I took the ferry from Çeşme to Chios (pronounced kios) on the 3rd. I was the lucky recipient of being the sole person to have to empty the entire contents of my bag for border control. The guy thought I'd some how come up with a way to fit cocaine into the air pockets of the foam cushioning in my bag. I was almost certain he was going to slice it open. Then had me answer a dozen times that this was indeed my bag. Thanks for being a dick just because I was American.
Chios isn't much to write about. The town is like most island towns here, it is built around the marina as the main focal point of the city. In Chios, the main road goes along the harbour and splits the shops and restaurants from the walk path. The affect this has is that it sucks; you don't want to sit in a cafe cause you have cars in your face and you don't really want to walk the path cause its uninviting. it does have a wall around part of it, but compared to other towns in Greece, its impressive. There is nothing resembling a hostel, so its not a great destination if you are traveling alone. I spent most of Wednesday morning trying to find a cheap place to stay. There are the hotels and pensions, but Greece has places that have a sign outside advertising rooms for rent. These are your cheapest option next to hostels. In the end I got one for €20. Always ask if they have cheaper rooms or will go less. Almost all will show you a room that isn't their cheapest, or they'll drop the price €5. The place I stayed had a great typical Greek lady running it. She was on the heavier side and hilarious. She spoke some English, but it was heavily accented so it was tough to understand.
It also turned out she was a level 2 reiki. She mentioned it to me when I asked her some places to see on the island. She said there was a sea cave that was great for reiki. She asked if I knew what it was, so I grabbed my big book of chi and turned to the reiki chapter. I tried to see if she'd do a session on me, but she said she couldn't for some reason.
For the most part Chios is kinda boring. It has some unique things to check out like mastica, which is a tree that only grows on that island. They make all sorts of veal out of the tree, or I think maybe the sap - gum, lotions, liquor, etc. The liquor is quiet sweet and really unique tasting.
I only planned on staying 2 nights, but Greece's ferry system is unpredictable and some routes don't run a lot, so I had to stay an extra night. I wanted to go to Rhodes, but there wasn't a direct way anymore. When I asked the picketing agency how to get there, they told me some way that included 3 transfers over the same amount of days and went through the cyclades, which is kinda the opposite direction. After hearing that, I decided Rhodes was not in the cards. On the last day I took a bus to the beach that Atome recommended. It was described as a black rock beach because a volcano had blown millions of black rocks there. I think they must have some special value to people cause it was mostly normal rocks; I saw 3 deep black ones. I tried to find this cave she mentioned too. Based on the accuracy of the black rock beach, I think I found it, and it wasn't as cool as she made it out to be.
In any case I pretty much had to go to the island of Samos. When I got there, I found out that there was a way to get there via the island of Kos the next day. I decided it was back on and stayed overnight in Pythagoria, Samos island. Pythagoria is really pretty. They really know how to work the harbour area to make it gorgeous. The town is small with the harbour surrounded on all sides by gentle hills. The affect it has is that streets and the houses seem to spring from the harbour. The harbour area has many nice restaurants geared toward tourists and the walkway is large and welcoming. There is a beach on the north side beyond the harbour and at night, the restaurants there set up tables almost into the water. It also has a castle and a really neat monastery. I'd consider staying there longer, but there isn't a hostel and the cheapest place is €25.
The next day I caught an early boat to Kos and transferred to Rhodes. On the way, you stop at other islands to pick up passengers and I must say that each town we stopped at seemed more beautiful and amazing than the last. As we pulled up to Rhodes, the first thing you'll notice is the wall and towers. The old town is completely surrounded by a wall and moat, with guard towers in key spots. The old town is pretty well preserved and if you can look past the tourist hordes and shops, it is quite a beautiful town. The side streets meandering, twist, turn, or abruptly end. There are arches down them, some with plants hanging their vines off. There is a big ass castle, restored mostly to its former glory. The moat is walkable and pleasant to just lay around in. I did manage to find one hostel. If a city has a hostel on the islands, it usually doesn't advertise itself on the internet. This particular one was a dump. It was probably the third crappiest one I've stayed at; I think the order is the one in Sorata Columbia, then Bangkok Thailand (not sure it counts since it didn't have dorms and was a brothel), then this one.
For €10 you got a bed in a room where he crammed more beds in than was meant to be. Serious, no floor space. You got a bed sheet but no sheet to put over yourself. No TP, no soap, no towel (hand or bath), no WiFi, one outlet to charge phones in the entire place, not allowed to bring in alcohol, no guests, no place to store valuables, check out at 10am, if you wanted to shower in the not so nice showers after check out it was €3, no doing laundry in the sinks, etc. Add all that to it needing upkeep badly or it will crumble to the ground in 5 years and you got a pretty shitty place. The guy tried to be nice, but it was clear he just wanted money. With as little effort he was putting in and corners he was cutting, I imagine he was making a killing. The one nice thing I can say is that the courtyard area was quite pleasant.
Even though it was cheap, I couldnt bring myself to stay in that place any more than two nights. Plus, I couldn't afford anything better and because the boats to Crete didn't leave everyday, it limited my time to less time than I would have liked.
The second day, some Spanish girls (Eva, Mariona, Judit, Helena) invited me to drive around with them to see some things a couple Greek guys recommended. They were really nice and Eva reminds me a lot of my old roommate Nicole, so I immediately took to her. It sounded fun and way better than anything I had planned. They rented a car (I chipped in), and we drive to "seven springs" and several beaches. Seven springs was a dud. It is just seven small spots where underground spring water is coming out. You can drink the water but we didn't. There is a restaurant practically sitting on top of them. You could probably hike around, but we didn't. The beaches were nice. We stopped at three. One was a normal, run of the mill, beach another was set in amongst some really beautiful hills, and the last was set in two separate coves. The last one was the best. There wasn't any sand to lay out on, but the coves were climbed in and the water was crystal clear and turquoise. Side note - the water here is such an amazing color. Next to the islands it tends to be bright turquoise and very clear, and further out it is a deep dark blue lighter and more blue than black than the pacific ocean, but similar to the color of my old room at my moms house - end. Oh yeah, and we saw octopus.
The next day I walked around Rhodes, mostly out to some ancient stadium. It was a bit of a walk and I forgot my map, so I just hoped I'd end up in the right spot. The ruins were really my first intro to the kind you'd think of if I asked you to close your eyes and picture Greek ruins; tall ass pillars and stuff. I was slightly concerned about time cause I didn't want to stay in that shit hole any more nights, but my boat was a few hours late so I didn't need to worry. Some of these ferries are the size of cruise liners, but you don't have to book a room. Mine was overnight and, like many many people, I slept on the floor under a set of stairs. At first I had the spot to myself, but right before I passed out, some Polish people came in mass. They tried to talk to me, but I basically blew them off cause I was tired. They even wanted me to drink some whiskey with them, but I just laughed at them.
The ferry for Crete stops in Heraklio, but I was staying in Rethymno, which is an hour and a half bus away. Heraklio is the biggest town on Crete and is kinda a zoo. Don't stay there if you have a choice. I chose my city cause it had a well ranked hostel. One thing I learned for Greece is to buy your ferry ticket the first chance you get. It sucks cause you can't decide after knowing whether you like the place; not really go with the flow. But, that's what you have to do during high season cause, like what happened here, they're booked out. Luckily, it was only an extra day and not five.
Crete is peculiar. While it's not as pretty in the areas I've been on Crete vs other islands, it has a vibe that really makes you wanna stay. Some of the people in my hostel have been here for weeks, some came intending to stay a few days but found themselves here much longer, some can't leave cause the sea won't let them. The people in my hostel were great. The ages vary quite a bit, but no one is excluded. There are some girls my sisters age mingling with forty year olds, and all the rest like me, in-between. Ryan, a guy from Cali, is working contract military jobs in Afghanistan. He doesn't strike me as the normal military guy. In fact, I wasn't sure I believed him when he said he served four years in the marines. We talked some about what he was doing out there. The rest of the group were some Ozzies, Marcus, Carmen, Dave, and Lexi; the last two of whom I may cross paths with again or may travel with a little. Also, a Greek chick, Isabel, and a crazy Brit named Steve. That's pretty much the group with some rotations occasionally. I haven't really been out since my bday and since everything happens so late here, I've gone out with them twice. I actuallymanaged to spend only about €10 each time. Anyway, its been nice to have some people to chill with.
One Danish guy here named Peter turned out to be a reiki master. That makes it that I've met every level and I met them in order of the levels. Masters can teach, but he said he was rusty at teaching and needed more people anyhow. I'm not sure I'd choose him as a teacher anyhow because I wasn't completely comfortable and he is super long winded. Really nice guy though. We talked a lot about it and he gave me really helpful insights into the practice and also some meditation techniques. Even though by no means did he teach me any reiki, he did show me an exercise where I felt chi in my hands. It was incredible. All this is too much for coincidence. I'm definitely looking up some masters when I get back and take a level one instruction.
My last day I went to Knossos, which have the ruins of a Minoan palace. This palace is mostly in crumble, but Author Evans has restored much to resemble what it may have look like. The palace is a huge labyrinth of rooms from about 2000BC. This palace is, in fact, where the legend of the minotaur came from. If you got some time to kill and aren't doing some gorge hiking or whatnot, they are easy to get to and worth a peak. TIP - if you are staying in Rethymno, tours leave only on certain days of the week and the one on Fridays is €15. It is a guided tour of the ruins, plus shopping. However, you can substitute shopping for a self tour of the museum while others shop. The other tours are €30 or doing it yourself by taking the bus costs €18 and no guide. Also, they have a stupid setup at the ruins. I didn't pay the entrance fee. If its busy, the ticket booth won't see you, and like normal Greeks the ticket checker at the entrance to the ruins will be yacking away. The exit and entrance are at the same spot and its just way too easy to not pay. I followed some other people who did the same. Just keep in mind you may not enjoy them as much cause you may be partly concerned about caught by someone.
Tomorrow I leave for Santorini. Keep your fingers crossed.
These are some observations I've had on Greece so far:
Greece has a lot of ancient ruins, but also modern ruins. There are many many abandoned houses or mansions crumbling away. Even in the middle of towns you'll see these. It may add to the mystique of Greece and it may remind you that Greece is hurting. The EU wants to get hold of gold and oil here. They gave the bailout with the condition (and probably intending Greece to fail to pay it back), that if they can't pay it back the EU gets some of the islands. Atone speculated that they'll allow Greece to keep the islands but force them to give them the rights to the goods.
The food is stellar. I try to splurge a dinner every few days. I had some fresh mussels in tomato sauce that was to die for. I had some grilled feta and fried cheese. I really want to find some grilled octopus.
Lastly, this place is so great, I'm adding buying or leasing a sailboat and sailing the isles and other locales in the Mediterranean to my dream list. Obviously that's way down the line, but its on there now.
PS sorry if there are a bunch of errors on this, I did this from my phone
YOU'RE the bees knees
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