The Andros beach resort area of Batsi looks beautiful even while menacing stormclouds pass overhead. During our six-day visit to the island last month, we experienced some cloudy skies and a few brief periods of rain … but that didn’t keep us from enjoying the island’s spectacular mountain, coastal and village scenery. Even during inclement weather Andros looked amazing. Frankly, we would rather be on Andros in the rain …
… than be here in Toronto where sunshine has been sparse and where our balcony views have been mainly of fog-shrouded highrise towers, intermittent light rainfalls, and heavy downpours since we got home June 11.
Although nobody can do anything about the weather, most people dread cloudy skies, rain and thunderstorms during their vacations. While I personally prefer a mix of sun and cloud, I would rather be somewhere in Greece on an overcast or wet day instead of being at home in Toronto in similarly bleak weather conditions.
Since we returned from Greece last Thursday night (June 11), we have seen sunshine only briefly. The sky has been overcast with dark clouds or thick with fog most of the time, there have been intermittent light showers, and we have experienced several thunderstorms with heavy downpours. It has been disappointing and depressing to see the bleak, grey skies and fog-shrouded city skyline whenever we glance out our windows or go on our balcony.
We didn’t feel that way the few times it turned cloudy or rained while we were on Andros in May. Periods of daytime stormclouds didn’t detract from our walks and hikes, while occasional evening rain didn’t stop us from strolling into Andros Town for drinks and dinner. Rain or shine, Andros looked lovely, and kept us amazed and amused.
Below are some photos we shot during cloudy periods on Andros … I think you’ll agree the island looks pretty even under cloudy skies.
Stormclouds start to fill the morning sky over hills behind Andros Town
Stormclouds advance above Nemborios beach on the north side of Andros Town. They sprinkled light rain a few times during daylight hours, then produced occasional light showers in the evening and late at night.
Winds picked up and the late afternoon sky darkened while we were exploring the streets of Andros Town, but we got back to our accommodations long before evening showers started. It rained lightly off and on over the course of the evening, and overnight.
Rain clouds approach hillside settlements near Andros Town
In this view from our terrace at the Aneroussa Beach Hotel near Batsi, stormclouds swirl overhead shortly before a series of brief but heavy downpours soaked the island at breakfast time.
During our walk from the Aneroussa Beach Hotel to Batsi after the breakfast rain showers, we looked back to see more dark clouds looming overhead …
… while straight ahead, the cloud cover extended along the island’s entire coast to the north
When we turned the next corner on the road, the sky above Batsi looked far more threatening
Sunshine briefly illuminates rental rooms and studio apartments on a hill on the south side of Batsi
The weather was beginning to look grim as we reached the halfway mark on our walk to Batsi
Sunshine briefly breaks through the thick clouds as we approach the edge of the commercial waterfront strip in Batsi
Stormclouds sweep above the hills to the immediate northeast of Batsi
Every now and then sunshine broke through the clouds to illuminate the mountains north of Batsi
We enjoyed some sunshine at the northern end of the beach at Batsi
View from a hill on the north side of Batsi
Although we experienced repeated but brief interludes of sunshine, the breeze turned into a cool wind so we headed back to Batsi, where we reached a sheltered bar terrace on the waterfront just as the clouds opened up and began dropping light rain. The showers stopped within half an hour but the dark clouds hung around several more hours.
By evening the clouds were moving away from Andros, and we got to watch an impressive sunset from our terrace at the Aneroussa Beach Hotel
This image showing an impressive view of Chora (Andros Town) on Andros island appears on the Discover Greece page for Andros
We’re on our way back to Greece for our annual spring holiday, and looking forward to visiting Andros island for the first time. If I have reliable Internet connections while there, I will try to post some photos.
If you’re interested in seeing more of Andros in the meantime, I’ve posted two videos below. The first shows Andros Town, while the second is a slideshow of sights and scenes at numerous places on the island.
Scenes from Andros Town
Photo highlights from Andros
A panoramic view of Fira, the capital and main town on Santorini
Octopus at Amoudi Bay on Santorini
Do you wonder what it’s like visiting Greek islands for the first time? Especially as a solo female traveller?
Two fascinating trip reports by a travel blogger from Vancouver, Canada will give you excellent insight into the entire experience. (They’re also great fun to read even if you have already been to Greece yourself.)
Blogger Christine visited Santorini and Mykonos earlier this month during a two-week holiday — her first-ever trip to Greece. She posted a thorough account of her journey, complete with dozens of photos, on her Christine in Vancouver blog.
I love the reports not just because they show Greece through the eyes of an island-hopping “newbie,” but also since they include scores of food pictures and valuable information about costs and prices — important details that I think will be extremely helpful to others considering a trip to Greece.
Click here to read Christine’s report for her May 6 to 13 stay on Santorini, and click here to read about her May 13 to 19 visit to Mykonos.
The two photos from Santorini posted above, as well as the two photos from Mykonos shown below, are just four of the dozens of fabulous pictures you’ll get to see in Christine’s reports (you’ll be able to view her photos full-size in a slide-show format.)
Enjoy your trip to Santorini and Mykonos with Christine!
Streets in the heart of Mykonos Town
Ornos, one of the top “family” beach resort areas on Mykonos
“On an island in the center of the world” is a 3-minute music video in which Kostas Doxas and Maria Makri tour top attractions on Naxos
If you haven’t been to Naxos yet, here’s a fun way to see some of the island’s beautiful beaches, fascinating towns and villages, hiking trails, mountain biking routes, restaurants and nightclubs. “Naxos: A World to Experience” is a 3-minute promotional video for Naxos that features a catchy pop song — “On an Island in the Center of the World” — with English subtitles for those who don’t understand Greek.
Even if you have been to Naxos before, you’ll still enjoy watching the music video to see how many of the sights and attractions are familiar to you.
The video stars Kostas Doxas and Maria Makri, while the song features original music by dj Rico – Vaggelis Serifis and lyrics by Yiannis Papadakos. The direction, script and photography also were the work of Papadakos.
This is a screenshot of the MyGreeceTravelBlog photostream on Flickr, which contains more than 23,000 of our photos of Greece
Thanks in large measure to readers of this blog, the MyGreeceTravelBlog photo collection on Flickr reached a major milestone this week, surpassing the 3,000,000-view mark.
I have posted 23,000 images on Flickr to date and still have at least 10,000 more pictures from Greece to upload, if I can ever find the time. (I’m certain that number will rise substantially after our next visit to Greece later this spring.)
A few surprises were in store when I checked Flickr’s viewing statistics for the photos this week.
The individual photo with the all-time most views was a picture of Agios Prokopios beach on Naxos. But I doubt it was popular because the beach is so beautiful — I suspect some nudists wading in the water were of more interest than the golden sand and turquoise water! (If you want to view the image and won’t be offended seeing several middle-aged and older tourists displaying some skin, click here.)
Syros photos were the most popular
I also was amazed that our set of 18 albums from last year’s trip to Syros was the most popular individual collection on our Flickr page. I had been expecting that our Mykonos collection would be the most viewed, but people seemed to prefer looking at pics of Syros. (You can access the Syros photos by clicking here.) Mykonos did claim the #2 spot, though.
So far, there are album collections for 13 islands — Amorgos, Astipalea, Crete, Folegandros, Ios, Milos, Mykonos, Naxos, Paros, Patmos, Samos, Santorini, and Syros — plus one set with photos of many (but not all) of the hotels we have stayed at during our Greek holidays. More collections, including one for Athens, are in the works. Click here to access the main Flickr page showing cover pages for all of the album collections.
Thanks very much for viewing the photos, and please feel free to comment on any of them at any time.
Our photo sets of Syros had the most views of any collection on our Flickr page. They included shots of Kini (above), our favourite beach resort on Syros.
Click on the arrow to take a ride to Kato Lako on Karpathos
My fascination with Karpathos continues — I keep spending some of my spare time viewing photos and watching videos of the island. I won’t get to see Karpathos on my trip to Greece this spring, but it never hurts to research places to visit on future vacations, right?
I thought I’d share several Karpathos videoclips that I enjoyed watching today. All four were posted online by YouTube member 365Roman, and I found them interesting because they show what it’s like to drive to some of the island’s sights and attractions, including gorgeous bays and beaches as well as charming mountain and seaside villages.
As all the clips confirm, some of the most breathtaking views and scenery in the Greek Islands are off the main tourist path and take some effort to reach. But it’s worth it — and it’s all part of the fun of exploring Greece.
So sit back, relax and enjoy your tours on Karpathos while someone else does the driving!
The ride to Forokli beach
Driving around the northern part of Karpathos
Touring the island’s southern regions
BEST OF PAROS from Art in Design-Alternative on Vimeo.
PAROS from Dimitris Christopoulos on Vimeo.
I never need an excuse to visit Greece, but in online travel forums I often see people asking whether they should go to certain places, or wondering why specific Greek destinations are popular. They think they want to visit them, but they really don’t have a clue what they will get to see and do once they get there.
Paros is one of those places. Since it’s a stop on the busy ferry route between Mykonos and Santorini, the two most popular Cyclades islands, many travellers realize it would conveniently fit into an island-hopping itinerary. But is it the right island for them to visit? Does it have enough attractions to make it a worthwhile stopover for a few days?
I think these two films, which I found on Vimeo today, will help visitors determine if Paros is their kind of place. (I think the answer will most likely be “yes.”) I’ve already been to Paros (twice), but both videos made me want to go back again.
In case you need more convincing, click here to view my Paros Greece 2012 collection on Flickr, which features hundreds of photos from the picturesque harbour village of Naoussa, and several beaches in its surrounding area. Some photos of the main port town of Parikia, as well as the Yria Hotel and the scenic coastline near Parasporos beach, can be viewed in my Paros collection.
