SERIFOS

WEDNESDAY : 14th Sept.

The ferry ride from Sifnos was only 40 minutes long and we were met on arrival, along with other 'resort' guests, by the courtesy bus with driver, of course!  It was a longer drive than we expected as some of the roads from the port at Livadi to Coralli Beach are one way so vehicles must take a long way round, but we later discovered it is only a 10-15 minute walk into the town.

 We were shown to our 'bungalow' by Anastasia and soon after, tested the pool.  

There is a restaurant here which serves breakfast and lunch but not dinner so we decided to walk into the town to eat.  Anastasia had told us that it was an easy walk along the beach, up a few steps and then down a few more so we trotted off, on the way passing two restaurants on the beachfront which we may visit during our stay.  The 'few' steps turned out to be approximately 50 going up and 50 going down, and they were steep!

The first flight of the steps down leading into the town were a little easier to negotiate than the up flight.

We chose 'Tootsies', a souvlaki restaurant and pondered how to get back home, as by the time we'd eaten it was dark and we had not yet got our bearings.

However, by using the GPS on his phone, Mike found a way which was much easier than the way we'd come.  Needless to say, we were worn out by the time we arrived home so looked forward to a good night's sleep. 

THURSDAY : 15th Sept.  Not having any supplies as yet, we had breakfast in the resort restaurant, excellent meals and reasonably priced.  Today was a lazy one, we walked into town for provisions from the tiny supermarket, went swimming at the beach which is about 30 metres from our front door, snoozed, read and did a little washing.  Our next door neighbours when we arrived were a German family who'd just celebrated their younger daughter's 2nd birthday, we enjoyed chatting with them but they left this morning and if we have new neighbours now we haven't seen them.  There are a lot of people staying here but it is very quiet.

This evening we had dinner at Alexandros Restaurant, one of the restaurants along the beach from us.  When the restaurant became extremely busy, the waiter was actually running from the kitchen to tables, we'd never seen that happen before!  After our meal, he brought tiropitakia (mini cheese pies with honey) to each table, and then, the waitress brought shots of Raki for everyone.  Great service and a very nice meal.

The restaurant is close to the beach, the little girl was there with her parents and amused herself, and most of the diners, by walking around the tables, singing and chatting to herself and later ventured out onto the sand.  She was a very happy little person and very cute.  Luckily, it was a short walk home as after beer, wine and not one but two rakis each, we were a little unsteady.

 Coralli Beach (Our beach)

  

 FRIDAY : 16th Sept.

    7.17am Sunrise

                                                             

 Our 'bungalow' is one of three in our row

We walked into town this morning and caught the 11am bus to Hora, the capital of the island, which is built on a rocky hill in a traditional Cycladian way, with many churches and alleys which lead to the highest point, where the Church of St Constadinos is situated.  

 

                                                                     Hora from Livadi

                                                                  Scenes from the bus

There are many, many steps throughout the village of Hora, my knees were complaining loudly after the first few flights, so Mike went on alone 

                                                Our beach is located to the right of Livadi

 

Our travel companions Sydney and Boris rode in my new bag, bought in Livadi to replace the one I lost, made by a local lady when her shop is closed during the winter months.

This tourist was happy to have survived the steps, and after a snack lunch in a cafe/bar

returned to the bus stop

 

for the ride back down to Livadi

Back in Livadi, we called in to a car rental place and organised a pick up for tomorrow afternoon.

     Check out on Sunday is at 11am and our ferry doesn't leave until 6pm so we will have a car to tour         other parts of the island before we leave.

 

Livadi Waterfront with Hora in the background

                                        

Before walking back home, we forced ourselves to sit in a cafe while we ate huge icecreams

.

SIFNOS ISLAND cont.

TUESDAY :13th Sept.  After a very lazy morning, we strolled to the bus stop to catch the 12.30pm bus to Kamares.  The bus was late, possibly due to a change of timetable which we were aware was going to happen but new times were not advertised, and we had to change buses in Appolonia instead of continuing on directly to Kamares, which was also not advertised.  And so, another wait!  This time for almost an hour and a half.  By the time the bus eventually arrived, there was quite a queue waiting but we managed to get seats and 20 minutes later were in Kamares.  

After doing the paperwork at the car rental place, we shared an excellent club sandwich at one of the many cafes there before collecting our hire car and taking off to explore.  

                                                                     Kamares Scenes

We spent the next few hours exploring :

The Agion Anargiron Church on the Kamares/Appolonia road

Vathy, on the west coast,  has one of the biggest sandy beaches of the island, on a large horseshoe shaped bay.

A Vathy Church

Holy Monastery of Vrissi

Holy Glebe of Panagia Chrissopigi

WEDNESDAY : 14th Sept.  Moving day!  Breakfast, showers, pack up, goodbyes to Despina and her partner and we were on the road.

Our Front Door

                                                                  

At Giannakis Studios, Sifnos

                                                         

Mostra Restaurant, a favourite

Farewell to Platis Gialos

Our excursion this morning was to Kastro (via Appolonia of course), the old capital and the oldest settlement in Sifnos.  Featuring medieval fortifications, a living museum and overlooking the tiny cove of Seralia, it is one of the most picturesque villages of the island.  Positioned at the top of a hill the views are spectacular.    We drove up the narrow road to the small parking area, which was full and because some thoughtless person had parked in the turning bay, Mike had to negotiate a 15 point turn to get out.  There was plenty of room in the bottom car park but that meant we had more steps to climb but it was worth it and we spent some time walking and climbing through the old city.

The Acropolis ruins

                                                             

                                                   The Church of the Seven Martyrs

Kastro

From Kastro we drove via the outskirts of Apollonia to the fishing village of Faros, also a popular tourist place.  The little market there also serve light lunches so we sat, had drinks and shared a filled wrap before strolling around the harbour.

The Market

After our visit to Faros it was time to head back to Kamares, 

return the hire car and wait for the ferry to take us to our next island  

and it's Goodbye, Sifnos!

SIFNOS ISLAND

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,     

Farewell Milos 

  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.

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.

Mike on hearing the result of the Dockers/Collingwood match!!

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.

   

mmmmmm..BEER!

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, 

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'.  

A tight squeeze!

Another saga occurred when I discovered that my purple drawstring bag which is adorned with white anchors, and which I bought in Germany 4 years agao, was missing!  Thinking that I'd left it on the bus, we checked the next two buses to arrive but no luck, it's gone!   We've been here two days and so far have done very little other that chase broken and lost bags, so for the next two days we shall endeavour to forget about them and enjoy the island. We're off to the beach! 

We have a rental car booked for tomorrow to explore more of the island.