Category: Greek Islands photos (Page 37 of 70)

2012 Greek holiday trip report: Mykonos Part 3

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Remezzo area of Mykonos Town

All quiet on the northern front: Even though it was a gorgeous morning, very few people were out and about when I walked past the Remezzo area of Mykonos Town at 10 a.m.

 

 

[Editor’s Note: This is the latest instalment in a series of reports on my 2012 vacation. Those of you who have already read Part 1 and Part 2 may want to go back and take another look through those posts — I have added several videoclips to each part.]

 

 

Thursday May 17

 

Sounds of silence: My fourth day on Mykonos started off with brilliant sunshine and plenty of peace and quiet.

The breakfast room at Hotel Tagoo was almost empty, with just a handful of guests showing up during the time I was there. It seemed like most people were sleeping in to recover from either a late night on the town or too much fun at the beaches the day before.  Two guests who did make it down for breakfast told me that a friend of theirs from Mykonos would be taking them on an early afternoon driving tour around part of the island. They had room for a fourth person, and invited me to tag along. They planned to visit some beaches I had not seen in a few years, plus at least one I had never been to before, so I jumped at the opportunity to join them.

Since I had a few hours to fill before the island drive about, but didn’t feel like laying in the sun by the pool, I took a walk into town. The streets were surprisingly quiet and empty with practically no vehicular traffic and pedestrians. It was incredibly serene — and almost surreal  — hearing only birdsong and sound of my shoes on the pavement. I didn’t expect that, at 10 a.m., I would have most of the Tagoo area and much of Mykonos Town all to myself. A cruise ship was docked at Tourlos, so I fully expected to run into groups of tourists wandering around, but the parking area next to the Old Port (where the cruise ship shuttle buses drop passengers off) was eerily quiet. I passed fewer than a dozen people during my 10-minute walk between the port and Taxi Square.

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Solitude & scenery at Stelida beach on Naxos

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Hohlakas beach Naxos

A view of Stelida beach, also known as Hohlakas beach (right), and St George’s Bay (upper left) on Naxos

 

 

Hohlakas beach Naxos

This sweeping view from a slope on Stelida mountain takes in Hohlakas beach (right) and Naxos Town on the far side of St George’s Bay

 

 

 Stelida mountain

Naxos port quay view of 151-meter-tall Stelida mountain. Construction of the Dream View Hotel is visible halfway up the mountainside.

 

 

Hohlakas beach Naxos

This Google satellite image shows Hohlakas beach (circled) and the Stelida district of Naxos on the southwest side of St George’s Bay, directly opposite Naxos Town. The island’s popular Agios Prokopios beach stands out at lower left.

 

 

Scruffy and secluded: Greece is abundant in beaches, and many Greek islands are justifiably world-famous for their beautiful beaches and stunning coastal scenery.

One of them is Naxos, which boasts a variety of excellent beaches that cater to specific traveller tastes and needs. For instance, families enjoy St George’s beach next to Naxos Town as well as Agia Anna on the island’s southwest coast. Windsurfers flock to Mikri Vigla and to St George’s, which also attracts scores of sailboat and catamaran enthusiasts. The long sandy strand at Agios Prokopios and the grassy dunes at Plaka are popular with sunbathers — especially travellers who like to tan au naturel. And people who prefer secluded quiet coves or isolated coastal swimming spots can find those in spades.

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The Castle of the Knights in Kos Town

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Castle of the Knights

The exterior wall of the Castle of the Knights of St John, viewed from the opposite side of palm-tree-lined Finikon street in Kos Town …

 

 

Castle of the Knights of St John

… and part of the castle interior, viewed from the elevated walkway that extends along the perimeter of the castle’s tall stone walls. Visible in the distance is the Bodrum area of Turkey.

 

 

Seaside stronghold: When I was a little kid, my friends and I used to build makeshift forts and treehouses and compete for control over the territory. “I’m the king of the castle, and you’re a dirty rascal” was a familiar taunt back in those days. It’s too bad our parents never took us to Kos, because we would have had the time of our young lives visiting the Castle of the Knights in Kos Town.

One of the most popular tourist attractions in Kos, the castle was constructed sometime in the 15th Century by the Knights of St. John, who used stones and marble recovered from the ruins of an ancient city that was devastated by an earthquake. It took them more than 120 years to finish building the stronghold, which was the second castle to be built on the site. (The first one was built in the early 1300s and later got completely destroyed). There actually is a castle within a castle — the outer wall was built between 1495 and 1514 to provide extra fortification for the original castle built more than a half century before.

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Island landmark: The Holy Monastery of Patmos

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Holy Monastery of Patmos

The biggest building on Patmos just happens to be the island’s biggest tourist attraction — The Holy Monastery of Patmos, seen towering above the houses and mansions of Chora. Also known as the Monastery of St. John, it was built around 1088.

 

 

Holy Monastery of Patmos

Another view of the imposing fortress-like monastery, the number 1 sightseeing destination for tourists whose cruise ships make brief calls into Skala port at Patmos

 

 

Holy Monastery of Patmos

The monastery dominates the Patmos landscape even when viewed from sea

 

 

 Holy Monastery of Patmos

A zoom view of Chora and the monastery, shot from a ferry departing Skala port

 

 

Palm tree towers on Finikon street in Kos Town

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Finikon street in Kos Town

Palm trees cast their shadows onto Finikon street in Kos Town

 

 

Finikon street

The elegant, tall trees line both sides of the street outside the 15th Century-era Castle of the Knights of Saint John (also called the Castle of Neratzia) at right.

 

 

Finikon street

A view of palm trees on both sides of the elevated entrance walkway to the castle. The bridge originally passed over a moat that was filled in and replaced with a street many years ago.

 

 

Finikon street

A row of graceful palm trees stands sentry next to the castle

 

 

Finikon street

Another view of the palm shadows on the road. Finikon street starts at the seafront and winds its way west past the castle. It turns into Akti Kountouriotou street, which wraps around the bustling Kos Town harbourfront

 

 

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