It is time to leave Arki. My hosts Stami and Niko are still on Patmos so I arrange to pay for my room with Niko’s mama Georgia. She phones Niko to translate. I have 250€ in cash that I put aside as there is no cash machine on the island and no way to make…
After my long walks across the island to Tiganakia Beach and beyond Limnari Beach, I feel it’s only right that I do what I set out to on Arki and that’s relax. I’m not really a beach person – don’t get me wrong I do love a beautiful beach but I struggle to spend all…
I arrive on Arki from Patmos on the Dodekanisos Pride or as I’ve come to call her – the Bouncy Bouncy. The thing I love about the Dodek fleet is the way the crew help you on board with your luggage and have it all lined up for you when you disembark. I know this…
It was late evening by the time I arrived at the Port of Patmos. Unbeknown to me the hotel that I’m staying at has a transfer service. I guess I’m not used to this kind of luxury and hoik my luggage to the hotel regardless. Elen greets a bedraggled and exhausted me at reception and…
Fourni wasn’t what I expected. I imagined it to be much more low key – maybe not as quiet as Agathonisi but from the moment I arrived on the chaotic ferry journey on the Nissos Chios it was clear that this is a lively island. Saying that, we’re not talking Santorini here –nor anything like…
Across the straights from Fourni you will be able to see the small settlement on Thymena so close you feel like you can almost touch it. You will see a cluster of whitewashed houses set amphitheatrically (becoming an overused word!) on the hillside with a small mountain looming above. Thymena so called because of the…
Although Kampos is the centre of everything on Fourni, I’m keen to get out and explore. However, I’m still a bit chicken when it comes to driving in Greece plus I’m not sure that the cost of hiring a car and the stress on my nerves is worth it! 🙂 I know that if I…
It’s funny how circumstances can affect your frame of mind. My arrival on Fourni didn’t start the best way after a chaotic journey from Agios Kyrikos on the Nissos Chios amidst a dust storm at the port. I must admit I was shocked at the amount of cars and people that disembarked at Fourni that…
It is with great sadness that I leave Ikaria today after 6 wonderful days. I can’t understate the part that the Oinoi Hotel, in Therma has played in making my stay here so special. When you stay at this hotel you become part of a family – the guests will chat to each other at…
I set off for the curvaceous lady statue by the beach with large wedges of freshly baked apple caked in hand from Filipos and Mariana. There are several of us from the Oinoi hotel going on the island excursion. Dolihi Tours alternate their tours for those staying in the Agios Kyrikos/Therma locations OR those staying…
I must say that the breakfast here at the Oinoi Hotel is absolutely superb! My lovely host Filipos and Mariana make almost everything themselves. The bread – white and brown are freshly baked from the oven and come with a wide selection of homemade preserves such as lemon, orange, fig, apricot (described to me as…
Agathonisi has been the perfect start to my holiday proper (overnighters on Samos don’t count!). This beautiful little low key island has been the perfect place to unwind and it has enabled my mind and my body to fall into rhythm with the slower pace of Greece. What have I loved about this place? The…