Ermoupoli, Syros

Ermoupoli (Hermes' city) is the largest city on Syros and the capital of the Cyclades. Their harbor and trade was once bigger than Piraeus in Athens. My guidebook said it's the most Greek city in the Aegean. And by that they mean there's not many tourists and it's a real City. We loved it!

After visiting a few touristy places with overpriced everything, it's nice to be in a real city. There are lots of pedestrian streets and narrow lanes with cafes and restaurants spilling their chairs and tables out of the streets.

We were able to pull right up to the pier and dock there to get water and electricity. It's the happening spot with all the nicest cafes and restaurants and nightlife. For the first time of the trip, lots of people stopped to look at our boat and even take pictures. In other places in the islands, nobody cared.

We jumped off right away to explore. We visited a small theater from the late 19th century and went to an Orthodox Church on the hill. They had an original El Greco painting in the vestibule. He was about 20 when he painted it and it was in the classic Orthodox style, which is much different than his paintings that we saw in El Prado in Madrid from his later life.

We grabbed gelatos and wandered aimlessly for awhile. Later, we bought dinner for Bogdan and Beata. It was the least we could do to thank them for inviting us on this trip. As usual, the food was amazing.

It's Deanne's 64th birthday tomorrow, but we started celebrating early. I bought her a few gifts and at a wonderful bakery, we bought a huge pie of baklavas for everyone on the boat later. The woman at the bakery gave us a candle when I mentioned it was her birthday.

Later, everyone relaxed on the boat with aperol spritzes and watched me get a haircut from Kuba on the back of the boat. He's my new favorite Polish barber.

More photos and videos are here.

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