The ferry from Chios to Cesme left at 8.40 a.m.   I was told by the ticket agent to be at the departure at 8.00 a.m. “because of passport control and security”.  Sure enough there was a Smiths airport style scanning machine at the border crossing.  I am certain Al-Qaeda has shares in this company.

Cesme

The ferry is relatively small and takes only 45 mins to cross the short distance to Cesme.  It is another example of the seeming lack of any real correlation between the cost of a ticket and the distance travelled.

I walked from the ferry terminal around the marina into the town.  I was immediately struck by how prosperous the place looked.  If Turkey is an ‘emerging’ country and Greece is part of the ‘first’ world Europe,  then it is not apparent looking at Chios and Cesme.

I happened across the ‘Bonaparte Otel’.  It looked like a nice place to stay.  This was confirmed by one of the owners, the wife of  a husband and wife team.  She was French and spoke perfect ‘Peter Sellers’.  She told me that she could do a “good price given it was so quiet”.  After checking in I wandered around the town, checking out the Castle and the museum.

I had dinner in place called ‘The Place on the Corner’, aptly named as that was its location.  A good meal washed down with Efes beer.  That and Tuburg seemed to be the only choice.

Over breakfast the Frenchwoman, told me about her concerns about the Turkish Prime Minister wishing to change the constitution.  This would entail a move away from the current pluralist arrangement established originally be the founder of modern Turkey, Mustafa Kemal   Ataturk, to a more Muslim based constitution.  She was particularly, concerned about the potential loss of freedom for women.

I checked out the resort area of Ilica Beach.  This was somewhat surreal, with large resort hotels with huge pools etc and virtually no tourists.  All the Europeans had gone home

Izmir

Over breakfast the owner, chatted more about her life in Cesme and her concerns about what was happening in Turkey.  She said that if things progress as she expects, it may be necessary for her and her Turkish husband to move to France.  She said the she was originally from Bordeaux, however, if they did return to France, they would live in the north, close to Paris – “you earn more in the cold” – she advised.

The bus to Izmir took about an hour.  I had asked the driver to drop me at the ‘centre’.  A Polish couple also want to be dropped there.  They told me that they were staying in one of the resort hotels in Ilica and were surprised “how quiet it was”.   They were heading into Izmir for the day.

The driver stopped at corner of a very busy intersection, in the middle what appeared to be major works.  The Polish couple were as confused as me as to where we were.  We asked people passing by, “the direction to the centre or centrum”.  We were greeted by plank looks.  We decided head down hill on the assumption that at least we would be heading towards the harbour.  As we walked I could help noticing the Polish girl’s legs.  They were amazingly long.  She had an extraordinary ‘leg to trunk’ ratio.

Fortunately were soon came across a small ‘local’ bus depot.  We asked some young people for some directions.  They had a bit of English and pointed us to a bus that was going to the ferry port. I was later to find out that the bus from Cesme was going to the Otgar (Bus Terminal) that was about 8 lkms from the main part of the city.

I hopped off the local bus near the ferry terminal and looked for a place to stay.  I found a place fairly quickly and checked in.

My plan was to take the train from Izmir to Selcuk.  The train station was only about 1.5 lkms from the hotel.  I walked there to enquire about the tickets.  I was immediately struck how different Izmir was to Cesme.  Apart from being busy (it is Turkey’s 3^rd largest city), it appears to be very Muslim.  There was no obvious sign of alcohol and the limited number of women of the street typically had their heads covered.

The girl in the ticket office at the railway station was very keen to help me.  She wrote the times of all the trains to Selcuk in the note book I gave her show that was where I want to go.  I headed back to the hotel in the back streets running parallel to the main road.  There appeared to be section with shops specializing in various products e.g. mobile phones, tools, plumbing supplies etc.  There were so many, how they all make money seems to be a misery.

I had a meal of various courses in different places – mussels, kebab, and ice cream.  I end up buying a couple of cans of Efes and taking them back to hotel.

Selcuk  

I ended up taking the mid-day train to Selcuk.  The fare was 5.75 Turkish Lire.  That is about AUD 3.00.  Not bad for a 1 and 1/2/ hour journey.  The train was modern and fairly fast, albeit it stopped many times.

I had booked into a place called Attila’s Gateway off the hostel site I occasionally use.  I knew that it wasn’t in town.  The direction of the site said that if you were driving “turn right just before the Diesel Factory sign”.  I stop at a travel agent a short distance from the railway station to ask directions.  The girl at the desk in broken English: “Arrh Aussie, he will come and pick you at bus depot – I call”.

As it turned, out Attila was a 47 year old Turkish Australian who had established the hostel with about 20 years ago, when he returned to Turkey with his parents, who had lived in Australia for 20 years before deciding to wasn’t the place for them.

One of the staff from the hostel drove into the town and met me at the bus depot.  It was a 4 klms drive  to the ‘Diesel (as in T Shirts) Factory sign and the hostel.  It turned out to be a rather odd place with a bit swimming pool and an assortment of room types – private twin rooms and various dormitories.  I was put into a dormitory by myself.

The same staff member drove me back into Selcuk promising to return at 7.00 p.m. to take me back to the hostel for dinner.  I had a wander around the town.  There were lots of tourist shops and blokes sitting cafes drink tea and smoking. There were however a couple of bars selling – yes – Efes beer.

When I returned to the hostel, the other guests, about 20 altogether were sitting at a large table waiting for the dinner to be served. It was great meal.  There was also very interesting conversation among the group of mainly late 20’s to 30’s something’s from Germany, Holland, Italy, France and Australia.  There were two American couples; however, they only briefly joined the conversation.  One of the Dutch girls was seeming fluent in all the European languages.

After dinner we were introduced to Attila’s Dad.  He challenged me to a game of pool.  He seemed to have forgotten all his English since returning to Turkey.  We ended up having 3 games, interspersed with conversations with the Europeans. Not for the first time I interested to hear the views of Germans and Dutch people on the future of the EU, compared to views of the French and Italians.  The Australians that had been working in Ios were able to provide some comments on what the Greeks they knew thought.  The Americans were totally disinterested.

Virgin Mary’s House and Ephesus

The reason you go the Selcuk is to see the ancient city of Ephesus.  It was about 5 klms from the hostel along a path that runs along the ridge high above the main road into town.

The other attraction is the Virgin Mary’s (as in Jesus’s Mum) House.  As you would expect, those of the Catholic branch of the Christian faith, are very keen on seeing this place.  I decided to walk the extra 5 klms or so up the hill to see the house.  I was passed by lots of buses and taxis as I walk up the road.

When I finally got to the top for the hill and the reserve where the house and chapel is located, the place was crowded with serious pilgrims.  About 10 people made comments (in various languages e.g. “Bravo”) which I took to mean that they were impressed that I had walked up the hill.

I paid my respects to the Virgin and took taxis down the hill to Ephesus.

My view of Ephesus would probably not do it justice.  I will say a few things though:

• The audio guide was great
• It’s good that you can walk through the ruins, and not just look at them from a distance
• The Austrian’s have to be applauded for financing and being involved in so much of the archaeological work at the site
• The terrace houses (see the Flickr pics) are incredible in that you getting to see how the people actually lived
• The Romans knew a thing or two about plumbing and sanitation
• The Library and Stadium are probably more impressive that you will expect.

Finally, the decline of the place was caused by changes in the topography and climate that meant that it was no longer near the sea and there was insufficient water to sustain the population.  The latter point is likely to be relevant for a number of Australia cities, including Canberra, given climate change.

Flickr Link

http://flic.kr/s/aHsjK4r5H8

Heading North

Santorini was good, but after 3 days I had had enough.   It is the sort of place that you should visit, but probably only once.

Given that the tourist season is drawing to a close, the number of ferries between the Islands is starting to be reduced.  The ferry to Ios was leaving at 8.30 a.m. from the ‘new port’.  This meant an early wake-up and a walk to the bus station.  The bus in Fira is interesting: the entrance and exit for the buses is in the same place.  This result is traffic jams when more than two buses move at once.  It  results in a type of Mexican stand-off with animated discussions over which bus should retreat. Needless to say, no amount argument is of interest to the passengers who actually want to get somewhere.  After about 10 minutes the bus finally headed off to the port.  The road down to the port is seriously steep and narrow. I was impressed by the skill of the driver to driver so quickly with any thought of mishap.

Ios

The ferry was one of those high speed catamarans, possibly built in Tasmania.  In no time we were in Ios.  I checked into a hotel not far from the ferry wharf.  Given that the season was ending, the place was cheap – EUR 20 for a really good room with a balcony.  This was the same price for bunk in 3 person dorm in Santorini.

I went for a walk up to the village above the port. It was interesting to see, what I assume to be a more authentic Greek Island village.  It has narrow lanes etc, but has been spared too much white and blue paint – and very shop being a tourist trap.

I returned to the port for dinner.  I seemed to be one of only a handful of diners.

Next day I planned to take a small ferry around the coast to a swimming beach.  A sign promised sailings very day 11.00 a.m.  There were not enough takers and we were shepherded onto the local bus.  The bus ride was an experience – seriously steep road and dramatic drops.  Again I was impressed by the driver’s skill.

The beach was quiet, but good.  Very clear water that had the classis aqua blue colour from certain angles.  I had a really good meal at one the restaurant, just off the beach.

The port was literally buzzing when I returned.  Half a dozen sailing boats were in town.  They were crewed by the classic English ‘grey sea nomads’.  Some were at the table nearly in the restaurant where I ate.  The conversation was ‘all boat stuff’.

Naxos

I continued on the route north to Naxos. The ferry was good old slow thing.  It was mid-afternoon when I arrived.  I decided to head for Agios Prokoplos beach, that I had read was one of the most ‘beautiful beaches’ and a good place for diving.

I caught the bus out to the beach and looked for a place to stay. I settled on a hotel opposite the beach.  After checking in, I head across to the beach.  Albeit, it was late, there were a lot of people on the beach.   Virtually all the people were on deck chairs.  There were umbrellas made plastic or dead leaves.  The strange thing was that there were very few people in water.  I had a quick swim.  Again the water was very clear and warm.

I headed to ‘dive’ shop I had noticed in my way to the hotel.  I thought that if was going to stay here for a day, this would be a good chance to do something active.  Well, let’s just say the complications of registering, being trained, and then actually taking to the water was too much.

My assumption that the reason that few people were swimming the day before, i.e. it was late, was wrong.   Again, there were lots of people on the beach on their deck chairs.   At any point in time you could count on the fingers of one hand, the number of people in the water.  Most of the people were lying on the deck chairs – way from the protection of the umbrellas.  I guest most Northern Europe and Brits do not see too much sun.  I am not sure getting burnt the way they are here is such a good idea.

Mykonos

Next stop north was Mykonos.  This is another tourist island.

I stopped off at the accommodation centre for advice.  The manager said that “given that the season was ending he could do a good deal on suite”.  I suspect he owned it.  Anyway, after an inspection, I took the place in the old town – just 200 metres away.

I walked up the bus station and jumped on the bus to Paradise Beach.  I had read that is a ‘Party Beach’ favoured by the younger folk.  Even before I got off the bus I could hear the ‘thump, thump’ of the so called dance music.  I wandered towards the source of this sound.  There was a reason number of people standing around, some dancing.  All seemed fairly out of it.  The time was about 6.00 p.m.  Apparent these ‘parties’ go on till dawn.  Hmmmm.

I headed back to the bus stop and into town.

After luxuriating in my suite – shower, beer and watching BBC World News, I headed out for dinner.  There was a large crowd at the waterfront.  I suspect a lot of them were from a large liner moored off-shore.  It was owned by the same company that had parked a large ship on an Italian Island last year.  The righting of that ship was the lead item in the BBC News.

I found a small ‘basic’ looking restaurant for a meal.  I found myself in conservation with two New Zealand sisters – one had been living in London for 3 years after two years in Australia.  She did something in ‘video production’.  Her sister was out of NZ for the first time.  In course of the conversation, I began to wonder if they were actually related.

Next day I headed off to Platys Yialos  beach.  This is completely covered with beach chairs, similar to the beach in Naxos.  I wandered a bit further around the coast to another beach. This one actual had some space for people to sit on the sand.  The water was clear and warm.  In the course of swim, I got into a conversation with an English couple.  They told me that they came to Greece this time of year rather than in July or August because the weather was just as good and the crowds had largely gone.  The wife was particularly keen on sun baking.  When we returned to the beach, she showed how keen she was – I was impressed.

That night I had a reasonable meal in a fairly flashy restaurant on the waterfront.  After the meal I headed to the Skandinavian [sic] for a beer.  There were not any Scandinavians  that I could observe.

Athens

Next day I caught the ferry to Piraeus.  Another slow boat, that arrived in port around 6.00 p.m.  I caught the train up to Athens and found my way to the ‘Students’ and Travellers’ Hostel in the Plarka district.  I found myself sharing a mixed dorm with a middle aged American from New York called Connie.  She had been travelling the world for over year after a divorce.  She was interesting.

I did the usual Athens stuff – Acropolis, Olympic site etc.  For some, no apparent reason, the Museum of Antiquity was closed.  A bloke looking at the closed sign, told me that: “according to its website, it should be open today.   This is why I left this fu**king country”.

Given that it is over 36 years since I had been in Athens, I can’t say if it is possible to see any signs of the ‘great recession’.  There were no riots while I was there, and there seemed to lots of activity in the cafes and restaurants in the district in which I was staying.  There was a lot of graffiti on the walls is shopping area near to where I was staying.  However, you see that in lots of places in the UK.

Chios

I took the overnight ferry to Chois.   This is very large island close to Turkey.  It is not a tourist island.  The ferry arrived at 5.30 a.m. I found a café with WiFi. I had several cups of coffee to pass the time and waited for the town to wake-up.  According to Trip Advisor, the options for accommodation were limited.  They are right.  I found a place offering ‘rooms’.  It was block away from the café.   I found the place a check in.

Around 11.00 a.m. I caught a local bus to swimming beach about 15 klms out of town

After a swim I had lunch in a café opposite the beach.  The waitress was very chatty.  She wanted to practice her English and I was her only option on this day.  I asked when the bus would be returning to town.  The bus stop was in front of the café.   She told me “10 to the hour”.  I went for another swim and return to cafe at around 4.40 p.m. and ordered a bottle of water. At 4.45 the bus drove past the café and bus stop without stopping.  The waitress told me, “they often do that”.   I thought thanks for telling me now.  She offered to drive me into town as she “had finished work as was heading that way”.  She seemed intent of continuing chatting.  When the car stop and some traffic light near to my ‘room’, thanked her for the lift and hopped out of the car.

I had a surprising good meal in a restaurant on the waterfront.

Next day Turkey.

Flickr Links

http://flic.kr/s/aHsjJyrMSr

http://flic.kr/s/aHsjKcro65

 

I boxed my bike and sent it off the Sydney along with most of my meager wardrobe of clothing and panniers.

I had booked my flight from London to Santorini with EasyJet with very low expectations.  The base fare was very low.  I also travel very light with a ‘wheelie’ bag to which it possible to attach a small backpack.  This means that technically I can have one cabin bag.  Easyjet have the most confusing conditions regarding cabin baggage.  They say you can carry baggage of certain dimensions. You may carry larger baggage, but this cannot be guaranteed and you may have to put it in the hold.  This is all too confusing.  I ended up paying the extra GBP 30 to put the bag in the hold. You then have to pay for food and drink on the flight.  This, and the baggage charge, adds almost 50% to the cost of the fare.  I am still a fan of ‘budget’ airlines – especially for short haul flights. I can recommend Easyjet.

First Impressions

Santorini Airport is basic – who cares.  I caught the local bus (EUR 1.60) into Fira.  After asking about 10 people I found my Hostel, which was conveniently located about 200 metres from the town square.  The Hostel came with great raps from the on-line booking site I mainly use.  The ‘dorm’ was very small and packed with the luggage of the other two people with who I was sharing.  They were nowhere to be seen.   I headed off for a meal an initial look around the place.  The town in perched on a high hill.  There is a gentle slope down to the airport side of the island and a cliff on the other.  This cliff side looks across the the famous volcano is land of Nea Kameni.  The water between the island and the volcano is where the visiting cruise ships moor.

I had a reasonable meal in restaurant a block back from the cliff and the view.  Meals with a view come at a premium price.  After the meal I wandered around the lanes and alley ways.  They are packed with souvenir, jewelry and women’s clothes shops.  There are also ice cream parlors and trendy bars and night clubs.  In other words, it is just like any other tourist village or town.

Serious Snoring   

I headed back to the Hostel and hit my bunk.  I was woken in the morning by the sound of very load snoring emanating from both of my fellow roommates, whom I was yet to meet.  I decided to get up, shower and have breakfast.

The breakfast was served in the courtyard of the hostel.  I got chatting to an Australian bloke of my vintage from Brisbane. He was travelling with his daughter and son.  He told me that he was of Serbian extraction and was heading there for the first time since leaving the Yugoslavia  at the age of 4.  This was his “first trip outside of Australia, although he had been to Sydney twice”.  Hmmm. He said he was interested in the result of the election, but was frustrated the he “couldn’t by a copy of the Courier Mail.  When he left us briefly to go the men’s, his daughter told me: “Dad is a pity old fashioned and doesn’t trust the internet”.

When I returned to my room after breakfast, the snorers were essentially silent, but comatose.  I had formed an impression of them – piss-head yobbs.

Overrated Beach  

I decided to look around the town and go to the ‘Red Beach’ which can be reached by local bus.  If you believe the Trip Advisor and the local tourist guides the Red Beach ranks along other beaches such as: Horseshoe Bay in Bermuda, Cannes on the French Riviera, Waikiki in Honolulu and our own Bondi and Byron Bay Main, beaches. Take from me it doesn’t.

How Many Donkeys Do You Need?

In the afternoon, I returned to Fira and walked down the steps to the ‘Old Port’.  An option to walking was to take one of the donkeys that at your disposal.  The other option is a cable car.

There seemed to be far more donkeys than were required, given that most were just standing around.  There was, however, plenty of evidence to prove that a number of donkeys had made the trip up and down the steps.  This evidence was there despite the efforts of bloke with a big broom and pan type thing – serious shit.

Meeting a Smart Yobb and the other Yobb

When I returned to the hostel, my roommates appeared to be still comatose. One of them stirred.  I made the comment: “now that’s what I call a serious night out”.  The response was “it is not as bad as it looks, we have been up and about”.  Both blokes turned out to be Australian.  The first to wake up told me he was doing a PhD in Holland.  His area of expertise was the use of stem cells in the repair of the brain after severe trauma.  He was in his last year and was heading back to Amsterdam to start writing this thesis.  I refrained from suggesting he focus on the “serious trauma” caused by getting seriously pissed in pubs in Santorini.

The other bloke was from Newcastle.  He didn’t volunteer a profession.  He did however extol the virtues of the following an Contiki Tours around the Greece Isles – “ picking-up  chicks off the tours is like spearing fish in a barrel”, he told me.  I told him I know nothing about that.

Volcano and  Tepid Springs

The next day I booked by self of tour of Nea Kameni which is the sort of active volcano just off the main island of Santorini.  I had heard on ABC’s Radio National (so it must be true) that there is a 20% chance that the volcano will erupt.  I can’t remember over what period though.

I walked down the step to the old harbour again.  This time I got to see why there are so many donkeys.  Two big cruise ships were in the harbour.  None of the passengers has any chance of walking up the steps.  A large number appeared to exceed the weight limit for the cable car.  What are Americans and Germans eating??????  All the donkeys were going to get a gig this day.  Some may never walk again.

I boarded the boat and we headed across to the  volcano.  I sat near a ‘younger middle aged woman’ with a stern expression on her face.

The volcano island (Nea Kameni) is completely bare and very dusty.  We were greeted    by a guide who took us up the mountain and told us a bit of history as we went.  At top you can look down into the dormant crater.  The molten rock is however fairly close to the surface (apparently 2000 metres is close) and as a result the ground is actually warm.  If you sniff hard you can smell sulphur.  I asked about the 20% chance of an eruption.  She told me no to worry, the “volcano has sensors that are monitored by Government Officials in Athens.”  I asked “what was the probability they were working?”.   Some in the party laughed – she didn’t.

On the way down, I chatted with the stern faced woman.  She turned out to be South African.

Next stop was the ‘hot springs’ .  This is a spot near a second island where the water is allegedly warmed by a volcanic fissure on the sea bed.  The boat moored off the island and, if you wanted to, you could swim the 50 metres or so into the warm water.  It could be identified because it was brown.

The South African woman, now known as Christina, joined me for the swim to the brown water.  When we got there, we found the water brown, but not warm.  Other people were making similar comments.  A bloke with an unmistakable ascent told all that “he could make the water warm if we want”.  His female partner exploded – “ Barry shut – up!!!!”

After the swim we returned to the boat to be taken to another island for lunch.  I ate with Christina.  She was in lives in Capetown, where she and her husband operate a ‘labour hire company’.  She was in Santorini for a week on her own so she could have a break from “problematic 17 y.o. daughter. We chatted about lots of stuff.

After lunch, we walk along the beach to another restaurant for a coffee.  We were joined by Barry and his wife.  It turned out the he was a ‘Fly In Fly out’ gold miner from Western Australia. They had been in the South of France for a week and were having a week in Greece before flying home.  A two week overseas trips based on a 12 days ‘off’ was not unusual for them.  How things have changed compared to travelling Australians in the 60’s through to the 00’s when the AUD was soft.

People Who Seemed to be Witnessing their 1st Sunset 

Last stop was Oia which is a small village on the north coast of the Santorini Island. It is famous for its sunsets.  It is a favourite place for weddings and receptions.

I left the boat (which was returning to the Old Port) and  walked up more steps (and donkeys) to the village.  It was about 5 p.m.  and there were very few people around.

About 6.30 p.m. buses started to arrive.  The placed was filling up fast,  Groups of tourists led by flag carrying guides were colliding in the small alley ways – it was bedlam. They were all heading to the best vantage points to see, and photograph, the sunset.

See the Flickr link to the photos of people taking photos of the sunset.

Flickr Link

http://flic.kr/s/aHsjJaAazh