Our Big Greek Adventure

Greece was an opportunity to meet up with family and friends and we could not of chosen a more idyllic and memorable location.

View of the Acropolis from our hotel in Athens!

Parthenon adds the Greek touch to this photo of my fellow travellers and me

The idea of a Greek vacation was formed well over a year ago over a glass or two of wine between my best friend Janet and I.  Must say the idea grew inversely proportionally to the level of our wine bottle(s).  At the time, being only a few months shy of my departure to Ethiopia, we were looking for ideas on how to keep in touch during my year plus absence. My blog, (set up by Alice; a close friend of Janet and Cathy) has become my communication lifeline, connecting me to family and friends. Skype, email and more recently Whatsapp have all contributed to helping me cope with living 7500 miles from home. Social media is all well and good, but it just can’t replace real live ‘contact’ and we both decided we needed more. Also, Janet was a bit leery of her ‘proficiency’ in the social media world despite the fact that she is referred to as the ‘Whiz’.   So we decided on a ‘road trip’! Our regular road trips were about to take on new heights!  It was a no-brainer that we needed to discuss our plans with Doris. Doris, Janet and I have enjoyed many shopping road trips, so this proposed trip was now just a question of geography. Rob and Barrett agreed to come, and as well, Janet’s sister Cathy was on board. Paul took no convincing, so there you had it. Our party of 7 began planning our Big Greek Adventure.

Paul has often commented that ‘planning’ a trip is half the fun. It builds excitement and anticipation and it allows everyone to have a say in the outcome. The ladies (Janet, Doris, Cathy and me) took the challenge of planning a trip via email, and from a distance of 7500 miles and 2 time zones. Despite the obvious challenges, we worked well together. The emails would just fly back and forth as we ironed out details from what to see and where to stay to what to wear and what to pack.

The day finally arrived.  Janet and Cathy flew out of Ottawa May 17th via London and arrived in Athens May 18 @ 6:30 pm. Rob, Doris and Barrett left Toronto May 17th connecting in Zurich and arrived in Athens, May 18th @ 1:30 pm. Paul and I left Addis Ababa May 18th, connecting in Cairo and being that we were the closest,  we were the first to arrive at 12:30 pm. We had arranged for an airport shuttle to meet us. Service was excellent and we were all appreciative of the worry-free 30 minute ride to our hotel.  Janet and Cathy took the later shuttle, but by 8 pm (I think, seeing as there were a few rum and cokes consumed by then!) we were all settled on the rooftop of our Athens Centre Square Hotel.  It gave us a stunning view of the Acropolis, which just sits there in all its famous glory amid the chaos of Athens.

Athens is a big city and clearly their financial woes have had an impact. The city appears shabby and the abundance of graffiti does little to improve our first impressions. The people are amazing and so friendly and accommodating.  Considering the fact that their economy is suffering, I never found people to be pushy or trying to sell, sell, sell. There are lots of shopping opportunities as you wander through Monastiraki and Plaka. Restaurants were everywhere and the food was wonderful. We had pre-booked a Hop On, Hop Off tour for the next day. This was a wonderful and convenient way to see all the hot spots that Athens has to offer. The Acropolis and the Parthenon lived up to all the hype. A must see for any Athens visit.

Steps leading into the Acropolis

What, no? They're only now building the Parthenon?

The Parthenon

View from Acropolis of Hadrian's Arch and Temple of Zeus

We're in the Theatre of Dionysus, but nothing was playing!

Acropolis Groupie

Acropolis at night. View from the roof top bar of our hotel.

But let’s face it, going to Greece means going to the Islands!  We took a ferry from Pireaus, early May 20th, to Santorini.  The ferry ride was long (5 hrs +). Piraeus is the main port outside of Athens so the ferry left pretty much on time. Unfortunately, we learned that ferries lose time with each subsequent stop on route to your destination. I’m always fearful of getting seasick, but I have to say the ride was pretty smooth. The Gravol I took, however, made the trip appear faster as I slept most of it.

Santorini is absolutely stunning!  The view we had from our hotel balcony gave us an amazing view of the caldera that formed from numerous volcano eruptions in the last 3600 years. We sailed from the Old Port of Fira to the island of Nea Kameni where the volcano of Santorini is located. It was a good hike, but at the top we could see the active crater and walk along its rim.  Crazy, but you can still see rising steam, but as our Guide reassured us, "activity is very closely monitored"! Phew! Next we went the island Palia Kameni and we were allowed to jump off the boat and swim in the hot springs created thousands of years ago by the underwater power of the volcano. Yeah there appeared to be a clear age demographic that divided who swam and who chose to enjoy the sights! The boat tour continued to another island (Thirasia) where we enjoyed a nice lunch at one of the many tavernas that line the area. After lunch, we sailed up the coast to Oia (pronounced EeeeA).  We (Rob, Doris, Paul and I) had arranged to meet Janet, Cathy and Barrett in Oia so this was the end of our tour. They let you off at the bottom and then you have a choice of walking or taking donkeys. Yup, we took the donkeys!  They know their way and require no instruction from you. Just hold on and be careful on the narrow, winding journey up that your legs don't rub against the rock walls.  It was fun, except they don't go ALL the way up.  You still have to do some walking and by this time it was hot and we were out of water. First thing we did when we reached the top was find a place to purchase a bottle of water. Oia is a beautiful. It has the typical, winding, narrow streets and white and blue Cycladic architecture that just screams: Greece!  It's also a bit more upscale..............nicer stores (Doris and I couldn't help noticing. Come on!) and restaurants. We ate at one such restaurant, which gave us a stunning view of the famous Santorini sunset. Janet, Cathy and Barrett met us at the restaurant as these intrepid hikers had decided to walk the 3 hr Santorini Crater Rim walk.  Hmmm, Paul, Doris, Rob and I chose to enjoy a glass of white wine or two while enjoying the view.

We stayed 3 1/2 days in Santorini and it was just wonderful. Our island tour of the southern side of Santorini was extremely memorable.  We were so impressed with the town at the southern tip called Akrotiri. This is an excavation site that is known as the Greek Pompeii. Archaeologists have only uncovered 3% of the remains of a volcano eruption that occurred around 1627 BCE. It's just such an incredible feeling to walk through this site and imagine (through the findings) what life was like. They have uncovered frescoes and many objects and artworks. It was even more meaningful when we visited the Archaeological Museum in Athens to see the Akrotiri display. 

Can't get tired of this view! Janet and Paul look good too!

Sunset in Santorini

Janet figures out the beauty of a panoramic Santorini view.

Santorini Sunset!

Our hotel restaurant

Quick bite and then off to explore Fira.

Highest point of Santorini

View from monastery of Profitis Ilias

Lunch break during Island tour.

Excavation site. Pics don't do it justice. Simply amazing!

Fresco restored at Archaeological Museum, Athens

Frescoes recovered from Akrotiri

Akrotiri treasures

Sights during our Island tour

Taking the slow ride up to Oia

Oia Town Square

Winding streets of Oia

Relaxing in Oia and reading my favourite author, Brooke Alexander                                        

We left Santorini by ferry (which was late arriving!!) on route to Naxos. It was only a short hop (1 hour) to yet another Greek paradise.  We stayed in Naxos for 6 days and rented a Villa at Plaka Beach.  The setting here was idyllic.  It was a short walk to the beach and the beach just stretched for miles.  The Aegean water color is a turquoise-blue and it's crystal clear. Another wonderful thing about travelling to Greece in May is avoiding the crowds and heat of High Season.  We lucked out with all our travel and accommodations.  I arranged for this Naxos Villa through Home Away and Athena (our hostess) was absolutely wonderful and her property was everything we had hoped it would be. Athena arranged car (s) rental for us and met us at the ferry to escort us to our Villa, show us the grocery, butcher, and provided suggestions of places to see and where to eat. Having the cars was an added bonus cuz with Rob and Paul behind the wheels, we proceeded to do our own Island tour.  Old Naxos town was equally interesting as we strolled through the winding streets. It's a port town and has a most impressive entrance: Apollo's Temple.

Naxos was a nice pace after the hectic first week of our vacation. We also got a nice feel for authentic Greece whether driving through the crazy, winding mountain roads, walking in Naxos town, climbing up to see Apollo's Temple, relaxing on the deck or at the beach. It was just wonderful to be able to kick back in such a magnificent setting with family and friends. I was sad to see it end.

Apollo's Temple as you enter Naxos

Streets of Old Naxos Town

Old, but so beautiful!

Let's just say we live here.

Cathy, "Getting tired of all the stairs"?

No idea what Janet is holding, but the Naxos scenery looks wonderful

Countryside of Naxos

Hanging out on someone's front porch!

Plaka Beach, Naxos

Guess what ALL the ladies are doing?

Villa Dimitra, Naxos

Villa Dimitra, Naxos

Janet! No one's home! Seriously!

We opted to fly from Naxos back to Athens. It was a question of a 45 minute plane ride or a 5 hour ferry. Yeah, I know: no brainer! Athens the second time around hadn't changed much, except that in the space of 2 weeks the volume of tourists had definitely increased. More confirmation that we had chosen an ideal time to visit Greece.
Allison and her roommate Kat met us in Athens for the last two days of  our vacations. They were both on a break from teaching and had spent the first part of their vacation in Zathynkos (also known as Zante). I was of course overjoyed that they had left their island paradise to spend time with us. Paul, Barrett and I took Al and Kat to the Acropolis and other spots in Athens we had enjoyed earlier,  It was great to see their reactions to Athens rich history. We also enjoyed walking through the markets, shopping, eating ice cream and yummy Greek food and copious amounts of wine, But that's another blog.

Greek Goddesses fit right into Athens

Enjoying their time in Zathynkos

Selfie Time

Al's last day in Zante

Al, Kat and me at the Acropolis

Soaking it all in at the Temple of Zeus

Vacations are wonderful and this ONE ranks among one of my favourites. Paul and I are so appreciative and thankful for our family and friends. Living so far away makes every opportunity to get together, regardless of the location, extra special. We want to thank ALL our travel companions for a wonderful trip. If I had one criticism about the whole experience it would be that it went by way too fast. That being said perhaps it's time to start planning another one?  Love you all!

Miss YOU!