Life on Tinos, Greece

 

I woke early as usual and about 7am could hear some clattering so went outside to see a herd of goats all taking turns drinking from the pool - I didn't want to move closer to take a photo but there were about 30 of them and they kneel down to drink so it was fascinating to watch. Then as quickly as they arrived they were gone jumping off the walls and heading down to the sea. Steve, Paul and Libby have encountered them since at the top of the hill behind us in the mountainous terrain. 

We decided to make Tuesday May 7th a stay at the villa and relax day, there was no wind all day and it was hot and sunny so we had a fabulous time. First up was breakfast, since we didn't do a supermarket run we decided to walk to the nearest of 3 places along the two beaches close to us. Their menu delivered verbally to us was - scrambled egg, fried egg or avocado on toast. For the three of us who ordered avocado on toast we were pleasantly surprised to find it had salmon and avocado on the toast. The coffee drinkers ordered a coffee and were asked - hot or cold - which we have come to learn is the normal question. Paul had met us there and took a dip in the sea after his run in the heat. Post breakfast we wandered along the beach home. This nearest beach is covered in a seaweed that is kinda husk like, dried in the sun it would be fabulous on the garden. 

The photos above. Top left the seaweed or algae as our host calls it. Top right the fences of paddocks are made of stone piled on top of each other. Bottom right there are loads of partially completed buildings we wonder whether they were casualties of covid? and bottom left the bay below us. 

Steve and I took a wander uphill towards the quarry above us and got to see some of the smaller stone huts dotted across the landscape. Throughout the day many different groups went for different walks. At one stage while Karen was beside the pool I sat on the daybed outside our room and just watched the ferries for about an hour - the others went for another long walk and stopped at the mini-mart for some more expensive supplies. 

Right - top left a stone cottage, top right my point of view watching the ferries, bottom right the hills above us are just layers of rock and bottom left the walking gang after they returned in the shade on our deck. 

The only real sounds from our deck are the occasional dog barking or occasional crow flying by (they seem to chatter all the time crows) or a plane overhead or a fast ferry out in the sea. Otherwise we can hear the waves lapping and lovely silence. 

Now I do feel the need to talk about roads here. We complain about roading conditions in Aotearoa and we have no right to. The roads here are a feat. 

In the town there is a road that goes up to the main church (more on that tomorrow) which is made from marble slabs but otherwise they are made from any and all materials you can imagine. 

Beside the beach often stones amongst sand (top left), up to our place and beyond there is a mixture of dirt and random concrete with sand (top right) and the main road to and from the port is a patchwork of materials (bottom left). We assume tar-seal can't work here as it would be too hot so concrete seems to be the main hard surface material (bottom right). 

I have read a whole book on this holiday btw so started a second one this afternoon. Shocking I know, fiction too! While out for one of their epic walks Steve, Paul and Libby had found a lovely restaurant about 50 minutes walk by road or 30 minutes by beaches so we headed there for dinner. 

Since you haven't had any church photos in a while I took a few on our walk for you. The churches are very different here with a bell tower on top vs a dome structure. They are also mostly white too. The two pics at the bottom of this set are the same church at dusk and in the dark. 

If I haven't raved enough about our accommodation I should. It is simply beautiful and perfectly set up with everything you could possibly need for a holiday. The upper deck has a glass balustrade giving us an uninterrupted view. The cleaners came in late afternoon and cleaned everything, mopping the floor, new towels etc. They took our laundry away with them which is great too. 

The walk along the beach was lovely on the way to dinner, I forgot to bring my torch so it was via phone torches home again. Our dinner was wonderful, they had a simple menu and daily specials written on a blackboard. We ordered 3 starters between us the aubergine in the oven winning, but all 3 were yum. With no colouding Karen, Libby and I all ordered pork in the oven with simple pasta from the blackboard menu and it was rich in flavour. Steve had chicken in the oven with potatoes and it was just that - lots of chicken and lots of potatoes. Paul had a bolognaise which was also huge. Yet the whole meal with two bottles of wine was one of our cheapest yet, and they gave us free bread and water. 

 Top left my dinner companions as we sat down at dusk. Top right the sea is so clear. Bottom pic Libby took on our way back - love the reflection. 

Yamas - Cheers.