Part of the Katapola area on the northwest coast of Amorgos. Katapola is one of the two ports on the island (the other is at Egali, 23 km to the northeast) and the horseshoe-shaped bay is home to three separate villages: Katapola, Rahidi and Ksilokeratidi. Click the picture to view a full-size photo.
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.
Promotional poster for the Spyros Pan Hang Solo Concerts this weekend at the Magaya Beach Restaurant in the Paros port town of Paroikia
Cyclades tour: If you’re looking for good food and some unusual musical entertainment on Paros island this weekend, the Magaya Beach Restaurant in Paroikia has just the ticket — two live concerts by hang and handpan player Spyros Pan.
In case you’re wondering exactly what a “hang” and “handpan” are (I’ll admit I had a vague idea, but still had to do a Google search to find out for certain), they are percussion musical instruments related to the steel drums from Trinidad. (Detailed information, photos, audio samples and videos of both instruments can be found on David Kuckhermann’s fascinating World Percussion website, Framedrums.)
The two Spyros Pan performances in Paros are scheduled for 8 p.m. on both Saturday and Sunday. The Magaya Beach Restaurant is situated on Souvlia beach, which is just a short distance southwest of Paroikia.
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Anthony Ayiomamitis captured this gorgeous photo of a golden full moon rising above the Temple of Poseidon at Cape Sounion in Greece on May 5 2012. It’s the featured photo on the Astronomy Picture of the Day website.
Moon event: You can be sure that a lot of people in Greece will keep looking skyward tonight as the biggest full moon of 2013 rises on its dramatic pass across the sky.
According to the Astronomy Picture of the Day website, the exact full phase of the moon will occur at 11:32 UT, shortly before the moon reaches perigee — the closest point to Earth in the lunar orbit.
Since this Full Perigee Moon will be the biggest and closest full moon of the year, restaurants, bars and clubs across Greece will be celebrating the big occasion with a variety of events, from quiet viewings over cocktails to special dinner menus and even some all-night-long dance parties with world-renowned DJs entertaining.
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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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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
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
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.
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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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”
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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