Vicki in Paros with a decent bout of bronchitis and asthma I might add..
Coraleens meal before she ate it.. .. Think Tui
Coraleen on Naxos just before we caught the Ferry to Athens.. this is just above the Purt.
Another one of those greek Windmills that pop up everywhere.. this was on the port at Paros
Coraleen at another one of those cute little churches.
A last minute photo in Naxos before leaving the Islands for the 4 hour journey to Athens
Vicki in front of the Town Hall in Syros.. the main Towh Hall square as its knows was a hive of activity and full of restaurants
Outside out hotel in Syros.. right on the beach or waterfront with a view over to the other side of the town
Me after walking 2kms uop towards the Cave of Zeuss on Naxos.. now that wasnt a good move
Even the donkey almost overtook us.. so we had to stop for another photo opportunity
Coraleen and Vicki in Syros.. from the Town Hall Square looking down to the Port .. see the glimpse of sea in the background.
Coraleen on the wall outside our hotel.. we liked the effect of the breaking sea
Me at the the top of Syros in a cute little town called AnoSyros.. and yes you guessed it.. full of narrow little streets and whitwashed buildings.. and a monastry
me at the Monastry.. or rather the belltower of the monastry
and one of Coraleen at the monastry tooWe left Andros for Syros at 8am in the morning which was a shock to the system .. not having worked now for 4 months getting up at that time was very difficult :-)
Syros, the Capital of the Cyclades was very different to the other Islands and despite it housing the judicial sytem, public servants and the like it was rather enchanting. The port was basically the same as all the others.. rows and rows of cafes, waterfront seating, fishing boats, expensive yachts and a very busy port for passenger and vehicular ferries servicing the Cyclades Islands. We treated ourselves to a 4 star hotel at NZ$140 a night.. heaps cheaper than Mykonos and 10 times the luxury right on the beach.
ABout 2km above Syros was a beautiful little village called Anosyros and from the very top at the Monastry you could see the 'white' town below and right out to some of the closer islands in the Agean.. it really was worth the trip. We cheated and got a taxi up (only because of the heat you realise!) and walked back down.. another couple of hundred steps back to the port. We also took a circular bus which went around all the beaches on the island and then back to the Port. This was the best way to see an Island when we only had 24 hours. Before we arrived we felt it may be a disappointment but it wasnt so.. different but beautiful.. with a charm of its own.
The following morning prooved even more of a shock to the system as the ferry left at 7am!! We had to be up just after 6.. OMG!! but we made it and didnt miss the boat to Paros.
After reading the Lonely Planet we headed to Naussas, a small village in the north of Paros only to realise that despite its beauty .. or perhaps because of it.. we couldnt get accommodation and had to return to the Port and look elsewhere. By now it was August and Paros was absolutely crowded, accommodation was difficult to find, cars and bikes were all hired out and the crowds were unbelievable.
Unfortunately we didnt see enough of Paros as from our short trip to Naussas we could see how nice it was but as the only accommodation we could get was, to say the least, crap, decided to move back to Naxos and pick up Molly from the babysitter.. and enjoy a couple of days there before heading off.
I have enjoyed the Island hopping.. some Islands have been nicer than others.. some small and some large.. the people have always been friendly.. the weather has been fantastic but has July has moved into August the crowds have become unbearable and the beaches are starting to look like the crowds we left behind in Italy.
Next stop... the formidable Athens..
