Itisallgreek2me

Saturday 8 June-Tuesday 11 June 2024

Allowing plenty of time to catch the ferry Blue Star MYCONOS at 1110 hours, I left my room around 1000 hours to walk down to the Port of Syros. Another hot day, but with a very welcome breeze, I settled in on the top deck for the 3h 10m journey via Mykonos to Evdilos, Ikaria.

One of 5 Blue Zones in the world, a place where the environment is conducive to old age, on Ikaria residents are several times more likely to reach 90+ compared to normal. The secrets to giving Ikarians a chance of a long and healthy life are a combination of factors, including diet, social life, and exercise.

Little or no stress, maintaining a home vegetable garden, looking out over the bright blue Aegean Sea, walking in nature, picking and eating fresh fruits, vegetables, and nuts, drinking wine with your friends and family, sleeping well and taking an afternoon siesta.

The first time I came to Ikaria was in 2010, and I stayed in Agios Kirikos on the south coast. This time, I am staying just outside the picturesque village of Evdilos in the north. My hosts don’t offer pickup from the Port. I considered a taxi, but you are best to pre-book, and I hadn’t done that. So I walked the 1.6km to my hotel in searing heat, arriving looking and feeling a little worse for wear.

After a very early night, Sunday morning, I was up before sunrise and out to begin exploring. I made the walk back to Evdilos, along the way enjoying the incredible scent of various aromatic wild herbs growing by the roadside. I strolled around the harbour, up steps, and through the narrow lanes of this traditional village built upon a small hill. Very noticeable were the vegetable gardens on terraces, in fact, wherever space will allow. I came across an apricot tree roadside, where the fruit was rotting on the ground. I filled my tummy and my bag with whatever fruit I could reach from the tree. Sweet and honey like, I have never tasted better.

The facilities at Kerame Hotel, where I am staying, include a swimming pool. The location offers stunning views of the surrounding countryside, mountains, and the sea. It was a perfect haven for relaxing after all the walking earlier in the day.

After breakfast on Monday, I went to see up close the little nearby church of Ágios Ioánnis then carried on to Kerame beach. It being a pebble beach, I thought I might find some sea glass, but I only found three small pieces. I made use of some old sunbeds that were there and had a swim in the sea.

Bearing in mind that a heatwave is expected to “toast” the country over the next four days, Evdilos may reach temperatures of up to 38°C. For that reason, late afternoon Monday, I walked to the village, had dinner, and returned to my hotel with enough food to last me until I leave on Thursday. I had not realized that the summer bus timetable wouldn’t be operating, and you really need a hire car to go exploring.

Today has been one of complete rest and relaxation. My time spent either at the pool, on my terrace, or in my room. I plan to spend tomorrow in much the same way.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, June 11th, 2024 at 6:43 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.