The Tourist Trap

Considering we've done very little "touristy" stuff since we've been here, today we decide would be as good as any since the weather is still very breezy, not making it idea to sit out and do very little but get immersed into a good book or such like.

So, after a little breakfast and a quick glance at the map we plan a route - the first stop being Eftalou - the site of a thermal spa. The spa is quite busy, and in all honesty not that appealing since its sited in a very dingy dark hole and already full of holidaymakers. Instead we go outside to the back of the spa and paddle in the sea, and also the site where the spa waters ebb out into the Aegean. And I tell you, the water is pretty darn hot even when it meets the cooler water of the sea, so I'm pretty glad we didn't go directly into the small pool which collects the spa water - I think I may well have burn't my arse quite considerably!

Next on the hit list is a small beach call Tsonia, which is well off the beaten track and not visited by many tourists at all, just the locals. This is probably because for a good 3 or so miles to the beach the road is nothing more than a dirt track. To get there we also go the scenic route, another dirt track which winds its way along the coast line all the way to a place called Skala Sikamenia which is a very picturesque tiny harbour, typical postcard fare.

We finally get to Tsonia, and my main aim here was to get some underwater pictures, but alas the wind had whipped up quite a surf and it would be neigh on impossible to get any pictures. So we stick our feet in the sea and admire the view. The beach is unique because the sand is red - made up of the volcanic rock that is omnipresent all over the island.

Next we decide to wind our way home, but we plot a route that takes us through some of the small villages - Kapi, Pelopi, Ypsilometopo and finally Stypsi, all of which are what you would expect from Greece - tiny houses precariously perched on steep hillsides with tiny winding street hardly big enough for a horse and cart let alone cars.

Tonight we go back to Eftalou and our currently favoured restaurant, where Phil has some baby red mullet, which whilst quite fiddly to eat he enjoys - as do the numerous cats who had congregated around the table at about the same time the fish arrived on the plate. So Phil gets the meat, and the pussy cats devour the heads and tails which were met with much satisfaction.

Posted by Abi on the September 4, 2005 12:41 PM