Fancy Christmas in Syros?
Dimi
I replied with great enthusiasm! The few places in Greece I have visited have all been beautiful, so I was very much up for the idea of exploring a new place. I pictured us wrapped up in layers to keep warm against the cold winter days, coffee in hand and bright colourful lights, twinkling merry to let us know its Christmas… Let’s go!
Row, row, row your boat
From Athens, we set off early in the dark, windy morning to catch the train all the way to the end of the green line: Piraeus Port. Our boat tickets had been booked online on ferryscanner.com a few days before, so we headed straight to the ticket office but were told that, due to strong winds, our scheduled time of departure may be somewhat pushed back… Merry fucking Christmas!
Fast forward, a couple of hours spent wondering, wondering, wondering, eventually the bollards were bare of rope and our boat was free to move on water. We were on our way. It took about 4 hours to reach Syros.
Many steps, many cats
After our feet touched base and our sea legs acclimatized to static ground, we went in search of good coffee and a bite to eat by the port. Here we checked where and how far our accommodation was and the route to walk via Maps.me. We were staying in the capital: Ermoupolis. Dimi chose Airbnb to book our accommodation as the price was reasonable for the Christmas period and a last-minute booking.
Late afternoon, our route saw us passing by Miaouli Square and the Cathedral of Saint Nicholas. We climbed high up a great deal of steps, alive with copious amounts of cats going about their lazy day, through residential cobbled streets, until we came across our place, a little out of breath on my part! We were greeted by a charming black dog with a deformed paw, he was to be our neighbour for the next two nights.
Andreas, our Airbnb guy, welcomed us warmly and gave us the keys to our digs. His yard housed a tidy citrus tree of sorts, full of vibrant orange fruit, which we came to eat the following days. Juicy!
Darkness fell as our appetite for wander and food grew. So we headed down to the centre for a nosey. The hour was not particularly late and in contrary to how Greek standards go, which is to eat way past my bedtime (I’m British by the way), the streets we took were somewhat deserted. Quaint tavernas poised lifeless and in darkness, no chefs could be heard shouting orders to one another. We strolled the smooth marble streets, window-shopping the endless rows of brightly illuminated shops, until we took a right turn to stumble across life… jackpot! We found a small, cosily-lit taverna hosting a couple of groups of people. We hurried inside before they put the ‘closed sign’ up. Beautiful food and exuberant service made our first night in Syros a content one. I was excited to experience more. The restaurant’s name was Stin Ithaki tou Ai. I highly recommend you visit here.
On ya bike scooter
Christmas Eve!
That morning, Everest café in Miaouli Square supplied us with coffee and pastry. We took our seat in the shade, facing the Town Hall of Ermoupolis, where we sat for some time just people-watching. A herd of young boys played football loudly, families walked with prams, and young adults sold stuff on a long table set up close to the hall. What mostly occupied the square was several small groups of children singing Christmas carols for money to passersby, a Greek tradition. I wonder how much money Dimi made as a child?
Down by the port, we rented a scooter for 2 days for a decent cost (€5/day) from a guy who had many scooters lined up outside his shop. With our food shopping in hand (Dimi is cooking tonight!) and our tank filled up, we headed back to our place to quickly unload. I was put in charge of the GoPro while Dimi took the wheel. It was now time to hit the road and head to Americanou Beach, meaning the American’s Beach.
The road took us high and low, through small settlements, past green fields with various livestock animals that showed much interest in our noisy approach, and views of the deep blue sea stretching for miles in every direction. After roughly thirty minutes, travelling 9.3km, we reached Kampos Village, the northernmost point we could drive to. Here we disembarked, left our helmets on the handlebars in good faith they would not be stolen, and started on foot to the beach (would take approx. one hour, 2km in distance). We slowly followed the open, rocky path down, the sea staying in our view to the left as the noise of the goats got lost in the wind. After some time, a dense pine forest stood before us offering shelter. There was a little hut complemented with a well. The sound of our footsteps was silenced when our terrain changed from gravel to sand. All that could be heard was the shore roaring. We had the place to ourselves. We cracked open our beers and enjoyed the brilliantly red-orange sunset in blissful peace. We travelled back in the dark.
Christmas Day!
Belated Merry wishes for 2019. With the leftovers of Dimi’s homemade Christmas Eve tea (Greek salad, bread, cheese, and vegetables) digested nicely for breakfast, we put on our coats and headed south.
Azolimnos Beach was our first stop and offered us the beautiful colours of the sea against a threatening rain cloud overhead. In the summer, I’m sure this place is packed, today however, it was only us leaving prints in the sand.
Moving on at a decent pace, we passed many churches, homes and shops to then come to a place which was too tempting to drive by without stopping. Dimi parked the bike up and we sat on a bench to observe Vari Beach down below while Dimi smoked a ciggie. Two kayaks floated out to the open sea with the sun popping out intermittently, scattering rays on the water. What a lovely way to spend Christmas morning, it was a joy to watch them paddle.
As we continued south, a group of turkeys passed by us which was ironic given what day it was! The bike climbed high until it proved difficult to take it any further, it was time to stretch our legs and get warm. We had arrived at Viglostasi, the southernmost tip of the island and began on a short trail to encounter some stunning views.
Late afternoon, we crossed over to a village called Finikas on the west coast, where I noticed, for the first time today, a taverna full with people. Further along we slowed the bike down to check on our whereabouts and my ears took on a new but very familiar sound. With me being a veterinary nurse, my head was on a swivel caused by a high-pitched cry that could only belong to one thing… a kitten. I done my usual cat noise and soon enough she came climbing down from a decent height and bounded straight to us with much speed. We kept each other entertained for a bit, but then we had to say our goodbyes, which was made even harder by her wailing as she sprinted after our bike. It was heartbreaking, I only hope she is doing well today.
Galissa Beach was the last stop on our roughly 30km trip that lasted most of the day. The wind had picked up here as we climbed up a watchtower to see a little further. A dog walker loomed below with his terrier. I couldn’t help but think of the little kitten, she probably would have been bold enough to take on the dog.
Our bellies started to grumble, so we decided to take the road all the way back with no stops and find a place for our Christmas meal. We settled at a place by the port, sat outside by the warmth of the heaters, and cheered to our day’s adventure with a glass of tsipouro. It soon started pissing down.
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