Chios, Vrontados, Pyrgi, Mavros Gialos ~Greece

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Chios Greece

Chios is the fifth largest Greek Island in the Northern Aegean. "The island of mastic, jasmine and intoxicating fragrances, the island of orchards and orange groves, the noble island with its stone mansions and their pebbled courtyards, with its unique medieval villages and their towers. (Chios The fragrant Island Book)

Our 5 days in Chios were absolutely amazing and more then we ever could have imagined! The experience would not have been the same without the guidance of our wonderful hosts! Nicks Aunt and Uncle were also vacationing at their family house there and they allowed us to stay along with them for the week. They ensured we saw all the unique and isolated beaches and ate at all the best restaurants in the best locations.

Our first morning in Chios (actually we were staying in Vrontados which is just north of Chios City) started with a fresh breakfast of tasty mandarin and orange juice, greek yogurt, fresh local honey, and espresso. HIs family has such a beautiful house with an amazing view...you can even see Turkey which is actually pretty close! We all showered and dressed for the day as we were tagging along with his family to a small local church to experience the celebration of Agia Marina which is on July 17th. This was such a great experience! The church was so small and so quaint and ornate on the inside. They used lovely colors of blues and decorated the doorways with lots of branches. Just gorgeous! Claudia participated in the communion and we all watched the blessing of the bread which took place outside. Afterwards they handed out Pasteli (A Sweet made of honey and sesame seeds), bread, ice cream, and shots of Ouzo- for the adults 😊 WHY NOT?! It was again, such a great experience to sit and listen and watch those around us. Although it was all in Greek and we had to watch others to see when to stand and sit it was still a fun time. I also loved all their flags hanging outside. It reminded me of my brother and sister-in-laws yard. We had no luck finding these in town but his uncle miraculously found them for us. They are hanging through our living room now 😊

After the church we went to the local beach in Vrontados. A smaller beach that had a bar and good music. After swimming and sunbathing for a few hours it was time for lunch. His aunt and uncle took us to a wonderful little restaurant where we ate A LOT! It was all so fresh and delicious! We had calamari, pickled and grilled octopus, greek salad with a huge chunk of feta, rooster with homemade pasta, fresh bread, and homeade dolmades (stuffed grape leaves). It was all so good Nick and I went back for a date night our last night in Chios.

PYRGI~From lunch, we were given directions to several other beaches less then an hours drive. Luckily, Chios is mountainous, so there are only a few main roads which makes it fairly easy to get where you need to go. We drove south towards Pyrgi. Pyrgi is an absolute ornate and special village. It is the largest and one of the most important medieval villages. The city was intially surrounded by four walls and were all connected with no doors or windows on the outside. People would enter through two main gates into the city. The buildings are all patterned with a scratched art form in florals and geometrics. It is absolutely gorgeous and we hope to stay here for a day or two the next time we make it to Chios. Pyrgi wasn't on our agenda for this day so the photos are from driving through, slightly lost.

EMPORIOS/ MAVROS GIALOS~

Our main destination for the afternoon was Mavros Gialos- the black stone pebble beach made from lave many many years ago. The section we stopped at had larger stones. Strap on sandles or water shoes are recommended as many of the beaches we visited while there had stones. It too was a beautiful beach. Unusual as you don't normally see black pebbles at a beach. The water was FREEZING! I chose not to swim and instead photographed Nick and Claudia who braved the waters for a short time. We stayed for less then an hour and then headed back to the car. We continued north and stopped in at another beach that looked a bit more hip and busy. I believe this was Emporios. Nice area-fancy hotel, nice restaurants. We continued on to Komi which was not busy at all. We walked through the village and took a few photos and continued back on the road North up to Chios. After finding parking near the castle in Chios we took some time to walk around and check out souvenirs and shops. It was after 11pm and we decided it was time to head home. Note to all- the city was just gearing up as the nightlife here is also pretty good. Bars and restaurants stay open pretty late 😊

Hope you enjoy all the photos and if I've made any errors please tell me!

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Photos

Pickled octopus...
or grilled. cant remember. Either way delicious!

PYRGI!
Such a beautiful place

Inside church
I absolutely love these and will have our house full of these someday