SATURDAY, 10th Sept was a day of travel and waiting, more of the latter than the former! We packed our belongings in the morning and walked down to the Ice Monkey Cafe where we had a filled roll and a cold drink each, then walked a little further to the open public space near the bus station and found a shady spot to sit on the wall, to wait for the ferry to arrive. It was there that we discovered why my bag was so difficult to handle, the wheels had jammed, one was worn out and wouldn't rotate and I couldn't pull it along. My hero carried it for me up to the ferry terminal, where we waited some more in the shade of a building and then on to the ferry when it finally arrived, half an hour late. We were supposed to leave Milos at 11.40am but our departure was delayed until 12.28pm and after a pleasant and comfortable ride,
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Farewell Milos |
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| Plaka Klima Tripiti |
we arrived at Sifnos Island too late to catch the bus from the port of Kamares to our destination at Platys Gialos and so had to wait another hour and a bit for the next one.
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We spent the time in one of the many cafes along the waterside, had coffee which was served with a slice of cake, watched the fish swiming around in the crystal clear water and Mike made some enquiries at a couple of car rental places as we had decided over coffee to hire a car for a day, if any were available. It should make getting around the island so much easier than bussing. |
Our bus left Kamares on time and we enjoyed an interesting ride through the very hilly island, with a 15 minute stop at Artemonas (more waiting) and finally arrived at Platys Gialos at about 3.30pm. Opposite the bus stop is a tourist info centre so we went in and asked the gentleman there if there is somewhere on the island where we could buy another cabin bag to replace trhe broken one. He told us the name of a shop in Appolonia and assured us that the shop was open on Sunday.
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| mmmmmm..BEER! |
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| After being shown around our apartment by Despina and sorting ourselves out, we strolled to the nearby Mostra Cafe for welcome refreshments by the beach. |
SUNDAY, 11th Sept. Another glorious morning. After breakfast on our patio, some clothes washing and showers, we caught the 11.30am bus to Appolonia, went walking through To Sono (pedestrian street) eventually finding the bag shop our man had told us about and - it was closed!
Scenes from Appolonia
As our bus back 'home' wasn't due until 3.00pm, we filled in some time by having a light lunch at a cafe, Mike tried the traditional chick pea soup and proclaimed it delicious as was my saganaki (fried) cheese. After chatting with the French couple from Marseilles who sat at the next table, we strolled down to the bus stop - and waited. The buses here are excellent, large, comfortable and air-conditioned but because of the hilly terrain on the island, they all go to the centre of Appolonia where it is necessary to transfer to other bus routes, hence the sometimes long wait between buses. The bus drivers are amazing and we've awarded each of them 20 out of 10 for their skill in negotiating the winding roads, tight bends and narrow streets which are often lined with cars leaving little space for the buses to squeeze through.
Once back at Platys Gialos, we stopped at the supermarket for some provisions, then went swimming and stopped at 'our' cafe for drinks...it's a tough life!
Tomorrow, we will return to Appolonia and the bag shop.
MONDAY : 12th September. Success! Catching the 9.30am bus to Appolonia, 20 minutes later we were making a bee line for the bag shop, a tiny shop filled to the rafters with all sorts of wonderful things,
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| bought a bag, |
and bought coffee which we drank while sitting in a memorial park in the shade, then caught the 1.00pm bus back 'home'.
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| A tight squeeze! |
We have a rental car booked for tomorrow to explore more of the island.
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