Greece in Summer Part 1
I landed in Athens on a breezy sunny afternoon. The entire week that I spent in Greece was sunny and windy, no humidity, and hence not tiring as a tourist. There are about 76 museums in this city. Most attractive is the Acropolis Museum. Excavated archaeological statues are placed here; each one telling a story of bygone era. The ground level of museum is built upon the excavated area and the floor is made of glass so that one can see the area that was dug. When you reach the top floor of the museum you get a wonderful view of the Acropolis.
The Acropolis (meaning highest point of the city) is a fortress, now in ruins. As the name suggests, it is located on a hilltop. A comfortable walking path with a slight gradient is constructed for tourists. To regulate the flow of tourists, a limited number of tourists are allowed to enter the area in specified time slots. The final climb has steep steps and so does the final climb down.
The islands of Greece are major tourist attractions. One will have to go by ferry services that are available: conventional or high-speed. The difference being that conventional ferries are larger, have more luggage space and can carry more vehicles as compared to high-speed ferries that are smaller. Passenger capacity is 2000 approximately in both cases. The conventional one is a steadier experience as compared to high-speed one. It takes about five to six hours from Piraeus to Mykonos or Santorini. Piraeus is the largest port in Athens built about 500 years ago.
We left for Mykonos on a conventional ferry (one way ticket 40.50 euros). It was an amazing experience to see the sea in its different colours. Mykonos (pronounced Mikonos) is a party island, in the Aegean Sea. The private beaches have parties every night that run into the wee hours of morning. Entry fee is 30 Euros or so. All houses in Mykonos are painted in white (walls) and blue (doors and windows). An official order is in place for this uniform look of the city. There is a relationship to the white and blue flag of Greece.
Mykonos is a small place (about 86 sq kms), narrow paths and population of about 10,000 only. In summer tourists explode the population to 80,000 to 100,000; outnumbering the locals by many times. Big vehicles cannot manoeuvre in these lanes and tourists have to walk around in the alleys for eateries and shopping.
Overlooking the Aegean Sea are houses just beside the water front. It is therefore referred to as Little Venice. On a hilltop are 16th century windmills. One can get a wonderful view of the waterfront from this point. This is an expensive island. A Greek lunch for two cost us 46 Euros.
The next day we left for Santorini island. (Details in Greece in Summer – Part 2 )