Molyvos! And Relax. (She says!)

Today I am leaving Mytiline and heading off to Molyvos for 7 days. This morning I go down to the breakfast room for one last time, appreciating that I probably won’t get a breakfast offer like this again for the rest of my trip. I’m delighted to see Chara back at the hotel today. Her name means Joy and she really is a ray of sunshine! Chara has been off for the weekend and I know that she will ask me where I managed to visit over the weekend. She had been so kind in recommending places that I could easily get to by bus – in this instance the Blue line buses that still run over the weekend.

Chara was happy to hear about my explorations of the Archaeological Museum and the Kastro on the Saturday. She also found it funny that I’d spent Sunday mostly incapacitated due to my late night at Fat Jimmy’s.

I’ll really miss Hotel Lesvion but now onto my next stay in Molyvos. The bus station is a short walk from Hotel Lesvion though crossing the road at the busy junction at Konstantinoupoleos can be challenging. Once at the bus station I purchase my ticket from the office for the first departure of the day at 11.00am. The man in the bus station doesn’t tell me that I will need to change at Kalloni but I already get the gist that anything over in that direction it’s a given. Kalloni sits almost in the centre of this large island so it makes perfect sense to have an interchange here.

As I approach the Kalloni salt flats I can see that the lakes are still full of flamingoes and I once again fail miserably to catch a decent snap of them as the bus whizzes past. OK – I’ll hold my hands up and say that this is one benefit of travelling by car. If you see something that catches your eye you can just pull over to go and look at it. I’m not going to lose sleep over this though.

Once at the Kalloni interchange it is only a short wait for the connecting bus to Molyvos. Travelling across the Northern part of the island you can really see how green it is. Almost every hillside is either covered with olive or pine trees. I honestly don’t think that I’ve seen anything like it. Eventually we begin to descend towards Petra. As we pass the village I get a fleeting glance of the Church known as the Lady of the Rock.

About 10 minutes later I arrive at Molyvos. The bus station (or more of just a bus stop) is located on the main road just at the beginning of the village also known as Mithymna. I’m sure that when people think of Molyvos the picture that’s conjured up is of the Kastro and the village set ampitheatrically below it. As I am here for a bit of rest and relaxation I didn’t want to stay somewhere that would require a strenous climb everytime I wanted to return to the hotel. Looking at the map of Molyvos it is very hard to see which accommodations are on the flat and which are somewhere up the hill. This is where the reviews on booking.com come in really handy. I’ve booked a stay at Eleni Apartments and Studios based on the fact that reviews had said that this was on the flat.

Eleni Apartments is about a ten minute walk back towards where the road forks to the left at Panatella Holidays. Christos is waiting for me and shows me up to my room. He tells me that it is very quiet here at the moment. The apartments are set in the middle of an olive grove and Christos tells me that he has about 50 olive trees in the garden. He says that this part of Lesvos is just one big olive grove and from the balcony I can see exactly what he means.

The room is simple but the ‘piece de resistance’ is the L shaped balcony overlooking the surrounding landscape. From the top of the staircase that leads to the first floor you get first class views of the kastro which looks as though it is almost within touching distance. I have a kettle, a fridge and a sink and that is really all I need. I was looking for some good budget accommodation and I think that Eleni Apartments will be absolutely perfect. I’ve paid about 24€ per night to stay here so I’m certainly not complaining.

The only thing that I’m reserving judgement on is the comfort of the beds – two twin pine beds which remind me of the childhood bedroom that I shared with my sister. This was back in the day when my body was impervious to the lumps, bumps and density of a mattress. I am the Princess of the Pea story!

I’ve spent the last 5 nights staying in hotels where washing and drying clothes is an almost impossible task. My first task today is to get all of the washing done. There is plenty of washing line space on the balcony and the sun shines right in this direction at this time of day.

Now I’ve unpacked and all of the washing has been done, it is still early enough to go out and explore. Christos had given me lots of useful information about what to see during my stay here and the first place that I want to see is the beach. There are two ways to get there – via the village or alternatively from the road that leads to Petra (but of course nowhere near as far). I decide on the latter.

As I walk down the lane that leads back to the main road I notice some of the smallholdings along the way. One in particular is growning a whole array of produce and I can’t help myself from peaking over the fence to photograph it. There is also an abundance of quince trees almost everywhere and also many orange trees where the fruit has been left to fall and rot on the ground.

I follow the road around to the left which takes me past a small mini-market. I stop to buy a bottle of water and plan to stock up further on my way back. Again there are olive groves to the left and to the right, many sitting on private properties. There are already signs of the olive harvest beginning with nets spread across the ground. Further along, the road takes me over a dry river bed and then it begins to climb. Christos has told me to look for the Delfinia Hotel and Bungalows as this is where I can cut through to the beach. It’s a huge complex that is currently closed. It does feel strange cutting through private property but Christos has assured me that it is fine.

I climb underneath the car park barrier and follow the road down past some large houses. Here you can really see that autumn has arrived with the red and umber hues on the trees. At 26 degrees it doesn’t feel like autumn but there is no denying that the season is in the midst of change. At the bottom of the road I take a left where I see a yellow gate which I instinctively know will lead to the beach. To my surprise I find myself walking through a pistachio orchard. Although the leaves on the pistachio trees have begun to drop there are large clusters of nuts hanging from the branches. I wonder if this orchard is actually tended and whether the trees will be harvested.

Right in the middle of the orchard to my left is a cluster of brightly coloured beehives. They are so close to me that I can almost feel the vibrations of the low pitched hum from the bees.

At the end of path there is another yellow gate which opens directly out onto the beach. It is almost deserted. There is someone down in the distance to my right and also someone else further down to my left. I had checked the location of the beach on Google Maps earlier and this end of Paralia Molyvos is very clearly marked as a nudist beach. This doesn’t bother me. Nudist beaches always seem to be in the best spots anyway so I won’t let that put me off.

How many beaches can offer you a view like this!

I haven’t brought any swimming things with me or a towel but I’m quite content to just sit on the beach and relax. That’s the aim of the game for my stay here anyway!

The evenings are getting darker much earlier now so I head back through the pistachio orchard and then onto the main road. I stop at the minimarket to purchase as many bottles of water that I can carry. After a shower and a change I head towards the village just in time for sunset.

I walk along the main road until I reach the point that offers a view over the marina. I’m tempted to continue walking down but don’t fancy the hike back up. I’ll save my energy for that tomorrow. The houses in the village below the kastro look like little tealight holders as the lights through their windows begin to come on. I’ll take a closer look at the village tomorrow.

I stop at a little souvlaki place called Friends for – well chicken souvlaki and then I have dessert and tea at Cafe Perasma. They have a wide selection of loose teas including different flavours of Rooibos. Anyway – now back to Eleni Apartments to test out that bed. Until tomorrow!