- Greek Odyssey 2021: Retrospective
- Day 73: Homeward Bound
- Day 72: Our Last Full Day
- Day 71: More Sifnos Sightseeing
- Day 70: Exploring Sifnos by Car
- Day 69: Sun, Sand and Sea on Sifnos
- Day 68: Bus Trip to Apollonia
- Day 67: Mum and Dad’s First Full Day on Sifnos
- Day 66: Mum and Dad Arrive on Sifnos
- Day 65: Sifnos Sunshine and Mavri Spilia Hike
- Day 64: More Clouds Over Sifnos
- Day 63: Sifnos Cloudy First Day
- Day 62: Sikinos to Sifnos
- Day 61: Sikinos Sightseeing
- Day 60: Relaxing on Sikinos
- Day 59: Ios to Sikinos
- Day 58: Ios Last Full Day
- Day 57: Ios Psathi Beach and Palaiokastro
- Day 56: Ios Chill Day
- Day 55: Ios Agia Theodoti Beach
- Day 54: Exploring South Ios Magganari Beach
- Day 53: Naxos to Ios
- Day 52: Exploring Naxos by Car
- Days 50-51: Agia Anna
- Day 49: Relaxing in Agia Anna / Plaka Beach
- Day 48: Island-Hopping Continues: Aegiali, Amorgos to Agia Anna, Naxos
- Day 47: Kos to Amorgos
- Day 46: Kos Final Full Day
- Day 45: Last Gym Session on Kos
- Day 44: Moving Hotel Room Part 2
- Day 43: Moving Hotel Room
- Day 42: Visiting Tigaki
- Days 38-41: Living Life in Kos Town
- Day 37: Back to Kos Town
- Days 34-36: Nothing But The Pool
- Day 33: Ed Departs, I Remain
- Day 32: Road Trip (with Ed!)
- Day 31: Boat Trip with Ed
- Day 30: Ed Arrives on Kos
- Day 29: Why I’m Still on Kos
- Day 28: Kos Town Hotel Move
- Day 27: Kos Beach Day Again
- Day 26: Kos Car Hire
- Day 25: Kos Town Beach Day
- Day 24: Cutting Tilos Short
- Day 23: Rhodes to Tilos
- Day 22: Rhodes Town Beach
- Day 21: Exploring Rhodes Town
- Day 20: Rhodes Arrival from Karpathos
- Day 19: Exploring Karpathos by Car
- Day 18: Ammopi Beach by Bus
- Day 17: Karpathos Beach Day…Again
- Day 16: Karpathos Beach Day
- Day 15: Karpathos Arrival
- Day 13: Gortyn, Heraklion and Sitia
- Day 12: Phaistos and Matala
- Day 11: Preveli and Agia Galini
- Day 10: Road Trip Across Crete
- Day 9: Last Day in Palaiochora
- Day 8: Last Time at Grammeno Beach
- Day 7: Elafonissi Beach
- Day 6: Finally the Wind Dies Down
- Day 5: Grammeno Beach Again
- Day 4: Frangokastello, Hora Sfakion and Chania
- Day 3: Palaiochora Morning Exercise
- Day 2: Palaiochora and Grammeno Beach
- Day 1: Crete Arrival
- Touring Greece Without a Plan
- An Exciting Journey Begins
Wednesday 21st July 2021
Topping up the Tan
After a few busy days exploring Crete, I was keen to relax on my first day here on Karpathos. I woke early and was down at breakfast as soon as it started at 7:30 am. Once again, the selection and quality were mediocre but I had lowered my expectations given the cost of the hotel and was happy to make do with bread, butter, coffee and orange juice.
I wasn’t sure what the beach would be like in Pigadia, but I got my sunbathing gear ready and set off down the hill towards the coast. To try and find the best spot, I got down onto the beach at the closest point to my hotel, then followed the bay around to the west.
The sea was a little wavy, but the beach itself was nice and sandy. It was still early in the morning so there was hardly anyone around, just the way I like it! After walking for 10-15 minutes, I ended up at some sunbeds outside a taverna called Sardeles. The sea looked decent here and had my pick of beds, so I decided to set up camp here for the day.
Time to Relax
As it turned out, the sunbeds I had chosen weren’t run by the taverna but by a lady who lives in the house next door. They only cost €5 for the day, though, which seemed pretty reasonable so I was happy to stick around. I spent the morning sunbathing while reading my Kindle and listening to Spotify. The temperature was good, not quite as hot as it had been on Crete but plenty warm enough to need regular dips in the ocean to cool off!
At midday, I went over to Sardeles for some lunch. It turned out to be rather more expensive than I expected after I ordered a beer, tzatziki, flatbread and a pizza – €17 in total and I couldn’t even eat all the pizza! Lesson learned for my next visit.
I stayed at the beach until 2 pm, then decided to head back to the hotel. From my location on the beach, it took a good 20-minutes in the full sun so wasn’t a pleasant walk but I knew there was a cool shower waiting for me back in my room. I chilled out for a while and then popped down to the pool for a bit more sun, but didn’t stay long as there were some young children making quite a lot of noise and splash – not my idea of relaxation! I tried sunbathing on my balcony instead, but with no breeze and the extractor fan from my air conditioning, it was like sitting in an oven so I quickly abandoned that idea!
Actually Eating Dinner
After yesterday’s cocktail experience derailed my plans for dinner, I was determined (and hungry) to eat something tonight. Mum and Dad, who visited Karpathos several years ago, recommended a place called Acropolis so I decided to give it a try. The food was delicious: salmon tagliatelle and a slice of carrot cake for dessert, though a bit on the expensive side so I definitely blew my food budget for the day!
