Folegandros (Greek Island)

Ahhhh...so this is why people speak in hushed tones about the Greek Islands. After an insane experience of organized choas that is the Athens ferry terminal (example: a truck tried to drive off our ferry when we were departing - Die Hard style) we arrived in the port of Folegandros.

We had no idea they made so many brilliant shades of white and blue.

There are several small beaches on the island, and we decided to take a bus to the other edge of the island, and hike the 'small' distance to the beach 'Agios Georgios'. I say small, as in looking a map and saying 'that doesn't look very far'. It ended up being a 8km round trip hike up and down extremely hilly terrain on a goat path. If our legs hadn't tripled in muscle from all the walking we'd done previously, we could have been in trouble.

.........

We hurled our sweaty bodies into the spectacularly clear water of the remote beach. Unusual little stone 'beach houses' built by local people ringed the outer edges of the area. After a pinic lunch, another swim and a rather hot trudge back to town, we found ourselves in the hotel garden for some cool drinks and shade. A really good time to visit the island is September, when the prices are cut in half, but the weather keeps up the good times.



As promised, a steed of incredible power was rented the next day, which took us both all over the island. The beaches are accessible largely via the sand/dirt road made up of extremely steep grades (20-45 degrees). Add into this equation a small woman clinging onto a very large man learning how to drive a gutless Peaugot 206 moped up a sand hill, and some hilarity ensues. Going down the steep roads was relatively easy, but the series of long steep climbs back to town quickly overheated and overpowered our little machine.



Aaccelerator pinned, and the engine making hideous whining noises, the moped would begin to move slower and slower, and eventually backwards until Anette hopped off and Brad pushed it up the remaining hill. Still, other than these small problems, we had a blast visiting the white churches which seem to outnumber the people living here. Check out 'Anette kenevil' here, seconds before a perfect backflip.



All of the food we had was great, and we tried as many spots off the beaten path as we could. Anette went to the extent of ordering 'local small goat - oven'. A hilarious and unquestionably informative dish name. Cats are a bit of a fixture on these islands, and are quick to take advantage of the odd scrap thrown their way. It wasn't unusual to to find one lounging on your table before you sat down or a half dozen circling while you ate your small local goat.

Folegandros is was the first place we visited that which we were quite upset about leaving. The beautiful town, uncrowded beaches, incredible food and friendly locals made us feel very much at home. Anyone looking to come to Greece should look to Folegandros first, as a rare spot still relatively untouched by mass tourism .

Speaking of mass tourism, we're off to Mykonos! (Not on that ship though!)

UPDATE

Due to Metlemi (Greek for freaking big waves and strong winds) our ferry was two hours late for our connection at the island of IOS as we were island hopping over to our destination of Mykonos. The next connection is the next morning, when it will take us to the island of Santorini for an eight hour layover, and we will finally arrive in Mykonos over two days after we left, rather than the three hours it was originally going to take. Some quick pics of a pirate bar in Ios, and then the town on Santorini are below..not a bad couple places to get stuck.