Thanks to everyone for all the email responses and hellos! I thought I would send you another update on my adventures so you all can live vicariously through my travels. As I mentioned previously I had a very easy time getting to the island of Chios from Turkey. One of my last images of Turkey was a huge, beautiful wind farm off the coast of the Aegean Sea. I had only seen wind farms in pictures before and I always thought they had a very unique and attractive look about them. It was really a cool sight to see a real wind farm so close up – it went for miles over green rolling hills. The wind towers were so huge and as I passed it on the bus I was captivated by the way all the hundreds of white, tall towers held their huge, long fans all turning so peacefully, creating energy from almost nothing.
The Greek island of Chios is one of Greece’s most unique. It has excellent Greek food, beautiful beaches (although not in use this time of year), authentic villages, and endless opportun
ities for solitude on miles of beautiful coastline. Since this is the off-season and the beach towns are essentially closed down, I spent time enjoying the food, the medieval villages and the beautiful coastline. I spent a day walking through the villages of Thimiana, Mega Limionas, Agia Aerimioni and the beach town of Karfas. All of them were so beautiful. The first three were towns with cobblestone streets lined with orange and lemon trees. I was walking through Thimiana when a cute little old grandpa man pulled up next to me and asked, “Mega Limionas?” and when I nodded that yes, that’s where I was going, he gestured for me to get in his car. I did bec
ause the old man was totally and completely harmless. Chios pretty much has all old, very nice Greek people living on it. Several people have told me that hitchhiking is an excellent way
to get around Chios. I still NEVER hitch hike, but this grandpa was too cute to pass up. Anyway, he had the most romantic Greek music blasting out of his little car and was singing to the music the whole time. He spoke no English, but when I told him I was from America his eyes lit up and a huge smile came across his face and he said, “Oh! Obama good! Bush bad.” And then he went back to singing along to his Greek music. Its such a laid back and peaceful lifestyle that all these people live here. Anyway, after my 10 min drive with grandpa, I walked through the rest of the towns which all overlooked the Aegean Sea. All the houses and building were so cute with their white paint and blue trim. Some of them had many light colors with all the beautiful trees and vines, etc. All the villages were so adorable I was laughing the whole time at just how darn adorable these neighborhoods were. And the homes, stores and churches had stunning views of the sea. These were the types of towns where people retire to and live out the rest of their lives quietly and stress free.
The following day I went to the medieval villages of Pyrgi and Mesta. Pyrgi
is the cutest village I have ever seen in my life. It is truly an eye-opener. It has vaulted, narrow streets that pass through buildings with facades decorated with intricate grey and white patterns, some geometric and some based on flowers leaves and animals. The technique used is called xysta and involves coating the walls with a mixture of cement and black volcanic sand and then scraping off parts with the bent prong of a fork to create the design. I sat and had a coffee at a café. I was so shocked at the fluency of the owners’ English that I started laughing. (I guess I just wasn’t expecting anyone to be speaking any English in some far off Greek village) I told him why I was laughing and he said he used to live in Queens NY for 20 years before 9/11. After 9/11 he decided he had enough of that NY life and moved back to his hometown. Needless to say, we had some interesting conversation before I moved on to the town of Mesta.
Mesta is a medieval village in southern Chios. It is literally a village built into acastle surrounded by a
fortress. Again, it was so adorable I had to start laughing. Mesta is claimed as one of the most unique experiences you can have anywhere in all of Greece. It features appealing stone alleyways that are intertwined with flowers and intricate balconies and is completely enclosed by thick defensive walls. It is car free. The town was built in the 14th century by the island’s Genoese overlords, to keep pirates and would-be invaders out. It’s a great example of medieval defensive architecture featuring a double set of walls, four gates and a pentagonal structure. The area around Mesta is also the only place in the world where the mastic tree grows. Mastic is used to make gum and other products. I foolishly thought that the Masticulture Ecotourism Company based there would still be giving tours, but they weren’t since it was the off-season. I went there anyway and met the owner Vasillis. He and his wife are young (in their early 30’s) and moved from the hectic life of Athens to start cultivating their 
own mastic tree farm and start their ecotourism company. Vasillis was so nice. He spent a couple hours with me and gave me a private tour of the village, introduced me to the town locals (on two separate occasions we chatted with the locals over wine and cheese and fresh-picked mandarins) and showed me the mastic tree farms. I knew I would miss the last bus back to Chios Town so I stayed the night there. The next morning I had to catch the 6:40am bus and it was still very dark at that time. I ended up getting lost trying to find my way out because all the stone alleyways kept leading around corners to dead ends. I was running around the cobblestone alleyways lost for a good 10-15mins before I had to stop and calm myself down so I could actually find my way out of the maze! And in the dark I started laughing and thought, “Am I actually lost in a medieval castle village right now?!” It was a scene straight out of the movies. Tonight I am heading on a 4:30am ferry to the island of Lesvos. 4:30am is rough even for a morning person like me, but it’s the only time the ferry comes in the off-season. Traveling in Greece in the off-season is all about trade-offs. There is not as much action, the beaches are closed and the ferry schedules are sporadic, but you get more unique and authentic opportunities when you’re one of the only tourists around. My private (and free) tour of Mesta and
the mastic trees with Vasillis is one example. I guess my random encounter with singing grandpa is another. Locals also approach you more as a traveler looking for authentic experiences instead of a tourist looking for the beach. I’ll see what off-season trade-offs await me in Lesvos.
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