Greek islands with Oliver by ferry and bicycle: Kos, Astypalea, Amorgos, Santorini

For some time Oliver has been saying that he’d like to go on a bicycle tour. The timing was perfect for him, but I warned him that it wouldn’t be easy — unpleasant ferry times and too much heat. Who would want to cycle the Greek islands in June anyway? Well, I had plans to meet my cousin and his family in Crete so why not make a little trip out of it? It was Oliver’s first bicycle tour, and what turned out to be difficult for him wasn’t the heat but the hills. The climbs were not very long or very steep (for me), but it’s quite different if you’re not used to it.

IMG_20240602_192957 by bryandkeith on flickr

We started with a bus from Antalya to Bodrum, camped one night, and got the ferry the next morning to Kos. We spent about 12 hours in Kos, but that was our choice. Within Greece the reasonably-priced ferries (Blue Star and similar) seem to run once or twice a week so you take what you can get. As an example there are daily ferries between Santorini and Crete for about 93 euro/person, or you wait for Blue Star (on Wednesday or Friday only) for 16 euro/person. On the other hand, the ferries between Turkey and Greece mostly run daily and are all expensive so we could have stayed in Kos as many days as we liked (by arriving earlier).

IMG_20240603_062126 by bryandkeith on flickr
another of Muğla’s famous cisterns

But of course we had lots to do in Antalya to get ready. We left Antalya about as late as we could to catch the weekly Blue Star Ferry from Kos to Astypalea, leaving us with the aforementioned 12 hours in Kos. The first thing we did on Kos was ride to the Asklepieion, a sort of spa/hospital founded about 500 BCE. This is apparently where Hippocrates studied medicine. It’s not so exciting as Roman sites go, but it was crowded with tourists.

IMG_20240603_110952 by bryandkeith on flickr
IMG_20240603_105254 by bryandkeith on flickr
IMG_20240603_103819 by bryandkeith on flickr
IMG_20240603_104327 by bryandkeith on flickr

Not far from the port is a museum with this nice Roman fresco showing a god (center), Hippocrates (left), and a Koan (a person from Kos):

Mosaic pavement from the Roman house of Asclepius at Serayia.  The scene depicts the disembarkation of the god Asclepius in Kos.  Hippocrares, seated left, and a standing Koan greet the god's arrival.  2nd-3rd AD by bryandkeith on flickr

In addition to Roman ruins scattered through town we found this fenced-off Ottoman mosque:

Gaza Hasan Paşa Mosque by bryandkeith on flickr

With our night departure from Kos we arrived on Astypalea at 1am and slept for a few hours near the port. The eponymous village is a looker.

IMG_20240604_102308 by bryandkeith on flickr
IMG_20240604_110122 by bryandkeith on flickr
IMG_20240604_112824 by bryandkeith on flickr

The riding was hot and hilly but not long to Pánormos Beach where we spent a real night. Oliver was getting used to the bicycle.

IMG_20240604_151621 by bryandkeith on flickr
IMG_20240604_154326 by bryandkeith on flickr
A beach to ourselves with shade but no drinking water by bryandkeith on flickr
IMG_20240604_190607 by bryandkeith on flickr

That’d be a relaxing place to spend multiple nights, but there’s no drinking water (and no nearby shop). Even in the village center people buy bottled water (in 1.5l bottles) for drinking. Really? What an incredible amount of plastic bottle trash! The same was true on Santorini while on Amorgos there were water refilling stations like in Mexico or the Philippines. Yay! On Kos and Crete we drank the tap water. Why can’t Astypalea and Santorini figure this out?

We left in the afternoon and arrived in Ormos Egialis on Amorgos early enough to get our tents set up in the campground before dark. Friendly ferry schedule! 🙂

The next day we visited Tholaria:

IMG_20240606_104849 by bryandkeith on flickr
IMG_20240606_104534 by bryandkeith on flickr

and Lagadha:

IMG_20240606_130038 by bryandkeith on flickr
IMG_20240606_125755 by bryandkeith on flickr

Ormos Egialis was cute as well.

IMG_20240607_095929 by bryandkeith on flickr

Amorgos with its white villages with blue trim was the Greek island that I’ve imagined since childhood. We rode up through Chora:

IMG_20240607_151850 by bryandkeith on flickr
IMG_20240607_152828 by bryandkeith on flickr

on the way to Katapola where we spent our last two nights on Amorgos.

IMG_20240608_123822 by bryandkeith on flickr
IMG_20240608_125026 by bryandkeith on flickr
IMG_20240607_161117 by bryandkeith on flickr
IMG_20240608_115438 by bryandkeith on flickr

The 3500-year-old (?) ruins on the hill (called Minoa?) were perhaps the summer palace of Minoan King Minos (from Crete?). For not being very interesting, I was surprised how many tourists were there. An 89-year-old man walking by himself remembered there was more to see when he visited 35 years ago. Maybe they’ve covered some stuff up to protect it?

IMG_20240608_111933 by bryandkeith on flickr

The ferry to Santorini was actually conveniently scheduled as well.

Uh, wow, Santorini is the real deal. Of course, I’ve heard about it for years. A work colleague’s dream was a vacation in Santorini, and I knew her style wasn’t my style. Well, sure, Santorini’s not my style, but it’s definitely worth seeing. I was stunned. The main attraction are the towns — Fira, Imerovigli, and Oia — perched on the rim of the crater and spilling into the caldera which is now mostly the sea. More than half of the volcano rim is still above water, and there are a couple islands in the center of the caldera as well.

IMG_20240610_094515 by bryandkeith on flickr
IMG_20240609_172005 by bryandkeith on flickr
IMG_20240609_171514 by bryandkeith on flickr
IMG_20240609_172401 by bryandkeith on flickr

We’ve all seen photos, but who knew it would be so beautiful? The straight lines and desert vegetation reminded me of Palm Springs… until you look down to the blue Aegean.

IMG_20240609_163035 by bryandkeith on flickr
IMG_20240609_171839 by bryandkeith on flickr
IMG_20240610_091738 by bryandkeith on flickr
IMG_20240610_090938 by bryandkeith on flickr
IMG_20240609_172256 by bryandkeith on flickr
IMG_20240609_172614 by bryandkeith on flickr

Oliver and I walked one morning from Fira to Oia via Imerovigli.

That's Oia. by bryandkeith on flickr
IMG_20240610_120056 by bryandkeith on flickr
IMG_20240610_122733 by bryandkeith on flickr
IMG_20240610_122231 by bryandkeith on flickr

After that the other sights of Santorini are kind of drab. The old Roman city of Thera is on top of a hot, dry, desolate hill.

IMG_20240611_100137 by bryandkeith on flickr
IMG_20240611_101239 by bryandkeith on flickr
IMG_20240611_102205 by bryandkeith on flickr

The highlight was the dolphin carving.

IMG_20240611_094137 by bryandkeith on flickr

We also visited the 4000-year-old ruined Minoan city of Akrotiri which is quite different from the famous Minoan palaces on Crete. Akrotiri was a city destroyed (and thus preserved) by a volcanic eruption similar to Pompeii. However, unlike at Pompeii, no bodies have been found at Akrotiri. Could the city have been abandoned due to earthquakes shortly before the eruption? Or did people come back to retrieve belongings and take care of the bodies? There are unanswered questions.

IMG_20240612_141842 by bryandkeith on flickr
IMG_20240612_144933 by bryandkeith on flickr

That evening we had a 1am departure to Crete, but Santorini was the end of the bicycle touring that Oliver and I did together so I’ll leave Crete for another post.

IMG_20240612_183231 by bryandkeith on flickr
Greek_islands_with_Oliver_096dpi by bryandkeith on flickr
it’s mostly a ferry tour; bicycling in red

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2 Responses to Greek islands with Oliver by ferry and bicycle: Kos, Astypalea, Amorgos, Santorini

  1. Jennie Werner says:

    So beautiful–I haven’t been in the Greek Isles since 1986!! Looks like it is still absolutely spectacular!!

  2. Mike Painter says:

    Santorini IS still beautiful, nice to see!

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