Hi All,
Well things didn’t quite go to plan with our departure from Mykonos to Santorini as our ferry was cancelled due to high winds and rough seas.The seas were dead calm at Mykonos and there wasn’t a puff of breeze to be felt so it came as a great surprise to the large group of passenger who had congregated beside the dock . What came as an even bigger surprise was the fact that no representative from the ferry company ever came to notify the passengers of the ferry’s cancellation we learnt of it from a man trying to rent us a room.
The ticket was change for the following morning and we picked up our backpacks and started heading towards the bus station with the intention of go back out to the campgrounds but had a change of heart at the last minute and decided to spurge and spend the night in town in a small pension. The wind did eventuate reach Mykonos and we spent the afternoon fighting with it whilst trying to walk around the coast. We saw a fast ferry about to leave off in to distance and had a horrible thought since they, ferry operates, hadn‘t told us that it was cancelled maybe they wouldn‘t tell us that it was rescheduled. We raced towards the ship ,who knows why as we had no ticket and no luggage, but luckily it was going to another destination. We watched it leave then headed up the hill into town with the wind and stopped off at the windmill museum for a look. The town emptied of tourist after about 5pm and the town was ours to walk around in peace.
The next day brought good weather again and the waters were dead calm. When they say fast ferry in Greece they mean fast. We were waiting for the ferry and could see it off in the distance and minutes later it arrived and we piled on and it took off again. We were almost thrown back in our seats with the forward thrust. Well not really but the ferry certainly took off quickly and in no time we were in Paros, know for its pure white marble, where we had to change for the slower blue star ferry to Santorini via Naxos, the biggest greenest of the Cyclades Islands , Ios considered to be the party island but to us seemed to be the plainest of the islands and Iraklia. Yes it was the milk run ferry but it was great to be on a cruise when the aquamarine sea was so flat and the sun was shining.
Arrived at Santorini with its towering cliffs and cliff top towns and passed some massive cruise boats anchored at the old harbour before getting off at the new harbour 10km away. Once off the ferry we were flooded with offers of rooms to rent but we had our hearts set on camping so caught the bus up to the township of Fira. and the Capital of the Island We eventually found the camping ground as there was little tourist information. The camping ground was nothing like the website which advertised mini market, pool, restaurant, laundromat it looked like it a construction site with lots of projects around the campgrounds under renovations.The manager informed us that it was out just that they were working on some projects and were running a little behind. It was quite obvious that it should have been closed but was cheap and conveniently located so we stayed and we weren‘t the only ones who had been misled by both lonely planet and the website as a couple of other people pitched their tents as well. We were expecting Florence camping but it was more like Crookwell caravan park.
Disaster struck soon after putting the tent up with the tent main zipper finally failing. It had been limping along for months but finally stopped worked and after some attempts to revive it with pliers as per the tent makers recommendations it completely failed. I headed into town with one of the staff and found an old tailor who had an assortment of zippers to try. This meant removing the clips in the bottom of the zip and removing the slides then putting the new slide in place. Easy claims the tent manufacturer. Not exactly. The bottom of the zip was sown into the tent and had to be unpicked which probably sounds easy but with failing light it was a race and we didn’t know whether it would work anyway. Luckily it did work and well but we will have to stick up the unpicked section in the near future. We don’t have the thread anyway. Perhaps another time. Reminds me. One of the harness straps nearly ripped out of my pack and Vanessa repaired it with dental floss and to date it is holding strong and works well! I think we will opt for a little fine thread for the tent !!!
The problems didn’t end there. The MSR multi fuel stove failed as well. It needs a really good clean, think acid bath not dishwashing detergent, as over our time away we have had to use some interest fuels less than pure fuels and as a consequents jets, fuel pumps and filters are clogged or partially clogged or damaged and no amount of cleaning can get it working. It will now have to wait until Paris where we can get a proper cleaning kit and new filters so it is picnic foods or eating out for us.
We lashed out and hired a quad to tour the island and it was worth the money (all 10 euros). I think Vanessa secretly wanted to be a biker chick and was on the back of the quad in no time. So we got the motor running and headed out on the highway and found a supermarket and got some supplies before heading off to Oia, a flawless cliff top village famed for its postcard sunset views, trying to get anywhere we could with the quad then continuing around the island. We found a nice black pebble beach with calm waters and a bit of shade and sat down for a healthy greek salad and tuna for lunch. We headed out on the road again and went just about everywhere possible on the island stopping frequently. After 8hrs on a quad we had had enough .Vanessa’s back will preclude her from being a biker chick. We found a travel agency with the intention of booking a ticket to Crete but found an earlier ferry going to Rhodes so booked for there instead which meant that we would be leaving that night at 1230am. We went and packed up our bedding before jumping back aboard the quad and making a futile attempt to see the sun set from Oia at the far end of the island but we had to turn back before we arrived as the quad needed to be returned by 8pm or the next day and since we were leaving early in the morning it needed to be before the shop shut. We got back just in time and headed into town to the cliffs to watch the sunset anyway and found the main eating and shopping area of town. There was a cable car and path complete with donkeys down to the old port and a cliff top path that runs all the way to Oia but we didn’t have time to walk it but we did manage to see the groups of donkeys coming up on their way home and Vanessa almost got knocked over the cliff by one.
We headed back to the camping ground for tea and then packed up and headed to the bus station for the last bus down to the port.
We lost a day due to the cancellation of the ferry from Mykonos so we didn’t have enough time on the island to do it justice. It was really picturesque island and we enjoyed our stay no matter now breif it had to be . Damn Schengen agreement!
Bye,
David and Vanessa
