Date: September 2015
The only times we could book a ferry was 8 am to the island and also for the return leg. There are several ferries that run from the Athens to the islands. The public ferries to Poros cost €12 however they were only running from 1:30pm and returning at 6am and take about 2 or 3 hours to get to Poros. We decided to go on the privately owned ferries that was a Catamaran, they took 1.5 hours to get to Poros and have better times for leaving. This cost €25 per person each way.
We woke up at 6am to catch the ferry and got a taxi to the harbour. The cost of the taxi was about €6. When we got on the boat we realised why the ferries were so busy, apparently there was a wedding happening on the island and also due to the elections schools were off on the Friday and the Monday we were there.
We got onto the Catamaran and all of us fell asleep, as we were all so exhausted from the night before (see Athens blog post http://theglobeltrotter.blogspot.com/2015/10/athens-greece.html). An hour and a half later we arrived in Poros.
We took a taxi (€7) to the Panorama Apartments http://www.poros.biz/ that we rented our for 2 nights. It was for a four bedroom self service apartment, the total cost for the apartment was €96 which we split between the three of us. It was on top of a hill over looking the sea. There was everything we needed for two days there, it was also very clean and the staff were very helpful and friendly. Highly recommend staying here. We managed to check in early, so we dropped our stuff off at the hotel and made our way down the hill to the Panorama Cafe for breakfast, this is where we would end up have breakfast both mornings. It is not affiliated with the apartment however, as a guest of the apartment you do get 10% off your bill. Sticking to my gluten free meals, I opted for the greek yoghurt, fruit and honey. The yoghurt was deliciously thick and the balance of fruit and honey made it just the right sweetness. The first morning I had a cold chocolate (basically hot chocolate only cold!) and the second morning I had fresh orange juice . Leila loved El Frappe (iced coffee) and had one almost everywhere we went! as well as a vegetarian breakfast, which was basically toast and jam. Stef had a pastry with cheese and ham. Altogether both mornings our bill came to roughly about €20.
After breakfast we crossed the road to the beach, which offered free deck chairs and umbrellas. We went for a dip in the water. I had brought my goggles looking forward to what I might find. I found that there was fish with a black spot (Saddled Bream) on their tail and other fish with orange and some with yellow markings. One fish had a zebra type pattern and at one point started attacking me and my friend. It was quite funny though. I also saw a small plaice and swimming next to them were a couple of fish smaller fish. The water was very clear and easy to see to the bottom. The sea was also very calm. We spent our day sunbathing and swimming, which was very relaxing.
Lunch time and Stef and I got hungry, Leila stayed on the beach while we went in search of food. Across the street from the beach next to the Panorama Cafe was the Panorama Restaurant. Everywhere you sit down to eat, they will always serve bread and dip on the table. I had the vegetable risotto and Stef had grilled chicken and rice, all tasted great. We got Leila some aubergine chips with mint dip. The total charge came to about €18. Back to the beach for a quick dip and a bit more sunbathing, then we headed back to the apartment. All that heat and sun made us very sleepy so we all took a nap before getting ready for out night out in the main town.
Another short taxi ride later (€5) we were in the town. We walked down the street by the water, on the waters edge were several expensive yachts and one of them emitted a blue light into the water which attracted hundreds of tiny fish. As we walked further along the street we came across some souvenir stores. They had you usual tourist items; fridge magnets, shot glasses, T shirts etc. There was also items that were only from Greece such as olive oil soap with all different fragrances. We took this opportunity to buy our various gifts and then we made our way up to The Platanos Taverna restaurant.
We wanted to get off the main street so we headed up a small staircase and made our way through the tiny walk way streets, that gave us more a traditional feel. It was amazing to think that just one street up and we were away from all the hustle and bustle of the street below. We past lots of stray cats and even saw a gecko. Climbing up closer towards the Clock Tower (which sat at the top of the hill and was one of the main features in the town.) 
As we got closer to The Taverna we could hear traditional greek music playing. When we arrived there were 3 musicians and one of them has a traditional instrument that looks like a guitar called the Bazuki. We sat down and ordered various dishes, Greek salad, Hot beetroot with a strong garlic dip, Stef and I shared a seafood risotto and Leila had baked aubergine. Leila had a beer that was 500 ml and cost €3, amazingly cheap, the total cost of the meal was . They were all delicious and whilst we were eating various customers at the restaurant got up to dance to the music. When we finished we were all full and decided that we need to go for a walk to work off the food and visit a Gelato place that we had passed on the waterside for dessert.
As we walked further along the water side we passed lots of stray cats, we came across one of the stray cats staring at the water like he was on the hunt. When we looked over the side we could see shoals of tiny little fish. It was the cutest site. We passed bars and restaurants along the way. All of them had seating inside and out. We settled down outside of that that was playing various 90's music a waitress came to take our order and we ordered some cocktails. They cost about €8 each, however they were quite weak and did not taste great. Leila's tasted like sun tan lotion!! The hours flew by as we caught up and by the time we knew it, it was around 3 am. We decided to head back and catch some sleep. The taxi rank was nearby and as soon as we crawled into bed, lights went out till 10am!
We wanted to make the most of the sunshine so we made our way to the Cafe for breakfast. After eating we hailed a taxi to take us to a quiet cove called Love Bay. It was about a 10 min drive away and cost about €7. You could purchase sun beds and umbrellas for €2.50 each. There were also 2 hammocks that were extremely comfortable to lay in. The atmosphere was very relaxed there was only about 10 of us on the beach and love songs played the whole day. The water was not as still as its the side of the island where the boats come in so the waves ripple towards the cove, however the water was still nice, my goggles broke so I was unable to see what was around us. Leila and I hired a kayak which €5 for half an hour. I made Leila do all the work while I lounged in the back! may I add she did a very good job :).
After our jaunt in the kayak, combined with heat and the sun I ended up in the hammock having a snooze for about 15 mins. Afterwards we decided to get a snack and walked down the street taking in the view about 10 mins later we reached a corner store, purchased some snacks and sat outside to eat. We made friend whilst we were eating and he was very disappointed to see us leave in the taxi. However he turned around and went to the next group of people he came across, clearly not that sad. We headed back to the apartment to got ready for dinner and headed back down to the Panorama Restaurant for our final dinner.  |
| Sunrise from our balcony |
We got a taxi back down to the harbour. When we got there we could see the dark clouds in the distance. Glad we got the early taxi because there would have been a chance we would have been stranded on the island, though none of us really wanted to leave, we had a plane to catch and still had to see a bit more of Athens before then. We boarded the ferry and again fell fast asleep.
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