Blogs from North Aegean, Greece, Europe

A couple of years ago while tackling Mt. Kerkis on Samos there was an incredible view of Ikaria's long ridge running nearly the entire length of the island. Back in the day Ikaria url=https://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303734204577470471862628442.html?reflink=share_mobilewebsharehad a reputation as an isle exile for communists and is still currently known as a "blue zone," i.e., a place where many people live long lives. While I did not run into any conspicuous communists, there were, of course, a couple of hikes that I wanted to do on Ikaria. The first was hiking from Raches down to Magganitis where I would hopefully catch a boat to Agios Kirykos for a ferry to Samos. Because the local bus schedule is a mystery and hitching is hit or miss, the hike down to Magganitis was actually the only way to guaran... read more

When you think of Greek Islands you might think immediately of Santorini and its picturesque hillside splash of white buildings and stunning sunsets. When Seda mentioned taking a day trip to the island of Chios we both though, ‘ok, exploring an island we don’t know anything about for a day why not.’ Our expectations were fairly low. Well, we went for that day trip and liked it so much we returned for three more days after that and wish we could have stayed longer. We accessed the island from Cesme, Turkey via a rather short (approx.. 20 minutes) ferry. Then, both times, upon a recommendation by a friend, stopped at a small local car rental place just on the water by the port to rent a car (one day for 34 euros, 3 day for 25 ... read more

This is the northernmost Greek island, but it's not crowded with tourists. We stayed at an amazing hotel/resort Makryammos with a beautiful beach and a forest of pine trees ...I can still smell them ... amazing place!... read more

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