Folegandros

Folegandros

What a wonderful way to shrug-off the commercialism of Santorini! Folegandros is one of smallest islands in the Cyclades - barely 12 km in length and just under 4 km at its widest, with a population of just under 700 friendly people. The ferry arrived at the small port and we took the bus up to Chora (also spelled Hora - the name of the main village on most islands). We wanted to check out a hotel that we had found on the internet so we didn’t interact with the domatia at the port. The terrain that we observed on the short drive is so rocky and rugged it was hard to imagine that people can even exist in such a bleak place, and then we arrived in the village! Chora is so pretty- the Lonely Planet says it best “The delightful Chora, complete with a dozen pretty little churches and a medieval Kastro filled with whitewashed houses draped in bougainvillea, draws you in with unassuming charm to its meandering main street that drifts happily from leafy square to leafy square.” The hotel we were interested in was in the Kastro but the reception was closed for a couple of hours so we found a seat in the first “leafy square” and were immediately engaged by a delightful Romanian waiter named Jannus (sp?). He frowned when we told him that we want to stay at the Kastro Hotel and said “It is too expensive”, he suggested a couple of other hotels. We did wait to see what was available at our chosen hotel - we were offered a small room, no view and no way of making coffee in the morning for 50 euros. So we walked to the other side of town (about 1/4 km) to look at the hotels that Jannus had suggested. Both new hotels but build in the Cycladic style. The first one was absolutely gorgeous with a swimming pool, and fabulous view at 85 euros, the lowest they would go was 80. The other one is located right next door, so it has the same stunning view, also a swimming pool and the room is almost as nice but only costs 40 euros - so we took it, and we love it! Truth be told, we love almost everything about Folegandros.

Our days begin with us sitting in the leafy square sipping coffee watching the children trudge off to school, people going to work, and the cats stretching and yawning as they find the perfect perch on which to start their day. It feels like we are apart of the village life. In the evening we find ourselves at a tiny restaurant that sits at the intersection of three narrow lane-ways. The tables are situated in such a manner that people walking by pass between the diners. There are homes all around so we are treated to more everyday village life. There is one little girl, Madeleina, who we particularly enjoy, she is 18 months old and her parents own the ice cream shop around the corner. Every night she comes running into the square and sits on the restaurant’s doorstep. One of her parents is always right behind her and she tries to convince them to sit with her on the step. We went there the first night at Jannus’ suggestion and we’re trying to work our way through the menu! Everything is homemade by Irene and is quite delicious. With food so good we are reluctant to try any place else for fear of wasting an appetite.

Our first full day was spent wandering around the village, we walked up the steep path to the large church of the Virgin, Panagia which sits perched on a cliff-top above the town - yet another amazing view. Yesterday we walked in the opposite direction of the port for approximately 3 km to the beach.
After a nice swim, we relaxed in the sun and had a visit from a great dog who wanted to wrestle with us. Madeleina was at the beach and she came over to play with the dog - or in her words “bow”. By the time we walked back to our hotel we had probably spent about 5 hours in the sun and we have the colours to show for it - Brenda, brown - Robert, red.

The landscape between Chora and the beach is also very rocky but the rocks have been used to build walls as well as to create terraces on the hillsides, shelters for shepherds, and folds for the sheep, goats and donkeys. As we walked along we were amazed at the extent of these carefully crafted structures, some of which must be centuries old, mostly abandoned, and yet some are obviously still in use today. Robert was completely intrigued by the layout of the walls and buildings, as well as the enormity of the work involved in their construction. (Perhaps the landscaping job waiting at home will benefit from any inspiration he feels.)

When we got back to the hotel we had a swim in the pool to cool off and then had a wee rest before going into the village for dinner. In one of the squares we recognized a couple from the ferry; Robert had seen them struggling with their luggage and had carried it up the stairs for them. They invited us to join them for a drink, so we sat down and shared our stories. Their names are Carmen and Enrique, they are from Spain and have travelled the world but have not yet visited Canada. We invited them to visit us someday and they returned the invitation to their home in Spain. We thoroughly enjoyed chatting with them, they a are very interesting couple who told us many wonderful things about Spain - especially about the food! As we are planning a trip to Spain in a couple of years it would be nice to keep in touch with them, certainly we would like to have them visit us in Vernon.

As we walked through the village this morning we saw Madeleina and her dad - she pointed at us and said “bow”! I guess she’s accepted us!

Today is our last full day here and it is raining. This is the first rain they have had in 5 months and we are happy to see it because everything is so dry. It started to get a bit cool in the square this morning so we had our second cup inside the little cafe but were driven out by the thick cigarette smoke. Robert is reading his book, although I don’t understand how he can concentrate with all that snoring going on ;-), I am catching up with our blog.

Tomorrow, Sunday, we have to leave this magical place. We will catch the 1:20 pm ferry back to Santorini, and then the 6:15 pm to Heraklion (also spelled Iraklio) on Crete. Monday we will visit the Archaeological Museum of Heraklion and Palace of Konosos. On Tuesday we will take the bus west to the village of Plantanyas where we will stay for 2 weeks. We are looking forward to staying put for a little while and perhaps having a couple of quiet days.

We’ll write more as our adventure continues and will endeavour to create a web page for some of our photos if internet access is more forthcoming on Crete.

Opa!

R & B