Part 4 - Ios

Ios

26 September - 27 September 2009

People waiting for you to get off the ferry - this was actually quite tame compared to some of them. In the second photo, the guy in the blue is who we went with.

26 September 2009

This morning we quickly checked out of our hotel (someone broke the shower...) and went for a walk around Old Town Naxos as we had to wait sometime for our ferry. Today we were leaving Naxos and heading to Ios - the party Island, apparently...

Ios -is a Greek island in the Cyclades group in the Aegean Sea. Ios is a hilly island with cliffs down to the sea on most sides, situated halfway between Naxos and Santorini. It has gained a reputation and a half as the party island. In the height of the season - mid July until end of August - its ludicrously over crowed, with the attendant problems of noise, poor sanitation, alcohol and theft - all of which are more evident than on the other islands and with the locals getting in on the act with god-knows what in your spirits it can be quite dangerous if you are not sensible.

That afternoon after getting a lift to our new room (15 euros a night I think, and this one had a kitchen) we walked down the hill (and I can tell you that hill wasn't fun - think we walked up and down it about 3 times per day !! phew) we went for a quick walk around town. As with most islands the town was a mass of windy streets, but imagine the slippery, sloping steps that are awkward enough when sober, never mind when totally sozzled and in the dark and which is why there is always someone hopping around with their leg in plaster!

After trekking down the hill and up again after dinner we decided to get on our glad rags and head into Ios town on a Saturday night. this should be good we thought, it was the end of the peak season being mid - late September but surely it should still be going off. At around 10ish we went into town for a few pre-clubbing drinks, mmmm quiet, but thats ok its only early. After a few cocktails we decided to have a look around and check out the potential "hot spots". Alright 12 rolled around and we looked but there was still not much going on then I saw a group of young people "must be a tour. We need to be where they are going!" I said, so we secretly followed them to this bar, their group were the only ones in there but it was enough to look lively so we followed them in and had a few drinks.

After some dancing they left and so did we to this next bar that had all kinds of shots, including Creme Egg and Malteser ones which were my favourite. After a few shots we had another look around, but to be honest for a Saturday night on the party island it was pretty much dead. There weren't a lot of people around and most of the nightclubs seemed to be closed for the season. Unless you come in the peak season I don't recommend coming to Ios as there isn't a lot to do here.

This photo was taken with the beauty setting on my camera, don't we look lovely for 1.30am!

27 September 2009

View from our accommodation - we walked up to those three churches

This morning we had a nice sleep in before exploring Ios. From our accommodation at the top of the hill we could see into the town and in the middle of the island is a hill with three churches perched on top. That we decided would be our destination.

We walked down the hill into town, after going the wrong way a couple of times in the windy streets we made it to the top of the hill and to the churches. It was a good walk and was sooo windy at the top but had fantastic views of the island. The hill actually looks a lot steeper and harder to climb than it actually was.

After our walk we decided to head to the beach. It was a pretty overcast day so wasn't great for swimming but we wanted to check it out anyway. We walked to Milopotas Beach which is one of the best beaches in the Aegean. It is large enough to accommodate even the High Seasons crowds and looks like it would be a little village town. When we were there however it looked like a deserted ghost town. All the shops were closed for the season, renovations were being done and hardly anyone around.

After an afternoon rest we headed up behind our accommodation to the Amphitheatre - Odysseas Elytis Theatre: Odysseas Elytis was considered to be a revolutionary Greek poet who wrote modern and defining poetry unlike other poets who used ancient Greece as a source of inspiration. The Odysseas Elytis Amphitheatre named after the famous Noble prize winning poet himself is located at the top of the hill of Chora in Ios behind the whitewashed windmills that stand there.Though the amphitheatre is made of marble in ancient Greek style, it was constructed relatively recently as compared to other architectural wonders of Ios. It is a colossal structure and can hold upto 1100 people at any given time. It has breathtaking views over Ios.