With our unfortunate setback of school not starting until the end of Ramadan, we booked a flight to Greece. We are spending two weeks touring the islands of Naxos, Sifnos and Milos in the Aegean Sea. The end of the trip will be spent in and around Athens exploring the many archaelogical sites.
After taking a highspeed ferry for 3 1/2 hours, we arrived in Naxos. One of our first sights we were greeted with as we entered the port was "Apollo's gate", a tall rock structure that was at one time the entrance to a temple honoring the god Apollo. There are many people who meet the ferries with signs advertising their hotels, pensions, guest houses, etc. We found someone who took us to his family's guest house and enjoying it so much we stayed four nights. The water is very clear for great depths. Snorkling was good, but more so for the clarity of the water. One of our days there, we hiked part of the tallest mountain in the Greek islands, Mt. Zeus. This is the location of Zeus' cave, the place in Greek mythology where it is believed Zeus was born. We took our flashlights in to explore and found a deep cavern. The open space made it so the light from our flashlights did not go very far. After this quick adventure, Cindy, Creede and a friend we were traveling with continued the hike up and over Mt. Zeus following a path to another trailhead. We met them there with our rented scooters to continue our tour of the island. It is amazing how rocky the islands are. Terraces can be seen all over the hillsides and it is easy to imagine how people have tried to make a similar living in this landscape for centuries. Goats, olive trees, and grapes are all very common here.
We are currently in Sifnos which took close to three hours to get here by ferry. We took a bus to the south side of the island and are staying at a beach in a sheltered cove. The towns here are beautiful with white houses built on the hillsides. The roads are very narrow and twist through the mountains. Again we are greeted with a very rocky landscape. We are also finding that each island has its own unique products. We have found cheese, wine, liquores, and some food dishes specific to each island. Greek orthodox churches are also a common sight on each island. Most that we have seen are rather small but very similar in design, white with a dome and the bigger churches with a colored dome.
We are off to the island of Milos in a few days.......
After taking a highspeed ferry for 3 1/2 hours, we arrived in Naxos. One of our first sights we were greeted with as we entered the port was "Apollo's gate", a tall rock structure that was at one time the entrance to a temple honoring the god Apollo. There are many people who meet the ferries with signs advertising their hotels, pensions, guest houses, etc. We found someone who took us to his family's guest house and enjoying it so much we stayed four nights. The water is very clear for great depths. Snorkling was good, but more so for the clarity of the water. One of our days there, we hiked part of the tallest mountain in the Greek islands, Mt. Zeus. This is the location of Zeus' cave, the place in Greek mythology where it is believed Zeus was born. We took our flashlights in to explore and found a deep cavern. The open space made it so the light from our flashlights did not go very far. After this quick adventure, Cindy, Creede and a friend we were traveling with continued the hike up and over Mt. Zeus following a path to another trailhead. We met them there with our rented scooters to continue our tour of the island. It is amazing how rocky the islands are. Terraces can be seen all over the hillsides and it is easy to imagine how people have tried to make a similar living in this landscape for centuries. Goats, olive trees, and grapes are all very common here.
We are currently in Sifnos which took close to three hours to get here by ferry. We took a bus to the south side of the island and are staying at a beach in a sheltered cove. The towns here are beautiful with white houses built on the hillsides. The roads are very narrow and twist through the mountains. Again we are greeted with a very rocky landscape. We are also finding that each island has its own unique products. We have found cheese, wine, liquores, and some food dishes specific to each island. Greek orthodox churches are also a common sight on each island. Most that we have seen are rather small but very similar in design, white with a dome and the bigger churches with a colored dome.
We are off to the island of Milos in a few days.......
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