Travel tips

On this trip to Athens and the islands, I learned a few things, first the weather can be very humid due to the fact that Athens is on the Aegean and also has air pollution, you should bring with you your medication if you need it, do not count on Greek pharmacies having similar drugs as what we have in our home country.

For walking with an elderly person or a person with mobility problems, Greece can be a challenge, sidewalks are uneven, there is little handicap access and streets in Athens are often clogged with traffic making walking a sport for the fit traveller. On the islands, often the terrain is very uneven, stairs to go up a street or the enter a building is very common.

On the other hand the Athens Metro system is very clean, bright and efficient at one euro it will take you to many places including the Airport. The downside are the pick-pockets, it is a serious problem and you have to remember to keep things separate, cash in one billfold, credit cards in another another pocket, do not carry passports as you do not need them once cleared customs. Leave all other documents like air tickets and valuable in the hotel safe.

There are unsafe areas of the city like Omonia Square, there are also areas where you have to watch yourself like the Plaka and Monasteraki or Psirri. Too many tourists and to many pick-pockets watching the crowd.

Other areas to visit which are also charming and different are Gazi with its new restaurant and bar scene.

To avoid is the Islands in the summer time, July and August, you will find the most popular islands like Mykonos and Santorini over crowded and over priced.

The atmosphere can be very unpleasant, far too many people, large tour groups, loud music, aggressive merchants and high prices.  Several large Cruise Ships visit the Aegean and can disgorged on any island upwards of 6000 people or more in a few hours. The Islands are small and were never meant to welcome thousands of people in one day, the infrastructure is simply not there, including health, hospital or emergency services. You have to come prepared and ready to accept that services are limited, despite mass tourism.

Islands like Santorini are now over developed, Mykonos is like Cape Cod, the flavour is lost and in the peak periods you may wonder why such places became so popular. On the other hand if you visit in the off season, in May-June and September early October, you will find a more relaxed atmosphere, few people around and the sea view and the charm of these ancient sites is somehow recaptured. However in reading the book of Lawrence Durrell, the Greek Islands, I realize that what he saw in 1939 and then in 1966 or 1978, is now gone, replaced by modern mass tourism. In winter most islands are cut-off for the world, ferry service is greatly reduced and many hotels and restaurants are closed.

Greece remains for me a wonderful country to visit, the people are very nice and hospitable and there are many beautiful things to see and the views even from my hotel on Syngrou was breathtaking. I wish I could live here for a few months to get to know the area better and have a better feel for the country. For me it is still a country of dreams.

Return to Athens

This morning a fog lingers over the volcanic crater and the island of Therasia in front of us. The Aegean is like a mirror, still, calm, no wind and very quiet all around.

This is when you notice how birds and there are lots of little birds all around, sing in noisy shrill voices.

The sun slowly burns off the fog, boats glide slowly to the caldera where people go to swim in the hot sulphurous waters. The volcano still emits a fine puff of smoke almost invisible and a red pumice which covers everything and must be wiped away daily.

Today in Khatimerini the national Greek newspaper, I read about the Fava bean which is used in Greek dishes, we had some of it in a purée in Mykonos at the Kapari restaurant. It is now a protected designated food by the E.U.

Fava ‘protected’

Island puree gets EU stamp

The version of fava, a popular split pea puree, made on the southern Aegean island of Santorini, is to be included on the European Union’s official list of “protected designations of origin” (PDO) and “protected geographical indication” (PGI), it emerged yesterday. The puree joins a list of another 87 goods produced in different parts of Greece – including olives and olive oil as well as various fruits and vegetables and different types of cheese – that enjoy the special PDO and PGI status. The use of EU symbols on the labels of such products provides consumers with information regarding the products’ origin.

Our boat is at 15:35 this afternoon and in Athens the weather is rain and lots of it for the next 48 hours. Maybe we will simply go and sit at Alexander’s Bar at Hotel Grande-Bretagne on Syntagma Square. I was planning to visit Cap Sounion for the sunset but not in the rain, too soggy.

  

Oia, Santorini Island

Today Tuesday another lovely day, it rained during the night apparently, I did not notice it, today was a hot sunny day. So we went to Oia, population 1230, which is on the tip of Santorini Island. Small village built on the volcanic cliff of the Island, lots of steps up and down, lots of little boutiques, commercial art work, T-shirts and nick-nacks for the house, few jewellery shops in comparison to Fira.

The views are spectacular of the sea and the crater against the blue sky. Lots of tourists from the Cruise ships, 3 big ships came in today. The tourist crowd is mostly 65+. Oia remains one of the foremost tourist attractions of the Aegean Sea. The famous Oia sunset, considered by many as one of the most beautiful in the world, keeps tourists flocking down to the castle, waiting for the moment when the sun slips down on the calm sea of the caldera. Tourists are often told that the fishing docks at Oia are the oldest continually used docks in the world, supposedly being in service for 3000 years.

My Dad has many allergies and one is tomato and the other is citrus, in Greek cuisine you find these items in almost every dish, another one is mustard or vinegar. So it is a little complicated when ordering food. They do not do substitutions, what you order is what you get.

My Dad also speaks to every one in English but it does not always work, many people just smile but do not understand what he is saying, in restaurants, despite many foreign tourists speaking German, Spanish, Italian, French or English, the staff speaks Greek or Albanian,

with a little English just enough to get by.

So far the weather has been fine, I was worried that it might rain but being at sea on different islands we have been able to avoid due to wind currents most of the bad weather. Have been reading a lot and found a beautiful bookstore in Oia with an incredible variety of books. Bought a book by Lawrence Durrell (1912-1990) whose books are mostly all classics nowadays. The one I bought is entitled ‘’Greek Islands’’

He writes about Mykonos and other islands back in 1966, it is almost prehistoric when you think of it, the change in the islands since makes them almost unrecognizable.

Tomorrow we return by slow boat to Athens, it will take 9 hours going from one island to the other in this archipelago, a voyage of its own in the Cyclades, I am happy just to think that I will have cruised amongst them.  

food Mykonos

Here are some photos of the many dishes we had for lunch and dinner in Mykonos at Kapari restaurant (Greek for Capers).

Pork fillet rolls stuffed with dried tomatoes and capers and purée of potatoes

Spaghetti with tomato and seafood

Giant Prawns with a sauce of tomatoes, Greek cheese and green onions

Cycladic fritters of tomatoes, zucchini and fennel with a dip of Greek yogurt and capers

fresh grilled sardines with a purée of Fava beans and capers

Mix green salad with Greek cheese made in Mykonos and a dressing of olive oil and Balsamic vinegar