Greek farewell

We are on the move. 

On  Tuesday we took the 4.46pm ferry sailing  from Sifnos to Paros. It was a great sailing. We chatted to a lovely family from Pennsylvania, with the daughter planning to walk a camino so we could provide a few tips 😁. As we came into Paros port the sun was setting, perfect!

Paros was a bit of a shock after being on Sifnos. We chatted with some Brits that have been living on Paros for 20years and they were describing how much it had changed and now the locals are struggling to find homes to rent due to landlords being able to charge a higher rate for Air B&B or vacation rentals. They described Paros as turning into the new Mykonos - ouch. We were staying at a very basic studio as we were literally kipping and getting on the ship again mid morning on Wednesday to Santorini. I must say Paros turned on a stunning sunset for our last night there. 

Wednesday morning  11.45 Paros to Santorini sailing. It was blinking hot waiting to board the ship and there were a lot of people heading to Santorini.

However it was another beautiful day on the water, we sat outside the entire journey and just watched as we passed yachts, islands - stunning views. 

Everywhere you look you can see a ferry en route between  islands in the distance. It's incredible how quickly they turn them around at each port, it's go, go, go with trucks and people and port staff on their whistles.

Coming into Santorini harbour this time was a bit of a change from our previous time  there at 4.30am when  it was all quiet and still.

 Wednesday afternoon there were four big cruise ships in the harbour, private charter yachts and the port area was chaos with taxis, buses, touts and cargo being offloaded.

 Despite all the hustle at the port Santorini is such a stunning sight with the little white houses perched on  the clifftops.

We got  a bus up to Fira village and then another bus to Kamares -  a small beach village very close to Santorini airport. We had to be at at the airport at 3.25am Thursday so we found a place close by to get a few hours sleep. 

It was 32 degrees on Santorini at 4.30pm. We were melting but we had to get a bite to eat and some snacks for our early breakfast. So a quick trip to Kamares beach front, the local mini market and an early dinner for us.

Kamares beach on Santorini looked like a poor cousin to the magnificent beaches on Sifnos - there were rows of sun umbrellas and beach clubs on a pebble beach. Heart pangs for dear wee Sifnos.

After lovely, quiet little Sifnos both Paros and  Santorini  felt like Picadilly Circus with crazy traffic, crazy tourists and not the most relaxing vibe. 

 The little villa were staying at was our oasis of calm, 5mins from all the action but quiet and it had a terrific pool which unfortunately we didn't get to use.

 

We had a wonderful time being back in the Greek Islands. Talking with the locals about the last two seasons and Covid impacts, it's great that tourisim is back in full swing for their economy. 

We leave the Greek Islands with some great memories of warm and welcoming hospitality, delicious fresh fish, a few challenging hikes up almost vertical hillsides and swimming in  beautiful clear blue water on beaches with almost no one there - wonderful!