Thursday 29th - on Mykonos

The night was not good! Shortly before we finished dinner I received a text message and email informing me that our flight to Athens on Friday 30th had been cancelled due to a strike by air traffic control staff. We frantically looked at alternatives but there were no options which would allow us to rendezvous with our good friends George & Evi Koliris on the evening of Friday 30th on the island of Kea. I felt I should inform George of this and after a couple of hours he told me that the air traffic control web site was saying that the strike had now been cancelled! I had called Aegean Airlines numerous times but had not managed to get an answer, but was locked in a seemingly endless queue with a recorded message telling me that my call would be answered shortly (which it never was).

Eventually, I decided to give up and try again early in the morning not only being overwrought over the flight issue but beside myself that Newcastle United were losing to Norwich (remember Greece is 2 hours ahead of the UK).

Unsurprisingly, sleep was hard to come by and after restless hours I awoke about 02:30 and decided to consult my trusty iPad for an update or two. Unbridled joy! Not only had the cancellation of the strike been confirmed and Aegean reinstated all flights but Newcastle United had made a miraculous come back and had won 4;3 with 2 goals in added time! Of course I immediately woke the LLW to inform her of both miracles and was given short shrift! Totally unreasonable behaviour!

The morning once again dawned sunny and warm and after a leisurely breakfast we walked along the bay to the small fishing port and delightful tiny church on the water front followed by a swim in the wonderful clear waters of Aghias Ioannis.

Mid afternoon we took the local bus into Mykonos town and yes it is now very touristy but it is still very lovely and atmospheric.

To date this holiday has been a handbag free zone but I was acutely aware that this was too good to last and eventually the LLW spotted a "must have" bag at a boutique in Mykonos's old town. To rub salt into the wounds, the LLW announced that her plastic had been left in the hotel so there was no alternative but to use mine. (I think she was exacting retribution for being woken up during the night).

We really enjoyed Mykonos town and after a couple of hours there we took the bus back to Aghias Ioannis (10 minutes) and enjoyed a lovely dinner in out local restaurant Vasiliakis.

Wednesday 28th

Breakfast on our wonderful balcony watching the change of the cruise ship guard again. This morning saw the arrival of Norwegian Jade and as soon as she anchored swarms of launches sped out to the ship to ferry passengers the short distance to the jetty at Santorini. I don't think many of them braved the climb up to Fira town.

As soon as we had finished breakfast our bags were collected, we checked out and walked up the hill to the church where our mini bus was to pick us up. This time the journey to the port was completed in about 10 minutes as opposed to about an hour when we arrived, meaning we had time to kill at the ferry terminal. We drank the most expensive coffee in Greece at a taverna opposite the terminal and boarded our ferry which was about 30 mins late.

Tuesday 27th

We awoke fairly early and once again looked out on the stunning view across the caldera which has clearly become cruise ship heaven! The scene is every changing as the sun crosses the sky and shadows come and go. It really does make you understand why the impressionists and in particular Monet were so obsessed with light and colour.

Breakfast was served on our balcony and breakfast outdoors does not come any better that this.

We are having a quiet morning just enjoying the atmosphere and later will again test the LLWs Fitbit by climbing the steps to the town and perhaps doing some shopping! ( I'm not sure how many calories are consumed during shopping; I will check it out and report back!)

We are now back from the shopping trip bud sadly the Fibit did not specifically record shopping calories so we are none the wiser. However, it was again an unsuccessful shopping trip and I am becoming very concerned that the LLW is either unwell or has completely forgotten how to use her plastic. Whichever is the case then, dear reader, you will recognise that this is a very rare event.

Back at the apartment we ordered tea for two which did arrive in a pot, but with only one tea bag, and  with four small pots of honey and no bread or anything similar to spread in on! I wonder how the Greeks got the idea that the Brits have honey in their tea? The LLW showing keen forethought had secreted a bun from our breakfast offering but decreed that strawberry jam would partner this better than honey and luckily she had also secreted some of this. It did occur to me that in future when you visit Greece you may now be served strawberry jam in your tea!

Monday 26th September - on Santorini

Up fairly early and headed downstairs to breakfast expecting to be on our own but not a bit of it. Hordes of elderly Germans were obviously on a coach trip and intent upon spending their euros. They were reasonably well behaved and did not get in our way too much! We were pleased that our taxi arrived on time ahead of their coach which would have blocked the very narrow road.

Hotel Kastro had been a very good overnight stay but the LLW was not particularly impressed by the very modern decor.

Being on time, reminded me of when we left Damnoni where we had packed our bags and waited outside for the promised buggy. it did not arrive so we walked down the steep slope to the car park which was no hardship given our new bags with very efficient wheels. As I handed in the keys to reception the very efficient receptionist explained that he had called our apartment to see if we were ready for the buggy as "in Greece no one expects anyone to be on time!"

The ferry left on time and was very busy but in no time at all we were arriving in Santorini. What a stunning sight! 

We were very pleased that we had arranged transport from the port since after the mini bus drive, we were met by a porter who carried both of our  cases down the 80+ steps to the hotel.

The location of the hotel is amazing with wonderful uninterrupted views across the caldera.

After checking in we walked the town giving the LLWs fitbit a real workout. Lots of very steep steps and slippery cobbles and visitors of every nationality.  Our mini bus driver had claimed that Santorini vies with Hawai as the most visited island on earth. I'm not sure how true this is but judging by the crowds it might well be the case. 

We chose to have dinner at a restaurant called the Sphinx; no idea why it was called this but it was upmarket with very good food and unbelievable views across the caldera. Whilst photos can never do this justice, you will get some idea from the photos below.

Writing this blog has been cut short today as a result of the stool which I was sitting on deciding to deposit me on the hard tiled floor via the edge of a concrete bench! Very painful but nothing more serious that a couple of bruised ribs. Normal service will resume tomorrow.

At Heraklion

It's still Sunday 25th but we have negotiated the drive from the south coast to Crete's capital city. The Avis car return depot was cunnngly concealed on the wrong side of a dual carriageway as we approached the airport. However, the WWN consulted a local and very soon we were in the right place. In spite of all of the shenanigans from Avis when we arrived in Crete, the charming man who checked in the car on return announced that there was zero to pay! A bit of a shame because I was all wound up to do battle over the threatened extra charges!

The Avis mini van shuttle took us to the airport where there was a long line of taxis waiting to take us  to the Kastro hotel in central Heraklion. As luck would have it, we were driven by the grumpiest taxi driver in Europe who seemed determined to demonstrate how much his Mercedes E class could exceed every speed limit on the way. At one particular corner, tyres squealed and smoked! By now the LLW was at her tether's end and said taxi driver was told in no uncertain terms to slow down. He did so but this seemed to make him even more grumpy and he even refused the tip I offered him. I've never seen that before!

We settled in to our hotel and after a brief rest walked through the centre of Heraklion to the harbour. There are some lovely buildings from the Venetian and Ottoman eras and Heraklion must have been a very elegant city in those days.

Time for a beer and something to eat. The city centre was buzzing and the mass of people increased as it became dark. The choice seemed to be souvlaki or souvlaki so we chose a restaurant were we could observe the street theatre (and keep an eye on West Ham vs Southampton). Actually the food was quite good.

Time to wend our way back to the hotel and prepare for the island hopping stage of our holiday.

Sunday 25th: leaving Damnoni

Today we awoke bright and early contemplating leaving Damnoni about 3pm. I paid the bill and was very surprised to receive a hand written birthday card from the reception staff; a very nice touch.

We will spend the morning on the beach although it is quite windy again and then have a light lunch in our apartment before the 2 hour drive to Heraklion.

We will certainly return to Damnoni, it is a perfect early and late season holiday resort.

Saturday 24th. A trip to Agios Pavlos

Our guide book recommended the seaside resort of Agios Pavlos for its wonderful beaches and scenic coves so off we set inland at first through the very impressive Kourtaliotiko Gorge. The first part of the road was fine and we sped past the historic town of Spili and though some majestic scenery. However, our guide book did not warn us about the narrow, very steep, very windy and on several occasions incredibly precipitous road over the mountains. It was not too bad as long as there were no vehicles coming from the opposite direction but it was pretty hairy and certainly the trickiest road I have driven on for a while.

However, it was definitely worth it. Agios Pavlos is simply stunning with warm, clear blue water in a perfectly formed and quite enclosed bay. We had a walk along the bay and up some very steep steps to admire the view and then of course we just had to swim in this little paradise. Of course it was warm and clear but also the views back inland to the very high mountains were wonderful. In fact in preparation for out trip to Australia & New Zealand in December, I should say it was awesome!

After our dip we found a very nice taverna with a brilliant elevated view across the bay. Once again, we were very impressed by the efficient and enormously courteous service which we have experienced everywhere on out trip so far. Many a UK restaurant could take lessons from the Greeks in how to threat their customers.

Now we had to face the drive back but having experienced it once it did seem less daunting and we were soon back on the main road back to Damnoni.

Another swim from our lovely beach and then our last dinner at one of our 3 tavernas - which one to choose?

Tomorrow we will leave Damnoni mid afternoon to head back to Heraklion where will stay for one night before catching the early ferry to Santorini on Monday. We had decided to do this to avoid driving along some faintly difficult roads in the dark on Monday morning.

We are very sad to leave Damnoni, it is a lovely resort with everything needed for a relaxing week.

The Three Tavernas

As mentioned previously one of the delights of the Hapimag resort at Damnoni is the 3 different tavernas within 50 metre

s of the resort. They are all very good and ridiculously cheap - paysan cooking at its best. On one day we had chicken with okra and the next rabbit with grapes. Both were really good and at about €9 for very large portions were inexpensive to say the least.

Today, Friday we are staying around the resort and for the first time we are experiencing a very strong NE wind which is whipping up the sea but not cooling down the temperatures.

In Damnoni

The next few days were spent very locally with the LLW doing a fair few hours work and plenty of time on the beach, in the sea and in one of the tavernas.

All very relaxing and its quite easy to settle into the way and speed of life here - nothing happens in a hurry.

Crete was once again looking stunning but in contrast to the last time we visited at the end of April 2015, the countryside is looking much more arid.

We did venture forth on Thursday when we travelled the 40 mins or so along the coast to the lovely Korakas beach were we enjoyed yet another swim and then had lunch at the Virgin Mary taverna.

Having stopped in Plakias to replenish the dwindling kitty at the ATM, we took the short route up the mountain to Sellia. We had taken this route once before but nevertheless it was surprisingly steep and narrow.

The LLW was fascinated by the Hibiscus and here is one of the numerous photos taken of said plant.

On to Crete

Monday morning and the same old weather, sunny and very hot. Luckily it was a short walk to Syntagma metro but as we tried to buy our tickets the machine swallowed our €50 note. after much discussion with the station master he finally explained that he did not have the authority to open the cash box in the ticket machine and would have to wait for a technician to arrive. Given that our train was due to leave in 5 minutes we agreed to leave our details with the information office and collect (hopefully) our €50 note on our return in a week or so - we shall see.

We arrived at the airport in good time and whilst the queue for bag drop was long it moved quickly and we were soon through security and aboard to Aegean Airways flight (Aegean have apparently been the european regional airline of the year for 4 years running).

Landed on time at Heraklion and after the usual hassle of collecting the hire car (I do hate the lack of transparency in car hire contacts), we sped off in our Toyota Auris towards our destination of Damnoni of the south coast of Crete.

The Hapimag site at Damnoni is delightful and we wasted no time in unpacking and heading for the beautiful beach and clear blue sea - bliss.

One of the delights of Damnoni is that there are 3 traditional tavernas just 50 meters from the Hapimag site, right next to one another and overlooking the beach. All 3 are excellent and offer tremendous value with meals at about €25 including wine and a "free" desert and liqueur.

Sunday 18th September

We planned to travel to Vouliagmeni to see where we lived in 1980/81, to swim at the Lido and to have lunch there.

The travel instructions seemed to be fairly straightforward but it transpired that this was not the case. The metro to Elleniki was fine and quick but we were due to catch a bus from there to Vouliagmeni and that was where it became problematical. We had forgotten to bring the sheet of paper with bus number on it and decided to catch the first bus that arrived which was heading for Varkiza, the logic being that since it was travelling along Vouliagmenis Avenue then it would probably be heading in the right direction. However, after a few stops there was no sign of the central areas of Glyfada that we knew quite well and having asked a passenger and the driver we were advised get off at the next stop. We were horrified that this appeared to be in the middle of an urban jungle with no shade and very little sign of any buses until eventually the right bus came along only to completely ignore our sign for him to stop! Lots of taxis were passing by and many of them were empty apart from the driver, but none seemed interested in our fare!

Another bus eventually did arrive and we hopped on this to move on a few stops where again we alighted at a slightly less isolated spot and after a relatively short time a taxi stopped and we were in Vouliagmeni in 10 mins. Phew!

The Lido at Vouliagment is now much, much larger that when we lived there and since it was Sunday and 33C, it seemed that most of Athens was there. 

In 80/81 we owned a Hobie Cat catamaran and kept it on the beach here. We have very fond memories of sailing here in the beautiful bay and at times, particularly in the Autumn, the winds were fierce and the sailing very exciting. Often on Saturday mornings, I sailed the Hobie cat on my own out to an island just outside of the bay and on one occasion encountered a whale which circled me for a few minutes before deciding that I was not particularly interesting and swam off. The LLW has never really believed the story, but I'm sure that you dear reader will know that I would not exaggerate about this.

After Ray had a swim we headed off to find the apartment where we lived at Dekelias, 17. This was successfully located and photos duly taken. The apartment block itself has not changed but is now surrounded by many new developments.

Off to seek a taverna for what was now to be a late lunch and we found two close to the lido, both of which were open but deserted. Slightly puzzled by this we took the plunge and selected the more traditional looking of the two and were rewarded with an excellent lunch albeit with somewhat eccentric service.

The restaurant ordered a taxi and off we went to Elleniko station and the metro back to Acropolis station and our apartment in Plaka.

A good walk around the city center and then an early night as we had a flight to Heraklion the next morning.