Pyrgos Village Chios

... my requested trip from turkish Cesme directly to italian Ancona (2,5 days) was suspended for unknown reason. So there was the other option to use a 3-stop-strategy to get to Italy.<br><br>First stop of my ferry journey was the little hop from turkish Cesme to Chios. And that means HELLO GREECE, HELLO EUROPE!!! Ok, it also means hello high prices...<br><br>

... fresh fruit and veg which was all served at breakfast. The room was nice and bright with 3 single beds and an en-suite. The downside to the room was the lack of any sound proofing which meant that the group of people in the chill-out area could be heard into the early hours and the high winds, which Alacati is famous for, howling through the night.<br><br>In town, we found a ...

... family profession was only the Mastique farmers lives were spared...my mothers side (which is the Greek side by the way) had several trees and their lives were spared thus creating the opportunity for people to live and produce the resin. We drove through the island which measures aprox 30 miles long by about 15 miles wide. One of the stops was at the famous Neo Moni monastery which has been in existence since the Byzantine era. This lil church is jam ...

Trying to get stuff from my Mac to an internet cafe PC! First try froze the sclerotic PC. Actually, I'll have to go back and convert the text to .pdf to transfer, I guess. Or, go on to a hotel or pension where my Mac does interface with the wireless modem, as in the present case it does not. Stay tuned.

... in Greek and we have forgotten it but it is the first one by the fish quay. The guy who served us, when told we were from Scotland, apologised for having no haggis!! Thank God for that we all thought. Tim departed at 4.45 on the Tuesday morning. We were very sorry to see him go. He is always good company and seemed to enjoy Lesvos as much as we did. However, his departure brought home to us the depressing thought that we had a couple of months or ...

... little communites that I think define Greece in folk's minds. That night, Melanie and I had one of the best meals of our lives at Taverna Hotzas. Salad, entrees (eggplant and chicken/mushrooms), fresh bread, dessert, and a carafe of wine for $30 in a setting similar to House of Tricks. On our second day, we headed back to the beach at ...

The ride kicks off around noon today as we thread our way through busy Chios Town and take the western fork toward the monastery of Nea Moni. Perched high in the forested hills in the middle of the island, it's stone buildings dating back to the 11th century are remarkably well preserved and getting even better all the time, judging by the amount of scaffolding on view. It's a UNESCO World Heritage site and at half past noon on a Tuesday, largely free of ...

... best condition and it fairly glows in the wash of late afternoon sun. This time we park well outside of town so as not to frighten the citizenry. It's like walking through tunnels. The stone buildings lean so close together across from each other that their balconies almost touch. White washed stone walls are splashed with brilliant bursts of bougainvillea and wisteria. In some dark lanes oil lamps flicker on the walls. The doors of many houses are painted in vivid colors ...

... next village along a sidewalk not so much crowded as nearly blocked by the trunks of leafy trees, entailing much ducking and swerving to navigate successfully. Down near the end of a narrow street that ends at the water we find a taverna where we enjoy fried aubergines, tomato and cucumber salad and plates of delicious mousaka, washed down with a carafe of a very light homemade retsina. Cats howl and chase across the street ...

... the attached videos show. So this is what a war correspondent must feel like huh? Except a real fire fight would be slightly more dangerous... Still, a very interesting experience. From there I went to one of the rocket propelling camps to watch the blast off. Dozens of beer swilling blokes hauled out armfuls of rockets, set them on dedicated launch ...