Leaving Pyrgi – Chios Town and a trip to Anavatos

This is our last day in Pyrgi and tomorrow we will leave for Chios Town on the 7am bus. There is a method behind the madness of getting up at this ungodly hour. As the Easter holidays approach, I’m mindful that we have to make the most of the bus service before they are suspended. We have one night in Chios Town before moving on to the next leg of our journey so we plan to squeeze in a trip to the mountain village of Anavatos.

It is hard to pull ourselves away from Pyrgi. Although we’ve probably exhausted every nook and cranny of the village, we take a final stroll and surprisingly stumble across new discoveries in hidden corners.

Pyrgi is one of the most famous of the mastic villages and an absolute ‘must do’ when visiting Chios though there is far more to the place than its unique xysta covered houses. To visit it as a day trip will be worth it, but to be able to absorb the essence of this magical place, a stay of several days is a must. Once the tourists have left, the village comes into its own and the locals descend upon one of the two squares and Pyrgi comes alive.

I’m conscious that my posts about Pyrgi are rather abbreviated. I’ve written several posts about Pyrgi from my 2022 visit so additional posts can be found here:

https://agreekoddity.com/arriving-in-the-mastic-village-of-pyrgi/

In the meantime, here is a video montage of Pyrgi 2024 quickly put together on an app on my phone. ❤️

Sadly it’s time to leave. We say our goodbye’s to Toula and Mr Kosta and set the alarm for 6am. Coincidentally, we discover that during our last few days in Chios we will stay in an archontiko in Kampos that used to belong to Toula and Kosta. They lived here during their early married life and are still in touch with the new owners. Considering that we’d just plucked this property randomly off the internet just a few days ago, it’s quite a coincidence!

As dawn breaks, a sliver of light that has broken through the fanlight and a gap in the curtain, wakes us from our slumber. Like a couple of zombies, we shower and dress and creep out of To Pounti trying not to wake our hosts. Dragging our bags across the cobbles quietly is an impossible task but we do our best. The only sign of life is a trio of comatose cats who’ve cheekily commandeered a chair belonging to Aunt Irini! I know this because her name is written on it.

After taking the street that leads out of the village we find ourselves on the empty main road. Everywhere is silent. There is nobody around and at times like this you begin running Plan B’s through your head. There are always anomalies with the Greek bus service but I’m confident that the bus will arrive. Five minutes before its due departure time, a handful of people amble slowly onto the street. Some people look as though they are heading off to work and others, into Chios to shop – a last chance to get the essentials before everything closes for Easter. The bus arrives on time and we take another glance towards the entrance to the village. I wonder if I’ll ever be back again.

45 minutes later we arrive into Chios Town. Although it isn’t yet 8am, our host Georgia at Castro Rooms Chios has arranged to meet us and let us leave our luggage in the reception area until our room is ready. Castro Rooms is located in the Citadel, and it comes with breakfast. Georgia tells us that breakfast is provided by Kafenes, a cafe located close to the entrance to the Kastro. We will be leaving very early the following morning (again) so ask if we can use the voucher today. No problem – that’s breakfast sorted!

The bus to Anavatos leaves the bus station at 12.30 so we have a couple of hours to kill and what better place to spend our time than in the Citadel itself. The old town of Chios sits behind the Northern edge of the harbour. It covers 180,000 square metres and the interior can be accessed via a number of entrances. The most impressive of which is the Central Gate close to the back of the bus station.

A kastro was established here in Byzantine times but from the 14th century onwards it was the Genoese, the Venetians and the Turks that built the kastro into what we see today.

The defensive wall is majestic but inside is where the magic lies. The citadel is home to around 650 people who live in an eclectic mix of old houses including houses from the Ottoman period defined by their protruding covered balconies known as sachnisi. There are several little gems to be found here and I give Peter a whirlwind tour of them relying on my memory to navigate our way around. The Ottoman Baths, the Byzantine Tower, the Ottoman cemetery, the Holy Church of St George and the Giustiniani Palace – yes we did them all in just over 1 hour!

Back at the bus station, we purchase our tickets to Anavatos. I’m very excited to see if the No 17 bus I wrote about in great detail during my last visit. I hope this old bus is still up and running. As we head out to the back of the bus station she is there in her full glory accompanied by the same characterful driver. Tickets are 40 cents each – unbelievable!

The journey on the No 17 is part of the whole Anavatos experience. Three elderly men, Peter and I are the only passengers. As we set off, the radio blares out traditional Greek music and an animated discussion between the driver and the men ensues. Although I can only pick up the odd word, there is no doubt that the discussion is about local affairs. This exchange continues throughout the 45 minute journey.

The bus climbs the hill out of Chios town through densely populated villages and then begins to ascend the mountain road via a series of hairpin bends. At one point you can get an aerial view of the Monastery of Nea Moni. We did toy with the idea of asking the driver to drop us off on the road on the way back so that we could walk to it but I’m not physically up for the challenge. I’ve been suffering quite badly from a back condition which results in painful spasms that would be enough to make the toughest of humans cry. Being the stoical creature that I am, for now, I’m fighting through it but I don’t want to be rendered immobile in the middle of nowhere. Oh, the joys of old age!

We are the only people that have exited the bus at Anavatos. One man left the bus on a track in the middle of nowhere and the other two continue in the direction of Sidirounta. It seems that we are the only people here and head towards through the square to the entrance to the upper village. We take a slow climb up through the medieval settlement and the semi derelict granite houses. There is a feeling of eeriness here, more so with the knowledge of the devastating events that have scarred the village for eternity. The Massacre of 1822 and the final nail in the coffin, the earthquake of 1881.

I didn’t make it all the way to the top. Firstly because of my back and secondly because I don’t think I can put my nerves through the vertigo-inducing experience again. Once was enough! Peter continues the climb and I make my way to the Art House. By now a handful of other tourists arrive by car but the place still feels relatively quiet.

If you visit Anavatos by bus, you will have 2.5 hours from drop off to pickup. The medieval settlement and the Art House would take an hour or so giving you plenty of time to have lunch at Taverna Kastrochori. The food and the service here is excellent. During our meal, Ms Smaragda, the only resident of the village walks to a nearby shrine in the square to change the flowers. She is like a local celebrity and people are drawn to her to hear her stories. What fortitude it must take to live in a semi-abandoned village away from emergency facilities. As much as I can travel alone for extended periods of time, the older I get the more nervous I am about being stranded away from medical services should it be needed.

During our meal, we fell into conversation with the lady that runs the taverna during which she asked us if we would like to see inside the church. Of course, we jump at the chance. We are told that the Church of Archangels is at the heart of local festivals and still a well-used place of worship and for life occasions such as weddings and baptisms.

This is a rather truncated post about Anavatos as again, I have written about the village during a previous visit. Here is another attempt at a video and photo montage that I made on my phone! Not a professional standard video but I like making them!

Back at our hotel in the heart of the Citadel, we have one last mission to complete before we call it a day. The windmills 1.5km North of Chios town are one of Chios’s most recognisable landmarks. It isn’t an easy walk mainly because of the lack of pavements. Any pavements that do exist have been commandeered as makeshift car parks. However, we make sure that we walk towards the oncoming traffic and have our wits about us. It’s worth it though. Just look at these beauties!

Whilst admiring these wonderful structures, I spot a large ferry on the horizon. It’s the Nissos Samos heading towards Chios Port. The arrival of this ship is an event not to be missed – for us ferry nerds at least! We race back to the harbour just in time to see her dock.

That’s enough for one day. We need some rest before our early departure to Izmir tomorrow.