I'm sorry for the break in posting, but after my rant about our flight delays I've been lazy. I must also apologise for the spelling and grammatical mistakes as by the time Istop writing I don't feel like reviewing and just hit "Publish" so what you get is my stream of conciousness raw.
Anyway back to life on th eroad. We hired a car at Samos airport - both the airport and the car are small despite the 2 737s parked on the tarmac. We found however that here small is good and there are few cars larger than a Mazda 1. We had been told thaht Samos is considered the green island of the Aegean and as we drove we were passing through hills covered is olive groves, occasional vineyards and scrubby vegetation. It is still basically bare rock with the trees hanging on however. The entire island is steep with high hills rising directly from the coast. This means that the roads are up and down with continual corners and switchbacks. The surprise is that the roads are generally in good condition and mostly wide enough except through the villages. We ended up behind a petrol tanker and was happy to use him to clear the road ahead, particularly as there was nowhere we could have passed without Gillian having a panic attack.
Arriving at the hotel about an hour and a half later (average speed about 30 kph) we met up with our friends from the UK, Sue and Steve Baker. They had also invited another couple who had been to the hotel with them in the past and are from Staplehurst. We hadn't seen them for several years as we they were in the US the last time we were in the UK and it is good to catch up. The hotel is a family run affair including we gathe the initial construction. The life of the hotel revolved aroung the swimming pool with the breakfast area on one side and the bar and BBQ area on the other. Life is casual and the main occupation of the guests is to lie back on the lungers and be insulted and have ice thrown over them by the barman/manager/.... Vasili who makes everyone feel welcome and part of the family. Vasili speaks excellent English and has spent some time in the UK. It is difficult to describe him as he can be serous, joking, efficient and everyone's mate all at once whie matching the guests beer intake. A lovely guy. The rest of the family are nice and we have met 4 generations with the bay often parked in a pushchair ar the bar. We have a room with a balcony looking over the pool to the hill behind covered with low trees replanted after a major fire a while ago.
The town we are in is mainly a single road along the coast peppered with tavernas, car and bike hire centres and shops catering to the tourists. The beach itself is a mixture of sand and pebbles and sloes steeply underwater. As usual the sea has brilliant colours and while not tepid is at a good temperature for swimming.
For the first few days there was a constant wind which mdae the beach unpleasant so we stayed around the hotel. Then Gilian had a slightly uneasy gut. However we we went as a group to the town of Pythagorieo at the east end of the island. This was an important centre in ancient times, but little of that remains. There are many places on on th eisland named after the philosopher Pythagoras as he came from here around 570BC. Above the hotel is a cave where he reputed to have taken refuge and taught, but most of the information about him is slim and of dubious reliability. Of course on the island many things are attributed to him including a cup which, if overfilled, empties itself, supposedly to teach moideration.
The next day I wend out on a boat trip with the group, but Gillian didn't think she could face the schedule, so stayed on land. We went to a small island off the coast and climbed over a rough track to a small beach on the south side. While the beach was nice with fine sand and beautiful water there was little shade. After an hour there we headed back to be collected byh the boat for an onboard BBQ. On the way back we encountered a herd of goats that roam the island, the only inhabitants apart from a small monastry. After a good lunch of souvaki and salad and a swim off the boat in about 40 m of water we headed back, stopping for an hour off another beach to again swim from the boat.
The next day Gillian and I drove along the north coast to Samos towm to visit the archaeological museum. The north of the island is lusher than the south, but the beaches are all soney and oflen only reached by paths down the cliffs. The town is not large and in some ways resemble Wellington with a thin strip of level ground along the harbourside with the commercial area backed by steep hilside with the houses built up the face of the hill.
The museum contains the finds from Herion, an important religious centre from pre-history times which included the largest known greek temple. Most of the exhibits are votive offerings, many of them recovered from wells, including bronze, wood, jewellery and pottery. One of the most impressive gifts apparently had been a complete ship 30m long of which only the foundation stones remain. In Roman times the area was declared a permanent sanctuary and tax-free attracting numbers of refugees and tax evaders.
I have to say that the main attraction of the island is the slow pace of life as, while the tourist industry is it's lifeblood, ther beaches are almost deserted and nothing happens in a hurry. There is no sign of the Syrian refugees which seem to be keeping the crowds away.
Last night our host Vasili took us to the neighbouring town of Ormos where we ate dinner at a table perched on the side of the quay and listened to a 2 musicians playing a guitar and bouzouki, an instrument that has 6 strings arranged in 3 pairs and sounds a little like a mandolin.. The water was very calm and it was a wonderful atmosphere with small boats returning and tying up with the music drifting out over the harbour. The style of the music was traditional and quite different to the music that is dished up in tourist centres, with the music slightly discordant and syncopated and the songs sounding a little mournful. A good evening.
The weather has been hot and dry with temperatures reaching 36C - quite comfortable unless you are exercising as the humidity has been very low. Enough for today as I need to fall into the pool.
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