Amorgos – Tholaria, Aegiali and Katapola
Note: this is part of a trip that I started writing up in 2015. I lost many of my images during a hard drive failure but thankfully still have enough left to remind of this trip. ♥
One of the first things I usually do upon arriving on a new island is to check out the bus service and try and procure a timetable. That’s of course if there is a bus service – not all islands have them. Amorgos does have a bus service and a pretty good one too.
https://amorgosbuscompany.com/en/
This morning we’re heading over to the mountain village of Tholaria. Firstly we catch the bus to Aegiali with a connecting bus to Tholaria – we’ll have a look around Aegiali on the way back. The first thing you will notice is upon arrival in Tholaria is the Church of Agioi Anargyroi sitting majestically in the heart of the village and overlooking the bay.
Following a path in an upwards direction you get the sense of an agricultural community with connections to the sea. I’m sure the two are inextricably bound. It’s a steep climb but worth it.
It is now mid morning and in our eagerness to get here realise that we haven’t yet had breakfast. Next to the Church of Agioi Anargyroi is a charming taverna called Thalassino Oneiro or Sea Dream. The owners are most hospitable and we eagerly devour an omelette and Greek yoghurt with fruit and honey.
There is a bus due shortly so after thanking our hosts we make our way to the bus stop. The buses are remarkably prompt. It is a short bus ride to Aegiali the second port of Amorgos. The water front is lined with taverna’s and has a nice stretch of beach. This looks like a very nice place to stay – maybe this will be the location for my next trip to Amorgos.
Conscious of our very limited time left on Amorgos (we leave tomorrow afternoon) there is one last stop that I need to make and that is of course to Le Grande Bleu cafe in Katapola. Back on the bus we go to the main port town of Amorgos. It is worth noting that if you find yourself arriving at the port of Katapola but will be staying in Chora or the Eastern side of the island such as Aegiali, the bus service is fairly regular and reliable. And the same applies vice versa.
After a little stroll around the harbour we spot Le Grande Bleu and it could be like I’m walking into a completely different place. I don’t recognise much of it at all. The thing I do remember about my first visit here all those years ago was the screen of the film Le Grande Bleu every night at the bar. I don’t know whether they still do it now but that was then and this is now – the tv screen is still there anyway. We mark the occasion with a very decadent banana split!
It’s late afternoon and we return to Chora by bus. As drive up to the approach of Chora it really does feel like coming home – I just love it here. From the edge of the village you can see down to the port of Katapola just to enable you to gauge the distance. It doesn’t take very long to get from one to the other by bus.
After a shower and change we find ourselves at the windmills again and wait in anticipation for the magical rays of the sunset. We explore the windmills a little further. The grinding stones in some of them are still intact.
As we sit and watch the sun set over the island I cast my mind forward to our next and final island stop – Santorini. I’ve experienced the Santorini sunset on several previous trips and they do tend to get more frenetic each time as the island becomes overwhelmed with tourists. Not a particularly pleasant experience. I pull myself back to the present and relish in this gorgeous sunset that can match anything that I’ve seen on Santorini. And in utter solitude!
The evening is completed with a pre-meal drink at Cafe Bar Ilios followed by meal at Liotrivi. The latter is located on the other side of the village to the windmills and close to Pension Panorama where we are staying.
Tomorrow afternoon we head off to Santorini where we will stay for 2 nights before returning h………………….. no I can’t say it. Not yet.
