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Posts tagged ‘Europe’

Jun 23

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Thracian Cliffs

We thought we had indulged ourselves in Varna, but Thracian is another step up!  And so it should be, for the price we are paying!   The things we do to indulge Don’s passion for golf!  We have an apartment with spectacular views, and a bathroom with a bathtub (I don’t remember the last bathtub we had) and most exciting; a washing machine!  Who thought I would ever get excited over a washing machine.

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Our tee time is for 8:45am, as we want to play before the heat of the day kicks in.  However, when we turn-up to collect our golf clubs and cart, we are told the course is still too wet for carts.  You would need to be a mountain goat to play without one; the course is not designed for walking, even though some are braving it, I’m certainly not!  Without hesitation, Don rescheduled for 12 noon, when carts should be usable.

We return and are waiting for our cart and clubs.  We have read feedback on the resort in regards to poor service.  Until now, we had no complaints, but it takes impossibly long for them to organise the cart, which was made ready in the morning, to reappear.   Whilst waiting, Don is chatting to a group of English blokes who have been golf holidaying here for the week.  In conversation with them, he discovers that only 11 holes are open on the course.

We’ve spoken with the pro-shop twice today and at no time did they mention that the entire course is not playable.  They are also still charging full rate, the compensation being you can play twice.  Rarely, perhaps not ever, have I seen Don get mad, but he is mad!  Though he quickly realises that complaining is futile.  Whilst he would like them to understand that communicating the course condition earlier would have been appreciated, the language barrier suddenly widens.  Any understanding and conversing in english diminishes to “yes, no, sorry I don’t understand.”

The course is spectacular and challenging.  Forget looking for a golf ball if you don’t make a fairway.  We came prepared, having bought a box of 24 golf balls in the pro-shop.  We both go through a few.  A good game is a quick game and a cart makes for speedy golf. Only playing 11 holes, also helps.  We make it around in under 2 hours.

We are keen to play again, but would prefer to play as late as possible.   Clearly the starter thinks this is unusual. Don points out its still light until after 8pm, so he reluctantly agrees to let us play our second round at 6pm.   I think the only reason he is reluctant, is because he wants to go home.

We swap golf gear for bathers and head down to the resort beach to cool off in the black sea.  This is turning out to be my ideal game of play golf: 11 holes, couple of hours at the beach, 11 more holes.

The following morning Don got to play all 18 holes whilst I lazed by the pool.  For those who want more in-depth details and a hole by hole description, contact Don directly: don@callander.net.au

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Jun 21

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Why are we back in Bulgaria?

Don has probably played over 450 golf courses around the world. A stat he is quite proud of and one he intends to expand on whenever possible.

So far this trip, he has added several South African courses, a couple in Belek, Turkey and now in his sights is Thracian Cliffs, Bulgaria.  This course is appealing to Don on a number of levels.  It was designed by Gary Player (any golfer will know who he is); it’s in a spectacular setting, hugging the rugged cliffs along the coast of the black sea.  It also hosted a European Matchplay in 2013, more importantly; who else does he know will ever be able to say they’ve played Thracian Cliffs?

Now I enjoy my golf, resort golf in particular; the word resort should be the give-away.  This generally means on holidays, in some exotic location.  I could get used to having a caddy carry my clubs, or use a golf cart to whip around 18.

At home, four hours of chasing a little white ball around the ground is not my preferred way to spend a Saturday. I’m tempted to make some humorous remark about simple minds entertained by simple things, but I have to spend the rest of my life in close proximity with this man!

Thracian Cliffs is about 700km from our drop off point in Turkey.  I should say it’s out of our way by a considerable distance, but that is only partly true.  Our plan is to head to Montenegro and follow the Adriatic coast up into Croatia, but the car lease does not permit us to drive through Albania or Kosovo which would shorten our trip considerably, but we decide its not worth the risk of voiding our insurance.  We have to go through Bulgaria and detouring up to Balchik, where the golf resort is, will only add 4 or 5 hours.  In the scheme of things this is nothing; it’s not like we have anywhere we need to be in a hurry!

We’ve booked into the resort for two nights, starting Saturday.  Therefore we have two nights to fill in.  We decide to cover as many kilometers in day one and see where we land.  The trip is pretty uneventful, well, until we get to the Bulgarian border that is.

It’s drizzling with rain and we are on a windy regional road, taking the shorter route through the mountains.  We stop to exit Turkey, drive a little further and start the entry into Bulgaria, handing over passports and car documents. We pay €3 for something; road toll, tax, who knows.  We drive a little further; you are never sure how many checks you will go through.

Nothing is written in English, Don misinterprets the directions at the next check point and a not so happy Bulgarian border guard has come out of his little booth, into the rain, to wave us back.  He is clearly not amused, or charmed, by our claims to be Australian and not understand!

He already thinks we (well at least Don) are idiots.  Don adds to this by reversing into a park bench.  Not sure why there is a park bench there in the first place, not about to ask.

Holding our breath, our grumpy guard takes several long minutes to consider our passports, enter some details into his computer and then another considerable pause, before gruffly stamping and handing them back.  Phew, for a moment we thought he might refuse us entry!

Burgas is the first major town we had considered stopping in, until we view the endless industrial smoke stacks, shipping containers and highrise apartment blocks, built to minimum specifications during communist dominance and now decaying. We decide to push through.

The next town to consider is Varna.  At first sight it looks unappealing, rows of decaying apartment blocks, roads in desperate need of repair. It looks only a little less bleak and miserable than Burgas, but we’ve done enough driving.   If it’s really bad we can stay one night and move on tomorrow.

Well, we stayed two nights in Varna and the town surprised us.  We stumbled upon our accommodation around 8pm.  Having driven past a few options Modus looked reasonable, even with sandbags stacked at the doorway, a result of the recent rain. Inside is a slick, modern styled boutique hotel.  After 5 weeks of island hopping, with varying degrees of comfort in our accommodation, it was total luxury to us.

The hotel restaurant was also first rate and we discovered that Bulgarians know how to make wine; good wine.   The hotel staff were more than happy to share their local knowledge on what reds to drink!  I splurged and took myself off for a spa treatment: 90 minutes of pampering bliss for A$50. I would have spent all day there for that price!

We knew there had been a bit of rain around, we had moved our golf booking to avoid the rain.  In fact the area had received over a months worth of rain the day before we arrived.  This had resulted in flash flooding and 12 people being washed away at a gypsy camp close to Varna.  On Saturday, the rain is moving on, but the roads are worse for wear from the flash flooding. At the entry into Thracian Cliffs, the road has collapsed and is just barely passable.

Collapsed Road into Thracian Cliffs
Varna, Botanical Gardens
Bulgaria Apartment blocks

Jun 19

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Lesvos, or is it Lesbos?

NEL: 7hrs Samos to Lesvos

Population: 100,000

I can confidently confirm that sleeping on the floor of a ferry is not particularly comfortable. Don managed to catch a few z’s, but I felt like I had nauseating jet lag when we pull into Mytilini.

Lesvos or Lesbos, it’s the same island!

We have learnt that the spelling of Greek names in English is somewhat arbitrary. An ‘i’ or ‘e’ appear to be interchangeable and the greek letter ‘b’ is pronounced as a ‘v’, hence the different spelling. Don has done well to master much of the deciphering during our stay, maybe there is some greek in him after all.

The harbour of Mytilini is looking spectacular with a full moon just resting above the town. It’s 5am when we get off the ferry and the café on the corner nearest the port is smart enough to be open at this unearthly hour. A caffeine hit is just what we need to get us going for our drive to Plomari. It’s a 1hr drive away on the Southern side of the island.

Don has the wheel, I’m way too tired to drive and I seem to be rocking from the motion of the boat! It is a scenic drive around the bay and through the hills, we watch the fingers of golden light slowly stretching across the bay as the sun peaks over the horizon. It is a novelty for me to be awake at this time. If it wasn’t so early, I would probably watch more sunrises!

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Plomari is the ouzo mecca for the island. Lesvos produces over 70% of the worlds Ouzo. It’s not a taste either of us enjoy and have politely refused the complimentary shot that is offered with most meals. Plomari is also a quaint fishing town, but just before the town is a lovely beach spot and the perfect place to stay: Agios Isadores

I had done some pre planning, knowing we would be arriving early. So, we wake up our host, Maria, with a phone call and she shows us our apartment. It’s €40 a night and total beachfront. I’m not sure it gets any better than this! The best thing is, it’s 7:30am; we are in our room and I am hitting the hay for a couple of hours, with the ocean waves my lullaby to sleep.

Dear Pamela (who I worked with at Coles) was married in Lesvos and the taverna where Pam and Foti celebrated is just down the beach. Of course we had to have dinner at Delini. A beautiful evening, gorgeous setting and sumptuous meal.

View Agios Isadores
Agios Isadores lunch
Agios Isadores
Delini dinner Agios Isadores

It was seriously tempting to spend our entire stay at Pano Sto Kyma, this would possibly be the nicest beach we have been to (we’ve now been to a lot). But it would be remiss of us not to explore the island (and I could never face Pam if we didn’t; she has also sent me a fantastic list with a rundown on what to do and where to go).

We bid farewell to Maria and promise to be back, (a promise I hope to keep someday). We are heading up to the northern end of the island to Molyvos. Whilst Lesvos is the third largest greek island, nothing is all that far; it’s only an hours drive.

Before I’ve even switched off the engine a motorcycle pulls alongside and asks if we need a room. As Don said: “You have to respect a salesman with an approach like this”.  We agree to follow and inspect his room offering.  We didn’t know it at the time, but this was a fortuitous decision.

We follow our man on the bike up through a couple of narrow cobble stone streets, until we can go no further and he directs us to park. We get out of the car to discover we have a flat tyre! “No problem, first you see room, then I fix tyre”, our man informs us.

Molyvos is an old walled Byzantine town, the castle perched at the top, dates back to the 14th century. The apartment turns out to be lovely, we have a large rooftop terrace all to ourselves, with wonderful views over terracotta roofs to the ocean. Best of all it’s €28 a night.

I am not sure what would have unfolded if we had not liked the room. I think our new friend, Yannis, would have helped us anyway. The Greeks are like that. Yannis helps ferry the luggage from the car, he is keen to get the tyre fixed before it gets too hot. Its already too hot! Those who know Don know how handy he is, so you can appreciate how lucky we are that Yannis found us.

Yannis gets the tyre off, ties it to his bike and whilst we sit under the shade of the tree in the town square having a cappuccino, he zooms off. About 30 min later he returns with our repaired tyre and of course helps put it back on.

The repair cost: €10 and another coffee with Yannis. There are a lot of “what if’s” that play through our heads. We could have had a flat anywhere. Don and I could have been on the side of the road struggling in the heat of the day to swap on the spare. Our first (and hopefully only) car issue was a minor blip on the radar.

We enjoy the charm of Molyvos, so much so that we stay 3 nights instead of the original 2 that we had planned. We feel more like locals than tourists. Don fetches his darling wife a freshly baked croissant from the bakery on the corner, plus coffee each morning. We explore the labyrinth of alleys up to the castle and around the town. The little harbour is bustling with cafes and bars; octopus is hung out like socks on a clothes line to dry in the sun. It’s a busy tourist town, but manages to retain its charm and authenticity.

We visit the nearby beach of Eftalou and the town beach. These are OK and swimming provides welcome relief to the hot days, but neither are as nice as Agios Isadores.

We run into Yannis a number of times around town, it appears he is drumming up more business in his usual fashion – waiting for unsuspecting tourists! He does a good job and we think a few of the pensions should consolidate efforts with him.

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Lesvos is our last island hop. From here we are taking the ferry across to the Turkish port of Ayvalik. Originally, we thought we would hit the mainland at Thessonaliki in Greece, but that means another overnight ferry trip and the novelty of ferries has worn off. It’s only a 90min trip to Turkey and from there, it’s a fairly straight forward drive up to Bulgaria. I’ll explain why we are heading that way in the next update.

When we enquire about ferry tickets we discover the Friday ferries are full, due to an Expo going on. Our only choice is Thursday morning, so we will spend our last night in Mytilini. With our bags packed, we bid fond farewells to Yannis and his wife Machi, plus many of the local residents bid us farewell as we pass through the square. I love how hospitable this town has been.

We take a detour on our way to Mytilini via Skala Eresou, birth place of Sappho; the ancient greek poet whose sensuous poetry made her a lesbian icon and the town the international lesbian capital. Lucky for Eresou; it was once a sleepy fishing village that has profited well from ancient history. Rather ‘Byronesque’, as Pam described it to me.

It’s early afternoon when we arrive in Mytilini, we find a cafe (with wifi) and check out accommodation. It’s hot and sticky, our desire to take in the cultural sites is wavering against the option to find a beach, or pool! The pool wins out when we book a last minute deal through expedia at Heliotrope.

The general process we follow when using the Internet is to check out the options and prices. We then call, email or visit our choice directly to give the venue the income without paying a booking fee. This is the first time the hotel wouldn’t match, or do better, than the online price when I called. So, we booked online and arrive 10 minutes later!

The best thing about this hotel besides the pool, which we spend the afternoon in; is the shower. We’ve had 5 weeks of variable shower quality. This one is a 5 star experience with vishy style jets and in-shower radio!  It’s the simple things that impress the most!

It’s not hard to get caught up in the football (soccer) madness going on around us; we are in Europe! Every restaurant and bar has a TV of some shape and size, tuned to the world cup. Tonight, Australia is playing Holland.

We are walking through the town looking for a spot for dinner when we come across an alley with a canopy of vines and a restaurant spilling into the street. It’s not busy, just a few locals fixated on the football. The score is currently 1 all. A table nearby is enjoying an impressive array of dishes; we decided this was the spot.

The owner is excited to know we are Australians and we sit in view of the match, which unfortunately does not go our way. Our last Greek meal is however wonderful; grilled zucchini, tomato balls and grilled calamari, washed down with a local white wine.

A perfect end to five glorious weeks island hopping in Greece.

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Jun 12

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Stranded on Samos!

Samos

ANEK: 6hr Leros to Samos

Population: 35,000

It’s 10pm, Thursday 12 June, we have just boarded the ferry for Lesvos. It’s about a 7 hour ferry trip, our first overnighter. We have plonked ourselves in a corner on the floor, hoping to get some sleep – I’m not so convinced.  6 days ago we arrived on Samos with ferry tickets in hand for Sunday, a two night stay before we hopped to our last island; Lesvos. 

Only in our diligence to confirm the departure port on Saturday morning, did we discover that the Sunday ferry was in fact cancelled and so was the next.  The first available option to leave Samos was Thursday evening.  To date, we had avoided long overnight hauls, but we now had no option, unlless we wanted to risk waiting until the following Sunday. Why was the ferry cancelled?  The official excuse is vague at best, something about not being able to get fuel. Dig a little deeper and ask some of the locals and their take is that this happens on a regular basis; shipping companies trying to save money. If the bookings are slim; cancel.  Lucky for us, we have nowhere to be in a hurry.

We go back to our hotel and extend our booking for another 4 nights. Tried to bargain down the price, but no go. €45 with breakfast, right on the beach, is pretty good: Samos Beach Hotel. What was there left to do? The usual thing; we bought the 7 day beach chair and umbrella package (€14) and resumed ‘the position’.  Gagou beach is a lovely little bay, though a stone beach. We watch numerous holiday makers gingerly make their way down to the water, stumbling in to swim past the rocks. Our Decathalon shoes are coming in handy!

The travel agent who had helped us with ferry options passionately circled a map with the ‘must-do’ sights around the island. We spent a great day ticking them off and were so impressed with his suggestions that we popped back in to thank him. He was delighted that we had enjoyed ourselves and appreciative that we had made the effort to let him know.

Our first stop was to be the tunnel of Eupalinos, a remarkable piece of engineering dating back to 524 BC, when they built a 1000m tunnel to provide water, this was unfortunately closed.  However if you continue up the road you arrive at Monastery of Panagia Spiliani, which provides wonderful views back down over Pythagorion.

Next stop Lemnionas beach; a beautiful sheltered bay about 13km South West of Vathy, with clear water and a sandy shoreline. We almost gave into spending the rest of the day here. This spot is worth an asterisk in case we ever return.

There is a Monastery or church perched on nearly every hill and the clifftop villages have magnificent views across the island and down to the sea. We drove through a few and then came to Platanos, which is no exception.  It’s a quiet little village with a centre square shaded by a large old tree.  We decide to have lunch here. This poses a dilemma, as three tavernas are all gesturing for you to join them for lunch. It’s not the loud boisterous touting we’ve experienced before, more a gentle pleading; Which one to choose? Two have customers, but it’s the sweet elderly couple with no customers and less appealing decor that we decide on. Perhaps more out of sympathy, than expectation of a dining sensation.

Mama runs the shop, whilst Papa nods and smiles at us. No menu, Mama just runs through the options; we select a greek salad, meatballs and stuffed tomatoes. Well, I’m not going to say it was the best meal we’ve had, but it was really good. The stuffed tomatoes were superb, a reminder of how simple, good can be. Just when you think the meal is done, Mama is so grateful for our patronage she brings out her homemade cake.

Our journey takes us from the south west coast through the centre of the island and up to the north coast.  The coastal landscape becomes more lush inland.  Olive groves and vinyards planted in terraces sweep down the hillsides.  Stone walls, centuries old and laid by hand divide the farms. 

The ascent to the village of Manolates is a steep and twisting road, but worth the effort. The village backdrops are either dramatic rugged mountains, or a sweeping view down to the coast, the day is clear enough to see right across to Turkey. We find Lukas Taverna perched on the top of the village, serving local wine. We sample a Rose (not so good) and an OK dry white. It was €1 a glass, so what can you expect? In general, the WCP has been very reasonable (we have stayed with house wine by the 1/2 litre). We have learnt to request a taste before ordering and everyone is always happy to do so with a generous quantity.

Our best meal was at Elea restaurant in the Ino hotel, sitting up on the hill behind us.  We thought we’d check it out and have a drink first.  As usual we request a taste of the house wine. Don picked up the slight Australian accent in our host, Dimitri.  It turned out that he grew up in Sydney until the age of 8 and still visits relatives often.  The family built the hotel 25 years ago, which he now runs.  Dimitri was born to work in hospitality. We watch him greet his guests. Most are staying in the hotel.  He chats with everyone and it feels more like a family gathering than a restaurant.

Dimitri appreciates that we appreciate good wine and without asking, we progress from house to bottled wine.  I think Dimitri was looking for an excuse to try it himself. In conversation he learns we are traveling for a year and is in such awe that the wine is complimentary.   It wasn’t just the atmosphere that made this a memorable night; the prawn spaghetti and salmon pasta were delicious (the spaghetti better).  We couldn’t resist the signature desert: chocolate brulee!! We appreciated the recommendation to share, it’s a generous portion and divinely rich.

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Jun 6

Island hopping

We take the ferry back to Rhodes where we are relieved to find our car is awaiting our return in one piece.  The ferry is of course late by an hour.  In true back-pack style we walk from the ferry around to the old town, refusing the touts from taxis.  Christos meets us at the hotel and shows us into a very nice room. Even though we won’t be staying long, all of about 7 hours, its a little bit of luxury.

The shower in the morning was one of the best we’ve had.  Shower quality is another benchmark in our daily lives.  You might check out a room for cleanliness and test the comfort of a mattress, but it’s not until the first person turns that shower on when you know how pleasant your stay will be.  We’ve had showers that barely dribble; water temperatures that leave your teeth chattering; showers where you wait 20min for the hot water to arrive; and showers that are simply an attachment on the bathroom wall, hence you drown the whole room (don’t take the towel in).  Most are a simple hand-held, where you expect to be able to hook it up above you, except they forget the hook.  It’s a balancing act with a hose to shampoo your hair!

Having retrieved our car, our plan is to island hop the car back to the mainland.  Our island choices are somewhat dictated by the car ferry routes and timetables. The routes seem to run within the island groups, through the Dodecanese and then the Northern Eastern Aegean Islands.  We are aiming to land on the mainland at Kavala on June 13th.

Symi
Dodeckanisos Seaways: 1.5hrs Rhodes to Symi
Population: 2,800

We find ourselves in the picture-perfect port town of Gialos. Between 9:30 and 4:30 the port is swarming with day trippers from Rhodes. The restaurants and boutique shops work at a frenzied pace to extract as many euros from their captive audience.  As the last ferry leaves, you can feel the island pulse slow; those remaining have more time to spare and spend.

Symi is known for being a destination of the rich and famous and celebrity spotting is a past time.  I think we are out of season, though anyone who knows me, knows I would struggle to tell the difference between Meg Ryan and Julia Roberts.  George Clooney I might pick out.  The money bobbing in the harbour is quiet staggering. Boys with their toys, suffering from “mine’s bigger than yours” syndrome.  There are luxury yachts – nothing smaller than 60ft and motor cruisers that resemble mini cruise liners.

Our time in Symi is spent people watching; from our balcony we can watch the goings on all day. The fishermen returning with their morning catch, cleaning, filleting and selling on the dock.  Boats for the locals, no matter what age, are the main form of transport, along with Vespas, even the dog gets a lift!

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Kos
Dodeckanisos Seaways: 1.5hrs Symi to Kos
Population: 20,000

The ferry that pulls up at Symi is the same boat that we had taken from Marmaris to Rhodes.  We recognise the deck hand who had guided the car on; he spoke very good english and had been very helpful.  As we are disembarking at Kos, we discover he grew up in Moonee Ponds until his family moved back to Greece when he was 15.

We are on a catamaran, which has a lower and upper deck. The lower is just above the water line; it feels the bumps and movement of the boat in the swell much more than the upper deck, where you can also escape outside for fresh air.  Do not sit below if you get sea sick, or are claustrophobic.  There are a lot of weak stomachs on the boat today!  I thank my Dad, who taught me to overcome getting queasy when we went through Sydney heads – keep your eye on the horizon.  Still works Dad!

Every island is so different; the look, the atmosphere, the attitude.  That’s what makes island hopping all the more fun.  All are friendly; we have yet to find an unfriendly Greek!  We stop in Kos Town and walk through the 3rd-century-BC ruins, they are becoming over grown with grass and weeds, but still impressive.  Other than that, we didn’t find much about the town very appealing, just more of the same tourist shops!

On the south west of the island is Kefalos Bay.  We are surprised to find many of the resorts closed, swimming pools empty.  It’s a beautiful day and 25º, yet the ‘season’ hasn’t started and apparently doesn’t until the end of June.  The lack of vacationers no doubt adds to the sleepy feeling of the seaside resort, but the abandoned Club Med looking down over the bay does not bode well.  The local restaurateur tells us about poor decisions, lazy officials and the political corruption that threatens the future success of the island.

The Kordistos hotel rates well on trip adviser; “don’t expect 5 star; it’s 3 at best, but a great location on the beach and with a pool.”  For €40 a night that sounds like us.  It’s beach time again.  We sample a couple of beaches around Kefalos, and whilst the water is always lovely and clear, the one disappointment was the amount of rubbish both on the beach and in the water.

We enjoyed our time in Kos, but it’s probably the first island we wouldn’t bother to go back to.

Room with a view, Kefalos, Kos
Don, Limionas Beach, Kos
Kefalos Bay, Kos

Leros
Dodeckanisos Seakways: 2hrs Kos to Leros
Population: 10,000

Our deck hand greets us once again, I’m getting pretty good at putting the car on ferries now!

Even on approach, the quaint port Agia Marina, exudes charisma – this already feels like an island we will enjoy.  Our research directed us to head for the seaside village of Pandeli to seek out a place to stay.  It’s a small bay, stone beach, a marina full of fishing boats, with a handful of tavernas and a few places to stay.  We did our homework on prices through bookings.com, before arriving.  Generally, we find that contacting the accommodation directly, or turning up, is cheaper.  surprisingly, both hotels we check out offer a higher price.  Not feeling like they are playing by the rules, we decline to give either our business for now.  After a bite to eat – sumptuous grilled squid, we decide to explore further afield.

Leros is tiny, we can drive around the whole island in about an hour.  We are back at the Marina. It is the heart of the island and its charm is more appealing than anything we have seen.  Having a car gives us options – if we want to go to a beach we can drive.  We’ve learnt that being in amongst the islands day to day life, is more interesting than staying in an empty seaside resort.

We start wandering the cobblestone streets in search of somewhere to stay.  We don’t see the usual advertising and are beginning to think we might have to revert back to plan B.  We ask the owner of the local pizza shop, if he knew of anywhere to stay.   He makes a phone call and tells us to wait 10min.  We have no idea what we are in for, or for how much?

A man arrives on his scooter and directs us back down the road to a stone building built on the waters edge, literally; the water is lapping the walls.  He has asked for €15 a night and directs us upstairs to show us the room.  I am almost sold just on the location and the sound of the ocean.  However, at €15, how bad is it going to be?  It’s basic, but clean; two single beds, (which is the norm). I sit on one and it feels comfortable.  The bathroom is one where the whole room becomes the shower, just close the door and turn the hose on!  And a view worth much more than €15.   We take it!

Leros is a blustery island and beach weather did not present itself the entire stay.  In planning our next destination, the women in the ferry office was very helpful and her ferry knowledge provides us with an alternative route.  We could get directly from Leros to Samos, rather than two hops via Patmos.  The departure times were good and it also saved us a reasonable amount of money.  The slow ferry to Samos was also a more reliable choice, since the choppy seas had forced the catamaran to be cancelled on the days following our arrival.

We had no problem filling in our days, watching the fresh catch being sold in the street, as we sipped our coffee from the local bakery and do what most greek men seem to do all day; sit around, smoke and chat (less the smoking). This port seems to have more bars per capita than any other island, many of them with modern and trendy decor; contrasting with the old architecture and more of a contradiction to the aged population.  You can only assume there is an influx of young people for the summer.  There is free wifi at each bar, cafe, or taverna, which also gives me an opportunity to catch-up on the blog; as of this posting I will be up-to-date!

We got some morning exercise walking up to the 16th century fort that once protected the island, it provides a panoramic view of Leros.  Along the hilltop ridge is a row of old windmills, they contrast against the modern blades now spinning on an opposite hill.  Leros has a mystical charm and the longer we stay, the more we enjoy it.  Our last night we dine at Milos Seafood Restaurant and shared a couple of dishes, the dish of the night being the Octopus Carpaccio.

Leros is a place we would go back to.

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Samos – on our way!
ANEK: 6hr Leros to Samos
Population: 35,000

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