Christina and Roland's Great Adventures: Little Bit of Island Life: Andros

"Have A Good Trip"

“Have a good trip.” Our final moments before floating away on the Aegean couldn’t have been more symbolic of the last couple of weeks. 4 days of wandering through ancient history and 10 Days of rest & relaxation at the beach were epic enough to deserve that message. It also helped reassure us that good times were still coming. Our next destination: the beautiful lush island of Andros. Home to about 10,500 people, Andros is a moderately sized chunk of mass in the Cyclades islands. The terrain is very diverse; it’s got cloud kissing mountains, rolling hills, brush land, sandy beaches and tons of foliage. We were really lucky to land at the time we did for several reasons: 1) Andros is a hotspot for vacationing during the summer. As much as we love to party, NYC gives us more than enough chaos all year round. So, we appreciate the peace and quiet. 2) Late September isn’t dreadfully hot, but not miserably cold. We hit a weather bull’s eye. Lastly, 3) Christina’s father was on the island with his buddy. So, we had a really nice roof to sleep under and an entire farm to ourselves =D

Beautiful sunset from ferry.

Batsi in the distance.

Port Gabri (Main Port of Andros)

Panoramic view of Batsi

Roadside Donkey

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Hanging Octopus Tentacles

The Greeks hang their octopus tentacles in order to dry out the meat. This method gives the octopus the proper texture and flavor which bring tears of joy.

Our First ATV rental.

Meet Dino, our trusty iron steed. We figured that renting a car was too cliché for our tastes. So, this was the optimal choice. We raced across Andros at blinding speeds, peaking at 52 kph… downhill. People were jealous of our awesomeness, for sure 8) This baby took us every corner of Andros: inside town, the beautiful beaches (which Andros has plenty of), and even the famed party island Mykonos (future blog post).

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Golden Beach, Andros

Soakin in the rays.

Sunset in Andros, across the Aegean Sea.

Remember how we mentioned the farm we lived on? Well, this piece of land was no joke. Fully equipped to be self-sufficient, our host grew everything from fruits & vegetables (olives, grapes, peaches, lemons, pomegranates, tomatoes, potatoes, cucumbers, peppers, and many more), to livestock (goats, lamb, chickens, and a prized pig). They are definitely prepared for extended isolation in case shit goes down in the larger cities. The panoramic view of the neighboring islands across the Aegean was out of this world. Christina and I spent many an evening watching the sunset, in awe of its beauty.

It didn’t take Roland long to develop a ritual. Every morning, he would wake up, put on his farming clothes and head outside to fetch breakfast. Roland loves to munch on fruit (especially when he wakes up). So he was really excited to hear that our host grows Figs on his farm.