Athens, then back home

 

View south from Mount Lycabettus

Leaving Tinos, we caught a ferry to Rafina (Fast Ferries Theologos P).  Arriving Rafina at 530pm, we had booked a Welcome Pickups taxi to take us to our hotel in Athens. A little pricey, but it got us into our room by 630pm and out for dinner (the alternative would have been the KTEL bus, and we wouldn't have made it to our hotel until 7:30-8:30pm).

Athens' busyness was a bit of a shock. After 4 weeks on various quiet islands, we weren't really ready for crowds and noise. For many, however, Athens is a pretty interesting place (and is even for us at times, but then it seems to become just too much).

First day, we opted to walk up Mount Lycabettus, the highest point in central Athens (277m). It was our first visit and the slog was well worth it: great views!

At Mount Lycabettus

The second day, we again opted to do some walking where we've not been before: Philopapou Hill, directly across from the Acropolis. Lots of good paths for walking, including past "Socrate's Prison" (rumoured but not likely).

Mt. Lycabettus (from Philopapou Hill)

 

 

 

 

Last selfie, with Acropolis behind (from Philopapou)

Mt. Lycabettus and Acropolis (from Philopapou)

 

We had planned (and paid for) three nights in Athens, but had to change our plans due to a general strike called for November 9th, the day of our 6:55am flight. First indications were that all public transport, including taxis, would be shut down, and we would not be able to get to the airport. So, we booked a night out at the Sofitel at the airport ($$$) and checked out of our hotel in Athens at about 5 pm (no refund) and took the bus out to the airport. It kinda ruined our last-night plans, but it ensured all went smoothly the next morning.  (As it turned out, we might have been able to get a legal taxi/car service at 4 am, but we didn't get this updated information until after we made the changes.) Strikes in Greece are quite common (our leaving day in 2019 also had a bus/metro, but not taxi, strike).

Last night for feeding the cats

Flights back to Vancouver (via Frankfurt) all went well, though we didn't get much sleep (noisy kids). Arrived to a sunny afternoon in Vancouver and an easy drive home to Whistler.

 

A truly great trip. (Can't wait to return....)

Tinos... perfect for hikers!

 

Hiking trails on Tinos (from "Tinos Trails" app)

We decided to spend a week on Tinos. We'd read that even in Summer Tinos wasn't overrun with tourists (are you detecting a theme yet?) and that it had well-organized hiking trails. As it turned out, both are true (at least, for early November).

Being early November, many restaurants and hotels were shutting down for the season. Fortunately, we had a great little studio ("Acanthus Houses") near the port and main town (referred to by tourists as "Tinos town" but known as "Chora" to locals). Chora was larger than we expected, but still relatively small.

Chora (Tinos Town) waterfront

 

There were many hiking trails to choose from, all reasonably well described by an app devoted to hiking on Tinos called "Tinos Trails". We made good use of this helpful app. Some required transportation to the trailhead -- fortunately the local bus system worked very well for us (the scheduled times were accurate and dependable).

Trail markers, sign posts, and even maps were regularly present on all the main trails

We did 4 hikes over the 6 days we were on Tinos, plus walks around Chora as well as to the lovely beach at Kionia (2km out of town; 21°C sea temp was just warm enough for a swim). Most hikes were 2.5-3 hours (excluding breaks or bus transport), and most took us to multiple villages up in the mountains.

On the way up from Kionia; village of Ktinados in the distance

Approaching Ktinados

Ktinados

Looking down at Chora (from below Ktinados)

All over Tinos, we came across Tinos Dovecotes. These were used for breeding of doves (for food), and became a symbol of prosperity and prestige on Tinos. Apparently, there are over 900 of them on Tinos.

Tinian dovecote

Hiking near Steni and Falatados

Looking up at Exombourgo (site of a ruined castle)

Some beach time at Kionia

Hiking near Pyrgos (the marble capital...)

Hiking down from Pyrgos to Panormos

Long, hot slog up from beach at Rochari to village of Platia above Pyrgos (mostly rock stairs,  reminding us of trekking in Nepal)

Catching the bus in Pyrgos back to Chora

Chora on Tinos is the site of Ieros Naos Evangelistrias, a major pilgrimage site. The nun Pelagia, who became Agia Pelagia (Saint Pelagia), was from Tinos and had her visions of Panagia Evangelistria,  which led to the discovery of an ancient icon of the annunciation.

Chora: Ieros Naos Evangelistrias

Saint Pelagia of Tinos

As secular as we are, we felt it appropriate to make our own pilgrimage to the place of our boat's namesake, Agia Pelagia.*

Sadly, the week went by too quickly, and it was time to start our trek home. First, taking a ferry to Rafina and then taxi to visit Athens for a few days.

* There is another "Saint Pelagia" (of Antioch), but our Pelagia (the boat) is named after Agia Pelagia of Tinos.