Samos, Greece

Bidding Alexis goodbye (she was heading towards the Mediterranean coast of Turkey), I went up to see Lee Anne (the woman we had met last night at dinner) to discuss my next adventure. I had decided that I wanted to take a ferry over to a Greek Island and the only question was to decide which one and from where. Lee Anne's hotel actually sold tickets for the ferry from Kusadasi to Samos and since that was closer than heading back up to Cesme and going to an island from there, this seemed like the best plan. It also worked for more easily getting to the airport of Izmir on Saturday so my plan was set.


Kusadasi is a thriving port city where many cruise ships arrive so that folks can take the excursion up to Ephesus. The bazaar built around this port area was huge. Clearly, they know that many times folks are looking to buy something to remind them of Turkey so you could find almost anything there. I noticed that the scarfs I had bought in Istanbul for 5-10 Turkish lire were 20 here. I did see, however, that some of the ceramic items were less than I had found in Selcuk. I guess it serves one well to "shop" around. I headed for the ferry, got through customs, and enjoyed a cool breeze for the nearly 2 hour boat ride over to Samos.

This small island seemed to have everything that Greece is known for -- small, curvy, hilled pathways, beautiful water, and outdoor cafes everywhere. I almost landed a great room about 1/2 mile from city centre but the room was gone when I got there so the owner told me he'd save a room for me for the following day (it overlooked the water) and took me to another pension back in the middle of the city. The proprietor was gruff, intense, and probably on a bi-polar high when I checked into his place. Not my ideal, but close to town, I took the room and headed out to explore. The lateness of the evening left me time for dinner and a rest so that the following day I could explore the island more.

After settling into the original hotel for the second night the owner drove me to the bus station and I took a bus to the opposite side of the island where it had a rocky shoreline but wonderful winds. This became my day of rest. Renting a lounge and umbrella I slept, read my book, ate and drank by the water, and contemplated the joys of a beautiful location. When I walked back into the small town I found a beautiful little beach town with tons of beach bars, souvenir shops, and people windsurfing. It was a gorgeous location and one that reminded me a bit of Hawaii. Not a bad way to take a peaceful timeout. I found a cute little blue dress that I'll probably never find a place to wear back home but got anyway and headed back to my hotel and dinner. The following day would be about traveling back to Istanbul.

I can't say that Greece is particularly well organized. We were told to be at the port by 8:30 for a 9 a.m. ferry ride but they didn't even open up customs till 9:30. I met an interesting Swedish woman (retired or unemployed school teacher at the moment) who was heading home to her condo in Kusadasi after being in Crete and enjoyed the ferry ride back to Turkey. When I arrived back in Selcuk I went to the restaurant I'd been to several days previously and had some cool hummus, bread, and salad. He actually remembered seeing me the time before and recommended that I check out the train as my way to return to the airport. Apparently if you went by bus, they dropped you off in the middle of the freeway and you either walked or found a taxi to get into the airport.

This day included the following multiple transportation options -- car to the ferry, ferry from Greece to Turkey, small mini-bus from Kusadasi back to Selcuk, train from Selcuk to the airport, plane back to the Asian side of Istanbul, a large bus from the airport to the European side of Istanbul, and a taxi (later) to Marat's apartment. I was only missing a bike and a motorcycle. The most interesting was the local train. We crammed on -- standing in a non-air-conditioned ante room -- hoping to find a seat for the one hour ride. I was pleased to see the care of people. As a small baby cried from the heat of the situation, nearly everyone in the train tried to offer the mother their seat. Since she was getting off soon, she didn't take the seat so we all tried fanning the baby to help keep her temperature down in this sweltering heat. Luckily, she didn't have far to go but my belief in mankind was definitely reinforced.

Although a short venture, I was pleased I had gone to the Aegean Coast and that I had taken the time to go over to Greece. I would like to return to both of these areas (and go further down on the mediterranean coast and into the center of Turkey) as there is so much more to experience.