We are staying at our last Greek Island stop on our week long cruise, and will be leaving for home soon.
A little summary of the islands we've visited:
Kalymnos, Greece was a quaint touristy Greek island about 150 miles off the coast of Greek mainland. Here, we had a delicious calimari lunch, fresh from the ocean, at a cafe on the seaside. We took a crowded bus to a jagged, rocky beach - and only stayed there for about 45 minutes. Our first impression of the beaches here was that the water was incredibly deep clear blue, void of silt, seaweed, and creepy sea animals. Not happy with the jagged rocks, we walked down the seaside to Masouri beach, which had sandy beaches and umbrellas. We stayed there for hours, had a nice dinner on the island.
Bodrum, Turkey was not quite what I was hoping for. I envisioned a thriving Turkish culture, with plenty of shopping for traditional clothing and jewelry for my bellydancing needs. Unfortunately, Bodrum was another western touristy city, filled with junk clothing and souvineers. After coming to grips with that reality, we dicided to get over it and have a good time anyway. We explored the sea town, ate doners, shopped to our hearts content, and had a wonderful meal at dinner time. Although I did not find any of the traditional turkish clothing and jewelry, we did find a beautiful small glass lamp for our future house, and Matt got a watch as a belated birthday gift. The hospitality of the locals was incredible, we were served Turkish tea at the watch shop, and had excellent service at a seaside restaurant.
At Kos, Greece, we sat on the beach all day. I'm sure it had a great local charm, but we acted like true turists, and chilled all day. A nice taxi driver took us to his favorite restaurant (probably owned by a family member) in old town Kos. The food was delicions - we had a Hippocrates salad (with grilled vegetables) and seafood stuffed peppers.
Our next stop was Paros, Greece. Paros was a beautiful Greek island, lined with white stucco/concrete homes. We wanted to get away from the tourists, so we climed up the central mountain (hill?) of the island along a quiet country road. We walked for an hour up the mountain, and an hour down. We took tons of pictures, and had a great workout. After our walk, we jumped in the cold Mediterranean waters, and had a wonderful local meal on the beach.
Mykanos, Greece has the reputation of being the best nightlife in the Mediterranean. We were underwhelmed by the place. Transportation and food were pricey, and we were unimpressed by all of the designer clothing and jewelry stores. So, we took a taxi to I'm sure is the windiest beach on the planet, Elia. We read books and sunned under palm umbrellas for hours, trying not to stare at the topless sunbathers. After a long and expensive day, we skipped the $75 cover charge (for two) at the popular bar in town, and headed back to the ship for a relaxing night.
Now, we are spending the day in Syros, Greece. This town is similar to what we experienced in mainland Europe. The city is self-sufficient without the tourists, and is a friendly town.
