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“We thought that Greece might be a good final European destination” |
Autumn in Greece
If one is traveling around the world and doesn’t want to carry warm clothes for cold climates, when and where does one leave Europe and head for warmer temperatures in the southern hemisphere? We thought that Greece might be a good final European destination and thus chose to spend late October and early November here. Was it a good choice?
Mykonos - Mykonos was our first experience on a calendar-perfect Greek Island. White-washed stacked houses, winding narrow streets (did you know that the Greeks purposely built their villages with these winding maze-like narrow streets to confuse raiding pirates in the old days?), and roof-top terraces. Mykonos has a reputation as a party island and is reportedly jam-packed with tourists in the summer. Sidewalk cafes and beaches are packed and the party goes on all day and night. Late October found us with much fewer tourists, better accommodation prices and some restaurants and stores still open. The weather was variable, not exactly beach weather, but much more comfortable than what it must be like in the blazing hot sun in these villages of bright white-washed houses.
Paros - Paros seemed to be much more relaxed and less focused on tourists, particularly at this time of the year. As in Samos and Mykonos, we were met at the ferry by men eager to rent us a room. This was great for us; it gave us a ride into the village from the ferry dock, and eager innkeepers were all open to discussion on the price of the rooms. We were usually very happy with the rooms they offered us. Warm and balmy weather greeted us on Paros and we had some wonderful times on empty, sandy beaches (see Stephanie’s previous blog enty on the Perfect Beach). The many stray cats and dogs on the islands seemed happy to have some left-over tourists to follow and enjoyed being patted and scratched. Greek islanders are kind to all the stray cats and dogs in their neighborhoods, and everywhere you would see small piles of cat or dog food left for a hungry visitor. We, too, were treated kindly but were allowed to carry on with our business without anyone hassling us or being disturbed by our presence. Many hotels and restaurants were closed for the season but there were still enough stores open for us to buy what we needed. Restaurants were relatively empty. We missed the live entertainment that is the norm in busier times. The pace of life is slow and relaxed. We enjoyed walks in the country and on empty beaches, (spent a morning picking up bags of garbage left by the party crowds of weeks gone by), time to read, do homework and contemplate life so far away from Vancouver. The pace of life is slow and relaxed. Peace and quiet suits us fine, but if you’re after a party atmosphere, this is not the time to be here.
Santorini – Three hours on the sunny, warm deck of a Greek Blue Star ferry take us from Paros to the unbelievable island of Santorini. Everyone has heard of Santorini, but before actually sailing up to this island and seeing the white villages clinging to the top of cliffs FAR above sea level it is difficult to imagine what is so special about ‘just another Greek island’. Special it definitely is. The ferry is miniscule as it docks at the base of the imposing cliffs and we wonder how we are going to get up the long winding road to the village of Fira. We look around for an eager hotelier and are happy to find one offering us a room that looks good from the brochure in his hand and sounds reasonable enough to fit into our budget. Best of all, he’s got a van to take us up that long steep road. Villa Manos ends up being very comfortable but is still quite a hike outside of Fira, the island’s capital. We do stay, however, and get our exercise and experience on the local bus system. Fira and Oia are the most amazing villages with out-of-this-world views of the caldera and sea. A volcano erupted on Santorini in about 1450 BC. The explosion sunk much of the island and left a sunken caldera surrounded by sea and might cliffs. Sitting on a rooftop terrace looking at the resultant view has got to be one of the most romantic experiences of ones life! Watching the famous sunset at Oia is another. Being here in November with your family and gazing at the spectacular scenery is a blessing beyond words.
Santorini also allowed us to learn about the Minoan civilization that lived here 3000 years ago. The excavation site of Akrotiri, where a beautifully preserved Minoan city was found in 1967, is currently closed to visitors because of a fatal roof collapse in August 2005. A photo exhibit, however, and good museum amazed us with the finds of this excavation. A city of 2 and 3 story buildings, sewer systems and beautiful frescoes and pottery tell us of a very advanced civilization that lived here during the Bronze Age. Since no human remains have been found in Akrotiri, it is thought that the city was abandoned, perhaps because of knowledge of the impending volcanic eruption, but much is left that tells us about this civilization.
Crete – Best made plans of mice and men do go awry, and so do ours as the last ferry of the year sailing from Santorini to Crete is cancelled due to bad weather. What to do now? Cancel our plans to visit Crete and spend time on the mainland instead? But we did want to see Crete, and we don’t exactly know what to visit on the mainland, so we spend 9 hours on a ferry to Athens and board another one 3 hours later to sail for 9 hours through the night back to Crete. We have slept in a tiny Peugoet in Chartres, on overnight buses in Turkey, and compared with those experiences a night on a ferry is not too bad. At least it wouldn’t be too bad if the majority of the persons on board weren’t chain smokers! We’re amazed that ANEK Lines has so much floor space designated to underutilized restaurants and lounges and but has comparatively little room for a comfortable, low budget and smoke free night.
Our base in Crete is a small, but comfortable inn called the El Greco Hotel in Hania. It’s perfect, with a large rooftop terrace overlooking the nice little harbor. Great on which to eat our self-catered meals and do homework and Bible study on the few sunny days we have here. We are enjoying reading Acts together. The stories of Peter, Paul and Barnabas traveling in this part of the world come to life in a new way as one experiences the strength of November storms as we did in this part of the Mediterranean. Even though it is cold and blustery outside and there is snow on the local mountains, we’d rather be here than shipwrecked and/or swept to Malta as the Apostle Paul was! The drama of those accounts is not wasted on us.
Hania is a lovely little town. The tourists are mostly gone and many of the harbor-front restaurants are closed, but we walk the streets of the bustling town that lies behind the tourist area and observe Greek life in action. Street markets, great bakeries, busy shopping areas and limited use of the English language on signs and in businesses bring truth to the saying “it’s all Greek to me”.
Our history lesson is once again about the Minoan civilization, as we visit the excellent site of the Minoan Palace at Knossos. Again, we marvel at the degree of civilization that existed here during the time when Abraham and the forefathers of the Jewish race were simple nomads living in tents. It’s a cold and blustery day as we tour Knossos and for the 4th day in a row we are wearing every piece of warm clothing that we have along. We even consider buying some warm hats and gloves; it’s only the thought of our very full backpacks and warm temperatures in Africa in 1 ½ weeks from now that makes us grin and bear this cold. It’s only about 8 degrees Celsius in the mornings but once in awhile the sun does come out from behind the big, dark clouds and temperatures are immediately much more pleasant.
Another night ferry and we have finished our tour of the Greek Islands. It’s a Monday night and we figure the ferry should be empty. Wrong! Many people are traveling from Crete to Athens! Who are they? Truck drivers, people who spent the summer in Crete but go back for a winter in Athens, a few tourists and who know who else…but the ferry is definitely once again full. There doesn’t seem to be a low season on the many ferry lines that connect the islands and the big city. We look forward to touring Athens and most of all, to re-connecting with Vange, my very good friend from university days in Edmonton.
previous travel blog entryComments or Questions for the Author
The Cheng Family says:
Ferries do run but not as frequently nor with as many destinations. For example, we missed the last ferry between Santorini and Crete because of bad weather (the last sailing was canceled!) and we had to go back to Athens from Santorini then turn around 12 hours later and sail to Crete! All islands are still accessible but perhaps not as conveniently.
Maurice & Sharon says:
How was the weather during November? Why wife gets gold when the temp. drops below 80 degrees.
The Cheng Family says:
It got a bit stormy in Santorini (thus the cancelled ferry) and was pretty rainy and cold on Crete. We could see the snow level quite far down on the mountain behind us. From Crete we went to Athens and had absolutely wonderful weather - sunny and warm during the day, cool crisp evenings.
Maurice & Sharon says:
Thanks for your responses--your journal entries are fascinating! Obviously, we're headed to Greece in November and are undaunted by the time of year other than a seemingly tenuous transport system in the islands. So, another question--since we'll be there in early November, will we have trouble getting ferry service from Athens to Mykonos or Paros and finally, Santorini? Is there a point in November when the ferry system grinds to a halt between the islands and/or the islands and Athens? Thanks again! Maurice and Sharon
The Cheng Family says:
The ferry system between Athens and the individual islands never grinds to a halt. There are many people living on teh islands and they travel between the aminland and the islands regularily. Some of the inter-island ferries do shut down, however. There must be ferry schedules on the web - there are many different ferry lines, so it does get a bit confusing. Any travel agent in Greece can help you. By the way, we slept on the ferries a few times overnight. The worst thing about this is that there are very few and very small non-smoking areas and the Greeks are chain-smokers! For extra money, you can book a cabin, but we were too cheap to do this.
TravelPuppy says:
Hi Cheng family, Your pix look great. I have one question, we are planning on going this Sept, mid - late and want to island hop. I would rather not book accomodations ahead unless I have to, so that we can move around as we please. You mentioned that there were some locals at the ferry offering rooms, do you think that would be the case at our time? Thanks so much Debbie
The Cheng Family says:
Hi Debbie, we're envious! The Greek islands in September should be lovely! We were there in Octobere, so don't really know if you'll be met at the ferry by hungry hotel owners in September, but I don't think you should have to book ahead. There are usually small towns close to the ferry dock and lots of inns/rooms for rent within easy walking distance - except Santorini which is up a very steep hill. You can ride a donkey up the hill! Bon volyage. Barb
Maurice & Sharon says:
We are interested in the islands for November of this year. I am trying to find ferry schedules for the month of November or do they run at all?