A Crazy Canuck Living in Zany Italia!: Charming Chios!

Off on September 19th to September 30th, 2024 to my 18th Greek island Chios (around 600 B.C. the island, and thanks to the “Great Covenant” which became a law, was the first democracy in the world)!

What to say about my 10th time to that truly wonderful country? I think the pics (all of them by the way were taken with a Fuji Fine Pix XP 140 waterproof camera) speak for themselves, an island not only full of wonderful (and deserted) beaches but with lots of rich history and magnificent monasteries and churches.

The island is the 5th largest of the Greek islands and is located in the Aegean Sea (it’s about 50 km in length and 30 km in width) with a population of about 51,000 people. It’s also home to the mastic tree and its sap (which is also part of what millions in the world love, chewing gum).

The mastic museum, the pride and joy of Chios.

We usually rent a 125 cc scooter when we go to Greece but driving around roads that go up and down the surrounding mountains can be a wee bit time-consuming as well as tiring so this time we rented a small car and covered a mere 670 km in 9 days’ time (the rental fee was only 230 euros).

The flight from Rome to Athens takes only 90 minutes and is then followed by a 40-minute flight to the island via a propeller plane (like something straight out of this Bond movie!)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=87MO-gtYFT8&t=51s

Legend has it that Homer (yes, the same chap of “Odyssey” fame) was born there, as was apparently Christopher Columbus. The reason could be because the Genoese, who had fallen in love with Chios had, like the Romans, the Turks (sadly though in just 15 days' time back in 1822 they were responsible for the deaths of up to 25,000 people, including many leaders who were hanged. They basically burned, looted and destroyed all of Chios) and the Venetians, put their hands on the island. Amongst the many interesting ancient towns is Anavatos, which has basically become a living “ghost town”.

Homer's old rock.

Elinda Bay.

They hate Trump (also in Chios)!

Beaches? Plenty of them, such as the one at Elinda which apparently has on the bottom of its bay an ancient Roman shipwreck: the Romans had tried to link Chios via its west coast to the Hellenic mainland (and during WWII it was also a hiding place for German submarines, so they say). And the weather? Beautiful and with highs during the day of about 31-32 °C (or 88 °F).

Wonderful also the beach at Vroulidia, in the southern tip of the island!

The island’s capital is Chios. The airport is located about 3 km away from the capital and 6 km from our studio (we always get studios when we go to Greece as we get to do our own cooking and are not tied to any hotel schedules, especially when it comes to breakfast), the “Shallow Sea Apartment”, a very comfortable, quiet and well-run studio by a very simpatico chap by the name of Georgos. The studio's located in the small town of Karfas, located just a few km from Chios.

And the hordes of tourists? With the exception of some Mexican tourists and the odd Turk (the island faces Turkey’s 80 million people just 3 km from Chios’s shores) it was SO crowded that quite often there were just four-five of us on the splendid beaches. Some good advice? If you can swing it AVOID going to the Greek islands in July-August. It’s much better to go once the kiddies are back in school…and their parents are back at work.

And the Greeks? Simply sweet, as we found out (again) for the 3rd time with the locals who offered us free food and typical Greek snacks (as well as Georgos who rode there and back 12 km to the airport to bring me my t-shirt which I had forgotten in his studio, a real darling that man!).

All-in-all, with my 10th trip to Greece I still CAN’T find one single bad thing to say about the Greeks (and to think that old Mussolini had decided to invade that country during WWII…).

Anavatos, the living “ghost town”

We hope to go back one day to Chios because there are still many things to discover on that island and more importantly to enjoy them…and along with their wonderful people!