Greece: Day Thirteen- Chios, Mavria Volia, Pyrgi, Lithi

  Rather then stick around the hotel, today was spent seeing various parts of Chios. All but two members of the group loaded into the cars and met up with Nicks parents Katina and Mik. Our first stop was at Mavria Volia which is a black, marble beach. I wasn't sure what to expect but it was very beautiful. Rather then sand the beach consists of all these smooth, black marbles. There were some marbles of other colours but when you standing there looking at it, all you mostly see is a dark beach. This has been created from volcanic eruptions millions of years ago. The water is beautiful, but apparently there are steep/sudden drops. That combined with the amount of heat that comes off the marbles doesn't exactly make it kid-friendly. We stayed here maybe for 20 minutes. Just enough time to see it, dip our toes in and then go. 

(Photo:Mavria Volia) 

(Photo: The rocks) 

(Photo: A town near Mavria Volia) 

(Photo: Alex and his grandfather Mik) 

(Photo: Eva and her grandmothers - Pam and Katina) 

(Photo: Brian on Mavria Volia)

 

(Photo: the group at the beach) 

We then drove into the medieval village of Pyrgi which is full of narrow streets and tightly packed houses and arches. Most of the buildings have this distinctive graffiti technique used to decorate the outside. Basically the outer layer of cement is painted white and then geometric shapes are scraped away. It was very unique and interesting to walk through. We also got to see how Mastic trees work. Mastic is a tree that only seems to grow around Chios. They have apparently tried to grow it elsewhere but haven't had much success except in small parts of Turkey. It's protected under the EU as being specific to Chios. In Greece it is known as the "tears of Chios". 

From it gum, candy, beauty products and a liquor is produced. Unlike the process of maple syrup where it's extracted from within the tree, Mastic is produced in "tears" or droplets. Originally liquid, it is sun dried into drops of hard brittle translucent resin which is then used. In Pyrgi one of the shops had a tree on display and was able to show us the process. 

(Photo: Mastic) 

(Photo: Mastic) 

We had lunch in Pyrgi, at a pizza place of all things. We just ordered a bunch of pizzas and sat outside in the main town square. The owner of the restaurant had been in Baltimore and attended the local Greek church that Jenn and Nick were married in/The kids were baptized in. What a small orld! Apparently like Nicks parents, many people from Chios immigrated or visited Baltimore. Pyrgi was a really awesome place to stop and I'm glad we got to see it! The buildings and the mosaic type decor is just stunning. It's not at all what you think of when you hear Medieval village, but it's gorgeous. 

(Photo: The decor on the buildings) 

(Photo: Pyrgi) 

(Photo: Brian and I in Pyrgi and Brian, Charlie and I)

We piled back into our convoy of vehicles and headed toward Lithi, the village that Nicks father Mik was from. We ended up at the local beach which has apparently changed drastically since he and even Nick were children. It's now very much like what you see at the popular US beaches where a bunch of local restaurants and shops surround it. Our large group grabbed a bunch of tables and beach chairs and spent the afternoon swimming and looking at the beautiful Aegean sea. The water is so calm that you need to swim out pretty far before you can't touch ground. The tide came in a bit while we were there, but even then it was calmer then most American or Caribbean beaches. There isn't much you need to worry about in the waters here. There aren't any sharks or jellyfish etc, but there are Sea Urchins which are prickly and painful. However they tend to stay out by rocks, so as long as you avoid rocky areas you are fine. Some of the kids managed to find one near the rocks - again it's on Brian's camera so a picture will come later. 

(Photo: Lithi Beach) 

 

(Photo: My crazy beach hair) 

(Photo: Charlie and I) 

(Photo: Mikhali and I) 

(Photo: Leah) 

(Photo: Brian)

(Photo: Brian and I) 

(Photo: Judy and the boys) 

(Photo: Ally and Alex)

(Photo: Eva, Mikhali and Alex) 

(Photo: Mikhali used Charlotte as sand art in this awesome octopus!)

(Photo: Eva)

We remained at the beach until 5:00 or so and then headed back to the resort. On the way back we passed parts of the island that had been ravaged by a large fire years ago. Even now you can see the effects. 

(Photo: Forest that was affected by fire years ago) 

We also passed a lot of partially built homes. In Greece there is no such thing loans for housing construction. So families build over time as they get money. They also do this for the houses of their children - slowly build them as they are able. As such you see a lot of buildings all over the whole country that look like this: 

Once again we all ate at the pool area and hung out until dark. Some of Nicks family stopped by, so all the kids - the ones with us and the ones visiting - swam in the pool until late. 

Greece: Day Twelve - Chios

After 10 days of crazy travel today was a much needed day of relaxation. I had a lot of trouble sleeping due to the loud music coming from a bar nearby. It seemed like the second the music stopped, the birds came out. Plus we couldn't get the air to work so the room was an oven even with the balcony door open. I got maybe 2 hours of sleep, but the second it first started to get light out - around 5:15am I headed to the pool area where I was able to get a Wifi signal to check emails and such. I was also able to download some TV shows to my iPad which I can watch either this week or during the insanely long plane rides back. By 8am I was dressed and ready to hit the supermarket with Pam, Jenn, Leah and Sydney. 

Grocery shopping in Greece was an interesting experience. There isn't any huge difference between the store here and at home, they both consist of aisles of food, drink and other products. You can buy alcohol - both wine/beer and hard liquor at the store. Actually you can even buy that at the local market, seemingly regardless of age. I had a little trouble understanding what products I was buying, and I didn't want to keep asking Jenn to read the packages so I just gussed. If it looked like crackers, I assumed it was and so on. I got mostly drinks - coke light and beer for Brian, water and wine for myself. I also got some lunch meat and bread for him, and fruit for myself. The checkout process was interesting, I just smiled and handed the girl my credit card not having a clue what she was saying. I did manage the Greek word for thank you, which sounds like f-Gary-stow. I'm probably butchering it, but I'm trying! 

When we got back to the resort, Brian and the boys were finishing up breakfast so they were able to help us carry and unload everything. Once that was done everyone opted to head to the beach, except Brian and myself. Brian wanted to just relax and read on the balcony (again, him and sun aren't good friends), and I wanted to hang out at the pool which was empty. I figured a sunny Saturday would mean a crazy busy beach, whereas the pool was pretty much private. I was able to listen to my music, read some of my book, and swim lengths for almost an hour. Brian came down and had lunch with me - despite being in Greece I have had some pretty awesome pizza, one of which the resort makes. The menu here for the pool bar and the one of the restaurants is very much American and includes pasta, sandwiches, pizza and even burritos. Everything we have had has been pretty good.  

The pool bar is only supposed to be open for a few hours but Kostos - the server - has been keeping it open later and later for us. I think they like having our group here. 

Eventually everyone trickled back from the beach where they joined me at the pool. Some went inside to cool off, shower or nap but by the end of the day almost everyone was at the pool eating and drinking. 

There was some usual family silliness - laughing and joking. Todd decided to don a butterfly net and start catching family members with it. He and Charlie also had a hilarious experience with water balloons. There is some awesome video and photos of this all of course on Brians camera which I can't get to transfer to my iPad. So these will come later! Just before dark Robert - Laura's husband - arrived. Laura (Brian's sister) was unable to come, but Robert was and since they live in Italy it wasn't hard for him to get here.  

I think I was at the pool from 10am - 10pm which was probably too much sun and water but it was a great, relaxing day. 

Greece: Day Eleven - Athens to Chios

This morning marked our last day on the bus tour and the start of our beach vacation. We had to leave early in order to get to the airport on time, so departure was at 7:15. The drive back was long and uneventful. We stopped for a few photo stops which were pointless and boring to the point few people actually got off the bus. I see it as Theadora and George trying hard to give us all - including them - a break to stretch legs. Our morning break was at the same odd cafe/restaurant stop as yesterday - the one with all the tables and hardly anything. I found some excellent Greek Chocolate which was great, but I wish we had stopped somewhere else. Lunch was at a rest stop off the highway and it was horrible. 

There were 4 places to eat - a bakery, a sandwich place, a burger place and a traditional hot Greek food place that had a decent menu. The burger place wasn't open, and the sandwich place consisted of everything pre-made loaded with mayo and butter. The menu of the Greek place looked good so I went and ordered only to find its another one of those "we have a menu but don't make 90% of it". What they did have was mostly lamb or roasted chicken so I passed and did a Spinach/Feta thing from the bakery. It warranted two bites before it was tossed in the trash. I wasn't the only one - pretty much everyone left their food uneaten as all the places were pretty horrible. 

(Photo: Leah and Pam at one of our photo stops - a monument) 

(Photo: Todd and Sydney) 

(Photo: Me on the bus) 

We got to the Athens airport about an hour and a half before our flight and breezed through check-in.  My bag was overweight but the woman was nice and decided since we were in a group she would let it slide. It was here we said goodbye to Chris, Anna and Nate as they were heading back to the US and not coming to Chios. I was dreading this flight as Jenn had told me the last time they took it it was a super small prop plane with unassigned seating. I was a little relieved when I got my boarding pass and saw an assigned seat in row 17. The plane was bigger then I expected with seating for 80. Another relief but not much. 

The Athens airport is awesome - very modern with gourmet and high end stores like Hermes. We didn't really look around much, so hopefully we have a chance before our flight back. Security however was a bit scary in the sense there wasn't much of it. We walked through and someone checked our ticket, then a bit further down someone checked again, and then just before the gate we did the bag screening etc. Brian was able to get through with a soda and beer and myself with sunscreen and hand lotions. 

Our gate was on the lowest level with nothing but some seats around. But there was free Wifi that kept pretty much everyone attached to their tablets. When it came time for boarding, a bus came and picked us up taking us to the plane. It was very similar to the way in which Toronto handles small /short flights to places like Baltimore or the Carolina's as they take you away from the main building. The plane was out on the Tarmac and we climbed up. 

The flight was short - thankfully. And it was smooth, but it hasn't made me suddenly love flying. I am still terrified of it. We arrived in Chios about 40 minutes after takeoff and it was an interesting experience. The "airport" is seemingly in the middle of nowhere and as you walk down the stairs of the plane you see the ocean. The actual building is smaller then I ever would have expected. To put it in context the airport building would fit easily inside a Metro or Sobeys store. As we walked inside we had to almost push through crowds of Greek people there to welcome family. Nicks parents and aunt were included in that. Nick's parents live in the Baltimore area but are here visiting family for 7 weeks. Our baggage came out quickly - they do have a luggage carousel - but I think our groups luggage took up most of it. We had to wait a bit while the car rental got sorted out. We ended up with 4 vehicles - Nick and Pam rented these huge 9 passenger trucks that people call "Jumpy's", Bob rented a car and John/Erin rented a car. Brian had gotten an international drivers licence in order to be able to drive one of the vehicles but the one he was out on was the truck which was standard. Brian's driven a standard but only twice so he opted not to drive. 

(Photo: Nicks jumpy)

(Photo: Pam's jumpy) 

The trip to the hotel was quick, only a 10-15 minute drive. The place we are staying is called Seaview Resorts and its in the town of Karfas. We are on the island of Chios, and where we are staying is about 20 minutes away from the main town of Chios, which confusingly enough is called Chios. The resort is beautiful, it reminds me of a smaller Wyndham complex. The main building has a restaurant, bar and spa and overlooks the pool. There are 24 units in total - some with 1-2 bedrooms. Our group has 9 of them. All the units have mini fridges, a stove, oven and microwave. Our room has two single beds - pushed into one with separate bedding, a desk, kitchen table and sofa that includes a trundle bed. We also have a balcony which looks out toward the Aegean sea. 

(Photo: Our room) 

After we first got there, I took a walk down to the beach with Alyssa, Charlie and Judy. The resort isn't right on the beach but very close - maybe a 3 minute walk from our room. The water was a bit cold since it was later in the day so I went up to the pool instead which was amazing. Such a beautiful pool and area. I sat out there for awhile and as it got dark Brian came out (since he burns so easily he tries to avoid too much sun). A bunch of us sat outside in the pool area and ordered food and drinks remaining out there until long after the pool was supposed to be closed. The closing time is listed as 8:00 but it's not enforced at all. Maybe that's due to our group being so large or they are just like that.

(Photo: The pool area)!

(Photo: View of the sea) 

(Photo: View from the restaurant) 

(Photo: Beach near hotel) 

Overall there was a lot of traveling to get to Chios, but our first night there was great.  

Greece: Day Ten: Kalambaka and Meteora

Meteora has been the BEST old rocks we have seen yet. Let me start are the beginning. 

As everyone knows, Greece is full of ancient ruins. Some of these are amazing - the Acropolis and Pantheon in Athens, Olympia and that site we went to in Turkey (though this wasn't in Greece). Some however are a bit boring - The ones in Crete, some of Olympia etc. The problem is in many cases - not in Turkey - is that the original items have been massively destroyed (to be expected) or replicated with originals elsewhere leaving essentially a lot of old rocks. As amazing as this trip is and as fascinating as the history is and as much as I am enjoying it, by today I was getting sick looking at rocks. Plus today's itinerary was unappealing. Visits to two places I'd never heard of and visits to two monasteries which required the women to be wearing ankle length skirts and the men full length pants.

We had to be up early for another long drive. At this point the I was ready for the bus portion to be over. Maybe it was due to the heat, or the long distances being driven, or maybe because I was just on a bus for 2 weeks a little over a month ago but for whatever reason the bus was getting worse. It's also an experience to spend THAT much time in a bus with children. I have to give them all credit - they did amazing considering their ages and the fact that even I was getting bored/restless from time to time. But at times it could get loud and chaotic. 

We stopped at a bizarre rest stop that seemed to be in the middle of nowhere. It billed itself as a restaurant/cafe but the food options were limited as were the snacks. I had an ice cream despite the fact it was 10am because there just wasn't much else. Plus most of the place consisted of tables and chairs which was odd since there wasn't anywhere near that much food being produced. Maybe they do more in the evening? Either way when we were there it was empty with limited food and massive amounts of seating. The shelves of snack food were maybe half full, but even then just half a shelf if most. It just looked oddly bare and lonely in there. Kinda like in the zombie movies where the supermarkets have been mostly cleaned out and no one is left to care.

The kids played outside for a bit, and then we were back on the bus for more driving. At this point I even stopped getting off for the photo stops which we seemed to starting doing more frequently.  We made a stop for a tour of a place where they make religious icons. They are all hand painted and produced in this small industrial space. It's truly a bus tourist trap. It was somewhat interesting but in my option a waste of time. Plus we were the completely wrong group for this seeing as only 5 people are Greek Orthodox, and none of us were the religious icon type. 

(Brian's camera isn't connecting to my iPad anymore so photos to come later!)

We headed toward Meteora, a place that none of us knew about. Theadora explained the town had these large natural rock formations that had developed through being in the ocean at one point before the land shifted and moved outward. It was on top of the rock formations that the monasteries were built. Again, I wasn't too enthused about it. 

When we got into town we stopped for lunch at a restaurant which was awful. Another Greek fun fact - all restaurants have menus. Only some restaurants actually make the food that's included in them. The owner brought out a bunch of dishes he was featuring. This actually translated to all he had available. I did order the one other thing he had from the menu (the features were unappealing as they were stuffed peppers and lamb etc). I ordered a pork skewer which was horrible. I could barely bite into it it was so rough and fatty. So my lunch was mostly just rice. 

(Photo: Jenn at the restaurant) 

We got back on the bus and started to head into town. Within a few minutes the rocks came into view. Rocks really doesn't do them justice - they are more like cliffs, and similar to the Cliffs of Moher in Ireland. These should be on those natural wonder lists because they are amazing. They seem to just come out of nowhere and there are many of them. They tower above the town, and have little grooves/caves in them due to the salt water that they used to be in. The water is nowhere around them anymore, but you can easily envision them being surrounded by the ocean. The monasteries that are on them have been used for hundreds of years, and at one point with the monks having to climb rope ladders and essentially mountains to get to them. As you drive in on the now roads you see these ladders in addition to these monasteries way up high. There are also areas where people climb, and little groves which have come to earn symbolic or superstitious meaning, that people climb on certain days and leave old pieces of cloth for good luck. 

(Photos: Meteora) 

A

(NOTE: Brian has some amazing photos, I will post in a separate post when I get home because these don't do them justice) 

We drove high up the mountian to get to the first monastery but we then had to climb up flights of stone steps to reach the entrance. This was both exhausting and terrifying. I can appreciate how beautiful the views were, but I'm not a fan of heights and it was pretty high. The monastery was interesting, but the views were really the main attraction. Before leaving there was a place where you could write names of people you wanted prayers for. A bunch of names went down from our group including George, my grandparents and Pa. 

(Photo: Alex, Mikhali, Charlie) 

(Photo: the Monastery)  

(Photo: Eva and Anna)

We made the trek back down and then drove to the next one which thankfully the road went directly to. Alex wanted to remain in the bus as he was tired, so I decided to stay with him. The monasteries were interesting but having seen one I was fine missing the second. 

Once everyone was back on the bus we went to our hotel that had a great view of the rock formations. This hotel was nice - the room was large, the shower was mounted normally (well North American normally) so we didn't flood the bathroom and the TV had more then a handful of channels some even in English! I was annoyed though with the staff. You had to pay for WiF which was fine, not usual in hotels. It was 5€ for 24 hours so I did it. However I couldn't get on at all during the evening. I was only able to for about 10 minutes in the morning. When I mentioned it to the staff member in duty; she just shrugged and walked away. This will definitely be going on TripAdvisor. 

There was a pool but I opted to lay down for a bit. I was feeling better then yesterday, but still not 100%. We had dinner at the hotel, then Brian and I went and hung out outside with Charlie and Mikhali. There was an orange tree nearby, so the two of them spent time trying to jump and pick oranges. When they finally got some they were very bitter and disgusting. This led to using the oranges as a ball and playing catch with them. We went in once it got dark as we had to be up very early to head back toward Athens.