Sunday Travelers Tales

My dear friends, The week that has passed has been underwritten with tragic letters in the history of Greece. The coastal area of Rafina-Mati was burnt in the flames of a horrifying fire on Monday 24th of July. The reason why this fire started is still under investigation by the Greek police. But strong winds blowing that day helped spreading the fire in great speed, such that it took everyone by surprise. People were not prepared to face a disaster so big in such little time. Many people tried to leave by car and got stuck in a jam to find a tragic death. Elder people couldn’t leave their houses and stayed inside to also find tragic death. Others tried to escape the burning hell going towards the sea. Those who made it got lucky. Those who didn’t unfortunately lost their lives in a tragic way.  The deadly outcome rose up to 88 people, among them children. The Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras announced a national mourning period of 3 days. This is not the...

Travelers Tales: [ Dear travelers, follow me this week to guide you to a Cycladic island with wild pure beauty and turquoise Aegean beaches. Folegandros is a small island -of about 750 permanent residents- located in the Aegean pelagos. Together with Sikinos, Ios, Anafi and Santorini, forms the southern part of the Cyclades. The island only has a port -Karavostasis (comes from the Greek words "karavi" and "stasis" which mean boat and stop and together the meaning is where the boats stop, Καραβοστάσης in Greek)- and is connected with Piraeus (about 5 hours).  It has two big settlements. Chora is the islands capital and is built on the edge of a very high cliff. The other settlement, Ano Meria is located in the north part and is the most traditional part of the island. It is the rural settlement with the houses being at a distance and creating the so-called "themonies" (θεμονιές in Greek). Smaller settlements of the island are Karavostasis and Pe...

Travelers Tales: [Dear traveling buddies, this week I will take you to an island who is said to have given birth to the Goddess of desire and beauty, Aphrodite! According to Hesiod's Theogony, Aphrodite was born in the foam of Cytherean sea produced by Uranus's genitals, which his son Cronus had severed and thrown there. Thus she was known as "Cytherean" Aphrodite. In Cythera Aphrodite was worshiped as Aphrodite Ourania, Goddess protector of love and pure ask. So if you are looking to fall in love during your holidays, Cythera is the place for you!  Cythera is lying opposite the south-eastern tip of the Peloponnese peninsula or right under the Peloponnese hand as I like to call it! It is considered to belong to the Ionian Islands although it is distant from the complex. Due to its strategic location Cythera was an island conquered a lot through history and has influences from Greek, Venetian and Ottoman cultures. The island is also known as Cerigo from the V...

Travelers Tales: [This week we will make a comeback in Cyprus as I would like you to find out about a luxury 5 bedroom villa located in Kornos and a traditional Cypriot tavern nearby "To K oultouriariko". Kornos is a village located in the district of Larnaca, and is actually found halfway from both cities of Larnaca and Nicosia. So if you decide to stay there for your holidays then you could easily visit both Larnaca and Nicosia. Of course if you do it during the summer season you would definitely prefer Larnaca's beaches and a walk down the famous "Foinikoudes". A 600-metre coastal pedestrian street that combines entertainment and culture along its palm tree lined length. On the other hand if you decide to stay in this wonderful villa you might find it hard to leave even for a day. The property was built in 2018. Its modern design, large and spacious rooms will delight you. It is equipped with 5 bedrooms and each one has a bathroom with a bath and sho...

Travelers Tales: [ For the first time this weeks Sunday Tales comes up on a Monday but to compensate for that I will take you to an island with golden sand beaches, endless pine forests and magical sunsets and this is no other than the island of Skiathos.  Skiathos belongs to a group of islands called the Sporades complex and are located in the northwest Aegean sea. Sporades is a greek word and it means the "scattered" islands referring to the Aegean island groups located outside the central archipelago of the Cyclades.  The 3 biggest islands of Sporades along with Skiathos are Skyros,  Skopelos and  Alonissos. Skiathos is also easily accessible since it has an airport. The particular characteristic prevalent throughout these islands is the presence of dense pine forests. When in Skiathos the basic things to do are going to the beach by day and going out for a drink by night since the island is famous for its vivid nightlife.  Beaches y...