We arrived at Ios around 5 o’clock in the afternoon, shortly after a massive thunderstorm system had moved across the Cyclades. Strong and brutally cold winds had blasted us while we waited for the Flying Cat 4 at the old port in Mykonos, and when the ferry stopped at Paros, that island was getting thrashed by fierce lightning strikes and a torrential downpour of rain. We were relieved to see it wasn’t raining on Ios. Dark stormclouds still lurked overhead, but the hot sun kept breaking through as the sky slowly began to clear. We were happy to stuff our waterproof windbreakers back into our suitcases.
When we walked off the ferry at Gialos port, we were greeted by Nick from Hermes Hotel, where we would be spending the next five days. Nick told us we would have to wait at the port because a few more guests were scheduled to arrive on the Highspeed 5 ferry from Santorini in around 10 minutes’ time. He didn’t have time to drive us to the hotel first and return to pick them up — he wanted to take everyone together in one trip — so he showed us where his van was parked and asked us to meet him there after the other ferry arrived. No worries; the delay gave us a chance to take a walk around the port area and see what was there. Below are some of the photos we took during our wait. You can judge for yourself if Ios looks like a “giant lump of rock!”
Stormclouds passing above the harbour at Gialos port on Ios
Looking up the mountain toward Chora, from a road near the Ios ferry port
Buildings on the mountainside above Gialos port on Ios
The Church of St Irene, built in the 17th Century, overlooks the harbour
Bar and restaurant ads on a sign near the port
The family-run Corali Hotel sits right beside the long sandy beach at Gialos
Another view of the Corali Hotel, a two-star hotel with beachside restaurant
Mountains rise behind the beach and harbour at Gialos
Umbrellas and lounge chairs on the beach next to the Corali Hotel
Buildings on a hillside at the far end of Gialos beach
Another view of Gialos beach on Ios
A local man carries a fishing rod as he walks along Gialos beach
Looking straight across Gialos beach toward the mountains
I had needed the waterproof windbreaker while waiting for the ferry at Mykonos two hours earlier, but the bad weather started clearing just as we arrived at Ios
A man sits on a scooter parked at the harbourside …
… waiting for the Hellenic Seaways Highspeed 5 ferry from Santorini …
… which speeds into the harbour mere moments later
We get a good look at the catamaran’s twin hull as it turns in the harbour …
… then reverses its engines and backs up to the Gialos ferry pier …
… where it starts lowering its ramp so passengers can disembark the moment the ferry has tied up at the pier
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We watch the ferry dock from a few hundred meters away
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Within minutes passengers begin boarding the Highspeed 5. The ferry is heading to Naxos and Paros en route to the Athens port of Piraeus
Soon, Nick will drive us up this mountain to our hotel near Mylopotas beach
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