Summer of 2008 in Samos

Samos is my paradise as most of you know well. It is my birthplace and a place I use to visit each summer. I have grown up in this island and my friends and relatives live there. I spent 2 weeks this summer in Samos, two wonderful and unforgettable weeks and I am so happy to write this blog in order to place some snapshots of my vacations there. Enjoy some of my most amazing moments and exploration of the island which I did because of you at the island. I have written a lot of blogs about Samos and you could read them visiting the following links of my 360 yahoo web page: Samos, my paradise A summer weekend in Samos My first week in Samos Pythagorio A village at the mountain Kerkis Efpalinos Tunnel

Samos is in the East part of the Aegean Sea, close to the Asia Minor coastline. It's geographically located between the parallels 37.49° and 37.37° to the North and the meridians 26.33° and 27.04° to the East. To the East of Samos is Turkey and Asia Minor, from which Samos is separated by the “Eptastadio” channel, (called Dar Bogaz in Turkish) whish is only 1650 meters wide at its narrowest point. To the North is the chersonese of Erythrea (Turkey), Northwest is Chios Island, west and southwest is Ikaria and the Fournoi islands and to the South are the islands of the Dodecanese. The ones closest to Samos are Agathonisi, Arkoi and Patmos. The population of the island is 33814 inhabitants (2001 census), it is comprised of 4 municipalities, Vathi, Karlovasi, Pythagoreio and Marathokampos and its capital is Samos Town. Samos is a mountainous island and it has two high mountains. The first one is rough and rocky Kerkis (or Kerketeus) with a height of 1443 meters and the second is verdant and fertile Ambelos (or Karvounis) with a height of 1160 meters. The Samian climate is mild, healthy and pleasant, cool during the summer and warm in the wintertime. North wind is the prevailing wind in Samos and during summer it blows almost constantly cooling the island. South winds, that carry most of the rain, blow mainly during the winter period along with the rest of the winds. Sunshine on the island is one of the longest in Greece, since, for a semester and possibly more, during the summer period, there is hardly a cloud in the sky. Samos belongs administrative to Samos prefecture, together with the islands Ikaria and Fourni. Samos prefecture, together the prefectures of Lesvos and Chios constitute the geographical part of the Northern Aegean. The distance between Samos and Piraeus is 176 miles. Up until 1998 there were 2 towns and 33 villages on the island of Samos. Since then, it has been a unification of the villages which has ended up comprising the formation of 4 Municipalities: 1. Municipality of Vathi, which incorporated 9 villages on the North-East of Samos, and it is 125.2 sq.km in extent with a population of 11.997. 2. Municipality of Karlovasi (total extent: 100.3 sq.km, population: 8.728) which incorporated 10 villages on the North-West of Samos. 3. Municipality of Pythagorio (total extent: 164.7 sq.km, population: 9.455) which incorporated 11 villages on the South-East of Samos. 4. Municipality of Marathokampos (total extent: 87.3 sq.km, population: 2.859) which incorporated 5 villages on the South-East of Samos.

So... time to start the exploration with some visits at the beaches of the island.Tsamadou Beach is located just outside Kokkari in a beautiful bay. You reach the beach via a rather steep path down from the main road, the path keeps getting better but it's quite a drop down from the road to the beach. There is a small kiosk on the beach as well as taverns nearby, sunbeds and umbrellas are available for hire and there are two sweet water showers near the kiosk. The beach consists mainly of pebbles and have in parts a very steep bottom. You should expect some waves especially if it's a windy day, the water is crystal clear and well suited for snorkeling. This is the only official nudist beach on Samos, and one of the more famous in Greece, with one part of the beach set aside as a nude beach.

Votsalakia beach, a very large beach with pebbles and sand located on southern Samos. This is one of my famous beaches in Samos and because of its location the sea is always calm and you could enjoy the endless swimming and relax here. The beach consists of sand/pebbles. There are various locations where umbrellas and sunbeds are available along the beach and you will find plenty of taverns close to the beach.

Golden beach of Samos. In the south west part of Samos, follow the road thrue Votsalakia and you can't miss it.This is a nice beach with pebbles and sand located in western Samos, not to be misstaken for the other Psili Amos to the east. The beach consists of sand/pebbles, the sandy part is popular and will fill up quickly. You will find sunbeds etc on the beach and there are a few tavernas nearby. The path down from the main road is quite steep.

The beach of Posidonio consists of a number of small pebble beaches around a bay. The beach is accessible if you take the turn to Paleokastro leading from the road between Vathi and Pythagorion. In Paleokastro you take the turn to Posidonio. The beaches are located in the southeast of the island of Samos and the route here is very nice, leading through the woods and with beautiful views here and there. In this area there are even more beaches such as the beach of Kerveli or the beach of Klima. On the beach at Posidonio there are some tavernas and cafes and you can rent umbrellas and sunbeds. In the bay there can be some wind, making it popular for watersurfers.

Potami is a long white pebble and sand magnificent beach of rare beauty at the north part of Samos west of Karlovasi and close to the monastery of Agios Ioannis. I swim in this beach from the time I was too young as it is the closer beach to my home in Karlovasi.

Time to visit the 2 mountains of the island, Kerkis and Karvounis. Let's start with a climbing of Kerkis at the area of Potami beach. When visiting Potami make sure to add a walk by the river up to the famous waterfalls. The walk, about two km, will take you through a lovely forest and eventually ends at a small lake where you can take a swim, the falls are then straight ahead.

I was too tired after the climbing to the kerkis mountain in order to visit the other set of rainfalls at the area of Potami beach and I felt lucky to find the small cafe at the mountain. The iced coffee accompanied with a snap of sweet Samos wine was what I needed to continue the climbing inside this wonderful forest of the island.

Time for the visit at the top of the second mountain of the island. Let's visit Karvounis.On the north of Samos, between Karlovassi and Kokkari you can find the Valley of the Nightingales and, at the top, the village of Manolates. Leaving Agios Konstantinos heading to Manolates, the road passes through the area known as 'Aidonia'. The visitor can see a stream and many trees that reach up to 15 meters high. Wandering around Manolates you can see hens, goats and donkeys that are the only mean of transportation for the farmers. There is also good food, wine and coffee in taverns and bars found in Manolates.

About one mile after turning off the main road to the Valley of the Nightingales, you will find a parking area opposite a taverna. From here you can walk around this beautiful valley. Manolates ia a traditional samian village and a place where you will find the opportunity to be closer at the samian nature of the mountains and for sure... you are going to admire Karvounis mountain. Don't forget to enjoy the apple pie with ice cream at the first cafe you will find a few meters before the entrance of the parking.

5th of August in Pythagorio. The night comes to Pythagorio but... the party is ready to begin. People from all over the island have come to watch and many of them to participate at the great event... the redo of the naval battle of 1824 at Mykali of Samos. Every year at the night of 5th of August Samos celebrates the anniversary of the Naval Battle of Mykali with a great "Redo" of the battle. The navy ships (the boats of the town) decorated and filled by the islanders and the tourists who enjoy every year to participate at the event. The lights switch off the battle starts inside the harbor of Pythagorio. The Greeks fight for their freedom and the flagship of the Ottoman Empire are blasted by the Greek armada and the Samians who combat from the land of Samos. We succeeded and we celebrate the great victory. Let the firewalls begin... and the dark night has been an extravaganza of colors and lights.

There is also a cultural activity during summer at the island. Samos honors a great musician who had born here, Manolis Kalomiris. For his memory a lot of music concerts as also theater or any kind of artistic performances presented to the people who live at the island and to those who have chosen to be here for their vacations. I had the luck to watch the concert of Dimitra Galani & Eleftheria Arvanitaki in Samos city and the concert of Nikolopoulos with Constantina in Karlovasi. Wonderful nights accompanied with good music and the amazing voices of the popular Greek singers!

Most of my friends and classmates of the time of my youth visit the island during August and it is a good opportunity to spend some time together and enjoy the good food in a tavern, the famous Samian wine and of course Greek dance... We use to pass the night bringing back the fun times of the old times. Sweet memories for the graduates of the 1981 class of Karlovasi Lykeion!

Nothing stays for ever and the time to leave Samos came sooner than I expected. I had to leave my paradise but I carry it in my heart. I live for the day that I will not be forced by the circumstances to leave from it and I will stay permanently there.