I don't know how have people been driving with this car but the average fuel consumption is 7 l/100 km. I manage to bring it down to 6,9 during the morning. Still 60 km/h stays the maximum speed and I don't need fifth gear. The road consists mainly of curves and goats. The goats are supposed to be in the middle of the road in blind curves. This morning they are in the middle of the road only on straight stretches and still practice next to the road on curves.
The first target is Liveros bay in the other end of the island. I reach it after a detour to Paradhisa beach that is full of garbage. In Liveros bay there is an object that is not mentioned in tourist brochures and I don't know how I landed on it. The object is there and is called Olympia. Previous name is ironically supposed to have been Inland, it was wrecked by pirates and has featured in a film called The Big Blue. I haven't seen the film and the rest of the information is dubious except that the wreck is there. It is desolated and water splashes through the holes in its rusted sides. A very big garbage. Smells of goats.
Next sight is the monastery of Chozoviótissa that has been carved into rock in good Buddhist manner 260 meters above sea level. The monastery is orthodox of course. Buddhists didn't usually have the sea at hand anyway. The monastery is a reminder of the fact that Syrian refugees have been a problem here since ancient times because it was founded by monks who fled the Arabs from the Syrian desert some time around 10th century. Now there are three monks left and these are not the original ones. In the beginning the monastery was not whitewashed and then it completely merged with the rock-face. It must of been some willpower and vision to come to a strange island, look at a cliff falling 400 meters straight into sea and decide to build a cave half way up there. Le Corbusier is said to have gotten architectural inspiration from here. To enter women have to wrap themselves into a shawl in order to support patriarch worldview and support men with weak self-control. For justice's sake men have to put on pants in style of Chinese rice farmers, one size fits all. The sign says just in case that the monastery does not lend clothes. It is not always necessary to believe what the Greek write especially when they are motivated by filling the donations box. Up is an atmospheric room with a lot of icons. They should also have some manuscripts starting from 10th century but these are hidden of course. I don't dare to ask how they start the Sermon of the Mount in Greek. Instead we take pictures of the cats together with an Australian couple.
A little break in history because there are a few beaches below. These seemed nice enough on pictures with a comment that they are off the main routes. The beach next to St Anna's chapel is full. It is a very small beach. Over the rocks and around the corner is Kambi beach. There is a naked man and one such follows in my footsteps. We each hide between some rocks. Rocks are good windshield because it's very windy. Wind takes a handful of water from the sea every now and then and sprinkles it on the beach. The beach consists of only grey stones. This is not much of a beach island. I take a short swim and finish the book. Now this Janne (the author) even seems like a person to have a chat with.
With enough foresight I have one more book in my bag. Vapaana elämisen taito. The art of living free. By Päivi and Santeri Kannisto. They got married in 2004, sold their apartment, quit their jobs and went to travel around the world. Now they have written a book that judged by the subtitles seems to be some kind of anarchist ideology. Sold by Finnish hiking store Partioaitta. It starts with a lot of simplifications and I don't agree with most of this although I understand how one could come up with these. But there are also funny parts, like this description of Martti Ahtisaari: 'how can such a man help others if he cannot control his own over-eating?' Reaction of a Serbian to the news that Ahtisaari got Nobel peace prize.
More history waits ahead. They have dug it out of the ground a lot here on the Cyclades. On Koufonisia the boy in breakfast café asked if I was an archeologist. Amorgos as all of the islands around here has at different times belonged to various Greek city states, the Venetians and the Turks. The most prominent trove of broken stones on this island is called Minoa that probably does not have anything to do with Minoan culture. I make a circle in Katapola and gather some courage before entering a narrow split where the arrow points. All the way up I hope that nobody would drive the opposite direction. Nobody does. The few other tourists walk. Huh.
The object consists of pieces of wall and thorny plants that are firmly behind fence. Something like this I have already seen in Greece. Plateia, Theologos, Maraton. They haven't got much further from descriptions when it comes to marketing their archeological sites. I wander around, find a gap in the fence and climb on the historic artifacts for the surprise of my fellow tourists. The remains of huge Hellenic walls are quite impressive and half of the statue of Apollon could almost be called a thing worth to see. The village on the hill was abandoned in 4th century when people moved down to the port. Here were finds starting from Neolithic times. Some other tourists find the gap.
I walk a bit around Chora which is one of the three main villages on the island. They have a place called Chora in most islands and it means village or a small town. The village is empty of people since everybody is having siesta. Suits me, I can in peace take pictures of houses that are in Greek and Finnish national colors.
Now I have seen everything and can take the car back. Although there is still so much gas left that I could drive up and down some more mountains.
The grapes are cheaper here than they were on previous islands.
Add a comment