EPILOGUE - GREECE - THE AEGEAN - BEST AND WORST

Here is the summary you have been waiting for on the 10 Aegean Islands I visited in the past 3 weeks – The Verdict.

 

My favourite island was PATMOS. Why? Because it is still very Greek, small, easy to get around, not mountainous, a milder climate and has many crystal clear beaches for its size. I think the secret to maintaining its Greek status and not being overrun with tourists is that is has no airport (therefore no charters) and is a 7 hour fast ferry ride from Athens – too long for most tourists with no time to spare, especially the Americans !

 

If I forget my own subjective choice and I place myself in the shoes of a typical family with two kids looking for an island with touristy conveniences and an overall balance of beaches with banana chairs, some isolation, some mountains, some typical Greek tavernas and food then my recommendation is PAROS !

 

Here is the best and worst from my subjective perspective:

 

BEST ISLAND: Patmos (For reasons above)

WORST ISLAND: Mykonos (Way too busy, overrun, crowded, bad roads and 50% min more expensive than all other islands)

 

BEST BEACHES: Mykonos (The only think I liked about it – very natural – very crystal clear and impressive settings)

WORST BEACHES: None of the islands had bad beaches but Ios did not have many accessible ones.

 

BEST COASTLINE: Milos (The western side is only accessible by boat and has incredible volcanic outcrops and caves and rocks of different colours along the coast)

WORST COASTLINE: Sifnos (A small island with very ordinary coast)

 

BEST LANDSCAPE: Milos (Very rugged and beautiful)

WORST LANDSCAPE: Sifnos (Smaller hills with fewest extreme shapes and colours)

 

BEST FOOD: Sifnos (Traditional Greek vegetarian dishes specific to island and very cheap)

WORST FOOD: Mykonos (Too many pizzas, burgers and modernised souvlakia – it has lost the taverna feel and taste)

 

BEST ISOLATION: Folegandros (Small island, hardly any tourists, rugged coastline, beautiful looking shrubs and hills)

WORST ISOLATION: Mykonos (Like Athens on an island – way too crowded and touristy)

 

BEST TOWN: Ermoupoli in Syros (Neoclassical buildings of all shapes, sizes and colours dating from early 1800’s with superbly clean streets and harbourside tavernas – gorgeous town !)

WORST TOWN: Limani Chora in Mykonos (Crowded, busy)

 

MY BEST RUN: Patmos (Ran along the coast very near to water and then inland next to big valley – terrific scenery)

MY WORST RUN: Sifnos (Because I could not run due to leg injured by scooter falling on it) Of those I ran: Folegandros (Extremely steep hills, nowhere flat but terrific inland scenery)

 

MY BEST SWIM: Folegandros Angali Beach (Crystal clear, lots of fish and different coloured rocks to look at – all coastal – beach too small)

MY WORST SWIM: Mykonos (only because it was very, very windy that day and full of chop and stir – not much to see)

 

RANK: Here is my personal ranking of the islands I visited taking into account all things in balance: beaches, coastline, landscape, food, Greekness, tourists.

 

1)    Patmos

2)    Milos

3)    Folegandros

4)    Syros

5)    Paros

6)    Naxos

7)    Kalymnos

8)    Ios

9)    Sifnos

10)Mykonos

 

Don’t get me wrong, all 10 islands were definitely worth going to for the experience each provides – it is AMAZING how DIFFERENT they all are even though they are so close together.

 

The best way to get around is by ferry and the best website to book ferry hops in logical order with all ships and prices in one place is WWW.FERRYSCANNER.COM

 

I hope you have enjoyed the images of these islands – when the film BALKANOPOULOS is produced it will feature drone footage of each island by Spark and some movie pans and sweeps all to be shown as an EPILOGUE to the main FEATURE being THE BALKANS.

 

Next post will be from CROATIA, the first of the Balkanopoulos countries – see you then !!!

 

 HERE ARE ALL THE PLACES I VISITED:

EPILOGUE - GREECE - THE AEGEAN - KALYMNOS - MY TENTH AND LAST ISLAND !!!

 

Kalymnos (Pop 16,179) is 311km or 11hrs by ferry from Athens and 1.5hrs from my last island of Patmos. The island is 21km long by 13km wide with highest point at 700m.

 

Kalymnos is famous for sponge diving, rock climbing and for the original “Temple of Apollo” which know sits in the British Museum not far from the Elgin Marbles of the Acropolis !

 

The island also has one of the most recent Greek Orthodox Saints - St Saava whose relics lie in a monastery high above the main port town with nerve-racking views !!! Further down is a castle that dates back from Ottoman times (early 1800s).

 

Kalymnos is a very hot, dry, rocky island full of mountains and only a stones throw from Turkey. It has an airport but does not get many tourists. The main port town of Pothia was my least favourite since it is very compressed, full of car-wide, one way streets that Google does not recognise – I got lost several times and it took me ages to get out of and back to my apartment which is in the thick of town. Kalymnians are very proud of being Greek, so much so, they paint the Greek Flag into the sides of their mountains – I reckon so that the Turks can see them and stay away ! You can see Turkey from the east side of the island !

 

Kalymnos beaches are not big but the coastlines coming in and out of them are long and excellent for swimming since you see rocks, weeds and fish underneath. I swam at Palionisos, the most isolated on the island but with two seafood tavernas on the water !!!

 

The best place to stay and swim if you have families is definitely the west coast beaches around Melitsahas, Myrties and Masouri, all opposite the island of Telendos, which creates a natural breakwater for nice calm waters.

 

A big surprise is the Vathis Valley full of wine and olives and all manner of vegetables ending in Rina Beach and channel which leads to ocean through two narrow cliffs - a sight to behold.

 

Many Kalymnians settled in Darwin post WWII and the most famous of these is the Paspali Family, which is a classic story of rags to riches with Grandpa Nick going from sponge diver on Kalymnos to pearler in Broome and Darwin and establishing what is now a $AUD1.8b business worldwide !!!

 

I cooked plenty of fresh fish, zucchini frites and veggies in my kitchen washed down by local rose and retsina - the climate is so hot and dry that Kalymnos has a wine trail on the east side. Another great fact is that the island makes fuel oil from marine animals and burn it to create electricity for the island.

 

Enjoy the island of Kalymnos – my tenth and last island before the start of our main feature – BALAKANOPOULOS !!!

 

 

EPILOGUE - GREECE - THE AEGEAN - PATMOS

Patmos (Pop 3,047) is 259km or 7hrs by fast ferry from Athens and a whopping 4hrs from my last island of Syros - the journey was 2315 to 0315 in a cabin. The island is 11km long by 3km wide with highest point at only 270m.

 

Patmos is famous for “the end of the world” = The Apocalypse. Saint John The Theologian (also known as St John of Patmos) wrote the Book of Revelations in a cave on Patmos around AD95 after he was exiled from Ephesus. St John was the youngest disciple of Jesus Christ and the only one who stood by the cross of Christ and took the Holy Virgin Mary into his home at the request of Christ. St John also wrote one of the four Books of the New Testament. St John wrote Revelations under a vision from Christ. He returned to Ephesus where it is believed his body was assumed to Heaven when he died at age 100. This is believed because his body has never been found.

 

I think Patmos may be my favourite island so far – only one to go = Kalymnos. Why? It is a compact version of all the other islands – small, OK roads, many beautiful beaches for its size – half with banana chairs and drinks and half isolated. True Greek villages. True Greek Tavernas. Easy going. Calm. You could spend ages here.

 

Patmos is so close to Turkey that when I arrived here I got an SMS welcome from Vodafone Turkey instead of Vodafone Greece on the other islands !!!

 

The Cave in which St John wrote Revelations is only 1.9km and 20min walk from Skala, the main port town of the island. Another 2km up is a monastery dedicated to St John with exceptional views of Skala and indeed, most of the island.

 

I swam at Livani Yeranou Beach in the north along a coastline that faces south – there are several beaches here – all to die for !!!

 

Enjoy the island of Patmos before the end of the world – how ironic that St John should write about the destruction of the world from such a beautiful place…