Samos, la isla de Pitagoras

Our last island in Greece, and it turns out to be a bit of a reencounter with Ancient Greece. And of course, a last dip in blue blue waters.
But all of these under the vigilant look:

          ;)

Samos, the island of Pythagoras. And it is truly that, at least for me, as I ride through the different places in the city and imagine the philosopher walking around them as well....

el Dodekaneso....

And as we make our way East we leave the Kyclades for the Dodekaneso: 12 islands for the 12 gods.
Temples and archeological sites plague the area according to my maps. Ancient Greece again. To my surprise though, to see upon arrival at Kalimnos but Venetian buildings. The Dodekaneso, it was time after time occupied but its the Venetian building style that the city has kept.
The end of September marks the end of the season as well. Very few tourist now walk the streets. And as they go home our time also comes to think of an ending to this periple. Fortunately for us, fishing is never out of season, so we look for low prices as we try to gulf down as many sea creatures as we can. Our daily menu in Kalymnos: fish, octopus, squid, shellfish, more fish, and more creatures and our daily chef: yours truly :) ...
The moon is far from full now but it still shines the way: to the East lays Turkey waiting for us.....

Iraklia!!!!!!!!!!!

I had been told that every island has its own character & charm... and to that I was ready, but to find such extremes, I was far from ready....

 Compared to Santorini with its tourist galore (talking about cruise ships only, about 3x a day each one with 2000+ people in late September), Iraklia is a sea of tranquility.
In our five day stay, there were no more than 50 different faces into which we run into..... Our social life is blessed, however, with daily visit of a herd of goats that make their way to the sweet water point not too far from our tent. And of course, the goat shepperd and his wife make part of this social elite as well. Pity, since their little English and my non-existent Greek make for but small chat. Still, the faces say a lot....

 Days pass by with ease,with nothing much to do except read a book, look for underwater caves, play "how many goats can you see in the mountain" and a daily hike to the top of the island to see the view of the kyclades. Iraklia is a small island and its just in the middle of the Kyclades circle, so,on a clear day, all the rest of the island can be seen. A small mountain and clear pristine waters ( a Greek standard I refuse to take for granted) , thats it. A true delight....

quick stop?

 What I thought of as a forced stop turned out to be a refreshing new experience. The main player:our landlady.A short older woman, never to break the "all in black" attire and who definetely never does take "no" for an answer,specially when it comes to food ;)
a 2 day memorable stop...

From Naxos we take her stories, memories of sweet snorkeling sites, a hangover of local wine while watching some small show, and a few bruises to remind us to try and walk slower when drunk...
 :)

.....Kallisti......

 A la más bella..........

 Coming in on the ferry Santorini looks pretty but I couldnt see all the fuzz about it. But i had decided to give it a try. Im glad I did.
A total of seven days in the island, staying at different cities and in different accomodation types. At last we get installed in the north part of the island, Oia. By the time we got here, we had already learned the rules, you have to endure the 1100 to1600 horde of cruise ship tourists, to shy away from overcrowded restaurants with menus in every language but Greek and to keep an eye open for donkeys coming your way. And we endured it because when putting all these nuissances aside, the island's beauty starts to come thru: created by volcanic eruptions and a massive earthquake, Santorini is another proof god likes to play favourites..

A true photographer's dream, the hours I spent just walking and taking photos time and again....

Paros & the Kyclades

 Our first encounter with a white city comes with the name of Naoussa: white and blue everywhere. We almost feel in a postcard.
Little back alleyways take us thru a white and blue labyrinth: small windows each with small flower pots, cats at every corner, and the blue sea as background let us know we are in the cyclades ....

Atenas

Kalimera.....

the road from Patras to Athens, the beginning of Ancient Greece for us and the chance to experience the change in culture as we jump around from one Greek civilization to the next one: Corinto, Olimpo, Esparta, all of them so powerful, all of them entrapped in small spaces and nothing much left of either one, except the feeling of ageness...eh eh .....

Corfu

 Before leaving Puglia I talked to my CS host about my plans: Italy, then Greece, then Turkey.
"Good choice", he said, "we're all the same but a little different, you'll see"....
I crossed the bit of water separating Puglia and Corfu last night to encounter that he had told me today: I´ve encountered an Italy with a different language and it has taken the name of Corfu. Venetian style buildings, laid back people; shops, cafes, streets and alleyways still carry that Italian flavour.Ancient Greece awaits to be seen yet...

 And we head North. A half loop around the island (up and down thru beach towns; searching for half inhabited spots) but as we ride it is not Greece that impresses us but the view of the Albanian Mountain Ridge. So close I feel I can jump (or at least) swim to it. It stands high. Arid. Mighty. touching the water almost. A sight to be remembered. Maybe also Odiseo's last sight before leaving for Ithaca.... ;)

verano

the idea is as follows, head south, take a left, a few rights and go around the lake...

Gatona

http://www.bikely.com/

not a plan but a general direction...
once in Greece Ill decide what to do in Turkey, a couple thousand kms to get there seem but a few but another two weeks to start the journey, an eternity....