A Whistle Stop Tour of Lagada – By Bus

One of the good things about the bus service is that apart from the very early departure to most villages from the bus station, the lunch time departure gives you time to do something else in the morning. Today I take another wander around the Citadel but as soon as I enter through the city gate I see that the Giustiniani Palace in the Castle is open. I’d noticed several times that there is a temporary exhibition called From Spain to Chios on. When I’d passed previously – probably because of the time of day, it has always been closed.

I climb the stairs and am greeted by Ioannis. How do I know his name? I’d met Ioannis at the Byzantine Museum the previous week. Both times he asked me if I was over 65 because if I was I would get a discount on the entry price! Haha – well I’ve just turned 64 and I’ll cling onto that for as long as I possibly can!!! However, as I keep saying, I will do a separate post about the museums of Chios!

Back at the bus station a smallish bus painted in a brightly colour mural is ready to depart. I figure from the age of the people on the bus and the time of departure (later than usual) that this is a school bus and is returning the children back to their various villages along the east coast of Chios.

This trip to to Lagada is going to be fleeting. At I depart the bus on the outskirts of the village, the bus driver tells me that I have 45 minutes before he comes back. Sometimes you just have to see what you can see. I walk along the harbour front where there are several seafood taverna’s. Several of them have a tray outside with octopus, fish, squid baking in the sun. A net pulled across the tray keeps the swarm of wasps off this precious commodity. This is definitely a place to come for good seafood.

My first impression is how the pine forests spill down the hillside right to the sea. You can smell the pine on the breeze. I also notice the abundant lemon, orange and pomegranate trees dotted about the village in gardens and even by the wayside.

Once beyond the cluster of taverna’s I can see Oinousses in the distance and with Turkey directly behind. I’d heard of Lagada when I was talking to my host Despoina on Oinousses on how to get there. There had been a bit of a disruption to the boat service due to the harbour wall being repaired. Anyway, Lagada connects to Oinousses via a water taxi. Whether it connects here at this particular little marina or not I don’t know.

There isn’t much else to say about Lagada. I really wasn’t there long enough to even stop for a meal. However, it certainly is a pretty village and worth a visit – just maybe not by bus! Time for a selfie? Why not. I don’t have many photographs of myself whilst travelling but that doesn’t bother me. I get really aggravated when I see people draping themselves over various landmarks – it’s the Instagram world that we live in but not one I particularly like. Anyhoooo – this is Lagada!