... Island hopping begins...

I've been gone five days and I haven't been as dedicated as I thought I would be. But in Six-days we've been to three islands, mainland and have visited five towns/cities each have their own characteristics and charm.

Being here not even a week and already I've learned lessons, pretty  much everyday...
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Day 1 - February 26
Where was I? -  Athens (Mainland) & Ermoupoli (The Island of Syros)
Lesson Learned - Always ask cab in Athens how much fair will be to a certain area.

I met Math in the airport about midnight where we then continued our journey to a hotel where he had booked for the first night. Of course my lesson learned had to be right away as soon as we got to the hotel, I handed the Taxi driver 40 euros after he had said the cab ride was 28 euros and he then said he had no change. So now I know: always ask and always carry smaller change.

After a few hours of sleep we continued our adventure to visit some important sites in Athens like the Acropolis, National Garden, Temple of Zeus... etc.. On our way there we walked through markets that seemed to last for ages... We definitely stood out as tourists as we were walking with short sleeved shirts and everyone else was wearing winter jackets...

We then continued on to the port where to catch our ferry leaving for Syros. Our first Island.

It was late getting into the Island, and we searched for a up and down for the hotel suggested by the travel book (literally, the streets are kind of what you would imagine in Italy. Narrow and steep).  We finally found it but it turned out to be closed. Lucky, there was a little guest house next door that had room...

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Day 2 - February 27
Where was I - Ermoupoli & Galissus (the Island of Syros)
Lesson Learned - Always put the wallet back in the bag and don't loose it.

We woke up, ate breakfast and went to buy our next ticket to the island of Mykonos but there wasn't a ferry scheduled until the next day.

So we continued on and explored the island. This took us to an old settlement called Ano Syros... The doors are tiny. Something that you would imagine a little UMPA LUMPA to come out of.... after this expedition we thought of going to Galissus as a little adventure and to spend the night there since we had already stayed in Ermoupoli. So we hoped on a bus, bought our ticket and onward we went.

We got off, and soon realized that the town was closed. Nothing open except for a few sparse restaurants, no room to rent... nothing. And this is the moment I realized, shit... I don't have my wallet. Somehow it must have fallen out of my wallet our something.But don't worry I got it back. We stopped into a little restaurant and I somehow communicated with the restaurant people that I had lost my wallet. They called the bus line for me and the driver of the bus came to drop my wallet.

We then got the next bus to Ermoupoli to rent a room for the night before heading to the next island.

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Day 3 - February 28
Where was I - Ermoupli (Island of Syros) / Island of Tinos / Island of Mykonos
Lesson Learned - Try to listen to Announcements even though they are Greek to me.

Day started great. Got up early, ate breakfast and headed to the port bright and early to go to the Island of Mykonos.... this trip led to a detour.  We didn't know that there was a stop at another island prior to Mykonos. So when the ferry docked, we got off.... but not on Mykonos. On Tinos. When we realised this, it was too late, the ferry had left.

So we bought another ticket to Mykonos to leave late in the evening and explored Tinos. So we had another late check in Mykonos.

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Day 4 - March 1
Where was I - Chora (Island of Mykonos)
Lesson Learned - Don't lean too much into the water, the camera is probably bound to fall in (thank goodness my camera is waterproof)

The view over the city was beautiful from the room.

The village is one filled with streets that resemble a labyrinth. No cars are allowed downtown... as they won't fit. the larges width would be about 5-6 feet. The buildings around are about two stories high and all painted white. So everything looks the same... it was very difficult to take the same path twice.

There is a section of this city called "little Venice" where the restaurants/houses hang over the water. Like any other warm blooded tourist, I wanted to take a picture.... so I pulled my camera out. Leaned over and PLOP! The purple piece went for a swim into the Aegean sea... for which I followed. Shoes, pants and all... luckily it still works... luckily, I brought a waterproof :)

Our exploring adventures continued since we decided to stay an extra night to visit the Island of Mylos tomorrow...

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Day 5 - March 2
The day's not over yet... you'll have to wait to hear of where and what happens later....