Over the course of the three years I was in London, my impression of the Cyclades, the most famous collection of Greek islands, changed from the idealistic, clear-watered honeymoon destination that Americans often think of; to the drunken, Cancun-like destination that I feared the young Brits had made it into.
I found that both were true depending on which island you find yourself on. We did see a few honeymooners and enjoyed idealistic beaches, but also encountered the kind of debauchery you usually only read about (not encountered entirely first hand, of course).
Outside of the obvious draws of beaches, amazing food, and relaxed atmosphere, Tom and I had a good reason to go to Greece at this point in our trip - my friends Kara and Alyssa had organized 18 friends to meet on the island of Syros, hop on two sailboats, and head off for a week of sailing in the Cyclades. We thought this would be the perfect feather in our adventure cap. Plus, it would give me a chance to relax and recover after almost a month in Africa and before diving into the next big portion of my trip in the Middle East. We were right that it was an amazing end to Tom's journey, but it was way too much fun to be a simple relaxing beach holiday for me. Maybe I'll recover on another continent.
Syros
We met the group at the docks on Syros and started to become acquainted with Thomas, our French captain, and the tiny cabin where Tom and I would share the next six nights. Cozy. Our minuscule hostel rooms suddenly looked palatial, but waking each day to the sound and sight of crystal clear water sparkling in the morning sun made it worth it.
Upon arrival, we were told that we were "stuck" on Syros for a few days since the winds were at first non-existent, and then instantly too strong. Apparently that is a common problem in the Mediterranean, and as we were excited to get out on the open water, it kinda took the wind out of our sails. But we were still on this gorgeous, peaceful island, so remembering this, we cheered up and life didn't seem so bad.
Instead of sailing, we rented scooters and headed out to explore. This was my first scooter experience, and despite a few wobbles, I did pretty well and never felt more Greek in my life. Tom, however, never felt more American as he made his way out of the driveway of the shop his balance was thrown off (I think by a passing bee) and he toppled over with the owner looking on, yelling - "WHY?? WHY??" as if we killed his puppy. The scooter was fine, but Tom's foot was scrapped up and needed some mending. Soon after, we were at the beach enjoying the never-ending Greek sun and our friend Matt returned from a swim with a report that a stingray had taken a liking to his forearm. An inauspicious start to our sailing, but a good chance for me to break out my impressive medical kit - happy it wasn't me that needed attention!
Paros
We finally sailing a bit on the third day, spending a day and night on the stunning island of Paros. If someone were to ask me for a recommendation of a honeymoon destination, this would be it. The quintessential "white Cyclades" style housing is in full effect here, creating a warm, clean effect in the winding alleys of the main village. We had dinner in the courtyard of a restaurant where the friendly owner made recommendations and plied us with smiles, ouzo, and lemoncello at the end of the meal.
Naxos
The next island, Naxos, was my favorite. As the winds had died again, we were once again stuck for a few days, and I was thrilled. Naxos has a lot of the same while painted stone buildings, but seemed to be half the price of Paros, and had none of the pretension.
After the excitement of our scooter experience on Syros, we opted for safer four-wheel ATVs and set off to explore the island.
Winding our way through a number of country villages with stunning views of the sea, we stopped at a slightly secluded portion of the beach that one guy had taken note of during his early morning ride.
Coming over the dunes, we saw the reason he was keen to return - two women were standing in full view, with no apprehension, completely naked. It was, of course, a nude beach and despite several of the guy's "when in Greece comments, our group wasn't yet European enough to join in. We sunbathed for a bit while the girls giggled at the men strutting along the water with the flags flying free, until the winds picked up and we decided to hit the road.
Heading into the upper reaches of Naxo's impressive mountains, we finally reached our destination - a 6th century BC marble statue, the pride of Naxos. Turning the corner into the statue's courtyard, Tom remarked, "where is it?" Turns out, it was a statue that had fallen over, broke it's leg, and was left by the sculptors. Now it looks like a vague shape of a drunken man passed out on a slope in the woods. After seeing the pyramids only a week before, we were definitely not impressed. But I thought it was quaint that Naxos would celebrate this discarded relic.
The hunt for the statue, however, lead us to one of Naxos' real treats - the marble quarry. This is the same quarry that has been providing almost all of Greece's marble for thousands of years. It was completely unexpected - in full view from the road, it looked as if they are gradually chopping off the top of the mountain, the way I can remember my Earth Science teacher describing the way "a zit looks when you shave over it."
To top off a great day, we followed the recommendation from the guy in the boat next to ours and headed even further into the hills to the most incredible little village I've ever seen. It had similar white buildings and windy cobbled streets, but appeared as if tourists rarely came this far, which made us finally feel like we were getting a taste of real Greek island culture. It's magnificent. Long dinners of rich food shared with the table - Greek salads, tzatziki, lovely grilled meats, olives - and lively conversation give way to a few glasses of ouzo and last past midnight, even with the kids still running through the streets playing games with the cats. Our dinner was hands down the best I've had on my trip, enjoyed with a quality bottle of Greek wine, of course. Feeling cozy and welcomed in Greece, we woke before sunrise to excellent winds for our long sail to Mykonos with the boat tilting at an incredible angle for much of the trip.
Mykonos
We arrived early, but on Mykonos there is no early or late, and the music was already pumping from the clubs on Paradise beach. Mykonos is one of the islands that made my list of "spoiled by British teens," but we still had a lot of fun. The beaches are certainly worthy of praise and though it was significantly more crowded than other islands, at the right time you can still find a bit of peace.
Coming over the dunes, we saw the reason he was keen to return - two women were standing in full view, with no apprehension, completely naked. It was, of course, a nude beach and despite several of the guy's "when in Greece comments, our group wasn't yet European enough to join in. We sunbathed for a bit while the girls giggled at the men strutting along the water with the flags flying free, until the winds picked up and we decided to hit the road.
Heading into the upper reaches of Naxo's impressive mountains, we finally reached our destination - a 6th century BC marble statue, the pride of Naxos. Turning the corner into the statue's courtyard, Tom remarked, "where is it?" Turns out, it was a statue that had fallen over, broke it's leg, and was left by the sculptors. Now it looks like a vague shape of a drunken man passed out on a slope in the woods. After seeing the pyramids only a week before, we were definitely not impressed. But I thought it was quaint that Naxos would celebrate this discarded relic.
The hunt for the statue, however, lead us to one of Naxos' real treats - the marble quarry. This is the same quarry that has been providing almost all of Greece's marble for thousands of years. It was completely unexpected - in full view from the road, it looked as if they are gradually chopping off the top of the mountain, the way I can remember my Earth Science teacher describing the way "a zit looks when you shave over it."
To top off a great day, we followed the recommendation from the guy in the boat next to ours and headed even further into the hills to the most incredible little village I've ever seen. It had similar white buildings and windy cobbled streets, but appeared as if tourists rarely came this far, which made us finally feel like we were getting a taste of real Greek island culture. It's magnificent. Long dinners of rich food shared with the table - Greek salads, tzatziki, lovely grilled meats, olives - and lively conversation give way to a few glasses of ouzo and last past midnight, even with the kids still running through the streets playing games with the cats. Our dinner was hands down the best I've had on my trip, enjoyed with a quality bottle of Greek wine, of course. Feeling cozy and welcomed in Greece, we woke before sunrise to excellent winds for our long sail to Mykonos with the boat tilting at an incredible angle for much of the trip.
Mykonos
We arrived early, but on Mykonos there is no early or late, and the music was already pumping from the clubs on Paradise beach. Mykonos is one of the islands that made my list of "spoiled by British teens," but we still had a lot of fun. The beaches are certainly worthy of praise and though it was significantly more crowded than other islands, at the right time you can still find a bit of peace.
After the peace of Naxos, a bold club called Space was not where I wanted to spend my night. So we made our way out of town to the edge of Paradise beach, near where our boat was docked. There, we found Cavo Paradiso - a famous club where celebrity DJ David Morales started spinning after midnight for the full moon party. After the early morning sail, I only had energy to make it until about 5:30, but couldn't make it for the climax of sunup. Tom was there though all the way with fists pumping...very impressive! The next morning, beyond weary, we got on fast boat back to Athens for Tom's last days.
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