Day 1: Flight to Athens, Piraeus and Sifnos Arrival

Sunday, 18th June 2023

An Early Start

I woke to my alarm at 1:30am having had very little sleep. Our flight was at 7:30am, but we had a 2.5-hour drive to Gatwick Airport, and I was picking Ed up from his house first. After checking my luggage and travel documents were in the car, I headed out just before 2am.

The drive to Gatwick felt long, but at least the traffic was minimal, and we had no delays.

Gatwick Flight

With no hold luggage to check, we sailed through security with only a small queue – the benefits of an early flight – and made it to the departure lounge a little after 5am. Quite early for our 7:30am departure, but it’s better early than late as far as I’m concerned! We headed to the Wetherspoons pub for a cooked breakfast and cheeky pre-flight pint! I’m not a big fan of early morning alcohol, but it’s something of a tradition and definitely helped to pass the time before boarding.

Fortunately, our flight was on time. We boarded shortly before 7am and were in the air a little past 7:30, heading to Greece again, woohoo! Ed and I weren’t sitting together, as I’d chosen a front-row seat for extra legroom, while Ed opted to save money and sit further back in a randomly allocated space. I spent most of the flight reading my Kindle and listening to Spotify on my noise-cancelling headphones: a must-have item for flying, in my opinion.

Athens Arrival and Race to Piraeus

Despite the on-time departure, we knew we didn’t have much time to spare if we would make it onto the 15:50 ferry from Piraeus to Sifnos. Landing just after 1pm, it seemed at first like we’d easily make it, but by the time we’d disembarked, been through passport control, and exited the terminal, it was close to 2pm.

We discussed whether to take a taxi over the bus or metro to ensure we didn’t miss the boat, but agreed that the extra cost wasn’t ideal and that we should have time to get there by public transport. Opting for the metro, we got tickets and waited for the next train. On a previous trip to Athens, the metro took just over an hour from Piraeus to the airport, so I was still confident that we’d get there in time. However, as our train headed through the city, we seemed to be making agonisingly slow progress. I kept checking my watch and our GPS location to estimate what time we’d get to Piraeus, fluctuating between confidence that we’d get there and regret that we might be too late and should have taken a taxi.

The train pulled up at Piraeus station just before 3:30pm. We were almost there! The metro station is a good 10-15 minute walk from the port, but we zipped through the crowds and even risked stopping at a small concession stand to buy some water, crisps, and, of course, beer for the ferry! Entering the port through gate E10, I spotted our boat moored up a short distance away, with a queue of passengers still boarding. We had made it!! The sense of relief was immense, and I broke into a wide smile as we strolled the last few metres and joined the back of the queue.

Ferry to Sifnos

After a much-needed toilet break, we found our allocated seats and got comfortable for the 2.5-hour crossing to Sifnos. Our seats weren’t close to a window, and I was slightly concerned about getting travel sick, but fortunately, it was a smooth crossing, and even my second can of beer didn’t have any ill effects.

We docked at Sifnos shortly before 6:30pm. I was quite tired but excited to return to my favourite island. The walk along the main road from the harbour in Kamares brought back many happy memories of previous visits, especially seeing the wide, golden sand beach glittering in the late afternoon sun.

The walk to Hotel Boulis took about 10 minutes. We were the only guests checking in, so within a few minutes, we had our room keys and headed upstairs to shower and unpack, agreeing to meet at 7:30pm to head out for a cocktail (or two) at Captain’s Bar before finding somewhere to eat.

Cocktails and Dinner in Kamares

The cool shower revived me after 17 hours of travelling. It was warm outside but not excessively hot, so I dressed in jean shorts and a shirt, then knocked on Ed’s door in the adjacent room to see if he was ready to go.

Captain’s Bar has a great location on the southern corner of the beach. We sat at a beachfront table and ordered two cocktails from their happy hour menu (2 for €10), then relaxed and discussed our plans for the week ahead. The second round of cocktails went down even faster than the first, but sensing that we were in danger of not making it to dinner, we resisted a third round and instead paid our tab and made our way onto the street in search of food.

Camaron Italian Restaurant

Directly opposite Captain’s Bar, Camaron was my favourite place to eat on my first visit to Sifnos in 2020. While I think the food at Passione Italiana is just a bit better, I had to give Camaron the honour of our first dinner, especially as the waitress has always remembered me on previous trips, and I was keen to see if it would happen again.

Sure enough, as we approached and gestured for a table, the waitress came out and smiled at us. Then I saw a look of recognition on her face; she remembered me! I said hello again, and we exchanged pleasantries (as best we could with the language barrier), then sat down and perused the menu, suddenly realising we were both starving, having not eaten a proper meal since breakfast!

Despite the cocktails already in full effect, we ordered a litre carafe of wine, plus some starters. I chose my favourite main course, ‘Tortellini Camaron’, hoping it was as good as I remembered. It may have been the alcohol, but if anything, I think it was even better!

Our meal concluded, and we strolled – well, staggered – back across to the hotel. Ed had tentatively proposed a nightcap back at Captain’s Bar, but when I declined in favour of getting to bed, he saw reason and agreed we wanted to enjoy a good day tomorrow, and a hangover was not the way to achieve it!