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Greek Odyssey
Deb: We arrived on Andros on Saturday at 8.30 pm, having taken 18 hours to get here! With an hour's drive at 4.30 am to the airport in Lesbos, flight to Athens, bus to Rafina - the port- ferry to Andros, local bus to the resort. Then the bus went past our stop, so had to walk back up the hill – all loaded down by my rucksack! I feel I have earned my backpacking credentials! This accommodation is more like a backpacker’s-fairly basic rooms (but en suite and a fridge in the corner for my wine!). We had even more basic (budget accommodation) booked but she has upgraded us as it isn’t busy – so we probably won’t have the same room next time (coming back in two weeks to meet up with Ken and Sue) but this time we have a fantastic view back to Batsi! The forecast for the time we are here (four days) is not brilliant. I did find one lovely forecast (sunny and hot all week) but unfortunately, it was Andros in the Bahamas! Ours is for thunder/rain today and tomorrow and rain on Tuesday, so unimpressed with that! However, it is sunny at the moment so hopefully we can get going soon and check the beach out while we can. Forecast is much better for the day we leave, and after that it looks solidly sunny for 14 days, so hopefully we will see Ken and Sue in the sun!
Deb: Monday. Gloriously sunny day yesterday & much quieter than Saturday night (full of loud Athenians!). Had first swim of the trip; there’s a small, very quiet beach outside of our accommodation. No-one else on it – which was good because we shrieked and put off going all the way in for about 10 minutes. Eventually went for it – very very cold!
Tuesday. Started lovely and sunny – got the local bus to the capital Chora ("Andros Town"). As soon as we got off the bus it poured down and we had torrential rain for the next two hours and a massive thunderstorm, so decided to head back. Now back in Batsi and it’s been raining here all afternoon but no storm (as yet). Oh well. We’ve been in Greece since the middle of April and this is the first bad weather – we have been really lucky so far and did expect to get rain/storms at some point early on.
Things I have learnt about Greece: Part I
- It is compulsory for all drivers to have a mobile phone clamped to their ear
· Greece banned smoking in public places in 2010. Everyone clearly thinks this is a rubbish law, as they all ignore it, with bars/restaurants/ferries providing ashtrays and making all the non-smokers sit outside in the wind and rain!
· Helmets are compulsory for motorbikes and scooters in Greece; for the Greeks take on this law,see above
· People from all nations rant & rave on radio phone-ins and all sound barmy (there was clearly one on the radio on the bus). No doubt the subject was immigration/austerity/MPs/the youth of today (delete as applicable)
· Don’t believe anything the locals tell you about the weather. Apparently the storms and bad weather had passed us by and it was going to be lovely. Two hours later we were in the middle of a monsoon!
Alan: So tomorrow we leave Andros, these days have flown by after our 18 hour marathon from Lesvos. This island is very Greek in that it has a lot of Greek tourists so the impact of Brits and overseas tourists in general is much less, much less English around. Another green and mountainous island, but not a good bus service so getting round to see stuff is not easy, we weren’t inclined to hire a car for this bit of our trip and we still haven’t bitten the bullet and tried a bike! We had our first couple of days bad weather (not bad after four weeks), but all clear again today (Wed) so back to hot and sunny – no complaints! Tomorrow we have quite a leisurely start as long as the bus does turn up around 9.00 and does stop as we jump around on the edge of the road (no bus stops) before we board the ferry to Tinos at 10.00. We have a few hours there (as our direct ferry was cancelled) before a 3.00 ferry takes us on the Syros, our next stop proper. The odyssey continues!
Deb: Monday. Gloriously sunny day yesterday & much quieter than Saturday night (full of loud Athenians!). Had first swim of the trip; there’s a small, very quiet beach outside of our accommodation. No-one else on it – which was good because we shrieked and put off going all the way in for about 10 minutes. Eventually went for it – very very cold!
Tuesday. Started lovely and sunny – got the local bus to the capital Chora ("Andros Town"). As soon as we got off the bus it poured down and we had torrential rain for the next two hours and a massive thunderstorm, so decided to head back. Now back in Batsi and it’s been raining here all afternoon but no storm (as yet). Oh well. We’ve been in Greece since the middle of April and this is the first bad weather – we have been really lucky so far and did expect to get rain/storms at some point early on.
Things I have learnt about Greece: Part I
- It is compulsory for all drivers to have a mobile phone clamped to their ear
· Greece banned smoking in public places in 2010. Everyone clearly thinks this is a rubbish law, as they all ignore it, with bars/restaurants/ferries providing ashtrays and making all the non-smokers sit outside in the wind and rain!
· Helmets are compulsory for motorbikes and scooters in Greece; for the Greeks take on this law,see above
· People from all nations rant & rave on radio phone-ins and all sound barmy (there was clearly one on the radio on the bus). No doubt the subject was immigration/austerity/MPs/the youth of today (delete as applicable)
· Don’t believe anything the locals tell you about the weather. Apparently the storms and bad weather had passed us by and it was going to be lovely. Two hours later we were in the middle of a monsoon!
Alan: So tomorrow we leave Andros, these days have flown by after our 18 hour marathon from Lesvos. This island is very Greek in that it has a lot of Greek tourists so the impact of Brits and overseas tourists in general is much less, much less English around. Another green and mountainous island, but not a good bus service so getting round to see stuff is not easy, we weren’t inclined to hire a car for this bit of our trip and we still haven’t bitten the bullet and tried a bike! We had our first couple of days bad weather (not bad after four weeks), but all clear again today (Wed) so back to hot and sunny – no complaints! Tomorrow we have quite a leisurely start as long as the bus does turn up around 9.00 and does stop as we jump around on the edge of the road (no bus stops) before we board the ferry to Tinos at 10.00. We have a few hours there (as our direct ferry was cancelled) before a 3.00 ferry takes us on the Syros, our next stop proper. The odyssey continues!
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Pam Bowes It all looks absolutely beautiful! Hope the weather has bucked up but better to be in the rain in Greece than here!! Actually, it's a lovely evening here. Have fun! x