Leg 5: 7 Days in Greece

“If you deconstruct Greece, you will in the end see an olive tree, a grapevine, and a boat remain. That is, with as much, you reconstruct her“. This quote by Odysseas Elytis is popular in a number of Greek establishments and serves to capture the 3 most popular aspects of Greece – the food, the wine and the sea.

Why Greece?

Greece has been on our list for a long time. Every year since 2012 we’ve made at least one trip to Europe (2013 being a notable exception as we were both interning during the summer). Every time, Greece features as a possible destination. Each time we had to rule it out because we tried to book too late and Greece in the summer can get frightfully expensive. Baby in hand and with 2 weeks left before the official end of season (November 1 marks the start of “winter”) we finally made it to Greece.

Traveling with a baby

The most stressful part about travelling with Nadiya is the actual transit. Crowded, confined spaces (airplanes, airport departure halls) tended to amplify the stress levels. To get into Greece, we booked ourselves an Aegean Airlines flight (finally making use of Star Gold status!) from Krakow to Athens. Bad weather (there was dense fog in the morning) meant that our flight was delayed by over 2 hours. Ours was not the only flight to be delayed so the airport was a mess. Priority security clearance (yay Star Gold) helped us get to the waiting lounges quickly where we found a couple of seats and waited for boarding. We also managed to use the baby care room in Krakow airport (it was average at best – Bangalore airport is still the best one we’ve used so far!). The flight itself was short (2.5 hours) and we followed our tried and testing strategy of booking seats up front (usually empty!). We were probably more nervous than Nadiya through the whole airport wait – she handled the whole situation exceptionally well. Nisha has adopted a ‘feed on demand’ strategy with Nadiya when we are in such public spaces. This has meant that Nadiya has been fed in what we would have previously considered ‘socially awkward’ places (airport lounges, planes, trains, restaurants, bars, sidewalks) and in full public view. What we realized though is that nobody really cares to look! With a baby, people just tended to respect our space and let us be!

2 nights in Athens at the AthensWas Hotel

It was fairly late in the afternoon by the time we arrived in Athens. We checked into Hotel AthensWas . We found Athens to be surprisingly expensive for the quality of the hotels on offer. There are not too many international chains and the historic centre primarily houses boutique hotels. AthensWas had one of the smallest rooms that we had stayed in on our trip so we were glad that we only had 2 nights there (the small room size required us to do some gymnastics to make sure we didn’t trip over either the bags, the bed or the table in the room).  We decided on an early dinner at a restaurant in Athens famed Plaka district (5 minute walk from the hotel). It was the first of what ended up being many fabulous meals in Greece.

The Acropolis

The reason we chose AthensWas Hotel was its proximity to Athens most famous site – the Acropolis. The rooftop restaurant offered stunning views of this ancient wonder – the entrance to which was less than 10 minutes away by foot. We had read previously that this hilltop site was not stroller friendly (the reviews were right – the guards at the entrance were turning back folks with strollers owing to the steep climbs, stairs and generally large crowds). With Nadiya strapped to Nisha in the carrier, we set off to conquer the only wonder of the world that had eluded us so far! The other motivation for us to visit this site, strangely enough, was Yanni. We are big fans of the Greek composer and have listened to his album ‘Live at the Acropolis’ on multiple occasions. So to see the scene where he performed, even if many years after the fact, was special! Standing on top of the hill on which the Acropolis is located offers you get 360 degree panoramic views of Athens and you realize not only how massive the Greek capital is, but also how well organized this ancient city is (laid out in straight lines as far as the eye can see).

Greek Yogurt and Honey!

While in Athens, we fell in love with Greek Yogurt and Honey. We first had it at breakfast at the hotel and soon made it our ambition to source this divine combination at every possible instance. One such trip took us to a local market where the friendly proprietor starting extolling the virtues of Greek Yogurt. He also talked about how, after breast milk, one of the most absorbent liquids for babies was Extra Virgin Olive Oil (over 98% absorbed by babies) and how it was great for teething babies (something for us to try when Nadiya reaches that phase!). He signed off by showing us his most prized imports – packets of the incredibly spicy chili from India’s North East the Bhoot Jholakia (Ghost Chili). After another walk through the Plaka area, we decided to call it a night as we had an early start with a 7am ferry to the island of Naxos.

Getting to Naxos

Greece has about 1500 islands, of which about 500 are inhabited. Of these 500, most of the marketing efforts are spent on just 5 islands (descending order of popularity) – Santorini, Mykonos, Crete, Rhodes and Naxos. We picked Naxos as our first stop from Athens as it was reputed to be the most authentic of the lot. To get to Naxos, we took the Blue Star ferry from the port in Athens. This is the so called ‘slow ferry’ but we got ourselves a private 2-bed cabin and the boat was massive so it almost felt like we were in a hotel room for our 5 hour journey (there is a ‘faster’ 3 hour ferry to Naxos, but for the price of airplane style seats on the fast ferry you get the cabin on the slow ferry, so it was a bit of a no-brainer for us).  The journey to Naxos was the most comfortable one on our trip so far – if only we could do more of these!

2 nights at the Naxian Collection

We checked into the Naxian Collection hotel in Naxos for our 2 night stay on the island. Located about 10 minutes drive away from the main town in Naxos, this boutique property offered us large rooms (separate living area, outdoor dining and a shared pool) in a quiet almost rural setting.  We decided to spend the first evening around the hotel. Lunch at the in-house restaurant was fantastic. A 15 minute walk saw us reach Agios Prokopios, reputedly the island’s most beautiful beach. While it was nice, we’ve definitely seen better beaches around the world (and possibly even on this trip in Oman and Sri Lanka). We spent the rest of the evening getting the paperwork sorted out for our car rental to drive across the island the following day.

Driving around Naxos

Naxos is the largest of a group of 220 ‘Cycladic Islands’ in the Aegean sea (also comprising of Santorini and Mykonos). Given the distances, a car was the best way to see the traditional villages that still dot the mountains of Naxos. Our journey across the island started of with visits to some ancient temples and monuments that were over 2000 years old. As we started out ascent into the mountains, we managed to get lost and ended up with the experience of driving through extremely narrow (and steep!) Greek village roads before somehow managing to turn back on to the main road! The drive in the mountains was the highlight of our time in Naxos. For a beach side island, we were surprised by how cold it was at the top of the mountains (at one point we were driving through dense fog!). Our goal in the mountains was to find a family run tavern hidden in one of the village of Koronos. Google Maps was quite confused about the location, so we ended up parking our car near a church at the top of the village before descending into a maze of steep steps and narrow alleys. Nisha was convinced we were lost until we found a gentleman who told us just keep going straight and you will find it. A few more twists and turns through some amazing alleys and sure enough, we found the tavern. Run by an elderly lady and her husband (Mikala and Stavros), the tavern felt more like a home than a restaurant. Mikala had 5 items on the menu (all of which are grown on their family farm nearby); we ended up ordering 4 – all delicious! We proceeded to make our way back down to the main town for a sunset view of the temple of Apollo. Set up top of a hillock with the sea all around, the views of the sun going down on this picture frame like structure were fantastic. Good way to end our stay in Naxos.

Getting to Santorini

We took the fast ferry from Naxos to Santorini. The ferry was an hour late to begin with and somehow seemed to get delayed even further on the journey from Naxos to Santorini. So what should have been an 1h25m ride ended up being closer to 2h45m (in hindsight we should have just taken the ‘slow ferry’ which has a better reputation for punctuality).

 

Santorini is the most popular of the Greek islands and is home to supposedly the most famous sunset in the world. It is also known to be extremely crowded during the summer (and exorbitantly expensive; which explains why we had so many failed attempts to get to Greece). However, with 2 weeks to go till the official end of season, prices had finally tailed off and we were able to afford a room in the village of Oia for 3 nights. The island of Santorini has many towns/villages with Oia being the most sought after due its location (supposed to have best views of the sunset). With so much hype around the island, we were worried that we would be disappointed. Our first views of the island though were extremely memorable. Standing on the deck, we could see the massive cliffs that made the island so famous with its white villages built on the overhangs. The natural and man made elements complemented each other perfectly. On arrival at the port, our transfer to the hotel was waiting for us (we would highly recommend arranging for a transfer in advance in Santorini. There are usually a LOT of people that get off the boat and with a baby you tend to be among the last – by which time all taxis would have left. Additionally staying in cave hotel in Oia meant that you would need someone from the hotel to come pick you up from the center of village anyway (cars are not allowed on the main village streets and the rooms themselves are located down many steep steps below the main thoroughfare).

3 nights at Chaledonia Suites, Oia, Santorini

Our home for the 3 nights in Oia was the Chaledonia Suites, one of 18 cave hotels just below the main street. Every room has fantastic, clear views of the bay below and other villages of Santorini island towards the east. With both indoor and outdoor seating available in abundance in our room, it was tempting to just spend the day hanging around our room – and for the first 1.5 days in Santorini, that’s mostly what we did. Picnic style meals on the balcony facing the bay, extensive playtime with Nadiya and watching the sun rise and set in complete peace as the crowds above jostled with each other to get that perfect selfie. By around 7:30PM each evening, the village was deserted and would remains that way till about 9AM in the morning when the first buses enter Oia. During this period, you can literally hear the sound of silence and even a sneeze can travel across the village. It was surreal –  especially when juxtaposed with the number of people that are in the village during the day. (fun fact – the construction and hotel seasons complement each other in Santorini. Construction/renovations/remodeling is only allowed during November 1st – April 1st when major parts of the island are shut down for tourists).

Hiking around Santorini

Our third day in Santorini was probably one of the best days of our entire trip so far. We woke up in time for sunrise and walked along the mostly deserted streets of Oia to take in the views from all parts of the village in the morning. We then decided to hike up a mountain near Oia. ‘There are 2 chuches – 30 and 45 minutes away from here. The first one is a moderately steep climb but the second is a little more challenging’ – there were the instructions from the hotel concierge as we set off on the path that connects Oia to the capital of Santorini, Fira with Nadiya strapped on to Ajay on the carrier (the entire time in Greece we never used the stroller owing to the hilly terrain/steep steps so she was always on the carrier whenever we ventured out anywhere). The first church offered stunning views of Oia from the high vantage point on the mountain. We were tempted to turn back when a fellow traveler told us that getting to the second spot was worth the effort. And she was right! From high in the mountain, you have a 360 degree view of the entire island of Santorini with the sea down below. It’s a view that we won’t be forgetting in a hurry. The evening saw us climb down 280 steps (Oia is located on a cliff) to Amoudi Bay at sea level for a dinner with a sunset view. While the sunset itself was average (probably because we were there so late in the season), it did mark the perfect end to a thoroughly enjoyable stay in Greece.

Final thoughts

Overall, we loved Greece and will definitely go back to visit some of the other 495 islands that are not as popular. We did not have a single bad meal during our entire week there (you’ll have to try really hard to find a bad meal if you go there). It was such a privilege to witness the well preserved, every day way of life in the villages of Naxos. And Santorini, surprisingly lived up to all of its hype – its definitely worth a visit (at least in the shoulder season when the crowds are substantially lower). The best part about our week in Greece though was how the Greeks LOVED babies. It didn’t matter if they were young or old, male or female – anytime a local saw Nadiya they just went absolutely crazy trying to profess their love for her. It was so heartwarming. Greece in general and Santorini in particular was the first time on this trip where we felt we should have stayed longer.

The Next Stop…

Alas, all good things must come to an end. As we retired at the end of our last night in Santorini, we were both sad at the prospect of leaving Greece but also excited that our next destination was one that is harder to reach from Singapore that it should be – Portugal!

Visas

Greece, like Poland, is a part of the Schengen region. So our Schengen visas served the purpose for Greece as well.

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