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An Ottawa family savours a simpler time on Lesvos
We wanted to have one last long family vacation before our 13-year-old son starts working at summer jobs and prefers to spend his summers with his friends. We wanted to get far away from daily stresses. We wanted to avoid any hot, big cities.
We got all that we wanted during six weeks on Lesvos, the third largest island in Greece.
On Lesvos, it feels like time has stood still for the past 50 years. A bakery is just a bakery and a pharmacy is just a pharmacy. Wares are sold off roving pickup trucks and you can still pick ripe fruit off wild trees.
Lesvos was hot and dry this summer -- but breezy and comfortable. Travelling with two other families with boys of similar ages to our two sons really helped. In all, we were five adults and six boys (ages seven to 13) who all got along very well.
To get to Lesvos, you can take a short flight from Athens or a slow ferry. It takes about two hours to drive east to west across the island, which is dotted with many small villages. The largest town is Mytilini, with a bustling population of 30,000.
We travelled to all four sides of the island to sample different experiences.
We visited the sleepy village of Vatera, in the south, for its endless beach with the calmest and clearest water. We went to Molyvos, in the north, for the culture and tiny shops on paths that all lead up to a castle on top of the hill; it was one of the most picturesque places I have seen. We went to Sigri, in the west, for the best sunsets and to experience life in a fishing village of 300. We went to Mytilini, in the east, for a taste of the island's main town.
Our group's favourite activity was a four-hour donkey trek from Molyvos along the northern coast of the island to a little beach where our guide prepared a barbecued dinner. We enjoyed a breathtaking sunset while riding back on our gentle donkeys.
We watched a few current movies at the only movie theatre in Molyvos -- a permanent, open-air cinema at the foot of the village. Over my left shoulder I could see the magnificent hilltop castle, which was illuminated at night.
The isolated western part of the island has a desert landscape. Because a volcano erupted several million years ago, there is a surreal petrified forest you can wander through. At the nearby beaches, you can find small pieces of petrified wood that wash ashore along with beautiful stones and creatures such as starfish and sea urchins.
Everything you eat on the island was grown, raised or fished on the island. After picking succulent peaches and figs from trees, I'm having trouble eating the inferior trucked-in relatives we get here in Ottawa.
A taverna (small informal Greek restaurant) on a lonely little cape yielded the best calamari -- served as it should be: whole. None of the children nor adults are picky eaters and we regularly ate everything from locally caught sardines, octopus and the largest mussels we've ever tasted to the occasional meal of lamb, pork or chicken.
One of my favourite appetizers was raw marinated anchovies swimming in olive oil and lemon juice (nothing like the salty ones that come out of a can). The island is covered with wildflowers and yields wonderful fragrant honey as well as the best ouzo in Greece.
The people on Lesvos were an unexpected treasure. They were always friendly and courteous and spoke English quite well. We felt safe and welcome. The waiter at our Vatera Beach Hotel was incredibly attentive every night to our large group. At Nadia's Apartments in Molyvos, the owners left us small gifts of home-baked goods and pears from their garden. The owners of Sigrion Villas offered to take us to their favourite souvlaki place.
The summer was memorable for all of us -- four lost teeth, two birthdays and an anniversary, all celebrated in Greece. Lesvos is an ideal place to rediscover the simple pleasures of life. |
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發表於 2010-10-9 08:23
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