On Tour
July 8th, 2005 by
James
Since yesterday was the final day of the conference, today we had the entire day free to explore the island. The original plan had been to do the “loop” around the island, but since we’d already seen much of the southern part of the route during our trip to Pyrgos, we decided instead to drive both ways along the northern coast road.
Having taken in Vath� and Kokkari previously, we zoomed past those to take in the beautiful shore line a little further along. This road sticks close to the water almost all the way to the island’s major port, Karl�vassi. This was not a particularly aesthetically pleasing place, feeling the most touristic of all the places we have seen on Samos. In fact, there was quite a bit of Blackpool-style tackiness mixed in. Strangely, we didn’t stick around for long.From Karl�vassi our route took us inland and up between Samos’ two major mountains, Mount �mbelos (1153m) to the east and Mount K�rkis (1437m) to the west. K�rkis is the second highest summit in the Aegean, and looked like a fantastic peak to climb on a cooler day. As for today, we stayed at road level to reach the village of Marath�kambos at the far end of our route. This was a very picturesque village, laid out on the side of the mountain like an amphitheatre.
Our return along the same route included a stop off for lunch. One of the conference organisers had recommended Psarades, a small fish taverna in a tiny place called �yios Nik�laos. This was a truly spectacular place, with a terrace overlooking the sea. They served some of the best fish I’ve ever tasted - the taverna’s owner goes out in his boat each evening to catch it. In fact, the food is so good that the Greek Prime Minister has eaten there three times. The owner could not have been more hospitable - after we’d eaten our fried and grilled shark and squid, he gave us melon and homemade wine for free. Such a nice gesture, and one that ensured we’d all be visiting again if and when we return to Samos.
