Category: Cyclades islands

2012 Greek holiday trip report: Mykonos Part 5

Mighty masts: A view of the Windstar cruise yacht Wind Spirit anchored near the Mykonos Old Port on a clear, sunny morning May 20 2012. It was perfect weather for a day at the beach.

Sunday May 20 2012

Beach weather: May 20 brought us a beautiful bright and sunny morning and the promise of perfect weather for the beach. Since I had only two full days left on Mykonos, I decided to take advantage of the sunshine and spend my Sunday beach hopping. My destinations would be Kapari beach, which I had never been to before, followed by Agios Ioannis and Ornos beaches, which I had previously seen.

I walked from Hotel Tagoo to the Fabrica bus depot where I was one of only five people waiting to board the Ornos/Agios Ioannis bus. By comparison, there were at least two dozen people lined up for the bus to Paradise, and even more standing beside the one going to Platis Gialos. I took the lack of a similar lineup for my bus to indicate that the beaches I was about to visit might be exceptionally quiet. Maybe the limited bus service explained why more people weren’t going to the same places as me. At this time of May, there were only 8 return bus trips per day to Ornos/Agios Ioannis, with the last bus returning to Mykonos Town at 18:45. Although the last bus back to Town from Paradise was scheduled for 19:00, service from Platis Gialos continued until 21:00.

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April 15, 2013
Don’t ride the donkeys! Why tourists should avoid taking the mule ‘taxis’ on Santorini

Cruise ships that visit Santorini drop anchor in the sea below the capital town of Fira and tender passengers to shore. From there, visitors reach Fira either by walking approximately 600 steps up the path (left) that zig-zags up the face of the 800-foot cliff …

… by paying several Euros for the 3-minute ride up the cable car lift …

… or by riding a donkey like this one, which we encountered in Firostefani village during one of our three visits to Santorini. The donkey rides, which cost around €5, are a transport option that local mule owners provided for years before the cable car was installed. But animal welfare groups and even some cruise lines strongly urge travellers not to take the donkey “taxis” because the animals toil in poor working conditions and have been subjected to abuse and mistreatment by their handlers.

Ass transit: Now that it’s spring, tens of thousands of people around the world are finalizing their plans for holidays in Greece this summer. Many will be travelling on cruise ships that will visit several Greek Islands, including what is probably the most popular port stop of all — Santorini. Hundreds of those people may be hoping to make their arrival at Santorini even more memorable and “romantic” by taking what they believe will be a “traditional” donkey ride up the long path that links the cruise ship dock with the town of Fira, the island’s capital, which is perched atop the caldera cliffs hundreds of feet above the sea. Here’s a simple word of advice if you’re thinking about doing the same thing: don’t.

Though the donkeys might look “cute,” and the rides might appear to be a harmless and fun tourist attraction, travellers who use the mules as transportation actually contribute to animal abuse, according to animal welfare organizations and frequent visitors to the island who have personally witnessed handlers mistreating their donkeys.

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The abuse takes several forms. The roughly 360 donkeys and mules that work as tourist “taxis” on the island are forced to climb up and back down a pathway with around 600 steep steps, making as many as seven trips a day between 9 o’clock in the morning and sunset. Often, the animals are required to carry tourists who, putting it bluntly, are obese and may weigh considerably more than the donkeys themselves. And the mules must do this exhausting, gruelling work in blazing sunshine and searing summer heat, often with unsatisfactory food, water and rest periods, plus few if any breaks in the shade. To add insult to injury, they may be wearing ill-fitting harnesses that inflict cuts and sores on their bodies, while their owners or handlers may frequently strike them with sticks to make them move or hurry up. In short, they toil under cruel and deplorable working conditions.

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April 12, 2013
Mule tidings: donkey tales from the islands

This donkey enjoys a spectacular view of Skala, the port town on Patmos, from his hilltop vantage point on the edge of Chora

Donkey tales: Mules and donkeys can be a common sight on many of the Greek Islands including — not surprisingly — two of the country’s most popular tourist destinations: Santorini and Rhodes. If you visit Santorini’s capital town Fira, especially during a cruise, you’ll see scores of the animals working as taxis to transport tourists up and down hundreds of steps linking the small port to the town 220 meters above sea level (see my Don’t ride the donkeys! post above for more about that controversial practice). On Rhodes, dozens of donkeys are similarly pressed into service to lug lazy sightseers up the path to the Acropolis above Lindos.

On smaller isles that don’t draw huge hordes of tourists and cruise ship visitors, you’re more likely to see donkeys grazing in fields and yards while you hike or drive around. Sometimes you might not be able to see them, but you’ll clearly hear them — their boisterous braying can carry across a long distance. And at other times, you can wind up having a close encounter with one or more of the animals just when you least expect it.

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April 12, 2013
Pic of the day: Kamares, the port town on Sifnos

Looking toward Kamares, the port town on Sifnos, from the opposite side of Kamares Bay

April 9, 2013
A Santorini church on the streets of Toronto

This pillar advertisement for Celebrity Cruises, near the intersection of Yonge & Bloor Streets in Toronto, features one of the most frequently photographed churches on Santorini

There are hundreds of blue domed churches in Greece, but this one in the village of Oia stands out from the rest thanks to its distinctive coral-coloured belltower

Picture perfect church: I think about Greece every day, but a cruise ship advertising campaign in downtown Toronto recently steered my thoughts to Santorini and the three times we’ve been to that particular island.

The “Celebrity’s Europe” poster ads for Celebrity Cruises featured one of the most photographed icons on Santorini — a blue-domed church with a coral-coloured belltower in the incredibly picturesque village of Oia, high above the wine-dark sea. The ads appeared on sidewalk pillars in different parts of downtown Toronto, and caught my attention whenever I went for a walk. The picture of the Oia church made me feel a tad wistful about our previous visits to Santorini, but also got me more excited to plan our next trip to Greece. (No, it won’t be a cruise — and we won’t be going back to Santorini.)

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April 9, 2013
Pic of the day: The Ag Ioannis area of Ios

Looking south toward the Agios Ioannis area of Ios, from a hillside path between Chora and Kolitsani beach. The Hermes Hotel can be seen at the center of the photo, while Santorini island is faintly visible toward the top right. Click on the image to view it in a larger format.

April 6, 2013
Pic of the day: A church on an Ios hilltop

This hilltop church offers commanding views of the Gialos beach and port area of Ios, as well as nearby Sikinos island (upper left)

April 1, 2013
2012 Greek holiday trip report: Mykonos Part 4

A promising patch of blue sky appears above Rinia island on the morning of Friday May 18 2012, while thick grey and jet-black stormclouds gather ominously above Mykonos in this view from the Hotel Tagoo swimming pool deck.

After two hours of torrential morning downpours completely soaked the island, the rain stopped, letting tourists and passengers from the Celebrity Equinox (left) enjoy their sightseeing at the Little Venice area of Mykonos Town (above)

A brief — but very light — afternoon rainshower gave way to a glorious evening rainbow that arced high in the sky above the island’s Tagoo district …

… and soon after was followed by a colourful and dramatic sunset

Friday, May 18

Rain, rain, go away: Even a morning of heavy downpours didn’t dampen my spirits on Day 5 of my Mykonos holiday.

When I left my hotel room to go for breakfast, I was shocked by the drastic change in weather from the day before. Strong gusts of very chilly winds were blowing jet-black stormclouds above the Agean, and though there were sunny spots in the sky above Syros, Rinia and other nearby islands, the steadily thickening cloudcover suggested Mother Nature was getting ready to unleash her fury on Mykonos.

In the breakfast room, one of the other guests asked a question I’ve never had to answer before: “What do you recommend doing on a rainy day in Mykonos?” “Read, sleep, go shopping, visit the archaeological museum or just go sit in a coffee shop or taverna and wait for the rain to stop,” I said. I actually wasn’t quite sure what I would do myself.

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March 30, 2013