Tilos 2018 (Dodecanese):

Livadia harbour on Tilos island

I'd last had a holiday on the Dodecanese island of Tilos way back in 2006 with the now long gone British specialist tour company Laskerina. That, in fact, turned out to be their final season in business. I've written about that trip here before and it is fair to say that whilst I enjoyed Tilos I hadn't really seen it as a return destination in the way that Halki has become. However, after a couple of day trips from Halki I began to consider that Tilos was worthy of a prolonged visit and finally booked for June 2018.

Having used Expedia to put together a few short trips (Athens etc) I finally abandoned the safety net of a package holiday to book my first prolonged holiday. Settling on the well reviewed Apollo Studios in Livadia and convenient British Airways flights I found myself at Rhodes airport on the Monday night. This is where research comes in as I already knew exactly where to board the public bus to Rhodes Old Town. Coming out of arrivals you turn left and the bus stop is by a cafe with outdoor wooden seating. At only a couple of euros this bus will save you a fortune on taxis -just don't expect any special luggage facilities! The 40-60 minute bus ride takes you along the coast to the Old Town before terminating at the bus "depot" (it's just a side street in reality). Now to find my hotel the Domus Rodos in the heart of the Old Town. Luckily a helpful woman at the bus ticket office pointed me in the right direction. Put simply, you head back the way the bus has just come then left at the end of the street straight down to the seafront. Turning right here you will find yourself in the walled Old Town with Kolona harbour on your left. This was exciting as there were the Dodekanisos Seaways fast catamarans moored up for the night. All ready to take me to Tilos on Tuesday morning (ticket already booked online through their website). Actually finding my hotel proved rather harder as I soon got lost in a maze of narrow streets and alleys but eventually found it.

Collecting my booked tickets the next morning from the ticket office at the harbour it was soon time

Bell tower of Agia Zoni, Mikro Chorio

to board the Dodekanisos Express for the just over two hour trip to Tilos. Be aware that (at this time anyway) there were no facilities at the harbour for buying water etc but as I found on boarding there was already brisk trade at the bar well before departure time. Powering down the length of Rhodes it was up on deck all the way for me alternating the calm of the stern area with being blasted up in the bows.

First stop is Halki island and I had wondered if this would be the point at which I regretted going on to Tilos. However, Halki all looked just as it ever does and with that reassurance I was excited when we headed off again after a very brief stop. This time the ferry follows the length of Halki before heading on towards the already visible Tilos. Arriving at Livadia I was met my the owner of the Apollo Studios who transported me and my luggage all of the few hundred yards to the studios. It was a nice touch anyway! My ground floor apartment was great with a large patio area to sit in all planted up with basil plants

Megalo Chorio on Tilos island

First day. First walk and it was off to the cliff top path to Lethra beach. Find this by taking the uphill road out of Livadia for five minutes or so then the turning on the right marked for the Ilidi Rock hotel. Just follow this road to the end where a closed "goat gate" will lead you onto the path. Enjoy the spectacular sea views on this circa 45 minute walk but do watch your step in a few places where erosion had undermined the path. Lethra itself is a big stony beach which I actually had to myself being quite late in the day.

Next day was up to the deserted village of Mikro Chorio. Again just follow the uphill road out of Livadia for circa 40 minutes. For a short cut and welcome shade you can scramble up a bank onto a path through a wooded ravine. Find this where the main road turns sharply to the left. Mikro Chorio is highly photogenic with all the deserted houses now thronging with goats and sheep and the beautiful church of Agia Zoni. What I missed on previous visits was the remains of a medieval Crusader Knights castle. This is at the top of the village to the right (looking uphill) and well worth the few minutes it takes to walk up to.

If one deserted village isn't enough for you take the cliff top path to Gera. From Livadia head right

Solar energy on Tilos island

(facing seaward) and just follow the seafront road up the hill at the end of the bay to the chapel of Agios Ioannis then continue on the path beyond. Gera is truly deserted and derelict but, again, you will have plenty of company from goats and sheep.

It's always fun to take a ride on a local bus and I did this to the Capital of the island Megalo Chorio. This is full of pretty blue and white houses and narrow little paths. Walk upwards to the top of the village to see the church of Archangel Michael. High above Mikro Chorio are the ruins of another Crusader Knights castle which, in theory, you can reach via a path winding its way up the hillside. Find the path by going to the rear right (looking towards the castle) of the village. There should be a wooden sign pointing you to the path. Be aware that though this path starts off as an easy walk it does get trickier higher up and, in fact, on this visit I lost the path totally and didn't make it to the castle itself -just ended up fifty foot or so below it with no visible way up. Worse, because I now had the sun directly in my eyes I couldn't see the way down again either! I just had to carefully stow my camera in my backpack and improvise a route down. I now know that there are two key things to look out for. Firstly when you come to a derelict building on the right of the path you need to turn right and head up behind this building. Secondly, the path has lights (sort of) so look out for black electric cables and low level lights at intervals to keep you on track.

Another thing you can do by bus is to take the Sunday excursion (in season) to the monastery of Agios Panteleimon. Essentially the bus does its normal route but then continues up the rather precarious cliff road to the monastery where it stops for an hour or so to give you time to look around. Dating from around 1470 the monastery is well worth a visit and you can roam around at will. On the way back sit on the left hand side of the bus so you can get a good look at the huge wind turbine which forms part of the Tilos Horizons project. Luckily, the bus had sliding windows that I was able to open to photograph the turbine as we passed.

Monastery of Agios Panteleimon on Tilos island

For my final walk I took the bus up to Megalo Chorio and then did the road walk back to Livadia. This would take around 90 minutes if you just did it direct but there are diversions. Shortly after leaving Megalo Chorio take the road on the right marked Caves of Charkadio (or something on those lines). A short diversion to the right takes you to the island reservoir (which was empty when I visited) then back continuing along the road up to the caves. Here you will find a new visitor centre (not open when I was there) and beyond that an amphitheatre with great natural acoustics. Note, this a modern one, not an ancient Greek relic. Taking the path behind the amphitheatre takes you are to the cave entrance itself although, sadly, this is securely fenced off. It was here that bones of pigmy elephants were discovered - you can see these in the museum at Megalo Chorio though I assume they are destined to feature in the visitor centre once open. Once finished here head back to the main road and resume your walk back to Livadia. Shortly on the left you will see the multiple banks of solar panels that (with the wind turbine) aim to make Tilos self sufficient in power in the future. This is a major award winning project that has attracted attention and coverage around the World and was a deciding factor in my choosing Tilos as my destination because of the photographic possibilities.

So twelve years after my last holiday on Tilos I finally came back and was very glad that I did. Great natural beauty, fabulous walks to be had, lots of photogenic views and an exciting energy project ongoing. What's not to like? The Cockerel Count on Tilos remains at medium -there are some to be heard but do not expect a mass dawn chorus. Goatiness rating remains high especially in the deserted villages of Mikro Chorio and Gera.

Halki 2016 (Dodecanese):

Emborio harbour on Halki island

July 2016 saw me making my fourth visit to the lovely little Dodecanese island of Halki. I've posted here twice before on the island and as little has changed there (thankfully) I'm keeping this report down to some specific points rather than writing a full review of my two weeks there.

Departures and Arrivals:
Things got off to a great start when after queuing for check in at Gatwick for some time I realised I was heading for "The Gambia Experience". I'm sure that would have been lovely but it was The Halki Experience at the next check in that I was hoping for. A slightly delayed departure for the Enterair flight but pleasant and friendly cabin crew made up for this. I had slight concerns about the ferry connection due to the late arrival at Rhodes (especially when the Tilos bound couple in front of me were told they were being overnighted) but I was soon on a mini bus heading for Kamiros Skala. This was the first time in four visits it had been a mini bus rather than a full size coach and it became clear why after boarding the Nissos Halki when I realised there were just five of us making the crossing. I've never been in July before but I had expected it to be much busier than my last two visits in June. I have to say it was quite an emotional moment when we arrived at Emborio harbour -with a real sense of home coming.

Dorothea Studios:

Restored chapel at the Crusader castle on Halki

My plan here worked and I was delighted and relieved to get the same delightful studio as last year. This is the one at the top with a stunning panoramic view over the harbour and its own private balcony at the side. See my review and photos of the Dorothea in an earlier post here. The lower studios have a view which is partially obscured by the roof of the houses in front and the other top floor one has a balcony that you enter from the corridor so is less private. Look for "Side sea view" when booking. The TV didn't work any more than it did last year but I stand by my claim that this is the nicest Greek island property I have ever stayed in. Only a couple of other apartments at the Dorothea seemed to be occupied when I got there and in the second week just one other that I could tell. In fact, many of the holiday properties around the village appeared to be empty during my stay -maybe it is a July thing. Only the Nissia properties showed much signs of life including the one at the top of the steps behind the Dorothea -which I eventually realised was the Laskerina property I stayed in for my first visit in 2005!

Retsina:
I know this is a subject dear to the heart of many so a quick word on the subject. I mainly used the Lefteris supermarket -being closest to my studio and my 1.5 ltr bottle of Restsina started off at 5euro. To my horror supplies ran out a few days into my holiday and I made to the trip to the Petros supermarket only to be charged 7euros for the same Restsina! Thankfully, Lefteris soon received fresh supplies though price now migrated to 5.50euro. They did run out a second time but had the alternative of the 500ml bottles at 2euro so substituted with those.

The Church of the Holy Trinity above Chorio on Halki

Walks to Kania:
I've posted before that the upgraded Kania beach isn't to my personal taste and much preferred the unspoilt cove it used to be - with just a lizard or two for company. Nethertheless, I still always enjoy the road walk to there and back (I just leave out the stopping bit in the middle!). It's always good to see those bee hives are still there as they always have been and those two huge abandoned trailer things are still parked up at the side of the road. I made a more concerted effort this year to try and see what they actually were but lack of any name plates or signage on them left me none the wiser. Some sort of refridgeration units connected to the old fish farm? Something to do with road building or power lines? In fact I was on the right track with power lines as a regular on the excellent Halki Visiting forum informed me that they were emergency generators intended for use during power cuts. It seems they arrived, parked up and were then never used. Looking at them now I think it safe to say they never will be used.

Castle renovation:

Old stone building by Emborio harbour on Halki

I reserved judgement on this last year as the work was very much in progress. I have to say that, overall, they have made a good job of this. Much easier path to reach it and some interesting and informative signage here and there. If I was afraid that it was going to become a crowded tourist attraction I needn't have worried -I was the only person there -as previously. A couple of minus points were that the numerous tall shrub like plants have now regrown inside the castle walls making photography difficult. It looks like having completed the work no further attention has been paid to it. It may well be that there is no budget available for this. Secondly, I was disappointed to find that the restored chapel was locked. I had hoped to see what they had done inside. Maybe it gets opened on special occasions (my visit not being one of them!).

Orange alert and Apaches:
My holiday this year certainly co-incided with a lot of events both in the UK and elsewhere. One such event was the attempted military coup just across the water in Turkey. This manifested itself on Halki in the following week when we had two ribbed patrol boats with guns fore and aft turn up in the harbour followed shortly after by two Apache helicopters thundering low over the island. I thought it was some kind of excercise but it turned out that the Greek military had gone to Orange Alert (combat ready) after reports of some Turkish military attempting to head for Symi after the failure of the coup. That was about it really but we did have the boats return a few days later before heading back towards Rhodes

The Greek flag flying at Emborio on Halki

Celebrity glamour:
My time in Halki was livened up by the presence of an U.S. actress (not a household name in the UK but she has appeared in numerous television and film roles). Initially on a yacht moored in the harbour, her and her family later moved to apartments close to mine. What was fun was that every night she organised games for the children on the harbour front. I never worked out exactly what the game involved but it consisted of her directing individual or groups of children to various points around the harbour (some sort of strategy game I guess). They all seemed to have a good time and one night there must have been fifty or so taking part! I'm not mentioning her name to maintain privacy (and she may well want to return to Halki another time).

Halki 2016:
So the end of another great two weeks on my favourite default island. As always, it is the little things that make it good. Toasted cheese sandwich and beer at Costas. The chickens clucking around by the cemetery. The goats on the road to the castle. And, of course, Prevelis gliding into the harbour with all the drama and excitement that causes. Cockerel count and Goatiness ratings were medium for this trip. I never thought I would return to any island four times but Halki has lured me back and, no doubt, will again in the future.  Regards, David.

Halki 2015 (Dodecanese):

Prevelis ferry docked at Emborio

June 2015 saw me making my third trip to the beautiful little Dodecanese island of Halki. A full five years after my last visit in 2010 (review here:Halki ) I decided it was time to return and see if anything had changed there -for good or bad.

This was a holiday that nearly didn't get off the ground (literally). For many years now I have been in the habit of staying at an airport hotel (Gatwick Hilton to be exact) for the simple reason that this eliminates the stress of getting to the airport on the day with all the potential transport delays that can occur (and, trust me, I know all about that). With an 9.00am flight and check in from 7.00am all I had to do was a leisurely five minute walk to the desk. The problem was I didn't hear my alarm and woke up at 8.15. A mad dash ensued without even time for a coffee. Thankfully, an airport employee got on his radio and they agreed to get me on the plane (they even re-opened the check in desk just for me). The deal was, though, that I was going but they couldn't guarantee my luggage was. Instead of a four hour flight full of happy anticipation I had a miserable few hours working out scenarios of what to do if my case didn't arrive. To say I was delighted when my case was one of the first few out is something of an understatement. Now my holiday could begin!

On board the Nissos Halki ferry from the port of Kamiros Skala we drew ever closer until that final moment

Stone sculpture on Ftenagia beach

of swinging into Emborio harbour on Halki. There it all was -the bell tower (tallest in the Dodecanese), the harbour front, and above all the clock tower still showing the time as twenty past four as it has done for so many years now. It really felt like coming home to me as it was all so charming and so familiar. I've already posted about my accommodation at the Dorothea Studios which had a magnificent view right over the harbour -it really exceeded my already high expectations from the brochure pictures. Needless to say my first priority was an outing to one of the three small supermarkets to stock up on essential items like Retsina where I was pleased to find the generous sized 1.5ltr bottles available. Sitting on my balcony with a glass of the piney stuff and looking over the harbour was about as good as it gets and continued to be for my two weeks there.

One of my favourite short (about 40 minutes) road walks on Halki is the one to Kania beach. Take the main road out of Emborio towards Pondamos beach and then the road to the right just past the school. This climbs steeply taking you past some strange industrial looking vehicles. I've since found out (thanks to the excellent Halki Visiting forum) that these are emergency electricity generators. Brought to the island, parked up and then never used -and never will be looking at them now. Less industrial, you also pass a field containing loads of wooden beehives all painted in the blue and white of the Greek flag. Now Kania was, in 2005 and 2010 a lovely deserted cove where your only company was likely to be a lizard or two. Not anymore! There are now sunbeds, umbrellas and a taverna and a handy bus service bringing Rhodes daytrippers up from Emborio in their hordes. It's not for me to be churlish -everyone has to make a living and I'm sure many more people now get to enjoy Kania as a result (and the taverna is said to be very good). It's just not for me anymore, sadly. But I still enjoyed the walk there and back even if I didn't venture onto the beach itself.

View of Emborio from the Dorothea Studios

Also on the Kania walk you will pass the new de-salination plant which converts seawater to fresh. This means that you will no longer see the several times a week visit of the water tanker boat from Rhodes. I rather missed that as well but on the plus side didn't find the water stop running in my studio like on previous visits.

No visit to Halki is complete without a walk up to the medieval Crusader Knights castle. Passing Pondamos beach just keep going as the road (Tarpon Springs Boulevard) climbs up from Emborio to the (nearly) deserted old village of Horio. In the old days it then involved some scrambling up a sort of path to the castle but in 2015 this was all changing with EU funded restoration work going on. The path up is now much easier and clearer. I found myself in what was clearly a building site with cement mixers and other equipment dotted around. The chapel was in the process (nearly complete I think) of being rebuilt but, sadly, couldn't get inside to take a look. Health and safety also get a look in with a new wall at the cliff side of the castle and proper covering over the very deep well. Back in 2005 you had the choice of plunging down the cliffs if you put a foot wrong or disappearing into the uncovered well. Think I preferred that but as it was very much a work in progress I'll reserve judgement.

New for me this time was a walk to Giali beach. Reach this by entering Horio village and taking a long

Renovation at the castle on Halki

winding dirt track downwards for about 40 minutes (longer coming back up!). Somebody has a house just above Giali and had chosen to position three less than friendly dogs either side of the track. Just tread a precision path between them and you'll be fine. This is quite a wild rocky cove and beach with pounding waves that I certainly wouldn't venture into but made for some interesting photographs.

Also new this trip was a walk up to the plateau high above Emborio. Just follow the road on from Horio. When I say "Just" be aware that it gets much steeper and harder going and I considered turning back a few times especially when turning yet another bend and seeing the road still going steeply upwards. However, finally reaching the plateau I was rewarded by another charming little chapel and the remains of an old stone windmill and best of all goats. Lots of goats -as I found out whilst passing a stone enclosure and snapped a twig. Cue startled animals bolting out from the enclosure while I stepped back in a hurry. That's as far as I went on this trip but the walk back down gives fantastic views down into the valley and down to Emborio in the distance.

Tarpon Springs Boulevard down to Emborio

As with my previous two visits I took a day trip aboard the speedy catamaran ferry Dodekanisos Express to Nisyros where, for the third time, I was able to walk in the still active volcano crater. I'll post about that in more detail in due course.

So there were some changes. Kania transformed beyond recognition. The castle being renovated. The ANEK Lines "big" ferry from Piraeus to Rhodes is now Prevelis and not the Ierapetra L (but still created just as much excitement on each visit). And other things were just the same as they always have been. The chickens were still clucking around in the road by the town cemetery. Pondamos beach has a lot more sunbeds but still the lovely excellent taverna. Costas is still a great place to enjoy a cold Mythos and toasted cheese sandwich while watching the world go by. Above all the peace, charm and tranquillity of a small Greek island (except for the ferry arrivals and the daytrippers -but they come then they go again). Halki is, without doubt, one of my favourite Greek islands and one to which I intend to return many times in the future.

Halki (Dodecanese):

Emborio village

I visited the lovely Dodecanese island of Halki (Chalki) in 2005 and again in 2010. Slightly over an hour by sea from Rhodes this little island is barely 10km long and has a permanent population of only around three hundred people. Of course, this number is increased in peak season both by tourists and people coming to work on the island. Nethertheless, even then you could not describe the island as crowded and you will be able to walk for miles barely seeing another person.

The main centre of population is the port of Emborio where the ferries arrive and, to my mind, the approach to Emborio is one of the most attractive views of any of the Greek islands I have visited. Pretty pastel coloured houses, the imposing white Town Hall, the bell tower of the Agios Nikolaos church (the tallest bell tower in the Dodecanese) and, above all, the tall stone clock tower all make for a stunning first impression.

Agios Nikolaos bell tower

Now for a word about that clock tower. On my first visit the time on the clock was always twenty past four which led to speculation that, perhaps, the clock was a bit noisy and was stopped during peak season (slightly reinforced by a resident confiding that the major holiday company to Halki at the the time -the now defunct Laskerina Holidays - "encouraged" locals to keep music and noise down during the holiday season). However, on my return five years later, time had literally stood still on the island and it was still twenty past four. It turned out the explanation was simply that it was broken and was too costly to repair, though I have read on the internet that some funds might be in the offing so maybe time has restarted by now.

Emborio has a small selection of tavernas and cafes on the harbour front and a couple of mini markets as well as a bakery for fresh bread and cheese pies. One feature of the village is the number of old derelict stone houses, often with trees growing in them which certainly made for good photographic subjects. On my second visit quite a few of these had been restored to life though a good number still remained. Do visit the Agios Nikolaos church where as well as the bell tower there is also a pebble mosaic "Hoklakia" courtyard. Intricate designs are made up of numerous black and white pebbles from the sea and make for interesting photographs.

Chapel above Pondamos beach

Going right (facing seawards) from the harbour it is a fifteen minute walk to Ftenagia beach where there is a taverna and good views of the uninhabited island of Nissos which lies just outside Emborio harbour. The alternative local beach is that at Pondamos which you reach in about ten minutes by taking the main inland road out of Emborio. This actually has sand (imported!) and an excellent taverna which became one of my regular lunch venues on the island. For variety, when returning to Emborio take the right hand fork in the road which takes you round past the islands cemetery which has a beautiful large domed church. If you want to do some cockerel counting just past the cemetery there were a number of chickens wandering in the road both times I visited and, I expect, still there.

For a longer walk head for Kania beach by taking the inland road from Emborio and then the first turning on the right. This is quite a climb up into the hills above Emborio and then down into Kania. This is just a pretty rocky cove which you might even get to yourself. In 2010, there were no facilities there at all but I gather there is now some sort of temporary taverna in peak season (though do not rely on that!). Allow 45 minutes or so for the walk there.

On my first visit I took the islands taxi to the Monastery of St.John which is near the far end of the island and is the sight of a major festival each August. Maybe it was just me, but I felt rather unwelcomed by the few people working there and left after a brief look around. On the plus side, the long walk back (a good couple of hours) was highly enjoyable and offered excellent views over the island.

Old windmills above Emborio

One thing you won't fail to notice are the three stone windmills that stand on the hill above Emborio. These make a good walking destination and you will get a great view down onto the harbour when you are up there. Take the road on the left just past the small army base on the cemetery road to get up to them. A word of warning: do respect the "no photography" signs by the base -military subjects are considered sensitive in Greece just like anywhere else.

For me, one of the highlights of both visits to Halki was the walk up to the medieval Knights of St.John castle which stands high above Emborio. Take the main inland road past Pondamos beach and keep going uphill to the old (mainly derelict) village of Horio. This will take around 30 minutes or so. Upon

Crusader Knights castle

reaching Horio walk up to
wards two small chapels and then scramble up a path to reach the castle. There were no concessions to Health and Safety when I was there and I was able to explore the castle ruins at will -standing up on the ramparts to enjoy the view and exploring inside the castle chapel (just be careful not to fall down the very
deep looking well!). As expected, there are great photographs to be had here.

One of my interests when on Greek islands is watching (and photographing) all the activity in the harbour and Emborio certainly has plenty of that. Look out for the regular Dodekenisos Seaways fast catamaran, which is the one you are going to get if you take a day trip to Nisyros island to see the volcano (see my previous post on Nisyros). You could also pay a visit to Tilos using this as well (tickets are available in advance from the travel agents in the harbour). Several times a week you might see the massive ANEK lines ferry come in which always looks impossibly big for a small harbour. Notable on Halki as well is the regular visit from the water boat which brings in precious water from Rhodes.

ANEK Lines Ierapetra L ferry

Cockerel count on Halki is medium but Goatiness gets a high rating here. Don't be surprised to meet goats wandering along the road both in Emborio itself and further inland.

Halki then, a Dodecanese island full of charm. Not overly touristy at all. Lovely walks, a castle, boats and goats! Halki is in my top four favourite Small Greek Islands -and I'm delighted to say I'll be returning there in 2015 giving it the distinction of being the only island I have made a third visit to. Regards, David.