Volos Palace Hotel Vólos

... of thing is perfectly fine for everyone else, it does not fly with my skin. The white one became red in the funniest of places and picked up even more freckles.

As Cian put it, telling him that he's darker than I am is a milestone for Irish people everywhere.

In any case, it was awesome to be escaping to an island.

10.04.09 Arrived in Volos and set off to explore the city on foot. Found a laundry service (cheaper than getting it done on the ship at 6.00 EUR / shirt un-ironed), we got several shirts, socks & smalls done for 8.00 EUR in total. Found a few shops of interest and saw a couple of adorable Dalmation Puppies in a pet shop, poor little mites no room and soiled cage. Lovely selection of fashion, bags ...

... which become a frequent mode of obtaining meal. I met many friends in Volos, and found the university students quite interesting and good company. We went out a few times, in the town which I found to be a very nice place, probably one of the better towns I had seen in quite some time.

... it is not exactly an express, but when one sees the engineering that has gone into taking the track round each valley head, round each headland, climbing steadily all the time, pace does not matter at all. At the head of the line is Milies, a lovely little village dominated by a central square with an excellent taverna for an excellent lunch. Lesley had roast goat (I kid you not), while I stuck more conservatively to lumps ...

... the wedding – Gregory, Irine & their daughter. Georgios’ mother, the ever cheerful and charming Alexandra was also there for the same purpose. We celebrated Gregory’s birthday on the day they arrived.

On one of the afternoons, we met up with Argi’s ex-English teacher, a Scottish lady named Lynne and had lunch at her home in Volos, where we were introduced to her Greek husband and 2 lovely children.

Vólos, Thessaly, Greece xuanargi

... to get a few good shots, so I asked Argi to engage her in a conversation to distract her attention away from me while I got on with my “mission”.

While she was happy enough to speak to Argi, she was clearly distracted by my presence, mainly because of my origin, which must be very foreign to her, coming from this part of the world. She began to ask Argi questions about me, where had I come from and why had ...

... but Argi decided that we will have a dip at a neighbouring beach called Fakistra.


Fakistra:

Fakistra is a more isolated beach compared to Milopotamos, with lesser crowd. It reminds me of the well hidden, mystical beach in Ibiza known as Atlantis by the original hippies there. Fakistra is "guarded" by steep rocky walls on both sides, giving it a very wild, isolated atmosphere. The only way to reach this gem of ...

... of staying in a hotel or motel.

Home made cakes and a variety of cold and dry food was spread out in a buffet style outside the kitchen inside the Mansion. The caretaker (a charming husband and wife team) then came to take our order for the cooked breakfast. Everything was absolutely fabulous!

Around Pelion:

Argi had cunningly combined my first visit to Greece with his meeting up with old friends and family – all in Volos ...

... space. The view from outside our hut was simply amazing. We could see the other side of the mountain with many villages dotted along the horizon. There was no air-condition in these huts but a standing fan was provided for us. We were perfectly alright with that because we were out most of the days anyway. Although the weather can get quite hot during the day in August, the mornings and nights were relatively cool and we slept with our windows opened on ...

... our way through town, trying to stop at most of the lights, dodging drivers who know where they're going and craning our necks to "keep the water to our right." Once we reach the road on the far side of Volos, we watch for a cutoff that will take us to Milies. Beyond that is the village of Vizitas and the hotel. The road to Milies winds up the side of a mountain. If it were any more crooked, it might turn into a mobius strip. It's also almost wide enough for ...