Greece Day 3

Monday started early. We were out of the hotel and in a taxi by 7:15. The ride down to the port was quick until we got to the port and then there was plenty of traffic. Our drive dropped us off right near the ferry. The Ferry is huge which surprised Pam as she was expecting a small ferry, think the ferry we took in Vermont. This is far larger. We boarded from the back of the ship (next to the vehicle loading ramp). We dropped our luggage off alongside the vehicle area and then took two escalators up and headed to the aft of the ship. We finally wound up on the top aft deck of the ship. As the sky got lighter, you could see many ferries of all sizes docked in the port and further along was the industrial port.

As we headed out in to the Med you could see the sun rising over the mountain behind Athens, at first just a small sliver. It was going to be an overcast day. The ferry ride was uneventful. The tables next to the one Pam and I sat were loaded with an extended family of Aussies. 2 brothers and 2 sisters, and one of the sister’s Brother’s family. They were all taking holiday and made arrangements to meet on the ferry on the way to Paros. Some were staying for a longer period of time and others were headed home in a couple days.

We disembarked and shared a taxi to Drios which is on the other side of the island. The woman in the taxi with us is staying at a town just to the north of us.
We are staying at the Sea View. By name it should be on the Jersey Shore, but that is where the similarities end. It is run/owned(?) by a husband and wife. The wife, Pat, moved from Greece to NYC when she was 8 and moved back to Greece 15 years ago. The rooms are not large, but are nice and have a porch (where I am typing now), there is a lovely pool and it is all very lovely.

We were hungry, so we walked the 30 yards into town and ate at the local restaurant. The food was excellent and she was very proud of what she served, which was nice.
After lunch we went to the local beach. The beach is a stone beach and not so nice on the feet. On the other hand, the water is a clear crystalline blue!

A word about climate and landscape. Greece does not get a lot of rain. The islands are virtually deserts. Unlike the Sahara, the islands are humid. The dry hot air originates over the Sahara and as is moves across the Mediterranean, it picks up a lot of moisture. From what I can gather, most of the moisture gets caught in the mountains on each island and as dew in the mornings. The landscape here is very dramatic!