Vaporia

We didn't know much about Syros or Ermoupoli before we got there, but there was a brief article about it in the Speedrunner magazine, on board our ferry. The article included a picture, Susan showed it to me and asked "where's that?" without letting me see where the article was about. I had no idea - the image was of a lovely church atop a cliff and fine waterside buildings, right down to the water's edge a bit in the manner of "Little Venice" on Mykonos.

I was amazed to find it was Ermoupoli's Vaporia district - no guide book had ever included such a picture, nor mentioned how lovely it looked. Honestly, how many times have you seen that shot of Mykonos? It's one of its iconic shots, if not one of the whole Cyclades iconic shots. For me, Ermoupoli's is better, it just doesn't get the sunset or the hype. It was made even better by the mention of waterside cafes and swimming lidos. We decided this would be our first stop once we'd settled into the hotel.

Armed with instructions from George about how to get there, along with confirmation that "it's lovely" we set off. The whole area is beautiful (well we actually think ALL of Ermoupoli is beautiful, but this part especially so). There are several fine mansions in the quarter, as well as all of the large houses that face right on to the water, many having narrow alleyways between them giving glimpses down to the sea.

Some are restaurants with the most wonderful views.

The large church is that of St. Nicholas, and just in front of it is what is reputed to be the first ever monument to "The Unknown Soldier". Just past it (if you pass it on the right hand side) are steps that wind down to the lidos at the water's edge.

There are a few different lido areas, mostly with concrete platforms and steps down into the sea. The very last one of these is probably the best - it has a very classy beach bar and a shaded area (canopies) with sun beds if you want them. We just stayed on the concrete lido (which is free) and had a lovely leisurely dip in the ocean. This type of thing isn't to everyone's taste, some need the feel of sand and some need to be able to stand up in the sea! For me though it was perfect. As the saying goes "Location, Location, Location". If I had this on my doorstep I'd be a very happy man. The views, the crystal clear sea, the beach cafe, all within a few minutes walk of the office and home....

It seemed to be quite a popular thing, many people seemed to be calling in for a dip on their way to or from somewhere, many came for a short dip then went, some did huge circuits of the bay, swimming so far off you'd lose sight of them! Everyone just dumped their clothes and belongings on the lido and headed off into the sea. Lovely to live somewhere with that much trust in your fellow man.

We loved the beach bar. After we'd been out in the sun and the sea for long enough we headed for the shade of a canopy and had frappes and orange juices, listened to the funky dance vibe and just chilled. It was absolutely fabulous. We imagined that we'd be back doing this again, on another day of our holiday, especially when we heard of our enforced extra night. It wasn't to be though, there was just so much else to see and do that we never made it back. We certainly will next time, and I'd advise anyone else going to Ermoupoli to spend at least a couple of hours there, it's one of the "must do" things.

I leave you with a panorama of Ermoupoli's "Little Venice".