Final email about Nisyros

Yasas

  This is the final email about Nisyros.  We’re really enjoying Ios too.  I was told today Ios stands for Irish Over Seas as there are lots of Irish here and lots of Irish pubs in town.  I took myself for a walk uo up up to Chora and had a lovely time.  But first I have to write about our ferry trip and overnight stay on Santorini.

Ru

Keep Going Sox!!!

Nisyros Pali Town

The harbor at Pali on Nisyros was friendly and cozy and delightful.  We liked it a lot. 

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Getting ready to help a new boat come in…….

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You have to drop your anchor and then back up, throw lines to folks on the shore to tie them off and then adjust it all.  Not sure what we would do if there weren’t folks to help.  Sometimes there are “lazy lines” attached to mooring balls that you use rather than drop your anchor.  All goes much more smoothly when the winds are calm.

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We spent all of our meal times at Aphrodite because they were recommended by friends Sue and Ed Kelly on Angel Louise and because they were nice people with good food.  (Although my friend Martha;s Greek fish soup is better.)

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Quarter litre of wine was served in the gold pitchers.

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Randal at the computer as most restaurants offer free wifi

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Pali church

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Homes around town

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Profusion of pink

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Old, now closed hydropathic institute?  I’m just not sure though from the description in Greek Waters Pilot it sounds as if this it was it is. 

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Beach with lots of black volcanic stones

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I collected several

 

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Black volcanic stones… how to choose which ones to collect? 

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More visits to Aphrodite

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The owner’s daughter and her husband

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Randal computing during diner; I brought a book and shared the blue half litre of the lovely light white wine.

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Night time was lively but quite and great for sleeping as it was really quite cool.  With now Marmaris booming noise we could leave portholes open for the cool night air.

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Nearby Giali island where pumice stone is quarried and exported worldwide.

Nisyros Part 3 of 4

Yasas

    Santorini won’t ever be the top of our islands visits, but probably (hopefully) nothing will top the story of how we had to yell for help to get us out of our hotel.  We were locked in the hallway that lead from our room to the narrow stone hillside stairway.  We had to crawl out the room window with the help of another guest who we’d awaken with our yelling and banging.  We weren’t kidnapped; it was a case of stupidity on the part of our “hotel?” management who had given us a room key but neglected to give us a key to the hallway.  I’ll write more about it later with the photos of Santorini. 

Ru

Nisyros Part 3 Nikia

We stumbled upon Nikia serendipitously and it was my favorite stop of the day.  Nikia is so enchanting with lanes that turned into other lanes and again into other lanes past whitewashed houses with painted doors and explosions of colored plants all opening into the “square”  with its church and tavern and such.   This email takes you along with me as I explored the lanes of Nikia.

“Nikia, up on the edge of the volcanic rim to the south. In Nikia the people are not Nisirians, they are Nikiates. They inhabited Nisyros hunted from pirates and settled there around 1600. Still today when asked they never say "I am from Nisyros" the say I am from Nikia.”  http://wikitravel.org/en/Nisyros

   “Nikia, this village is also called “the eagle’s nest”, because it is located in the highest spot of the island and you can see the crater from almost all little streets.” http://gonetogreece.com/nisyros/nisyros-volcano-and-villages-in-the-skies/

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Painted  doors

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Patio overlooking the sea

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Nikia is surrounded by fields and terraced hillsides

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A tiny chapel and cemetery

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I don’t know what this is; wild artichoke or thistle or something else all-together.  Anyone know?

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A slightly enhanced close up.

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I loved the purple flower against the white of the church

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View of the terraced hillside: grapes, figs, olives…

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Some lanes face along the seaside and some took me deep into the village

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“The famous village square is paved with fine black pebbles (known in the local as hochlakia) which form a beautiful mosaic.”  http://www.greeka.com/dodecanese/nisyros/nisyros-villages/nisyros-nikia.htm

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Church in Nikia

  There are two taverna in Nikia and I’d left Randal sitting in the one at the edge of town.  Motorized vehicled aren’t allowed into the village; there seemed to be no roads a car could drive along.  So after about 30 minutes I made myself find my way back to Randal and our motorbike and all too soon it was time to go.  It was on my way back to Randal when I discovered signs pointing to the view of the caldera.

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