Well we sailed for longer than we ran the engine for the 36 mile hop to Kardamila on the north east corner of Chios. And with the Meltemi forecast to blow from the north for a few days, we needed somewhere offering good protection. Kardamila Harbour fitted the bill perfectly, especially following an extension to the wall a few years back. With only another sailing boat tied up we also had the luxury of mooring side-to.
Kardamila is a fairly small village with a pizza restaurant, a few coffee shops, fast food outlets and one excellent taverna, 20 mins walk out of town, and not a lot else, so knowing that we were going to be stuck here for a while, we hired a car for a couple of days.
The car allowed us to explore other parts of the island, specifically, Chios town, (a bit disappointing) and the beautiful mastica villages of Mesta and Pyrgi, both very different, with Mesta having narrow and arched alleyways dating from medieval times, and Pyrgi with its geometrical ornate patterns scraffitoed into walls. (lots of photos below)
Both villages are famous for their mastica production, where resin from mastica trees is harvested annually, washed and meticulously cleaned by hand, largely by local women and turned into beauty products, drinks, ice cream, liqueur, and even chewing gum. The southern part of Chios is the only region in the world allowing the growth of Mastica trees.
We also went to the mastica museum (hence the above knowledge!) and the following day drove up to Nea Moni, an active monastery, with stunning mosaics, including on the refectory table and spectacular views across parts of the island. Of particular interest was the sad devastation cause by two huge wild fires this year, resulting in loss of homes and enormous tracts of forest and scrub land. Some people have moved off the island.
Within 15mins of tying up, an officious port police lady came round demanding to see the boat’s papers in her office. With only 2 boats in the harbour, she obviously had nothing better to do, stamping our crew list and unlimited transit log, demanding that we get the log stamped again when we leave. So on Sunday morning, she was again in her office, with probably her boss, who then admitted that we didn’t actually need to get our unlimited transit log stamped. Anyway, it gave them something to do, and within half an hour we were on our way again.
Kardamila is a fairly small village with a pizza restaurant, a few coffee shops, fast food outlets and one excellent taverna, 20 mins walk out of town, and not a lot else, so knowing that we were going to be stuck here for a while, we hired a car for a couple of days.
The car allowed us to explore other parts of the island, specifically, Chios town, (a bit disappointing) and the beautiful mastica villages of Mesta and Pyrgi, both very different, with Mesta having narrow and arched alleyways dating from medieval times, and Pyrgi with its geometrical ornate patterns scraffitoed into walls. (lots of photos below)
Both villages are famous for their mastica production, where resin from mastica trees is harvested annually, washed and meticulously cleaned by hand, largely by local women and turned into beauty products, drinks, ice cream, liqueur, and even chewing gum. The southern part of Chios is the only region in the world allowing the growth of Mastica trees.
We also went to the mastica museum (hence the above knowledge!) and the following day drove up to Nea Moni, an active monastery, with stunning mosaics, including on the refectory table and spectacular views across parts of the island. Of particular interest was the sad devastation cause by two huge wild fires this year, resulting in loss of homes and enormous tracts of forest and scrub land. Some people have moved off the island.
Within 15mins of tying up, an officious port police lady came round demanding to see the boat’s papers in her office. With only 2 boats in the harbour, she obviously had nothing better to do, stamping our crew list and unlimited transit log, demanding that we get the log stamped again when we leave. So on Sunday morning, she was again in her office, with probably her boss, who then admitted that we didn’t actually need to get our unlimited transit log stamped. Anyway, it gave them something to do, and within half an hour we were on our way again.
Chios Town
Mesta
Pyrgi
Neo Moni and Kardamila
