Greece, Part The Third

We boarded the Odysseus and sailed to Oia, the romantic little town perched on Santorini's caldera, where some tourists departed to see the sunset. I enjoyed sailing the length of the caldera, seeing the white buildings clinging like barnacles to the lip of the cliff, a real testament to human tenacity.

We went on to disembark in Fira, where I decided, spur-of-the-moment-wise, to ride a mule up the hill instead of taking the cable cars. Callie had been loud and clear about wanting to ride a donkey on Thirasia (the small isle we'd visited for lunch), so I thought we'd have a go.

I didn't expect them to put us on the same mule. What an animal! I'd have been all right alone, since I have riding experience, but with a four year old to keep upright, it was a mildly harrowing ride. My mule enjoyed nothing more than stopping in the middle of the path, then rushing-rushing-rushing to catch up. To compound my worry, E was somewhere behind me. Fortunately, given my mule's propensity to stop every few minutes, E eventually caught up, sanguinely riding a large white donkey with a big grin on his face.

Reader, I should mention here that my husband took the practical route up, namely the cable cars. I should also mention that I wasn't able to get a good photo while muleback. I was too busy holding on to C, who loved every step of it and wanted to drag our "cwazy mule" onto the ferry with us to Crete.

The white fella was E's mount. Our big brown guy is not pictured. Anyhow, from there, we went back for our last night at the hotel. In the morning, we swam in the pool and then did a bit of sightseeing. We visited a museum--sadly not open--and had a long hike around, eventually winding up back in Fira for a late lunch. It was neat to take in the sights, including several cruise ships that sent its passengers to shore via smaller boats. E pointed out that one of them had a swimming pool on its roof!

 In the late afternoon, we headed to the port to catch the ferry to Heraklion. We took a fast ship this time, a catamaran, and arrived at our next destination in time to catch a Cretan sunset from our balcony.

In the morning, we familiarized ourselves with the local area and walked down to the beach, which was a lovely little area with a supermarket and several tavernas. By this point, it was a week later in the season and we were several hundred miles south, and boy did that make a difference to the temperature. It was hot! E enjoyed snorkeling, looking at the little fish that liked to dart around our legs.

Once we'd spent a day settling in, we planned a trip to Knossos, where the minotaur's labyrinth was fabled to be. Myths aside, we were standing on what was once a four thousand year old palace, and I was awed.

The kids were able to glimpse archaelogists at work. I don't know if they quite grasped the awe of such an ancient palace, but I think they'll remember their visit. In any case, the next day was our last day in Greece. We spent the time on the beach (found a fantastic taverna there that we really enjoyed! Did I mention they always brought out a tiny flask of raki after each meal? Gosh that stuff is strong.) and in the swimming pool.

And... that concluded our holiday. A little bit less than two weeks in the sun, lots of adventure, plenty of memories, and hopefully some good formative experience for the children. We look forward to going again in the future, and both B and I very much hope that the financial situation doesn't get any more dire than it currently is. We had such a wonderful time there.

Greece, Part Deux

On our second to last day on Naxos, we hired a convertible and set off to tour the interior of the island. Naxos is famous for its marble and also for an alcoholic drink called citron, which is very sweet and potent.

The kids were excited to ride in a convertible for the first time. We aimed in the general direction of the partially restored Temple of Demeter, and wound up stopping by a taverna for lunch. Outside were two former windmills and a donkey. You can just about see the donk's back in the picture below. Click for large.

It was very hot in the interior, away from the meltemi (famous Greek sea breeze). Our next stop was the Temple of Demeter, which was accessed by a walk up a lizard-infested path. We all loved watching the little guys dart here and there, and even saw several HUGE lizards.

This little fella was small/medium size.

After a short hike, we reached the partially-restored temple. It was neat to walk around the site, even though the museum was closed that day. From there, we carried on to Halki, the former capital, and enjoyed ice cream and cool drinks in a taverna across from the local school. Then we drove further up and further in.

We passed this amazing marble quarry. Remember how I said Naxos is famous for its marble? There was SO much of it around! We kept going, in search of the famous Kouros statues...

Aha, a clue.

A short hike past orange groves led us to this, the first Kouros. B has strong memories of visiting one of these statues with his parents, back when he was around E's age. There are three of these amazing, abandoned statues. They date from the 6th-8th centuries BC. The second one we visited required a bit of a hike, but it was picturesque and enjoyable.

After finding the Kouros, we drove back and then went out for a wonderful taverna supper in Agia Anna, where the kids could wander on and off the beach, which was two steps away. The sunset was beyond gorgeous. We could see the island of Paros from where we were.

The next day, we packed up, drove into Chora, and caught the ferry to Santorini. We arrived late afternoon, took a hotel shuttle from the port, up the steep hill into Fira, and immediately stepped out to explore the city.

Not a bad view, eh?

We only had a few nights in Santorini, since 1) It's expensive and 2) It's not as beach-y as other islands, and slightly less child-friendly since, y'know, huge cliffs and all. So the next day, we were up and at'em, having scheduled a tour of the volcano. The volcano was the big reason we came to Santorini, since E is fascinated with them. So the next morning, we boarded the cable cars...

...and boarded our boat, the Odysseus, which took us to Nea Kameni, the volcano.

From the port, it was a 1km hike up a fairly steep and sometimes slippery path. The kids managed it, all the way to the top. E was FASCINATED by the fact that, if you dug a little bit, you'd encounter very, very hot rock. He put his hand near a hole to test this.

At the top, we listened to our guide (the guy in the blue shirt, who was a superbly nice guy!) give a short talk on the history of the volcano and of Santorini/Thira.

On the way down, we saw a hat-eating crater. This crater, which spewed pumice stones in one of its eruptions, had at least five hats inside it! Not ours, mind you. We kept our hands on ours!

 We hiked back down to the Odysseus, which took us around the island to where the magma bubbles up under the sea, feeding a hot springs. B and E jumped off the boat to swim to the hot springs!

(Out of a slight abundance of caution, we packed waterwings for him.) C and I stayed on the boat, mainly because I was feeling slightly under the weather, and also because it was good to have someone stay with the valuables (camera, wallet, etc). In any case, I did this very same swim eight years ago, and you can find those pictures in the very first posts of this blog. Later, C did have a quick dip into the sea but to everyone's amusement, clawed her way to the top of B's head and back up the ladder. That child does not like the cold, and the hot springs don't begin until you have a little swim through the sea first.

Our next stop was the small island of Thirasia, where we had a taverna lunch.

E had souvlaki. Then the children went scavenging on the beach and found pumice stones to float. This made them very excited. (Our boat is one of the three in the background there.)

We could have ridden donkeys to the top of the island, but opted to stay below, where the kids continued to putter around, making a statue from rock, and ultimately partaking in huge ice creams.

I'm afraid this post may be getting a little long, so I'll stop for now. Next up: the conclusion to our time in Santorini, including a mule/donkey ride, and our time in Crete.

Greece 2015, Part One

Home education is going well, though it's going to come to an end in early September. E has a place at an outstanding local school starting in September. We're hoping C will get a place there as well. In the meantime, she'll attend the school around the corner (on the way to E's school). She's finishing up her year of part time Nursery. We were offered full time but I did not accept. They're only young once.

Because we're home educating, travel during term time is possible. (If you try to take a holiday during term time if your child is enrolled in school, the government can, and often does, fine you. Which is ridiculous, but is not the topic of this particular blog post.) So, a few weeks ago, we traveled to Greece.

First stop was Athens. We got there late, went to the hotel across the street from the airport, and spent a few hours there in bed. Flight delays didn't help! Early early, around 5:45am, we got into a cab and headed for Athens. Saw the sunrise from the cab. Our destination was Piraeus, where many ferries call. We were able to board almost immediately, and set up camp in a comfortable area near the front of the boat. Keep in mind we were all running on about 3, maybe 4 hours of sleep, so finding a good area was vital.

The kids were initially Too Excited to snuggle up/chill out, so we went onto deck and watched Athens slip by...

Then, as we drew further into the Aegean, we withdrew indoors for a different perspective:

The ferry ride lasted for a little over six hours, during which E was able to take a short nap. Although it sounds a long time, it was thoroughly pleasant, with good toilets nearby, and several cafes to choose from. Also, one could go out on deck and enjoy the breeze and warm weather. I chatted to a passenger who was on her honeymoon, heading to Santorini. I took her photo, with the Aegean as a backdrop.

The ferry called at Paros, and then there was the excitement of pulling into the port of Naxos. Our first view of the island:

We traversed the gangplank and found a cab. "Welcome on the island!" said the cabbie, who was very surprised to discover that B had been there thirty years ago. He told us the island had been very different then, with his father having been called out to help people push vehicles that had gotten stuck on the dirt tracks that had once passed as "roads" back then. Now, many roads are paved and vehicular access is pretty widespread.

We stayed at a lovely little apartment off the beaten track (almost literally, since the roads nearby were not paved!). It had a small play area that we could see from our patio, and a nice swimming pool. It was also about a 45 second walk to the beach.

Above, E and I test out the pool. It was a nice surprise to see that E is swimming, properly, with absolutely no floaties or assistance. Just a doggy-paddle, but a fairly strong one, and certainly it grew stronger as the holiday progressed.

The beach. Well, what can I say...

...that pictures don't say better? Sandy, warm, light waves, cool ocean, warm sun, mitigating breeze. Happy children in the sunset.

There were many local tavernas to choose from, plus the option of a local market where we could buy light food items and eat in our own apartment. I lost track of how many times I ordered moussaka. Great stuff.

One day, we headed into Naxos Town (Chora) to do a bit of sightseeing. We waited for the bus...

...enjoyed lunch in town...

..and headed off sightseeing around the backstreets of the Old Town.

Along the way, we found some spigots that dispensed cool water, which the children enjoyed splashing over their hot little faces. By popular request, we stopped for ice cream before walking out to the islet that hosts the two thousand year old Portara.

The waves were wilder out here! E points a particularly large one out...about ten seconds before it delightfully soaked all three of them! (Aftermath not pictured. Photographer may have been laughing too hard.)

This post is getting quite long, so I will stop for now. Next time, I will post about our adventures in the interior of the island.