The Athens Urban Transport Organisation, OASA, announced a new “tourist ticket”:  three days of unlimited travel on all modes of public transport for 15 Euro.

While we personally seldom spend more than 24 hours in the Athens / Piraeus area this sounds like a good deal even for two days.  We find we are hesitant to take unfamiliar buses because they may turn the next corner and go a different direction.  With this ticket you just get off at the next stop and take a different bus—a nice adventure of discovery.

The old one day, all mode ticket only cost about 3 Euro but included only one trip to or from the airport.  So you couldn’t pop into Athens during an airport layover without buying two tickets.

This new tourist ticket also includes the tram to Glyfada and Piraeus as well as the Bus 400, which is a hop on, hop off service for the major attractions.

We have found Athens a terrible place to walk due to cars blocking the footpaths.  Now you can take the Metro, or bus, or tram, or train everywhere and don’t need to walk.  Cheers!

Anyone interested in geology, volcanoes, minerals and the like must go to Milos.  Everyone else will find it quite an interesting island with a lot of variety and differences from other Cycladic islands.

We stayed in the port town of Adamas but found the fishing village of Pollonia more pleasant; it reminded us of our home village of Aliki. 

Other pleasant places were Plaka and Tripiti which overlooked a Roman theatre which overlooked an ancient port.

I won’t post photos here of the two areas that one always sees in articles about Milos, Sarakiniko and Papafragus, but we did go there and enjoyed the experience.

The highlight for me was the Mining Museum and the abandoned sulphur mine (see previous post for photo).  The latter is difficult to find over rough and not clearly mapped roads. (Clues are to keep going straight and watch for signs reading Thiorichia in Greek letters.)

If you are into buying property on a Greek island, Milos should have some cheap places left because more than half the island is remote and undeveloped.  A lot of the rest is wind swept with open mines, so you need a tolerance for dust and in places the slight smell of sulphur.

At the abandoned sulphur mine—the workers just up and left one day in 1958 when they found out the owners were bankrupt—I was fascinated by all the volcanic rock and minerals of infinite variety and colour laying everywhere. 

We were also intrigued that the island has countless caves that were adapted for current use by the inhabitants.  

Among the minerals being actively mined to this present day are bentonite, perlite, kaolin, and baryte.  Look them up, if you want to know more.

Another highlight of our Milos visit was a meal at the O! Hamo taverna.  We have never seen anything like it in Greece for charm and character.  Then we were pleasantly surprised by friendly, efficient service and to top it off, the food was great.  I strongly advise any island hoppers who are getting tired of the traditional taverna to make a point of discovering this place at the edge of Adamas.  Its a place to write home about!

My wife, Karin, and I just returned from 6 days on Milos and Sifnos. Hopefully I will write up more about these islands, but here are a few photos to get started.        Click to enlarge.

The first is Firaplaka on Milos.

The second is an abandoned sulphur mine on Milos.

This is the village of Vathy on Sifnos.

The old and new plus ever-young Karin in the ancient village of Kastro on Sifnos.

Like really young!  Then the following will appeal to you.  It is an offering from the IOS PASS.

IF YOU MISS IT.....4 SHURE YOU REGRET IT FOREVER. SLAMMER BAR..... THE 1 AND ONLY..... THE MOST FAMOUS BAR IN THE CENTER OF THE VILLAGE. TRY THE REAL SLAMMER AND GET READY TO PARTY.

Or how about the epitome of Ios:

THE PARTY PLACE AT MYLOPOTAS BEACH. GROOVY....COOL....FUNKY.... NEVER MISS THE WET T-SHIRT CONTEST. FOR SHURE YOU´LL FIND THE BEST LOOKING T-SHIRTS ALL OVER THE WORLD. NO FAR OUT - NO IOS!

In my opinion Ios is for the under 25 crowd to burn them selves out in a few nights and then come to Paros to recuperate.  We have something for everyone—including wild jam-packed beach bars and all night night clubs—but on Paros there is more.  Browse our web site to see what.

P.S.  The Ios Pass is another example of someone being creative to support their Greek island lifestyle.  More ideas here.

What to Monument Valley Arizona and a Greek pop singer have in common?  I don’t know.  Watch this music video and maybe you can tell me, if you understand Greek that is.  This song, Alitissa Psyche, is from Anna Vissi’s latest album, Forbidden.

What makes this blog worthy is that Anna Vissi will be including Paros in her concert series this summer.  She opens 29 June in Athens but most other venues and dates are not yet firm; they include Thessaloniki, Sifnos and Santorini.  I am sure they will be posted on her web site:  www.annavissi.net as they become available.

In the mean time enjoy some of her music from Amazon:

A healthy soft drink?  Well, considering that I think red wine is a health food, reader beware.

The Greek island of Chios has recently announced a new soft drink named Mast.  The islanders call mastic, the active ingredient of this new drink, the gift from God.  It already flavours many products, mainly chewing gum, liquors and sweets.  It is also used in many cosmetics for its soothing benefits.

The mastic “Pistacia lentiscus” is an evergreen shrub of the Pistachio family cultivated for its aromatic resin mainly on Chios in the eastern Aegean.  Within the European Union mastic spice production on Chios has been granted protected status much like a grape varietal.  Although the plant is native to the Mediterranean region only the mastic trees of southern Chios weep the mastica resin when their bark is scored.  The island’s production is controlled by a co-operative of medieval villages.

The aromatic, ivory coloured liquid is then sun dried into a brittle, translucent solid.  When chewed the resin softens and becomes a bright white, opaque gum.  Chewing the gum is said to soothe aching stomachs.  People of the Mediterranean have used it as a medicine for gastrointestinal ailments for thousands of years.

Claims for mastic include cholesterol reduction to lesson high blood pressure and heart attacks.  Mastic oil also has anti-bacterial and anti-fungal properties.  Oh yes, it cures bad breath too.

So, if your corner store doesn’t yet stock Mast, come visit Greece.  If the wine and the mastic does not cure your ailments the light and the air will soothe your soul.

This post was re-written from a Press Release through Athens News Agency.

Photo from here.