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May 2023 (Part 14)

Greece/Spain Trip - Day 7, May 19 - Syros

We had another decent crossing between Kythnos and Syros.  It took about 5 hours with a crosswind, which lead to waves from the side.  A couple more people joined us on deck from the start after learning their lesson the day before.  We had a nice wind for much of the morning before it finally died and we finished under motor.

Lexi stayed on deck, but was cocooned in a blanket for most of the crossing.

After the previous days rough seas, the rest of the crew was on deck for much of this crossing.  As several of them slept in again, they were a bit rough by the time they got on deck.  We let them have a spell behind the wheel, which allowed them to focus more on the boat and the horizon than their stomachs and helped get them settled down.  Here are Capt Marek, Neesha, Brad, and Yannick.

We were headed from a port on the west side of Kythnos to a port on the east side of Syros. so we spent some time rounding both islands.  Both were pretty barren, but had some pretty fascinating rock formations.

We approached the port from the north.  As it was recessed and behind a barrier island, we really didn't see much until we were almost in the port.  There was only really one structure that indicated we might be getting close to civilization.  We were headed for the town of Ermoupoli, which is the largest town in the Cyclades, and both the administrative and spiritual center for the area, as it is the seat of the bishop. 

Ermoupoli turned out to be a decent sized town.  There was a shipyard in the port along with a number of ferries.  Captain Marek was concerned about the ferries and stayed with the boat according to their schedule to deal with any issues the larger wake in the harbor might cause.

Once we docked, it was time to explore. We soon arrived at a National Resistance Monument which was erected in 1992.

We made our way to a gyros restaurant which Andy had found online.  It turned out to have an extra large size gryo which was amazing (I think it was Around The World Skewers).  This was Andy's favorite gyro of the trip, which says something as he had at least one, and often more, each day we were in Greece.  We never did see a lamb gyro, only chicken and pork.

We stopped next to admire the Transfiguration of the Savior Holy Orthodox Metropolitan Church.

From there we next stopped at the Archaeological Museum of Syros.  According to their pamphlet, this is one of the oldest archaeological museums in Greece and was founded in 1834-5.  It is now housed in the Municipal Offices in Ermoupoli, an important monumental building.  It was originally founded as the main museum for the entire Cyclades, as Syros was the capital.  However, as other local museums have opened, this museum has focused mainly on finds from Syros after the end of the last century.    The pamphlet stated that the most important part of the collection are finds from the settlement at Chalandriani, which stands on a steep hill in the middle of the east coast of Syros, where a large sections of the fortifications have been uncovered, along with the remains of houses and metal and pottery workshops.  This settlement, which is considered one of the most important of the so-called Early Cycladic civilizations, dates from the second half of the third millennium BS (2400/2300-2100BC).  The majority of these finds, works of marble carving, pottery and metal working, are grave offerings yielded by the excavations of the Archaeological Society at Chalandriani, during which about 600 tombs have been discovered.  A small number of these are displayed in the Syros museum, while the majority have been taken to the National Archaeological Museum in Athens.  There are also scattered finds from the island dating from the end of the Prehistoric period to the 8th century BC, belonging to Mycenaean and Geometric times, though they do not help us form an overall picture of life on Syros during these periods.  During the classical period (5th-4th century BC), Syros remained in the shadow of the neighboring island of Delos, though it had an independent constitution that imitated many features of the Athenian constitution.  By contrast, the island was more prosperous in Hellenistic and Roman times.  The museum also contains a number of items from the island discovered by chance and dating to the Hellenistic period, including a few sculptures and inscriptions, and several grave stelai.  Finally, there is keen interest in an Egyptian statuette of black granite, which was presented to the Museum some time ago and depicting the priest Anchapis and dates, at least according to the inscription, to 730 BC.

First, here are some items from the Roman era, including a leg from a marble table, a finial from an altar with Isis cult symbols, and the remains of a statue.

Here is an image of the excavation at Chalandriani.  According to Wikipedia, Chalandriani is the name of the cemetery, while Kastri is the name of the nearby fortified prehistoric settlement.  Both of which were first excavated in 1898.  The pottery and figurines in the next cases are from Kastri (and Chalandriani) and date to 2700-2200 BC.  (4000 years old). 

Here is a statue of black granite from Egypt, and two heads from Hellenistic Age statues.  The next statue head is a portrait of Agrippina from the 1st century AD, while the last is portrait of Drusis, also from the 1st century AD.

These two vases are from the proto-corinthian era from the 7th century BC.  The statue depicts Odysseus escaping from the cave of the Centaur.

Here are some Anatolian pottery vases.  Next are marble frying pans and bowls dating to 2700-2200 BC. 

We then headed around the corner, and discovered this statue in the atrium of the next building. 

Then, we continued into Miaouli Square, a sprawling square known for its regal neoclassical buildings and palm trees and located in front of the city hall and library.  It is named after the 1889 statue of admiral Andreas Miaoulis, hero of the Greek War of Independence, located in the square.

Lexi was a bit wiped out (and likely saw we intended to climb a lot of stairs after lunch).  While she headed to the boat for her book intending to go read in a cafe, we started to climb headed for the cathedral perched on top of the hill. 

However, we first came to the Church of Agios Nikolaos,  the Greek name of St Nicholas. 

As we got higher, there were increasingly better views out to the Aegean Sea.

We eventually made it to the Church of the Resurrection of Christ, which is at the top of the hill from the port city.  This was a cathedral as it was the church of the bishop.

The view included a good view down onto the Church of Agios Nikolaos we visited earlier, along with the island of Didimi, with a lighthouse offshore.

We were surprised to find a pigeon coop on the way down the hill.

We also came across some amazing bougainvillea (again).

Andy took the pictures above, and since he had the camera, he clearly had to take more.

Meanwhile, left to her own, Lexi found a number of cats that needed their picture taken.  Admittedly, there were cats everywhere.  They even invaded the cafe Lexi went to once she got her book from the boat.

She also stopped to admire the flowers.

Once we got back down, we checked on Alexa.  As she was sitting in a cafe next to a gelato store, we somehow all wound up with gelato.

Afterward, Andy decided he needed a swim to cool off.  We discovered a spot to get in right around the corner, so Andy spent some time snorkeling while Steve and Nancy took in impromptu nap on the shore.

We decided to wander around the point forming the seaward arm of the harbor.  We discovered that the Greek Coast Guard had a small station there next to an art gallery.  At the end of the point, was a small park with a stylized statue of Neptune, with his trident and a concrete slab.  Looking back into the harbor, a large vessel which we had now seen in a couple ports was along the quay.  Brad was sure glad the kids didn't congregate in front of our boat again riding their scooters and making noise late at night like they did a couple nights earlier.

There was a small breakwater and marker at the end of the pier.

Some nice pictures of the boat from this part of the harbor (our sailboat is on the left).

We tried to get the attention of Yannick, Neesha, and Tony, who were on the bow, eventually succeeding.

Andy eventually joined them on the bow, still wet from his swim.

On the way back, Nancy went ahead and got on the bow with Andy for a couple pictures.

That evening we had dinner at Arhontariki Restaurant, which was on a narrow, pedestrian-only street, but had wonderful food.

Looks like everyone had a pretty good time.  Here are some images from the rest of the crew in Soros.  Apparently, after the last ferry came through, Marek left the boat and caught up with the group, showing his skills at the piano.  He had heard from other Captains about the significant waves in the port from the ferries, and didn't want to be away from the boat, so was watching the ferry schedule pretty closely.

We were able to leave a bit later in the morning, as we were told not to get to the next harbor until later in the afternoon.  Here is some images of Syros as we headed away.

We rounded the offshore island of Didimi with its lighthouse as the only structure on the island.  The first three are from Syros before we departed, while the rest are taken from the other side looking back toward Syros.

Here are Nancy and Tony with Syros in the background.