A view of mountainous Naxos island from the rocky seashore partway between Paraga and Paradise beaches on the south coast of Mykonos
MyGreeceTravelBlog.com
Photos & memories from our trips to Athens, the Peloponnese, mainland Greece & Greek Islands — plus profiles of places we would love to visit
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All about Eva
The Greek sailing boat Eva approaches Kos Town harbour
Sponge boat: One of my many vivid memories of Kos is the colourful waterfront of Kos Town, and especially the port and harbour. I was struck by the number of tour boats of all shapes, and sizes offering day trips to Turkey as well as excursions to nearby Greek islands like Kalymnos and Pserimos. But one ship in particular sticks in my mind: the two-masted wooden sailboat Eva.
I saw Eva our first day on the island while we were walking along a beach near Kos Town shortly after 6 p.m. Bathed in the warm glow of the slowly setting sun, with the mountainous coast of Turkey providing a scenic backdrop, Eva was motoring its way back to port at the end of a daytrip. Most of its passengers were either sitting or standing on the starboard side of the boat, looking content and relaxed as they caught some final rays before their excursion concluded. I felt envious, and wished I was with them.
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Greek Islands from the air
Passing above the Paros port town of Parikia and surrounding area during an Olympic Air flight from Athens to Astipalea
In plane view: We have taken more than a dozen inter-island flights in Greece, but I’ve only managed to shoot fewer than 12 photos of the beautiful island scenery passing thousands of feet below us during all those trips.
The reason? On some flights, I was assigned the aisle seat, so it wasn’t possible to snap photos through the window. On several of our trips when I did get a window seat with Olympic Air, I got great views of a propeller and wing, but little else. And during several journeys with Aegean Airlines, stern-faced flight attendants demanded that I put my camera away, claiming “photography is not permitted during the flight.”
That rule seems to apply only to me when I pull out a camera while flying Aegean — that airline’s snotty flight attendants never seem to hassle other passengers about in-flight photography.
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Sharply-dressed Dromeas stands tall in Athens
Dromeas (“Runner” in English) is a 12-meter-tall glass and iron sculpture created in 1994 by Athens artist Costas Varotsos
Sharp Dresser: Athens may be one of the world’s safest cities, but you won’t want to run into a big Greek guy named Dromeas while you’re there — he would literally tear you to pieces.
Standing 12 meters tall (nearly 30 feet), Dromeas cuts a dashing figure at Megalis tou Genous Sholi square near the Hilton Athens Hotel on Vassilissis Sofias Avenue. Created by noted Athens sculptor Costas Varotsos in 1994, Dromeas originally stood at Omonia Square, but was moved when construction commenced on the underground metro station there. Concerns that shakes and vibrations from subway building activity could damage the sculpture prompted his relocation to a triangular public square close to the Canadian Embassy.
A photo of Dromeas and the Athens Hilton, shared on the Facebook community page This is Athens
Dromeas is seen in a dramatic image that sculptor Costas Varotsos shared on @costasvarotsos, his official Instagram account
This marvellous image of Dromeas was captured and shared on Instagram by photographer @imikov during the heavy snowfall that paralyzed Athens and many other parts of Greece on January 24 2022
Another amazing photo of Dromeas during the Elpis snowstorm, this time captured by photographer Lucas Kouloubis. The image was shared on @costasvarotsos, the official Instagram page for sculptor Costas Varotsos.
This Associated Press photo of Dromeas, shot after the Elpis snowstorm had subsided, was widely circulated on social media
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Please turn to page 2 to view more photos of Dromeas.
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Arriving and departing Amorgos at sunrise
The mountainous Amorgos coastline was in silhouette from a brilliant sunrise when we approached by ferry for our first-ever visit to the island …
… and it was once again in silhouette when we departed the island, also at sunrise, several days later. Both photos show views of Cape Koutsogiani, the hulking dark mountain at right. Tiny Monopetra island pokes out of the sea a few hundred meters from the sheer cliff coastline of the Amorgos north coast.
Scenery silhouettes: During our island-hopping holiday in 2009, we arrived at Amorgos in very much the same circumstances as we departed several days later — watching the sunrise from the open deck of a ferry.
Our arrival on May 21 2009 is literally burned into my memory, probably because I was nearly blinded by the fiery, searing sun while I tried to take photos as we approached Amorgos on the Blue Star ferry ship, the Naxos. I’ll never forget arriving at Amorgos for another reason: the horribly early start to our day.
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