|
Saved on Sifnos
Part 3: On the frontiers
of tourism
For our very
first attempt at island-hopping, we pinpointed the Western
Cyclades, lured by our guide book which described these islands
as "on the frontiers of tourism". We decided to
make our first landfall at the island of Kythnos. Our guide
book had said that domatia (guest room) owners would meet
the boat and listed a few hotels, so, in the true style of
island-hoppers we didn't bother to book any accommodation.
But we had not allowed
for one very important aspect of the Greek culture - Festivals.
We had inadvertently chosen August 14th as our departure date,
which is the day before Assumption Day, during the Feast of
Assumption, a time when Greeks return to their roots, visit
their place of birth and their relations, and hold big family
reunions.
Consequently, when our
taxi driver deposited us in Pireaus, as near as he could get
to the Milos Express at 7am just as she was beginning to load
vehicles for her bi-weekly trip to Santorini, a ferry from
Paros backed in beside and commenced to unload at the same
time, resulting in truly magnificent chaos. Cars lined up
for the Milos Express became mixed up with those from Paros
and no-one could get in and out of the quay, which became
a seething cauldron of farting taxis, bellowing buses, juggernaut
trucks and semis, nifty handcarts and kamikaze mopeds, not
to mention the countless darting private vehicles, all with
honking horns and shouting drivers.
Part
4: One
room left
this
travelogue is part of the subside
travelzine
about bookshelf
links contact
submit
|
|