Today was a lot of fun. After my morning A.M. run around the island and breakfast, we decided to walk around and see what we would stumble upon.
We trekked up a large flight of stone stairs and just over the other side appeared a beautiful beach and a brand new village in the distance, which we had no idea even existed. Aimlessly walking around is sometimes the best way to travel, as you will find the most random places of beauty.
The beach was relatively empty, so finding a spot in the shade was not a problem. We chilled here for awhile enjoying the cool, brisk breeze and the waves crashing up onto our feet.
After the beach, we caught the 5 o'clock bus that was heading up to the top of the main mountain on the island of Serifos. The one-way bus ticket cost was 1,80 Euro, which brought you right up near the top of the mountain. To get here, the bus had to make a number of 180 degree hairpin turns, many times stopping oncoming traffic.
The main attraction here is known as the Castle of Chora, which we came to find was more of a Church than a castle. The bus dropped us off at the stop and then we were on our own.
We found a set of stairs and decided to take this path. We had no idea where it lead, but we knew one thing for certain-- we were heading up.
We walked through the village streets (more like sidewalks than streets) passing by homes and small shops. Along the way were many perches and balconies with secret passage ways and little cubbyholes.
Most of these lead to people's homes, some of which were deserted and others that were not. It was quite an experience to say the least.
The trek consisted of a number of random twists and turns, which were really just educated guesses. If it came to a dead end, then we would just turn around and head in the opposite direction, until we reached the top.
The Church of Chora
The view from here was just spectacular, as you can see from the photo below:
The best part about the whole thing is that we were the only ones at the top, so we had the entire view to ourselves. In the summer, mainly July and August, the place is generally mobbed with travelers from all over the globe- the French, Italians, Americans, Australians, Germans, Chinese, you name it.
Tomorrow, we continue our island hopping, as we will be leaving Serifos at noon and heading for Sifnos.
Sifnos is supposed to be one of the nicest islands in the Cyclades, according to the Greece travel guru, Matt Barrett.