutters, and the island's iconic windmills.
Aman and I were staying at a cute hotel on Platys Gialos, a beachside village on the south shore of the island. I had visited there once (years ago) and really liked the location. It is close enough to the infamous Paradise beach, but not too close. (Paradise beach has the best beach scene on Mykonos; it is a short water taxi ride from Platys Gialos.) I knew that Aman would want to check it out. And, Platys Gialos itself is not too shabby either. Soft golden sand and beach umbrellas made of straw cover the shoreline. Meanwhile, idle sailboats and luxury yachts sit in the waters offshore. Chilled out house music plays from the hotels, bars, cafés and restaurants that line the edge of the beach. It is an incredible setting - tranquil, and yet full of energy, at the same time.
We had three nights to burn there, which, in our opinion, is the perfect amount of time to spend in Mykonos. We spent our first afternoon bathing in the sun, swimming (more therapy for my recovering knee injury), and playing tavli. As sunset approached, we moved to the hotel’s beachside bar to enjoy a drink. There, we ran into a lovely, hilarious family of Aussies that we had met earlier when we checked in. The father, Max, was tall, broad chested and one hell of a character. Aman hit it off with him immediately while I chatted away with his wife, their daughter, and the daughter’s friend. All of them had been traveling together for a while, and we had fun sharing stories about our respective adventures of the road. We were all having such a good time that we drank and talked long into the night. Just another bunch of awesome people that we have met on this trip!
The next day, after sufficient time indulging in the beach, Aman and Max took a boat to Paradise beach, just “to have a look.” The guys came back later in the evening, with Aman on cloud nine. Not only did he love, love, LOVE Paradise beach, but one of his favorite DJs (Afrojack) was appearing there the next night. What an awesome stroke of good luck.
Aman joined practically everyone else in Mykonos on Paradise beach the following night (our last) for the Afrojack show, which was “ohmygodunbelievable.” He danced until the sun came up, a must for anyone visiting the island (unless you are on crutches, which makes it kind of difficult...), and a great finish to our first stop in the Cyclades.
To get to Santorini from Mykonos, we arrived at the port in plenty of time for our early morning ferry. Sadly, however, when we got to the ticket office, we learned that our ferry had been canceled without notice (not terribly uncommon for the Greek islands...). So, we were put on a boat heading to Naxos, where we got off and transferred to another vessel inbound for Santorini. Suddenly, the three-hour boat ride that we were anticipating turned into an almost all-day event. Nevertheless, it was nothing but excitement when Santorini's collapsed caldera, which makes up the island's western coast, finally came into view. From the water, it is one of the most stunning natural sights in the world.
Aman and I spent four relaxing days in Santorini, mostly on the eastern shore of the island in a beach village called Perissa. Unlike the western shore of the island, which owes its steep cliff-like appearance to an enormous volcanic eruption that took place thousands of years ago, the eastern shore slopes gently into the Aegean Sea, and the area is well known for its black (read: HOT) sand beaches. This is where we spent most of our afternoons.
In the evenings, we threw my walking sticks on the back of our ATV (one of the more popular ways of moving about the island) and traveled to various towns and villages on the caldera to watch the sunset.
Watching the sunset is probably the most popular thing to do when visiting Santorini. People typically flock to the western coast from all parts of the island and line up along the west coast of the island, just to watch the sun fade into the sea each day.
Obviously, there is good reason for this. Of all the beautiful sunsets that we have seen this year, the sunsets in Santorini were arguably the most spectacular.
From Fira (the capital):
From Firostefani (north of Fira):
From Oia (northernmost tip of Santorini):
Once the sun set each night, Aman and I would stroll around the narrow, stone-paved lanes of each town and marvel at how amazing the caldera and all the towns along it looked at night.
In fact, we were just about to run out of towns from which to watch the sunset, when the day came for us to leave. I insisted that Aman make a solo mission to Santorini's famous red beach before our ferry was scheduled to depart. (Having been there once before, years ago, I knew that I could not access it with my recovering knee. The only way to get there is to climb along a rocky dirt path.)
Santorini's red beach, another uniquely spectacular sight.
Our trip to Santorini would not have been complete without our ferry being several hours late to depart, which, of course, it was. We got into Piraeus really late that night and took a cab straight to the airport Sofitel. Since we were leaving for Istanbul the next afternoon, there would be no time for more sight-seeing in Athens. Instead, we had a lovely breakfast with my cousin, Kris, and her husband, Taso, the next morning. It was not nearly enough time to catch up fully, but at the same time, great to see more family on our last day before leaving.
Yassas Greece - see you next time!
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