Exploring Tilos
We had no idea about where or when breakfast was to be served at Sevas Studios. As we step foot onto the blazing hot terrace, Sevas catches our eye from the little outbuilding. She shouts ‘breakfast’ and shrugs her shoulders which we interpret as asking us what time we would like breakfast. I reply ‘now?’ shrugging my own shoulders to indicate that it is a suggestion rather than a demand. Sevas shakes her head. I hold up 9 fingers and do the same shoulder/word thing as I say ‘nine?’ Now Sevas nods. So 9 it is!
At 9(ish) Sevas brings a tray to our shared terrace with orange juice, bread, jam, boiled eggs and pastries – perfectly adequate for us before we head off for the bus.
We wait at the square for the 10.00am bus. 10.00am comes and goes. From the square we can see the bus standing stationary at the port. It is showing now signs of movement. Several people begin making their way down to the port to see what’s happening – and we follow.
Upon closer investigation we could see the bus had its bonnet up and a pair of legs stuck out from the undercarriage whilst the rest of the body tinkers with the engine. I don’t think this bus was going anywhere anytime soon. Plan B – we decide to hire a car. We walk to the car hire place below below Blue Sky taverna in the port. We end up with a little wreck of a thing but today we hope to cover some ground.
Our first port of call was Microchorio, a village that was abandoned shortly after the war. The derelict stone buildings seem to just blend into the rocky landscape surrounding it with the exception of the large white church gleaming out from it against the sun. Just a handful of people at the time were exploring with us, clambering over the rubble that had tumbled from the houses into the streets.
One little church – the Church of Christ the Saviour – is open and as you pop your head into the entrance you can see that it is adorned with the most beautiful frescoes.
Every house has a story and is now marked by the patina of weather and time. As we leave a herd of goats now re-enter the village to reclaim their territory.
The next stop was Megalochorio – a pretty village that you enter under a tunnel of bougainvillea cascading over pergola that straddles the road. This village also seemed uninhabited in the fact that there were barely any signs of life. However, is was now early afternoon and being wiser than us, the inhabitants had probably sought refuge from the searing heat which we were told had reached 40 degrees.
We enjoyed a really wonderful meal at To Kastro where the food and the hospitality was fabulous!
We aimed for Eristos beach but accidentally ended up on the steep (hair raising) road to the Monastery of Agios Penteleimonos. It was undergoing renovation but there is a small café there where we purchased refreshments. These were most welcomed after my nerves were well and truly racked!
The next destination was the Charkadio cave where the ancient elephant bones were discovered. There isn’t much to see as you can’t enter the cave but it gives a pretty good view from there.
Eventually we made it to Eristos beach just before sunset. There are several dirt tracks that lead down to the beach and I think we picked the narrowest and most hazardous track to drive down – but we made it there and back – not sure about the undercarriage of the car!
Back on the terrace of our hotel we spent the evening listening to the live music that was being played in the square and was wafting its way up the hill to us. Perfection!
