If you do a search for the destinations I write about, as I certainly advise for your travel plans, 'Andros island' will lead you to an island in the Bahamas. Once you've dipped into the Caribbean sea you might not want to return, so I'm warning you now to type directly 'Andros, Greece' to save any tempting deviations. This Andros is a lot cheaper and the sea is still a lovely aquamarine colour. Usually. Getting there The ferry to Andros, which continues on to Tinos and Mykonos, departs from Rafina port which is still considered an Athens port but isn't really near Athens at all. On the Eastern side of the main peninsula, you can get a direct KTEL bus, departing regularly but randomly and taking under an hour. I bought my ferry ticket from one of the numerous sale points at the port and then had plenty of time to hang around so even walked along the seaside to a little beach with some sunbathers where I took a dip to cool off.... ....Still, probably best avoid the swimming in ferry ports..! Or perhaps the sea altogether, as I thought when I saw this pretty mess on my way back towards the boat. It's a giant ferry as big as the overnighter, so I knew my way round, but just a 2 hour trip bringing you into Gavrio port from where you can take a bus all along the island to the capital (Andros, or Chora as we've now learnt). I knew now to take my seat and wait for an elderly man to come and give me my ticket later in the journey. Arriving It turns out there's just one winding road along the island so you can pretty much get to where you need to go. It stops at Batsi, the most glitzy and buzzy town on the island (although they don't really seem appropriate adjectives in the grand scheme of things) on the balmy sheltered side of the island and ends on the windy East coast. I'd got a last minute host with a sculptor in a little village on the hilltop called Pitrofos, but when I gave the address I had half the bus discussing where I should be getting off. One man was so concerned he didn't rest for the whole journey because he said I'd have to walk a long way from where the bus stops, while the ticket man dismissed this. As it ended up, I was deposited on the edge of the road on a particularly windy (in both senses) part, but fortunately within a few minutes a dusty van with a panting dog out the window appeared and took me up the hill some more. I was a little concerned because there wasn't much in the way of shops or cafes...well actually there was nothing, but happily my host had some rice stuffed vine leaves for me to dine on. Chora The next day I got a ride to Andros (Chora) the main city, on the East side of the island and worked my way into the centre where I finally got a little feel of 'Greek island' as you see on postcards or as is somehow summoned to mind from some subconscious source when people refer to 'Greek islands'. (With 6000 islands in Greece I'm not quite sure how such a term can be seen to represent even a single quality). Anyway as you can see, it was quite picturesque. And I began regretting my decision that I don't need sunglasses, as I squinted my way through the blinding white paths and buildings in the blustery sunshine. A little Art... You'll also find Greece's first 'Modern Art' museum, founded by a collector and shipowner "Basil" Goulandris, aptly named the Museum of Contemporary Art Andros. It has two wings for a reasonable €5 ticket: a permanent collection containing the work of various Greek and international sculptors and painters, and also a large exhibition building. I really enjoyed the Nikos Engonopoulos exhibition, enhancing my understanding of surrealism with the Greek contribution. Hiking If you enjoy a hike then Andros is famous for it and has 100km of routes maintained and organised by volunteers. You can check out this website for information on the routes, get hold of a map, and to get an idea of what to expect. We drove down one of the most precipitous cliffs in the van to get to a private beach in a desperate attempt to escape the wind. Instead we were plagued by searing hot sun (and the wind kept blowing away our makeshift shade). You can't actually tell in this picture but I am standing on a very high stack of rocks. There are some incredible rock formations like this to be found. After my first night in the village I decided to go in search of a bit more life and just as the moon was rising and the daylight fading, I re-deposited myself on the edge of the only road, bikini, sundress, and backpack-clad and, thumb out, hoped for the best. As the first few staring faces ignored my waves completely, just as it was really getting dark, a rickety open back truck slowed up and two radiant faces asked me where I was going. Well, there is only one way to go and sure enough the one young French couple were passing my intended destination of Batsi. With only two seats, I had to clamber in the back with the luggage and we rattled along. They were also travelling around large parts of Greece, had just been on a full day hike, and mentioned some of the highlights of their travels. I could scarcely remember the places they named but memory of the mysterious word 'Pelion' which I later googled, gave a total new direction to my tour. Beachfront Batsi I had already found where I would stay in Batsi, a charming little hostel of rather ramshackle facilities with a personal welcoming gesture of a glass of lemon juice on the roof terrace and a bracelet. The Lemon Tree hostel has a big 'dorm' sleeping 8 in bunks and a couple of little but hot rooms, an outdoor kitchen situated tightly between the two bathrooms. If you're up in time there's tea and toast for breakfast. It's not luxurious, rather on the 'hippie' side, but the vine-wreathed roof terrace with a view over the bay is lovely, as is the quietly gentle sloping walk down to the sea-front bars, laced with fresh running streams. For a cheap quick bite to eat (me almost every meal) head straight down and first place on the left does a souvlaki for €2, I alternated between mushrooms and halloumi. This is the ONLY place I found halloumi throughout the whole odyssey! You can walk both ways along the seafront, open sun loungers on the beach are free to the extent that someone will come and take an order for a drink from you. Otherwise help yourself to the plentiful sand. I walked right round the bay to a little shrubbed peninsula, meeting some goats along the way, where the water was a very satisfying turquoise and dived right in. There are multiple beaches, rocky, pebbly, and sandy along towards the south as well and the last I tried happened to be a nudist beach where I encountered the owners of the hostel not long after checking out!. To get back to mainland or to your next island, you climb onto the packed bus right on the edge of the water by the bars and in 15 minutes you're at the port where you can buy your ticket again. I prefer to buy at the port in case you're late or early and because you can pick up any offers they might have.
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