Last day on Tilos

Our last day in Tilos. Stunning  early morning sky as seen through the very necessary mosquito screens - the bloody biters/bliters manage to get in somehow. We decided to take the bus to a remote beach, Eristos, have a swim and from there walk up to the hillside village of Megalo Chorio - it's the capital of the island with approx  450 residents. So picnic in hand, along with water, we set off - we heard there were no services at the beach so left prepared.

It was no surprise that we had the beach to ourselves, well the goats were on the beach but scarpered when they saw us tripping down to the waters edge.

The surrounding hills were barren and dry and steep. Perfect goat country. The water was beautiful, crystal clear and warm. As we were larking about in the water we thought we heard gunshots and I thought the goat population may be taking a hit.  The gunshots increased and we we worked out that the Army had a range up in the hills for the recruits.  [We did glance across to the Turkish coast for a second as we'd seen jet fighters the day before]. We had seen a lot of young men on the weekend in army fatigues and discovered Greece still has compulsory military service for males aged  18 - 45 years of age. Males must serve for a period of 9-12 months. Women can serve but on a voluntary basis and can't be conscripted. I can't imagine the young men of New Zealand coping with military service. The young Greek men we saw looked fit, happy and involved....but then they are doing their time on a gorgeous island👌

We left a little stone 'baba' on the beach. When we were walking the Likya Yolu/ Lycian Way in Turkey, a young Turkish guy told us the little stone piles that marked the trail were called 'baba' which means father in Turkish ...father guiding the way on the trail. So we've fully adopted the  term 'baba'.

The Eristos valley floor is fertile and clearly where they grow their crops. Lots of fields of potatoes looking very healthy. They also grow herbs, onions and lettuces.

 

Of course there's fields of olive trees with wild poppies beneath....picture perfect!

The snail tree was a new one for us...little snails all over a green edging plant....I wonder if they harvest snails or the edging plant is a sacrifice plant? [Click on the photo to get a better look at the snails mum 😁]

It was very pleasant walking from the beach up to the hillside village, not too far and on our outwards  bus trip  we'd seen a wee taverna was open so refreshments awaited us.

Iced tea, 'cafe fredo' and local omelette - perfect after our walk up the valley.

 

One of the narrow alleys in Megalo Chorio - we followed our nose and came upon a beautiful little church - Άγιος Ιωάννης ο Θεολόγος , Saint John the Theologian baptist church.

Of course I slid back the bolt and peeped inside and discovered gorgeous frescoes on the walls in this tiny chapel. (I had to bend double to get in the door - they must have been tiny folks back in the day).

Much further up the winding village lanes we had seen the bell tower of a monastery.

We made our way to Taxiarchis Monastery and courtyard - stunning pebble patterns but unfortunately it was locked....no sneak peaks inside for us. So that's a wrap from Megalo Chorio 👍