Greece: Tower of the Winds and Riots

On Wednesday we had originally planned to fly home, but with the massive transit strike all flights in and out of Athens were canceled.  Unfortunately, the strike included all buses, taxis, and the metro, and since most stores were closed because of the riots nearby, we didn't have much to do that day.  We walked around a bit, and happened upon the Tower of the Winds, which was luckily open.

Tower of the Winds with the Acropolis in the background.

There were these huge ants that have plowed down the vegetation along their pathways.

Yikes.

The Tower of the Winds measured the winds (obviously), and was also a sundial.

Closeup of an allegory of a wind.

These streets were packed the day before.

Most of the shops in the market were closed.

As we were walking by, some workers at an empty restaurant invited us into the kitchen to catch news of the rioting.  The action was centered around Parliament, which was only about 500m north of where we were.  But other than the closed shops, there was thankfully no impact where we were staying.

Greece: The Acropolis

Our next day back in Athens was my birthday and we spent the day at the Acropolis and the new Acropolis Museum.  Not a bad way to turn 30!

The massive entrance, the Propylaea.

When you zoom in it looks like no one else is there.  If only.

The Parthenon, as it is meant to be viewed, from an angle.

Our group, marveling at the fact that there are no straight lines on the building.

View of Athens from the hill.

The Odeon of Herodes Atticus, an ancient theater.  It has been restored and is once again a venue for concerts.

The Theater of Dionysus.

The Erechtheion, my favorite building of the group.

Caryatids on the Erechtheion.

We of course had to recreate the Caryatids.  This drew quite an audience.

Ongoing restoration and conservation in the Erechtheion.

Beautiful architectural details.

Among its many functions, the Erechtheion commemorates a contest between Athena and Poseidon for control of the city.  Poseidon struck a rock with his trident (of which the mark is still visible apparently, although we couldn't find it), causing a stream of salt water to burst forth.  Athena caused an olive tree to grow, and was deemed the winner.

Athena's olive tree.

Looking back towards the Propylaea.  It's amazing how much of a construction site the complex is.

The Temple of Athena Nike was unfortunately covered entirely in scaffolding and blocked off :(

View into the Odeon of Herodes Atticus.

Delicious Greek salad for lunch.

I have no pictures of the Acropolis museum because photography is not allowed, which is ridiculous since everything inside is marble and therefore cannot be harmed by photos.  I understand that some museums ban photos so that you are forced to by postcards of the artworks in their shop, but these weren't even available.  Anyway, in the subway near the museum we happened upon a replica of the Parthenon pediment sculptures, and so we happily joined the drama.

Later at night (just about midnight) we saw the taxis lining up in preparation for the major strike the next day.

Greece: Santorini Beaches and Volcanoes

We had limited time in Santorini because we had to catch the night ferry back to Athens at midnight, so we made full use of our day and woke up early to hit some beaches.  Sleep in or sleep on the beach.  Same thing, right?

The main island of Santorini and the few smaller islands make up a huge caldera.

Our first beach, with red rocks and sand.  Look at the clear water!!

It was a little hike to get to the beach.

No one was home, unfortunately :(

Feet in red and black sand.

The Aegean!

Beach #2.  Because we planned our trip before peak season, there were very few people wherever we went.  I can imagine that these beaches are absolutely packed during high season.

Black sand!  It absolutely sparkled, and I wish I was able to capture that in a photograph.

After the beaches we made our way back to town.  We had booked a trip to the small volcanic islands and needed to get to the old port to catch the boat.

The view of the caldera from town.  The island in the middle is where we were headed.

There are three options for getting to the old port: walk down, take a donkey, or ride the funicular.  We decided to walk down and take a donkey back up.  We didn't realize how long and far down the walk was until it was too late to turn back.  You can see part of the pathway here.

We passed by the donkeys as we walked down, and they were in sad shape, so we decided that for the way back up we would take the funicular instead.  I fell in love with donkeys in Egypt, but that's because they were so well taken care of.  Here, they are for the express purpose of carting tourists around, and so, unfortunately, they don't seem to be in the best health.

Our boat to the islands.

On the boat, looking back towards town.  The zig-zagging line in the middle of the photo is what we ended up walking down.  It was quite steep, slippery, and with the scattered donkey shit everywhere, quite unpleasant.  But, as Ashley said, "go big or go home!".

The central volcanic island.

Making friends with the locals.  I tried to remain as still as possible, but sadly he didn't climb on my foot.

After the boat trip we sought out some hydration.

We drank the FRESHEST daiquiris on the bar's terrace and took in the fabulous views.