Sep 12

Sep 12 The Port, Nudists & Flippers

7am at Piraeus Port | Photograph by Alexander Bateman

The week leading up to our trip to Ikaria was quite possibly one of the most stressful weeks of my life. Perhaps it's not surprising, therefore, that I am so very relieved and glad to be here now.

Last time we came to Ikaria, we flew from Athens. Despite being a smallish and rather unpopular island when it comes to tourism, Ikaria does have a very small airport. This time, however, we decided to take the ferry with Helenic Seaways. The ferry departed at 7:30 am and took about 7 hours to get here. It stopped at a couple of other islands before reaching Ikaria and heading towards its final destination – Patmos. The views, in general, were pretty spectacular and to see the different islands ‘grow’ as the ferry approached their ports was a nice bonus.

Arriving at Ikaria by ferry, however, added its own amount of charm to the trip. Seeing how things work at the port, its workers and the incredible simplicity and lack of bureaucracy was truly refreshing. The weather was unsurprisingly a dream and I cannot tell you just how very simple and uncomplicated it is to rent a car – you pay cash on pick up, no card details are exchanged and you drop the car off unlocked at the airport when you leave. This is a blessing in itself considering how much of a nightmare hiring a car in Europe can be!

The tiny village where we are staying has a tiny beach that is rather popular with nudists. Although I’m not quite that brave myself, I find the lack of ‘judgement’ and relaxed atmosphere a welcome change.

After arriving at the house, unpacking and preparing to go for an amazing meal at our favourite local taverna, we did the one thing we’d been dreaming about for months – we picked up our flippers, goggles and a towel to share and went swimming in the Aegean.