Greek Island Hopping – across the sea to Poros

Before leaving Epidaurus another Brit turned up.  A lady in a small camper, from Falmouth.  She had decided quite recently to rent her house out, buy a camper and go travelling.  She had no set route or how long she would be out for and was desperate for company, as she said she had hardly spoken to any Brits.  She had come across to the Peloponnese via Athens and was keen to hear where we had visited.  So, out came the map and we talked through our favourite places and then she got interested in visiting Morocco, so more stories continued of where we had been last year when travelling around Morocco.  She was travelling on her own, although she did start out with her dog who unfortunately died whilst in Romania.  She looked late 60’s and I take my hat off to her being brave enough to do this on her own - I don’t think I could do it without my soulmate, Mel.

Mid morning, with the sun trying to break through the clouds we set off to Galatas, and to the Island of Poros.  The road follows a lovely coastal route – around 'The Coast of Love'.

We detoured slightly to the volcanic peninsula of Methana, the northwesternmost point of this arc of the Peloponesse and apparently still has volcanic activity.  It is renowned for its spa baths, with its healing thermal springs that come straight out of the volcanic craters all over the peninsula.  As you approach the town you get a very strong smell of rotten eggs – sulphur in the air!

Methana

Spa Bath, where in summer temperatures can reach 41°c. They say you have to be careful, as the gases can cause asphyxiation - think we'll give it a miss!

We thought we would go for a walk around the town but the smell was so strong we just stopped and had some lunch in the motorhome.  Just as we were leaving a man knocked on our door and asked if we had any books that we didn't want.  His accent sounded Scandinavian and his English perfect. When we told him we hadn’t any, as we used Kindles he just said okay and left not even stopping for a chat – how very random we thought!

The name of this village made us laugh.  Probably in its 'hey day' it was a lovely but now it looked like it had 'metamorphosed' into a sad and forgotten village 

We continued on to Galatas and parked up on the edge of the town, overlooking the Island of Poros (N37.495029 E23.455312).  We sat and watched the car ferry and the little taxi boats go back and forth to Poros, excited for our turn to do it the next day.  

Sonny, overlooking the island of Poros

The night temperature here dropped dramatically to 9°C.  We hadn’t experienced it this cold since leaving UK and it was a shock to the system - brrrr.  So, the heating went on full blast and a hot water bottle put in the bed to warm us up!

The next day we moved the motorhome further into the town to get one of the little taxi boats across to the island.  The sun was out but temperatures were still low, so out came the winter coats.  Before setting off we got chatting to a group of people from Athens who had parked in the car park near us.  They had driven down this morning with their kayaks and were going to paddle their way around the island, sleeping on one of the beaches overnight.  One of the guys was actually building his own kayak which was interesting to watch.  They had all the gear with them, although they laughed and said we are only out for one day/night but we have enough stuff for 2 weeks as you have to be prepared for all eventualities.

Guys building a kayak

The ferry boat only costs €1 per person and takes about 2 minutes, and there we were on our first Greek Island – Yay!  Getting off the boat we made a bee line for the Clock Tower.  Built 1927, it is the landmark of the island.

Memorial for the Greek Revolution, with the clock tower on the hill

Steep walk to the top of the clock tower up lots and lots of white steps

Great views across Galatas from the top

Poros is split into 2 islands – Sphairia and Kalavria and linked by a small bridge, crossing the fast flowing sea. En route we passed the Naval Base with lots of ‘No Photos’ warning signs.  It looked very run down and deserted apart from one Naval guard, who eyed me carefully as he spotted the camera in my hand.  Mel reminded me of the 12 British plane-spotters who were arrested in 2001 and accused of spying for taking photographs near a military base. whilst on holiday – we weren’t going to make the same mistake!

Hellenic naval base from a distance on the left

Old Mazda – looked like it wasn't going anywhere but as this is Greece, it is probably still in use!

After crossing the bridge, we headed towards the cove of Russian Bay, where an old Russian Naval Base lies in ruins. An historical reminder from the Ottoman days, when they helped the Greeks fight for their independence.  We figured it wasn’t worth the 6km walk to it, so after a couple of kilometres turned around and headed back to the town.

Mel in his element having found a ‘beer house’

An old motorbike parked outside. Seat covered in plastic, electrics exposed and a rusty exhaust - they like to make their vehicles last in Greece!

It was a very relaxing day, walking around the maze of cobbled streets, all linked together by white steps. Full of quirky shops, old houses, most of which were built in 1463, lots of churches, a monastery and a lovely harbour.  We had planned to have something to eat over there but the tavernas were just too touristy for us and we had earlier spotted a lovely authentic Greek restaurant in Galatas, overlooking Poros and near to where we had parked.  So we decided to head on back to eat there.

Enjoying some very tasty, traditional food in Babis Taverna

Wishing you all a great weekend!

Sally x