Day 21 : Limnia, Chios

After 9 hours at sea, some dolphin spotting as well as sailing through choppy waters simulating roller coaster rides, we finally arrived at Chios (pronounced as Key-Os)! 

We were welcomed by windmills as we sailed around the north-western coast of Chios to the port of Limnia.

Limnia has a quaint little harbour with only a couple bars and a taverna (Greeks call their restaurants tavernas). 

Don’t think they get much tourists from Asia here, as people were looking curiously at me as I walked around the harbour!

Day 21 : The Morning After in Tarti

“Boom.. Boom.. Boom.. Boom.. Boom..”

I startled out of bed thinking it was gun shots when I saw some lights from the ceiling window of my cabin.  Fireworks!!!  I quickly rushed out on deck and the fireworks that were released from the beach has just ended. 

Headed back down to my cabin and looked at my watch.  It’s 12.03am!  A few minutes later I started hearing an electronic guitar playing and some drums, thinking that perhaps some kids were trying to play the instruments for the very 1st time.

What is happening?  Are there still

Day 20 : Tarti, Lesvos

Our plan was to sail to Chios island, today, however according to weather forecast, the winds will not be in our favour.  As such, we decided to stay one more night in Lesvos, and motored our way to Tarti, a bay located 10 mins away from where we were staying yesterday.

Tarti was highly recommended by Costas, a young man whom we first met in Mithimna and again 2 nights ago at Mytilini harbour, who was travelling on another boat with his parents and sister.  And it was indeed a good recommendation!

We arrived to a nice little beach spot with beach umbrellas and deck chairs laid out across the beach, but yet maintaining a quiet and homely feel about the place. 

Not long after

Day 19 : Ormas Mersinia, Lesvos

We have a new addition to the crew that joined us this morning before we sailed out of Mytilini… a TV personality in fact! Rita from Italy, who is a news journalist on RAI, an Italian broadcasting network. Boat is getting merrier!

We have since settled in a bay at Ormas Mersinia, Lesvos and have been sitting out on the deck with Moa, gazing at the stars over the last half an hour, and we can even see the milky way really clearly!  Very serene actually as we hear the waves lapping against the rocks with no other boats around us.  A total contrast from last night’s hustle and bustle of city traffic, and good way for winding down after an exhausting day.

Today is the 1st time I actually felt really exhausted since I started out on my trip.  We had been out gathering sea urchins for tonight’s dinner, which was cooked with spaghetti, and I played a more active role than the last time, by staying in the water and being the bag keeper of urchins while Alberto went to pick them up. 

Think it is easy?  Well picture this…

Day 18 : Mytilini, Lesvos

We left Turkey and sailed back in extremely good winds to Lesvos, stopping by at Mystegna bay for a swim before heading into a harbour of a town called Mytilini.

This is probably the largest town I have seen on the islands we have visited so far!  And there is another castle here too (castle seems to be a prominent landmark in all the places we have been visiting the last few days)! 

Day 17 : Illegal Immigrants in Turkey

We are officially illegal immigrants in Turkey as we are now in the Aeolian coast of Turkey in a bay off Poyraz Adasi. 

This is where we will be staying the night as we sailed in from Lesvos to explore a bit of Turkey and try our luck to stay here for the night without being caught and thrown into jail!

Day 16 : Movie Under the Stars

After spending a leisurely day sailing around the coast of Lesvos in a channel which separates Greece and Turkey (shortest point between the two countries in this channel is about 20km!), doing some tacks and playing skipper on “Gaia”, we finally settled down in a bay near Skala Sykaminia, Lesvos, and ended the day with a movie. 

It added a new dimension to the term “movie under the stars”

Day 15 : Mithimna, Lesvos

“Maryanne, wake up… It’s time.”

I opened my eyes sleepily and saw Alberto at the doorway of my cabin.  It was 4.30am.  I got out of bed and walked through the connecting toilet and knocked on Moa and Tuula’s cabin door and woke them up as well.

 

Day 14 : Mikro Fanaraki (Lemnos)

We decided to head over to the other side of Lemnos to a bay called Mikro Fanaraki and have a relaxing day.  Though it is still part of the same island, it took us about 3 hours to get there!

We reached just before noon and it was definitely worth it, as the bay had really clear water and nice surroundings with no other boats in sight!  Just a beach with some people about 300m away, with some music from the beach bar playing in the background.

We took a light lunch, got on the dinghy and headed towards the nearby beach to explore the area… Check out the great view!

Day 13 : Lemnos

After about 6 hours sail cum motoring on the Aegean sea from Mount Athos, we finally arrived at Lemnos! 

Lemnos is a pretty little coastal fishing town.  Located in the Northeast part of Greece, it is said to be the 8th largest island with unspoilt beauty as it is little known (many tourists usually travel to the southern island of Greece). 

Day 13 : Mount Athos

We have just made our way to Mount Athos, a holy island containing 20 working monasteries and other small dependencies. 

It is holy because it was said that Virgin Mary had visited the island and blessed it, and since then females are not allowed on the island as they only have space for 1 woman.  It was so strict that in YR1060, a ban was made that prohibited female living creatures, including female domesticated animals (!!!), beardless men and eunuchs (haha….) from entering the island. 

Day 12 : Scavengers at Sea Part 2!

We made our way to Vourvourou bay, just about 20 mins from the bay we had stayed the night before.  Vourvourou will be where we would be staying for the night, and most importantly, will be spending our day here looking for more shell fish! 

Aperitivo : Sea Nochi

Tried this for the very first time today, after having a hard time scavenging them in the waters a few days ago.  And it was good!  Definitely not cockles!

So this was how we ate them…

Day 11 : Road Trip in Sithonia, Halkidiki

We made our way to Ormas Panagias, a port on Sithonia, where we refuelled and filled up the water tank and replenish our food and drink supplies.  This also meant laundry day for us, as we had to be mindful of our water usage on the boat when out at sea!

We subsequently took “Gaia” into the waters near the port, since ferries were expected to be entering the port in the late afternoon. 

Day 10 : Scavengers at Sea

I was still sleeping when I heard the engine of the boat starting up.  Looking at my watch with partially closed eyes, I saw that it was only 6am!  Alberto did inform me the night before that he will be making way the moment he wakes up so as to cover more distance to our destination. 

I was still tired so I continued sleeping while the engine churned, and finally decided to wake up at 8am. 

The sails were up!  And we got some good wind half way through our journey, hitting 20 knots at some point.  It was great to finally sail instead of relying on the motor. 

Day 9 : Stargazing at Kyra Panagia

I just spent the last hour lying on the deck of “Gaia” stargazing after a refreshing shower, enjoying a cup of hot camomile tea and soaking in the night breeze while drying my hair (talk about multi-tasking!). 

As the island was not inhabited, there were no other lights around, except from 3 other boats in the bay at a distance, which made it perfect for stargazing. 

Day 8 : Delicate Creatures of the Sea!

Before leaving Skantzoura, we took the motorised dinghy round the corner to do some snorkelling.  Alberto had other plans on his mind!  While we were happily snorkelling, Alberto was filling a big plastic bag full of sea-urchins!

We headed back to “Gaia” and made our way to Skiathos, an island near Alonnisos, where Bianca will be leaving us the next day. 

Day 7 : Dolphins Encounter

We went off to our next destination Skantzoura, stopping off at bay in Psathoura for a swim.

While making our way in the afternoon, we suddenly saw something jumping out of the water near our boat.  On closer look, it was dolphins!!!  There were 3 of them dancing around our boat, and it was just a dream come true to see them so near us!

Day 6 : Fishy Business

We will not be seeing much civilisation over the next 3 days, as we set off from Alonnisos this morning to explore the nearby islands and bays and will not be anchoring at any port.

As there was not much wind, we went on motor and finally stopped at a bay in Kyra Panagia and anchored.  This is also the place which we are spending the night in, however before that, we need to settle dinner!

Day 5 : Alonnisos

After 7 hours of journey from Athens (3 hour bus ride, 4 hour ferry), I finally arrived at Alonnisos at 8pm.  Though it was a long journey, it was rather pleasant and the ferry ride was rather comfortable. 

I was met by Alberto, Captain of the sailing boat “Gaia” that I would be on for the next couple of weeks, and Bianca (a colleague of Alberto’s son, whom had taken some time off from work to sail). 

Wrap Up : Athens

Date : July 11 – 15, 2011

Highlights :

• Parthenon & Acropolis (of course!)
• Temple of Poseidon and night out in city
• Syntagma Square and changing of guards
• Monastiraki Square and shops

Day 4 : Athens – Lycabettus Hill, Temple of Poseidon & night out in Athens City

The last full day in Athens before I fly, and there is still 1 place which I have yet to visit on the itinerary… Lycabettus Hill – said to be the place to go to get a good bird’s eye view of the whole of Athens. 

The trip to Lycabettus was a tough one to find.  There was hardly much signage and could only count on a trusty map (same one which got me lost a couple of times yesterday ! :P) to get me to the foot of the hill.  The decision was between taking the funicular or walking up a windy road which was supposed to take 30 minutes of walking. 

Day 3 : Athens – Other Historic Sights

They said women are bad with directions, and after today, I have to agree with that!  Was trying to manoeuvre my way to cover the other historic sights (Roman Agora, Temple of Olympian Zeus, Hadrian’s Library, Kerameikos, Panathenaic Stadium), and got lost on a couple of occasions trying to figure out which road to take while reading directions off the map.

To make things worse, when seeking directions with the locals (mainly with individuals care-taking the historic sights), on all 3 occasions I was pointed the wrong way – And they were all instructions given by women! *faint*

Day 2 : Athens - Parthenon, Acropolis & Ancient Agora

I have always been in awe about Greek mythology and the ruins, though I am really bad at the stories and the different gods (there are just too many of them!).  So coming to Athens to visit the life-size ruins was like a dream for me.

My first stop, Acropolis Museum.  Being really bad with the different ruin names, it didn’t struck me that what I had always seen on pictures or in the movies of the famous ruin in Athens was called the Parthenon and thought that it was called the Acropolis  (I wasn’t fully wrong as I later found out that the Parthenon is located within the Acropolis and is the most famous structure there).

Day 1 : 1st Day in Greece (Athens)

It’s been a long day in terms of waking hours, since I arrived in Athens at 7.30am (12.30pm Singapore time) and with not much sleep on the plane.

Hardly did much today as took a short nap and spent some time figuring out how to get myself from where I was staying to the town area. Was fairly lost for a while as there was no metro nearby and it didn’t help that local buses routes were written in Greek only!

My first stop, Syntagma Square – Parliament House.



This was where the riots took place just a couple of weeks back due to the debt crisis situation in Greece. Though things seems to be back to normal, there are still remnants of the riot around the Square.



I found this quite funny, especially the number of lassos just hanging next to the IMF poster!



And while I was taking some pictures of the guards in front of the Parliament House, I happen to witness a ceremony performed by the guards. Doesn’t seem like a changing of guards since its just the same 2 guards moving around the area.

I was fairly amused at how they move and think this must be how synchronised swimming must have occurred as a sport in the Olympics!  I wonder how much time they had spent learning all the moves and synchronising every step before they are allowed out in the public to be standing guard all day long! 

I definitely do not want to be one of them!

Managed to take a short video out of the 10-15 minutes that they were moving about, so check it out, and let me know what you think!

Guards at Syntagma Athens Parliament House

Beginning the adventure of a lifetime!

Writing this on the plane at the moment from Singapore to Athens on Singapore Airlines. 

It’s a 11hr journey from Singapore and in a couple more hours I will be reaching Athens!  I am starting to see the light break from outside the window!

 

Last day at work (T-4)

I feel blessed to know that I have such wonderful colleagues! 

Thanks for all the numerous well wishes and notes of appreciation, and of course for all the gifts, messages that made me laugh and not to forget… this (see below)….

Last week at work (T-7)

It’s the last 4 days of work (last day being Thursday 7th July)!

I came into office this morning and my boss asked me to her room as she wanted to show me something. 

Considering the role played in the organisation and the number of colleagues I had interacted with closely, both locally and overseas, she felt that I deserved some recognition and heartfelt thanks for the work I had done and thus had drafted an email over the weekend to announce my departure, and she wanted to make sure that I was ok with the contents before sending it out. 

T-8

8 more days to my flight!  OK, maybe I should regard it as 7, since my flight is taking place in the wee hours of the 11th, and which means I have to be at the airport on Sunday. 

I’ve got most of the bigger items done BUT there’s still SOOOOO much miscellaneous stuff that needs to be done!!!