ATHENS

September saw us travelling to Greece. The principal reason was to spend two weeks walking on two Greek Islands - Naxos and Tinos. We left early to catch the Central Mountain Air flight to Vancouver where we connected with an Air Canada Calgary flight. Lufthansa then took us to Frankfurt where we connected with another Lufthansa flight to Athens. We arrived just after mid day having travelled a total of 20 hours.

Our time on the islands was going to be spent doing self guided walks. We had found out about this on the web with Walking Plus. An English couple had set up the organization to provide both guided and self guided walks on the islands of Naxos, Tinos and Amorgos. In the self guided version, they arrange accommodation, take the luggage from the start of a day's walk to the finish and provide detailed walking notes and maps. This meant that one only had to carry a small back pack on the walk. This worked out very well.

You can see a larger version of any photograph by simply clicking the mouse once on the image. Another click off the photograph returns you to the text.

As you are probably aware Greece has been having all manners of problems, strikes and riots being the most newsworthy. These issues affected us to some degree but we always managed to work around the disruptions. Athens Airport had been greatly upgraded a while ago at the time of the Olympic Games and is quite a show piece. In connection with that a new rail link was developed that gets you to the centre of Athens in quick time. The new line links to the city Metro system and we were able to get fairly close to our hotel. We were left with a short taxi ride. We had read about Athens taxis and had a bit of trouble with the taxi we chose. The drivers are a little reluctant to switch on the meter and that was true in our case. However, we prevailed and got the meter running. The other trick they play is to take a long way round and we think that happened to us but we did reach the Hotel Moka eventually. We had booked this hotel on the advice of Trip Advisor. The reviews were good, the only reservation people mentioned was that it was located in a red light district that could be off putting. We had no trouble from that aspect and the hotel was well priced and the staff helpful.

We had two things to accomplish that day, first to buy bus tickets to take us to Delphi and the second to collect ferry tickets to get us to Naxos. We had became aware that the next day the buses, metro and taxis were all going on strike. So we arranged to spend that day looking around Athens on strike day as we could do all we wanted by walking and visit Delphi the day after when we could get the local bus to the bus terminal. Having successfully bought the bus tickets, we found the ferry office and collected the ferry tickets which we had ordered online. We were now close to the Parliament building where the famous guards with pom-pom shoes protect the building.


On our way to the ferry office we came across some people setting up balloons in a city square. We weren't quite sure what the objective was.

Later we passed by again and think the balloons were a sort of art exhibit.

Up early the next day we started out on our Athens tour. We had some guided tour notes from Walking Plus which were going to take us on a circuit around the Acropolis. Three diversions were available, up to the Acropolis itself, into the New Acropolis Museum and into the Ancient Agora.

On our way to our starting point on the circuit we came across a covered market with all kinds of meat, fish, vegetables and fruit.

A fine display of sausages.

Rabbit is a feature of the Greek menu


As is octopus


And there were many different fishes for sale

You should be able to follow the circuit if you enlarge the map

Our tour started at the Monastiraki Metro station. It is very common in Athens to see ancient buildings side by side with modern buildings. Outside the Metro station was the Pantanassa Church.

Pantanassa Church that belonged to the monastery (monastiraki), thought to have been built in the 10th Century AD.

Our circuit took us anti-clockwise around the Rock of the Acropolis. We got an early view as we progressed. The crowd of people you can see in the photo were at the entry to the Acropolis and were nearly all cruise ship passengers who we were to run into a little later on. There must have been a number of ships in port that day.

Our first view of the Acropolis, quite a sight


There are a number of hills in the Athens area, the most prominent is Lykavittos Hill, reaching 910 feet above the City.

A view of the Acropolis and Lykavittos Hill,


The monument to Caius Julius Antiochus Philapappus on Filopappos Hill south of the Acropolis, with a tourist. Built in AD 114 -116


A decorative feature on a path on Filopappos Hill


Thought to be Socrates Prison on Filopappos Hill (perhaps)

We broke away from the circuit we were following to visit the New Acropolis Museum. Officially opened in mid-2009, this is a magnificent place. Packed with ancient sculptures and many other items, it provides a very complete understanding of the buildings and structures on the Acropolis that can be seen directly above the Museum through large glass windows. Much is made of the frieze that ran around an interior building inside the Parthenon and, rather pointedly, there is an empty room awaiting the return of the "marbles" that were "stolen" and sold to the British Museum by Lord Elgin. It is quite obvious that the Greeks remain very upset. It was lunch time by now and we ate at the very pleasant restaurant on an upper floor, again with the view of the Acropolis unmissable through the windows. We ordered tomato soup and a salad. It was quite a shock to take the first spoonful of cold soup when you expect it to be hot.

The new Acropolis Museum (no photographs inside)

We deviated away again from our circuit to go up to the Acropolis to see the Parthenon and associated buildings. We caught up with the large crowd of cruise ship passengers. As you will have seen earlier it is quite a climb on to the top on the rock. In many ways it resembles a building site because there is a large amount of reconstruction going on.

The Parthenon on the Acropolis


A detail of the East Pediment


A "to prove one of us was there" photographs


Another view of the Parthenon


The Erechtheion (built 437 - 432 BC), situated on the most sacred site of the Acropolis. It is said to be where Poseidon left his trident in a rock and Athena's olive tree sprouted, in their battle for possession of the City.

The Porch of the Caryatids on the Erechtheion. These statues of women were used in place of columns are, in fact, copies. Four of the originals can be seen in the New Acropolis Museum.


The New Acropolis Museum and the Theatre of Dionysos from the Acropolis.


The Temple of Olympian Zeus. Building started in the 6th Century BC and was finished 650 years later. It was larger than the Parthenon.


The Kallimarmaro Stadium from the Acropolis. Built in 330 BC for the Panathenaic Games, it later fell into disuse. It was restored in 1895 in time for the first of the modern Olympic Games in 1896. In 2004 it hosted the finish of the Olympic Marathon and the Archery Competition

The Parliament Buildings from the Acropolis



The Temple of Hephaestus in the Ancient Agora (qv) from the Acropolis. It is the best preserved temple in Greece


The partly restored Herodes Atticus Theatre below the Acropolis, a modern pop group had been rehearsing that day


The Dionysus Theatre which was the site of Classical Greece's drama competitions, where the tragedies and comedies by the great playwrights (Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides) were first performed

We came down off the Acropolis to continue our circuit reaching the region under the north face of the Acropolos. Here we arrived at the Roman Agora built in the first Century AD. An agora was an open "place of assembly" where citizens would gather for military duty or to hear statements of the ruling king or council. Later, the Agora also served as a marketplace where merchants kept stalls or shops to sell their goods. The term Agoraphobia stems from the word agora. It is a defined as a morbid fear of having a panic attack in a situation that is perceived to be difficult (or embarrassing) from which to escape (due to the crowds).

The main feature is the Tower of the Winds. This is an octagonal tower built in the 6th Century BC and it has the personification of the winds on each side. Inside there was a water clock run by a stream from the Acropolis.

The Tower of Winds in the Roman Agora

The North West wind, Skiron.

A pomegranate tree behind the Tower of Winds

We had now reached the point on the circuit where we had started earlier. Here is situated the Ancient Agora. It was Athen's marketplace, founded in the 6th Century BC, and was the heart of the city for 1200 years. It was the centre of all civic activities including politics, commerce, philosophy, religion, arts and athletics. It was the place where Socrates addressed his public and where St. Paul preached.

The reconstructed Middle Stoa (market place), containing a covered walkway and rows of columns.

Inside the Middle Stoa

A featured sculpture, one of many

This Byzantine Church was built in the 11th Century AD over the the ruins of the Nymphaion, an elaborate 2nd Century AD fountain house.

Our last view of the Acropolis from the Ancient Agora.

By now it was getting late so we had a meal and got ourselves ready for the next day, a visit to Delphi.

A DAY IN DELPHI

Today the buses and taxis were running but the Metro was still on strike. This didn't affect us as we only needed a bus from outside the hotel to take us to one of the two long distance bus terminals. The bus we were going to catch left at 0730 so we had an early start, too early for the hotel breakfast but there was a cafe at the bus station.

The trip to Delphi took about three hours and we had booked the 1600 bus back so had plenty of time to visit the ancient site which was a short walk from the modern town. It was another hot day, all our days in Greece were hot under blue skies except the last day of all.

There is a museum at the site which we visited first to gain some insight on what we were about to see. Not as good a museum as the New Acropolis Museum but not disappointing. Many of the Delphi statues are preserved here. Having gained some ideas on the settlement we moved on to the site itself.

Delphi was situated where legend says that the paths of two eagles released by the god Zeus from opposite ends of the world crossed in the sky. Delphi was the dwelling place of the god Apollo and from the end of the 8th Century. BC individuals from all over the world came the consult the god on what course of action to take, in both public and private matters. This golden age lasted until the Romans arrived in 191 BC. The Oracle was abolished in AD 395 by the Byzantine Empire.

The ancient ruins run up the steep side of a hill and the route is along the Sacred Way.

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The beginning of the Sacred Way

There was a small agora before the start of the Sacred Way where religious objects could be bought. The remains of the shops can be seen behind the row of columns

The Athenian Treasury built after the Battle of Marathon in 490 BC and reconstructed in 1906


Columns at the Temple of Apollo


The Temple of Apollo, replacing an earlier Temple in the 4th Century BC.

The temple was the home of the Delphic Oracle the means through which worshippers could hear the spoken words of the god Apollo spoken though a priestess, or Pythia. Questioners paid a levy called a pelanos and sacrificed an animal on the altar. The Pythia would answer the question in a trance, perhaps induced by vapours from a crack in the ground over which she sat on a tripod. Her incantations were translated by a male priest, though the answers were often ambiguous.

A view over the ruins of the Temple of Apollo

The stadium at the highest point on the site


The seating at the end of the stadium

The stadium is one of the very best preserved stadia in Greece. Almost 200 meters long it is partly hewn out of the rock above the main sanctuary. It could hold over 7000 spectators who gathered every four years for the track and field events during the Pythian Games.

The theatre built 2500 years ago could seat 5000 people. The photo proves we were both there


The theatre has a very fine acoustic and people sitting in the very top row of seats could easily hear the actors in the stage area

We walked back to the modern town and had a meal before catching the bus back to Athens. Delphi is situated quite high in the mountains near the coast of the Gulf of Corinth. On the way there the bus passes by the Mount of Parnassus where it is possible to ski in winter.

We had another early start in prospect as we were due to catch the ferry to the island Naxos, the first of two where we were going to walk. With all the uncertainty of the strikes we decided to take a taxi to the port of Piraeus, assuming the taxis were running, Only tomorrow would tell us that.

THE ISLAND OF NAXOS

Up early, missing out on breakfast at the hotel again, the taxis were running and the hotel got us a taxi telling the driver where to go and making sure that the meter was running. It was a short and fast ride to the port of Piraeus, about 15 km from Athens. This is a large port and Greece has a very comprehensive ferry system to the many islands in the Aegean Sea. It is also a port of call for cruise ships and there were a number in port that day, towering above everything else. We were to take the ferry Blue Star Naxos that makes one stop at the island of Paros before reaching our destination. This was quite a large ferry, very well appointed, and we spent a little more on the fare to travel in their business class. This was very peaceful area at the front of the ship with waiter service.

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The ferry left on time and we left in a flotilla of other ferries passing by the Celebrity Silhouette, a brand new cruise ship that entered service in July 2011.

Ferries in the Port of Piraeus

The Celebrity Silhouette

A high speed ferry


The Port at Paros



You should be able to follow where we went from this map

We arrived at the port of Naxos City or Hora (sometimes Chora). There we were met by Robin Cameron Cooper who, with his wife Gilly, runs Walking Plus. They live on the island for the summer months and in Tooting, London for the winter months. They arrange both guided walks and self guided walks on Naxos, Tinos and Amorgos. We had arranged to spend the first night in Hora so we could see the town and then we were to move to Robin and Gilly's home just a few kilometres outside the town. We found our hotel and arranged to be collected the next evening when we would be briefed on what lay ahead for us. We were given some notes on a walking tour of Naxos City similar to those we had already used in our circuit of the Acropolis in Athens.

A lonely statue at the harbour and the Portara in the background


The Portara

Around the year 530 B.C when Naxos was at its peak of glory, the then ruler, Lygdamis, wanted to build the highest and most magnificent buildings in all of Greece in Naxos. He ordered for a massive temple to be built but when a war broke out between Naxos and Samos, the work stopped abruptly. After that, Lygdamis was overthrown in 506 B.C and the temple, which was supposed to be at least a hundred feet tall, was never completed. The gateway is all that is left.

Our tour took us into an area called Grotta, named after caves below the headland. It is the site of one of the oldest towns in Greece and archaeological finds date back to 3200-2700 BC. Part of the old city lies below the sea off the coast. The is a museum showing some excavations.

The Byzantine Cathedral in Mitropolis Square, Naxos City

A detail on the floor at the front entrance

The Port of Naxos City

Another view of Naxos City at the harbour

The Portara on its peninsular

We spent our second night at the home of Robin and Gilly Cameron Cooper. We were fully briefed on the walks in the week to come. We were provided with detailed walking notes, a map of the route for each day and a good map of the island of Naxos. Using these together we were able to go where we were supposed to, and that wasn't too easy sometimes because we were on some pretty remote and undeveloped paths some of the time.

VIVLOS TO MESI POTAMIA

We were taken to the village of Vivlos, near where the Cameron Coopers lived, and set loose. The route took us from Vivlos to Mesi Potamia - a disance of 13.5 km with a rise during the day of about 950 feet and a fall of about 650 feet, not excessive compared with what was to come. We set out uphill and were able to look down on the coast at Chora.

The coast at Naxos Cty

The country was very brown, if we had been walking in the Spring it would have been much greener. Most of the time the tracks were rocky and rough.

We often had the constant companionship of little lizards.

And there were always interesting plants to see - this is prickly pear


The village of Melanes, typical of the villages and scenery in this area

The village of Kournochori

Our first night was spent in the village of Mesi Potamia (between the rivers) between Ano Potamia and Kato Potamia. The accommodation was provided by a ex-pat British couple, Liz and Tony Poole. They had a small suite in the lower part of their house and we were well provided for. The house used to be the workshop of the local cobbler as shown by the last by the front entrance. We found our two bags had been delivered during the day.

Our hosts at Mesi Potamia

MESI POTAMIA TO APIRANTHOS

The next day took us from Mesi Potamia to the village of Apiranthos. Distance 11 km and a rise during the day of about 2900 feet and a fall of 1600 feet, a different prospect from the day before. The reason for this was that it included climb of Mount Fanari, the second highest point on the island.

The church of Agios Andreas (St. Andrew)


Some frescos inside Aghios Anreas


Apano Kastro - a fortified palace built by the Venetians in the 13th century


A close up view of Apano Kastro. We only passed by


Chalki, where we stopped for lunch

After the lunch stop we started a long section which led to the climb of Mount Fanari (2896 feet). This entailed walking up a rugged stream bed before we came out on the side of the mountain and then we followed a zig-zag marble path to a col close to the summit. We have to admit that we chickened out on the final section of the climb to the top taking a breather instead.

The summit of Mount Fanari

Mount Zas from Mount Fanari, a climb to come


There were always attractive flowers to enjoy - these are autumn colchicums. Note the delicate
checker-board pattern


Apiranthos, our stop for the night

We stayed at a "room" in the village. There are many villages with rooms, small operations with just a few rooms where you can stay the night. The rooms are always relatively small but always well equipped. This set was run by a local cafe owner who provided breakfast for us the next morning.

APIRANTHOS TO MOUTSOUNA

After breakfast on the local cafe with the owner Niko, who had about as much English as we had Greek, we set off to the coastal port of Moutsouna. Apiranthos was quite high and the length of the walk was about 12 km with climbing of only 360 feet and descent of 2300 feet, quite change from the day before. We started down a marble path.

A word about marble. Naxos (and Tinos) are major sources of marble. There are many old and active quarries and the whole island is covered with marble rocks. Many of the walls and paths are made of marble. Our descent from Apiranthos was down impressive marble steps.

The marble path leaving Apiranthos

A closer look at the path, we saw lots of paths like this

The chapel of Aghia Kiriaki

Aghia Kiriaki, thought to have been built in the 9th Century AD

Inside Aghia Kiriaki with faint frescoes. Flash was not used to protect the delicate frescoes

Our path led down a zig-zag into the head of a valley that had, until the 1960's, been the centre of a very active emery mining industry. The mines were linked to the port we were walking towards by a bucket chain system, much of it still remaining in place.

Part of the bucket chain system



A chute down which the emery rocks were sent from the small adit mines above

The closeness of the emery mines to the marble quarries was important because it was the emery that was used to polish the marble sculptures. It was common for the sculptor to come to Naxos and Tinos the do their work there rather than transport the blocks of unfinished marble to the cities where the sculptors lived. Our walk continued down the valley first on on a road and then on another rough and rocky path to the coast and to the port of Moutsouna. The remains of the bucket chain could be seen right down to the port, many of the buckets still swinging in the wind. All along the way we saw interesting plants, this one looked like an onion with along the flower stalk.

The coastline at Moutsouna


The port of Moutsouna

A pile of emery rock at the port

We found our room for the night and had a nice meal down at the harbour. In the three days we had nearly walked across the width of the island and we felt we deserved the rest day that was to follow.

REST DAY AT MOUTSOUNA

We were going to be taken by Gilly to the town on Filoti later in the day and we spent the major part of the day in and around Moutsouna. There was a pleasant looking bay just north of the village and we walked there to find it wasn't sandy and the water wasn't very warm but it was good scenery.

The bay at Moutsouna



Taking a break on a marble seat



Agios Dimitrios


Agios Dimitrios was typical of so many of the tiny churches we saw all over Naxos



Inside the church

Many of the churches had a great deal of artwork


The portside restuarant where we had all of our meals

It was at this restaurant that we rather foolishly had fish for dinner. The husband of the lady who ran the place was a fisherman and she showed us some fresh fish, none of which we recognized. We chose one on her recommendation and it cost 75 euros a kilogram. In any one's money that's a lot. It wasn't at all bad eating, however.

That morning as we had breakfast we saw a small crowd of the locals entering a tiny church at the port. We believe it was a celebration for a dearly departed. Later that day we went in to see the inside and can't imagine how all those people fitted in. There were rows of strange looking chairs up both sides and lots of artwork.

Inside the tiny church at Moutsouna

It was time to move on and Gilly arrived to drive us back through Apiranthos to Filoti , the staging point for the climb to Mount Zas that awaited us the next morning. As we climbed up out of the village the road ran past a couple of barges just lying by the roadside. How and why they were there was a mystery, they certainly hadn't been washed up on the tide.. They had been used in the days when the emery was shipped out of the port.

Emery barges at the roadside about 800 feet above sea level


The valley we had walked down the day before from the emery mines

The village of Filoti

We were taken to our room for the night and had our evening meal. We were ready for Mount Zas, the highest mountain on the island.

MOUNT ZAS

The day promised some options of the order of things. There were three main parts to the walk. One was a circuit to a monastery and a recommended taverna in the village of Danakos. The second part was the climb up Mount Zas (height 3280 feet). The third was either a climb back down the way we went up or rather difficult descent from the summit down to Filoti. We chose to climb Mount Zas , return the way we went up and then visit Danakos. This would keep us fresh for the climb and make sure the taverna would be open for a late lunch. The walk was about 14 km long with a total climb up and down of 2450 feet, we were ending where we started.

The start was short and sharp to get us to a little church, Agia Marina.

On the way up to Agia Marina passing two churches on top of hills

Agia Marina

At the summit of Mount Zas

The view from the summit of Mount Zas

Strange little shells on a rock. We saw quite a lot of these

The walk took us back to Agia Marina and we had seen twenty people on the climb, the only walkers we met up until that time. We continued on to the fortified monastery at Fotodotis. This monastery is being renovated by the Government of Greece. It is believed to be the oldest monastery in Greece.

The monastery at Fotodotis


The view from the monastery showing some smaller cycladic islands with Amorgos in the background

We left the monastery and started a steep climb down to the village of Danakos where we were going to have lunch at the recommended taverna. We realised that by climbing down you have to climb back up but we were getting used to that.

Lunch in Danakos - Greek salad and an omelet with potatoes

We left Danakos for the climb back up to Agai Marina and then the climb down to Filoti. The climb of Mount Zas wasn't as hard as we thought it would be, hard enough though. Perhaps we were toughening up after four days on the trail.

FILOTI TO ANO SAGRI AND THE TEMPLE OF DEMETER

Our last walking day was a little less difficult. The Island of Naxos has a mountain spine running from top to bottom and we had crossed and recrossed it during our travels. The West side of the island is a lot softer than the East side and more agricultural. We were to walk 13.5 km with a rise during the day of about 50 feet and a fall of about 400 feet

The walk took us through two villages, Damarionas and Damaias. We saw some impressive houses apparently owned as vacation homes by Athens lawyers. There were many lovely flowers and fruits on the way compared to the region over the other side of the mountain range.











In the vlliage of Damarionas there was a well preserved olive press.

The olive press

Another part of the olive press



A typical lane in a Naxos village, always clean and bright

On our walk we came to a little church built into a cave in the rock. The cave had been cut out of the marble by running water. Our notes said we might see Bonelli's eagles and on cue three appeared soaring above us.

The church in the cave - Panagia

Inside the church

Mount Zas

Strange fruits

Pretty flowers

We had now reached the Temple of Demeter. This magnificent temple has been made of the finest quality of Naxos marble and is believed to date back to the 6th century BC. As Demeter was the ancient goddess of grain, it was built close to a very fertile area.

In later centuries the site was abandoned and plundered for its marble. About ten years ago German archaeologists realized that many of the pieces from the temple were still on the site and they began a reconstruction. A church had been built inside the temple and this has been restored and placed beside the temple. The site has now been protected and was the only other place we met tourists. There was a lovely path along a hedge of blooming oleanders

Along the entry path to the Temple

The Temple of Demeter

The reconstructed church by the Temple

Journeys' end and time for lunch

Robin Cameron Cooper came to collect us and take us back to his home for our last night on Naxos. We had walked five days out of the eight we had spent on the island. For our evening meal we visited a local taverna and had goat cooked in wax paper. The meat was pleasant and the bones were plentiful. We will say a bit more about the culinary delights at the end of the blog.

The next morning we were taken back into Naxos City to buy our ferry tickets to the island of Tinos. There was only one ferry to Mykonos where we were to connect to another ferry to Tinos. The timing of the first meant we were to catch the last ferry of the day for the onward section. The Mykonos ferry was due to leave at 1330, then 1530 then 1645 and in reality it left at 1740. That meant that, if we did the journey at its normal pace, we had about three minutes to catch the second ferry. The first ferry was a high speed version and it certainly moved. We were able to get it across that we had a quick connection ahead of us and they were very helpful getting us off first. We ran along the quay to connect with the second high speed ferry, whew.

We were on our way to Tinos, our second island for five more days walking