Tag: Amorgos (page 2 of 5)

Snowfalls & cold temps bring Greece’s turbulent 2015 to a wintry close

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Snow on Paros photo shared on Facebook by ΠΑΡΟΣ like

Snow blankets the ground beside a chapel in Lefkes village on Paros following light flurries on December 31 2015. Μαρία Ραγκούση shared this image on the Lefkes Paros public group page on Facebook.

 

Snowflurries in Halki village on Naxos photo shared on Facebook by Petros Anamateros

Petros Anamateros shared on Facebook this image he captured showing New Year’s Eve snowflurries at Halki village on Naxos  

 

From green to white: Every day this month, I’ve been feeling green with envy seeing social media posts showing sunny skies and gorgeous summer-like scenery in Greece.  Only three days ago, in fact, I was jealously admiring beach and seashore photos from the Athens Riviera that a friend had taken during balmy 18 degree Celsius temperatures. 

But when I logged onto my blog’s Facebook newsfeed first thing this morning, I was stunned to see pictures and read reports about light snow falling at various places on the Greek mainland, in Athens, and on such islands as Amorgos, Crete, Mykonos, Naxos, Paros, Santorini and Skiathos.  

On Rhodes and other islands in the Dodecanese, people had posted comments about chilly temperatures and strong, cold winds. The We Love Rhodes page, for instance, reported that temperatures of only 3 degrees and winds reaching level 5 on the Beaufort scale had brought the “first day of winter for Rhodes at the last day of 2015.”

And in an article entitled White New Year’s Eve in Greece, the news website Protothema described snowfalls in northern and central Greece and Attica, and reported on weather-related disruptions to ferry service to the Saronic Gulf islands and other places. (Click on the article title link to see photos and videos that Protothema included with its story.)

 

Snow isn’t unusual in Greece

Snowflurries aren’t unheard-of either on the mainland, in Athens, or on many of the Greek islands. Severe winter weather conditions including snow and sleet can and do strike virtually all parts of the country from time to time.  

But it is perhaps fitting that what has been an extremely turbulent year for Greece seems to be ending just the way it began — with dark, brooding stormclouds bringing cold temperatures and light snow to many parts of the nation.

As I reported in my posts Wild winter weather wallops Greece and Snow scenes from the Cyclades, Greece got this year off to a stormy start with severe winter weather that started just before New Year’s Eve 2014 and carried into early January.  There were More weather woes during the second week of February. After that, the country experienced a roller coaster ride of ups and downs, with national elections, financial bailout negotiations, the ongoing refugee/migrant crisis and record tourist visits, to name just a few of the many events that put Greece in the international media spotlight throughout the year.

Now, as 2015 comes to a stormy close, I’m anxious to see if the new year will bring better times. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that 2016 will indeed be a Happy New Year for Greece.

Please click here or on the link at the bottom of this post to see more New Year’s Eve snow scenes from Greece on page 2 of this report.

 

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Promotional videos mark a travel milestone — a full century of organized tourism in Greece

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The English-narrated video Greek Tourism. An eternal journey features stunning views of some of the most beautiful and famous sights and attractions in Greece

 

 

Significant Century:  With its long and storied history, Greece has been associated with tourism for what seems like an eternity. Not surprisingly, tourism is the country’s oldest industry.

“The Greek passion for travelling, for both knowledge and adventure, began long ago with Odysseus, the paradigm of the eternal traveller; with Herodotus, the first tourist and most famous story teller; and with Pausaniuas, who wrote the first travel guide 2,000 years ago,” narrator Donald Morgan Nielson notes in the promotional video Greek Tourism: An eternal journey

The five and a half minute film features utterly splendid video photography of spectacular scenery from the Greek mainland and some of the Greek islands, and is accompanied by soaring, uplifting music by Dimitris Papadimitriou. With a script directed by Andonis Theocharis Kioukas, the video was produced by QKas Productions for the Greece National Tourism Organisation (GNTO), and has been posted on the GNTO’s Visit Greece YouTube page.

 

From 10,000 tourists in 1914 to over 17 million in 2014

The video celebrates the 100th anniversary of officially-organized tourism in Greece. Back in 1914, respected Greek statesman Eleftherios Venizelos founded the first national service to oversee Greek tourism. That same year, 10,000 tourists visited the country, and the numbers just kept on growing from theret. They reached record proportions last year, when more than 17 million people visited the country — an all-time high. And even though it’s still early in 2014 and the main summer tourist season hasn’t even begun, Greece appears on track for another banner year.

There was an 8.4% increases in the number of international arrivals at Greek airports in January, February and March compared to the same quarter last year, while travel officials report that summer bookings from major markets like Germany and the USA have risen substantially. And with more than 150 new airline routes operating to Athens this season, along with numerous new international direct flights to Mykonos, Santorini, Crete and other islands, Greece appears likely to top its target of 18 million visitors by the end of the year.

Frankly, I’m surprised the number of visitors isn’t considerably higher. But once more people get to view Greek Tourism: An eternal journey, I’m sure they’ll consider planning trips to see the amazing sights and attractions for themselves.

Below is a slightly shorter version of the video which will let you enjoy Dimitris Papadimitriou’s inspiring music without the narration. Turn up the volume, sit back, and enjoy the 4-minute journey to “Greece … a small piece of heaven on earth.”

 

 

 

A little white church in the valley below Lagada

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Stormclouds pass above Lagada village and a little white church on Amorgos island

Dark grey stormclouds swirl above Lagada village as a spring storm moves across Amorgos. Although the weather looked bleak the morning we arrived on the island, the clouds cleared away during the afternoon and left us with sunny skies for the rest of our visit. Click the image to view a full-size photo.

 

Island driving distractions: Sheep gridlock at Grikos and 4-legged highway hazards on Amorgos

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sheep near Grikos Bay on Patmos

A flock of sheep approaches the main highway from a side road leading to the Grikos Bay resort area on Patmos island

 

Mass transit: One of the things we appreciate most about our Greek Island vacations is our temporary escape from the commuter chaos that clogs the city streets during the morning and afternoon rush hours back home.

That doesn’t mean we escape traffic problems altogether when we’re in Greece. It’s just that the ones we encounter are generally a lot more interesting and usually quite entertaining to see.

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Pic of the day: Tholaria’s Agioi Anargiroi church

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Agioi Anargiroi church in Tholaria

The tall belltower and big blue dome of Agioi Anargiroi church is a landmark attraction at Tholaria village on Amorgos

 

Mule tidings: donkey tales from the islands

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a donkey on a hillside overlooking the Skala, the port town on Patmos

This donkey enjoys a spectacular view of Skala, the port town on Patmos, from his hilltop vantage point on the edge of Chora

 

 

Donkey tales: Mules and donkeys can be a common sight on many of the Greek Islands including — not surprisingly — two of the country’s most popular tourist destinations: Santorini and Rhodes. If you visit Santorini’s capital town Fira, especially during a cruise, you’ll see scores of the animals working as taxis to transport tourists up and down hundreds of steps linking the small port to the town 220 meters above sea level (see my Don’t ride the donkeys! post above for more about that controversial practice). On Rhodes, dozens of donkeys are similarly pressed into service to lug lazy sightseers up the path to the Acropolis above Lindos.

On smaller isles that don’t draw huge hordes of tourists and cruise ship visitors, you’re more likely to see donkeys grazing in fields and yards while you hike or drive around. Sometimes you might not be able to see them, but you’ll clearly hear them — their boisterous braying can carry across a long distance. And at other times, you can wind up having a close encounter with one or more of the animals just when you least expect it.

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Step up to superb food & sublime sunsets at Kamara Café on Amorgos island

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Kamara Cafe

The open-air terrace at Kamara Café in Upper Potamos is a great spot to view the amazing scenery while enjoying some of the café’s delicious Greek cuisine

 

 Kamara Cafe

The café also has lounge areas on its terrace, for those who just want to sit back and relax with a glass of wine while watching a spectacular sunset

 

Kamara Cafe

This was one of the sunsets we watched from the Kamara Café. Here, the sun looks like an enormous white orb as it slowly descends behind Naxos island.

 

Potamos village

You’re guaranteed to work up a hearty appetite and thirst on your way to the restaurant — It’s a half-hour walk from Egali, up hundreds of steps like these.

 

Steps, stews and sunsets: When I was planning our trip to Amorgos in 2009, I asked an acquaintance in Athens for restaurant recommendations. We absolutely had to go to Kamara Café in Ano Potamos village, she said, and order the patatato — a goat and potato stew that is one of the island’s signature local dishes. Her other tip: allow plenty of time to walk up the mountain to the taverna, so we wouldn’t miss seeing the sunset if we got lost or delayed en route. “You won’t believe the view! The sunset — fabulous! And make sure you try the goat!” she gushed.

I put Kamara Café on my “must try” list, thinking that would nicely take care of dinner plans for one of the four nights we would spend on Amorgos. That list was in my luggage, in our room at the Yperia Hotel in Egali, while we were out exploring during our first day on the island. We spent the entire afternoon in and around Egali, wandering around the town, the beach, and some of the hiking trails in the area, as well as scoping out places where we might like to have dinner that night. Several spots near the beach and in the center of the town caught our eye, but since I didn’t have my restaurant list with me, I couldn’t remember if any were among the specific places that friends had highly recommended. Nevertheless, since we would probably be “walked out” by the end of the day,  we were happy to see we would be spoiled for choice within a short stroll of our hotel. 

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Amorgos is a hiker’s paradise

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Amorgos hiking path

You will feel like you’re on top of the world while hiking on Amorgos. This particular trail leads from Egali to Chora along what’s called “the spine of Amorgos”

 

 

Amorgos hiking path sign

Start points for many of the hiking routes on Amorgos are well-marked by signs. This one even shows the approximate walking times to the destinations indicated.

 

 

Wonderful walks: If you like to see vacation destinations on foot rather than through the windows of a rental car or tour bus, you can’t beat the Greek Islands. Most islands, especially those in the Cyclades, are ideal for walking and hiking. Some, like Sifnos and Amorgos, boast extensive networks of footpaths and donkey trails that take visitors to scenic parts of the island that can’t be reached by vehicles.

Amorgos is one of our favourite destinations for hiking.

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