*LONG
ENTRY AHEAD*
Greece. The land of greek salads, gyros,
historical sites, sunsets and greasy people. We knew this place would rape our
wallets but didn’t quite determine just how badly. Island hopping is a must
throughout the Summer and for the islands which lacked, the others definitely
made up for. We spent just over 2 weeks in Greece and even though it had its
ups and down for us, we all agreed that it is just one of those places you MUST
return to.
After our alternative route to Athens we
were all so buggered as we arrived at the hostel at 6am and fell asleep in
their common room until about 10am when we finally decided to shower and go
sight see. The major attraction to Athens is the Acropolis and being a teacher
I am all for going to these places, learning some history and taking photos for
classroom use and so on but this was either a major let down or really not our
day. It was so hot, the museum provided little to no information and the actual
site was covered in cranes, retracting us from even going up there. There you
go, that was our sight seeing done in a couple of hours. We must have been
crazy because we all decided to go back to the hostel, check in and create a
den, something we had banned back in Spain yet were all way too eager to do (den
being a stuck in the room on computers, sleeping or reading). We were over
Athens before we could even give it a chance and glad that we were only there
for one night. My advice, you don’t even need that night, get in and out of
Athens as soon as you can. I’d say to stay away but it’s the major port of call
to get to the islands and fly out of, expensive as it is.
Our first island was Mykonos. There is a
debate between many Australians as to which island is better: Mykonos or Ios. I
have to quite easily say IOS. Mykonos just didn’t do it for us and it didn’t
help as the other girls, whom we were meeting back up with had left after one
night and proceeded to tell us via text how much better Ios was. We stayed at
Paraga Beach Hostel, which was great and I recommend that to anyone staying
there. The ‘tents’ aren’t too bad, even if they kind of make you feel like your
in the army, we had an excellent view of the beach at our door and the water
was the clearest we had seen in Europe thus far. However, the food was
ridiculously expensive (6.50 euro for a fresh OJ) and some of the poorest
tasting food yet.
We headed out to the clubs that night,
skipping Tropicana as it was 90% guys and full of Italians, instead drinking in
the common area of our hostel and headed straight to Cava Paradiso. For 40 euro
we got to see Benni Benassi. This was a good night and none of us got home
until the early hours of the morning. We spent the next day relaxing and lazing
about on the beach then had an early dinner, wanting to be fresh for the ferry
and what Ios had to show. The next day,
we put our travelling outfits on and headed for the port, happy to say farewell
to Mykonos and for me, quite certain that I probably won’t be going back there
anytime soon.
We planned on having afternoon drinks with
the girls as we arrived in Ios and it wasn’t too long into the ferry that we
realised that we had actually booked the slow one instead of the fast meaning
that those afternoon drink plans were diminished and also meaning that we didn’t
get there until 9pm. Ouch!
Determined to go out though we dumped our
bags in the shabby tent that Far Out camping provides and caught the bus up to
Francesco’s in the town centre where the girls were staying. Our first night
out was simply just a tester, entering all the different small bars and clubs
that Ios provides as well as meeting the many ….. you guessed it-Australians.
This is just like Lagos, only on steroids and with a much more recognisable
landscape. Those white buildings with hints of blue, sprawled all over the dry
hills and cliff tops that overlook the beautiful beaches and coves. Far Out
Camping has its name for a reason…it is far out from the village so at 6am when
I decided it was time to go home I had no way of getting there as the buses
hadn’t quite started yet. Lucky I bumped back into Becky at the kebab shop and
managed to steal her bed off her for the night whilst she went off with some of
her newfound friends. Sleeping in until lunch time I managed to eventually
return to my tent, shower, change and make my way back into town for lunch and
footy with the girls all whilst reminding myself that I must get a bike today.
Upon arrival at lunch Toma, Nat and Danielle informed me that where we was
staying was terrible and that we were moving closer to town immediately-fine by
me! What was so wrong? The tent we were in was more like a gazebo, had no
zipper on its door, you couldn’t put anything on the floor without getting dirt
and dust on it as it was the actual ground that nature provides and the gusts
of wind made the walls of the tent flap about all night, allowing little sleep.
On top of that Nat woke up with her whole body covered in rashes and after
going to the doctors (her second home in Europe) they said she had been bitten
by something, most likely white termites so off to find a new place to stay.
Francesco’s was booked out but we managed
to find a decent place for 15 euro (Far out was 12) called Petradi which was
400m from town. We got bikes, myself a scooter and Toma a quad then met the
girls at Harmony, a quaint little Mexican restaurant overlooking the beach. The
food here is pretty good, not the greatest but definitely can tame any Mexican
cravings you have when travelling. The atmosphere is much better though. It’s a
place when you can sit with your friends and relax over a few drinks, listening
to the live band/acoustic players/singers and really feel like you are on a
holiday. This reminded me of the days in Bali where you spend it with so many
friends at a restaurant, making me wish that more of my friends were here to
share that moment with us.
Each night that followed we did relatively
the same thing, sleep in, food, beach, drink at hostel or out for dinner, meet
up at Francesco’s go on a mini pub crawl, both to usual spots and each night
mixing it up with different bars along the way such as Slammer bar (do a shot
then get hit in the head), orange bar (some of the weirdest shots here), coos
(R n B), shamrock (for Irish and rock experiences), Flames (get your face painted),
circus (do a shot then suck in some Nos from a balloon) before you finally end
up at Rehab then Ios bakery to chill for a while and for those who want to kick
on we usually went to Sweet Irish Dreams and then back to whoever calls a room
party. Days turned into nights and before you knew it a week in Ios was coming
to an end. Everyone was beside themselves as this place provided the best
atmosphere and night life as well as so many new friends so when the day came
for us all to leave everyone had their sad faces on and begun to think about
which countries they could cut short in hopes of returning or extending. For me
though, this is definitely on my list of places to return to next Summer.
Next stop, Santorini- The island of
sunsets, romance, proposals and marriage. Let’s just say that if anyone took me
to this place on my honeymoon or proposed to me here I’d leave them. This place
is so overrated, yes it is beautiful but everyone knows about it so there is no
romance or private moments shared as it is full of people doing the same thing.
The island itself is one of the poorest of them all with dry and scarce land
everywhere you look. With Ios withdrawals and a realisation that I haven’t had
a night off drinking in almost three weeks I used this place as a detox and
time to relax, only it turned out to be quite the opposite. As soon as we got
there the girls rushed to chase a sunset (which was really beautiful) and the
next day we got up and rushed to make a volcanic tour that was useless and
frankly a waste of money (at least we gave it a go and got out). With
disappointment lingering I skipped the second sunset and opted for a shower and
some Holly time, the relaxation I needed. I was ready to let my body get sick
from all the pressure I put on it but oddly and I guess lucky enough I was
fine.
Finally on our last day/night we played
beach hopping because each beach is rather different here. First we went to
black beach which reminded us of Bali, Asians selling DVD’s, sunnies and
massages and with the sand being black it wasn’t long until we wanted to move
along due to burnt feet. Red beach was next up and this was yet another let
down. We didn’t quite know what to expect but when we were faced with a beach
cove surrounded by a large red rock it took us 15 minutes before we turned
around and headed for the pool of our resort, a massive rarity for us beach
goers.
Our ferries out of here didn’t leave until
midnight so we made the infamous trek to Oia to gaze at the horizon as the sun
went down. We opted for a random set of stairs instead of the castle or any
expensive cafes and bars. With the mini mart next to us we stocked up on
pringles, chips, dips, ice cream and for some an alcoholic beverage (2 days was
tough for me so far but I was still sticking it out). As the sun went down we
took many selfies, group shots and those with the ones next to us or our travel
buddies. We watched as the crowds poured in, people rode donkeys up the hill,
couples kissed and the sky turned a variety of colours. We were told this but
when it happened we were still shocked……everyone claps when the sun has gone
down. What the hell?? Of course
we saw someone get proposed to and another couple marry, making us all think of
loved ones we have left at home or for some the fact that they have no loved
one.
Back at the hostel we grabbed our bags and
headed to the port to catch our ferries. It was here that Toma and I said
farewell to the girls as we reunited as a duo, heading to Corfu and some of
Eastern Europe whilst they go and explore Turkey. Greece wasn’t over for us yet
but so far it had been a great tester for us, making it much more clearer that
when we return Ios is where we will spend every possible day!
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