Island of Andros

The weekend started very early on Saturday morning. We woke up at 6 to leave the apartment at 6:30. However we didn't get out of the apartment until 6:45 which made things complicated. We needed to get on the bus that stops right outside our apartment to take that to the Athens city center to get on another bus to take us to port Rafina, which is not the main port in Athens. As we were crossing the street however the bus we needed was just pulling out. We new the first bus would take about 30 minutes and we needed to get on the 7 am bus to the port since our ferry left at 8 and the second bus took supposedly 40 minutes. So as we tried to pull a cab over to find out how long and how much it would be to go either to the bus station or to the port another bus finally got there. By the way it was poring rain throughout all of this and of course my bag weighed a ton. So we took the bus and got off near the bus center but realized we had missed the 7 and would not make the ferry. So we all got into a cab to take to the port and it was only 28 euro total so that was not a problem. It was still a close question whether we would get there. As we were getting in the cab one of my contacts fell out and I couldn't find it. So until we got to the ferry I was partially blind haha. So we kept driving and time kept elapsing but we got to the ferry port at 7:55 and the driver literally pulled up right next to the ferry so it was great. We got on the ferry and tried to find seats. This was a huge ferry with cars stored in the bottom and multiple floors. The first level was packed and was like a lounge set up. We then got some directions to another floor where there were seats like an airplane so we sat there. There were also upper floors with outside decks but it was still cold and rainy. The fairy to Andros was about 2 hours. Andros is not a very touristy island but it is very nice and part of the Cycladic islands which is what the famous Mykonos and Santorini are also a part of.

When we got to the island we decided that the port town did not look that nice so we took a charter bus to the next town over called Batsi. It was about a 20 minute drive. We got off the bus and started looking at the hotels that were near the shore. None of them looked that appealing but we did see a little sign that said Andros Tourism. So we walked up there and realized it was not a store or a tourist information center but rather a table with some packets that looked like they were at least 20 years old. However a Greek man from the shop next door came out and started talking to us. It was unclear whether he was the one who provided the tourist packets. We were by the way probably the only American tourists on the island. So he asked us what we wanted and we told him we wanted a nice room for not a lot of money that was near the water. He then said he would call around and see if he could get what we needed. But really we know that he only called one place and that this guy was probably his friend. However it all worked out for us. He told us that the place he found for us was very nice and would only be 50 euro total. So 15 minutes later the man arrived and he also had really good English and looked very legit to me.

He walked us up to our room/apartment. It was super nice which u can see in the pictures, and it was right in the center of Batsi which was a perfect town for our weekend.

So it was still somewhat raining when we got into our room but we all needed lunch so we went to this place he recommended that his cousin owned. Everyone in Greece has family in every business you might need. It was just your typical Greek restaurant. We had a very long lunch like the Greeks and then we decided to walk around a bit but then we went back to the apt and took a long siesta since we were all really tired. After we woke up we went to go get things at the bakery as our afternoon snack and then walked around again even though it was raining. Sometimes the sun would peak out thought. Then we came back and did some work on the roof of our place which was a nice lounge area and out of the rain. By the way while we were walking around we first heard what we thought was thunder, but then we thought it was cannon, and then guns, so we nervous what they were shooting at. When we were on the roof though it was night time and we saw that the church in town was having a wedding and our owner explained that the sounds were fireworks that they were sending off, but we couldn't see them so that is why we thought they were guns haha. But in Greece the weddings have huge trains of cars like we do for funerals in the US and they wind through the town one after the other and honk at eachother really loudly and we could see them go through the hills and arrive at the church. Then after we did some work we went to dinner (approx 9pm) and on our walked we had realized that the reasturants right by the water had Italian food which I was super excited about. I am somewhat tired of the Greek food already haha. We ate outside because that is basically the only seating the Greeks have. Everything is on the sidewalk or in the squares and then the waiters run back and forth across the street. It will be interesting to see what happens in the winter. Anyways it was cold!

Thankfully the next day was warm and sunny ! We woke up quite late since it was the first morning I have got to sleep in. We then grabbed some breakfast which was delicious ! I had a smoothie and bowl of fresh fruit. Then we went to the beach. The owner of the place where we were staying told us where the free section was and it had free umbrellas and chairs so that was sweet. Their were some storm clouds but we got in the water when it was sunny and it was so nice. The water was gorgeous. Then we just sat on the beach and did some reading for a while. We also got some crepes for lunch and ate those on the beach. Then we went back to the house to take showers and get organized to leave. Then it was a taxi back to the port and dinner in the port before boarding the ferry. We got back at 10 to Rafina and then got on the bus to the city center which actually took 1:15 minutes so if we had taken it originally we would have missed the ferry completely. Then we had to walk a good distance to get the bus back to Pangrati so we got in at 11:40. So the travel was somewhat hectic but I am so glad we got out of the city. The island was so relaxing and quiet. As you will see in the pictures most of the streets are just little winding paved paths and staircases up the hills. I am going to try to get out of the city on most weekends because Athens is somewhat taxing. Athens has beautiful ancient sites but the beauty of Greece is really outside of the city.

Andros