Mikro Horio

We woke to the sound of the village church bell this morning. It's Sunday so no bus service today and we had a hike planned.

We left the village at sea level and headed for the hills. We were following goat tracks up to a deserted mountain village. With suitable hats, sunscreen and water we were off.

The wild cyclamen and Iris plants were so pretty in the places there was shade. We passed goats resting in the shade in caves, they're not mad enough to be out in the mid day sun. 

After climbing for a while we came to what were clearly dry-walled fields. Nothing but wild wheat and poppies .....these would have been critical wheats fields when the village was functioning.

We knew we were getting close when we passed an old water cistern that would have helped irrigate the wheatfields.

It's a strange phenomenon, a totally abandoned village with streets, churches, flour mills and grinding stones....all left to nature.

After WW2 the village was gradually abandoned and most of the inhabitants moved down to Livadia.

Local legend is that the young ones made for Australia or USA and the elderly moved to the port taking the windows and roof tiles with them to start again.

We were the only ones there, just us and the goats that have claimed the village as their own. We saw goats on balconies, one even popping his out of a house fireplace to see what was disturbing his siesta, amazing

It felt quite eerie wandering the little streets and see family names painted on some homes as a reminder they are still wanted.

 There were  over 750 residents until the wells ran dry and life probably was just too hard. 

The only thing that survives is the beautiful whitewashed church that dominates the village overlooking the valley and the sea.

The little cemetery of the Assumption of Virgin Mary Church has been preserved and family graves look out to sea. Villagers still tend the cemetary and on feast days there are special services.

Quite by chance we found the Chapel of Christ the Saviour from 1430. This is protected by the Culture Ministry and I had heard the key was under a rock, sure enough we were in luck.

The frescos are yet to be restored and are spectacular in the half light. It's a tiny chapel with no light and you have to bend double to enter, but what a treat, truely a special experience.

We thought we saw the Last Supper, the Three Wise Kings and the Adoration depicted.

Someone must check in on them regularly as it's too special to be left too long unattended.

After eating fresh oranges and taking more water on board, as we sat on some previous inhabitants doorstep,  we made our way back down the mountain goat tracks to Livadia. A fantastic experience in Mikro Horio, it was  truely special. 

Cat of the day - these two hang out at the port and are spoiled by all the visitors, they have it sussed! 

Tilos time

We've been exploring Tilos for a few days and it's fantastic.  Apart from the odd car you can only hear nature and the sea. It's not fully tourist season yet so it's super quiet and relaxed. The locals are very friendly and helpful.  Your average visitor here is not after late night bars or fine dining, this is  traditional, rustic village life with spectacular walking tracks thrown in. We love it! 

We're staying in Livadia, the port village.

Everything goes at a slow pace, there's a siesta between 1pm and 4pm. A little coffee shop on the wharf serves all day so it's a great spot to relax and watch the different boats/ships that supply the island.  We've seen the petrol tanker do a delivery and all the building materials being delivered, everything comes in by boat.

Tilos has a bus that circles the different areas of the island. We set off for the farthest point Agios Antonios. We wound our way up steep inclines and through tiny village lanes where the bus could only just squeeze through. 

This provided a bird's eye view into local village life, you could almost touch the washing hanging on the line in the garden.

The bus dropped us at the end of the road 30 mins later, just us, the sea and a family run taverna that opened at 1pm. 

The sea was so beautiful and we had to work up an appetite for lunch so we set off and found a spot to swim. It was gorgeous.

Lunch at the taverna was by spoken menu and whatever they had fresh that day. It only opens in the weekend  for locals so we lucked in. Even luckier for us the mobile live chicken truck had done the rounds so fresh lemon basted chicken, cooked on the spit outside,  was on offer. 

What a spot, fresh calamari, fresh chicken and Greek salad.... perfect! 

It was a little disconcerting when half way through our lunch of roast chicken, the chicken truck man, with live chickens on board,  arrived and parked up. I swear the live chickens were watching us. 

What a beautiful spot and there was even a small chapel alongside the shore.  Back onto the bus for us after a great day. 

Cat of the day is big red, down at the port. He's well fed, in fact they all are 🙂

Tiny Tilos

We were up with the sun to get an early ferry to Tilos.  As we left there were two cruise ships berthed so we were leaving the crowds behind thank goodness.

The ferry made one stop at Halki/Chalki, a sweet little harbour with colourful waterside houses and cafes.

Next stop was our stop, our trip to Tilos took just under two hours.

No more than half a dozen people got off at Tilos. Tilos is a tiny, traditional island with very few cars and a little public bus that chugs across the island. 

After the ferry departed it was so quiet, we loved it!

We found the heart of the village with a few very traditional shops and  the local retired gents sitting outside chewing the fat.

There were two old trucks, the blue one had an ice box on the back from which the fishermen was selling his catch and the red truck was selling fruit and veg.....Tilos styles  😁

We stumbled across a mobile chicken truck! 

There's plenty of lovely street cats mooching about in the sun.

It is early and the visitor season does not really start until May so there's limited choices for dinner.  The old guy with the hat welcomed us to his taverna and there wasn't much open so we went for it. 

It turned out pretty good although wine by the quart may be a little too much after such an early start to the day. 

Our home away from home on tiny Tilos, Elephafanti Nani. Love the barn doors and even better there's mosquito mesh on every door and window.  A good day of travel and discovering Tilos 👍

Farewell Rhodes

 We spent our last day just wandering the back lanes of the old town.

There were not one but two cruise ships in the harbour so we avoided the main areas, it looked hectic with so many tourists and tour groups. Through the city gates and away from the masses, off we went. 

We had a sneak peek at everyday homes tucked away down the back lanes within the walls of the city.

We found a Pohutukawa tree!

Lots of nooks and crannies and colourful doorways to show home owners individual flair.

And that's a wrap from Rhodes.