Some of my esteemed readers have asked me to sketch in what
I actually do when I spend some months in my summer house in Samos. The bare fact
is that I do not do much. I must quickly disabuse those who expect me to
climb peaks, trek over mountain tracks, swim or sail the ocean blue or cycle round
the verdant island. Younger people do such things enthusiastically while I
potter about, taking my pleasures gently and snoozing easily after the least
strenuous of activities. This year, after my dear wife Betty broke her leg at
Easter, we have been particularly idle and limited but Samos is accommodating
to old crocks too and we have relaxed as joyfully as ever.
The Aegean island of Samos is well blessed. From mid-May
until end-September the weather is reliably balmy. The temperatures hover around
the high 20s C to the mid-30s C with occasional heat waves. Rain is very rare,
but being an island, the sea breezes are welcomingly cool. The sea gets warmer
and warmer as the summer progresses, vegetation flourishes from underground
springs and there is none of the aridity of some other Greek places. The skies
are more or less cloudless by day and packed full of stars by night. Sunset is
a spectacular lowering of a red ball of fire and the August full moon was
brightly lovely.
Our compact house in pleasant, but by no means
picture-postcard, Karlovasi has all mod.cons including of course vital air
conditioning. Our second-floor veranda, where we sit out regularly has views to
the sea, to the town and its large cathedral of the Panagia nearby, and to the
green hills leading up to the Kerkis mountain range. We walk 2 minutes to a
local supermarket and even less to our welcoming Kafeneon where we and the
locals assemble for drinking and traditional taverna food cheerily dispensed by owner
Gianni and our friend and neighbour Christina. The main shops are within easy
walking distance (as are the much-visited cash machines!) and so too is the
agreeable main square with its cafes. The ferry-port to and from Athens is about
2 kms away – nowhere vital is a long journey.
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| A view from our veranda |
We spend much time in our Painted Courtyard, about which I
have written at length already. Our dynamic neighbour and friend Theofilaktos
has this year built a large 6-seater wooden table and a bamboo canopy and we
sit out there most days. We are currently surrounded by purple dahlias, mauve
cyclamen, red busy-lizzies and blue forget-me-nots, fortified by aromatic thyme
and lemon-grass, to name but a few. The kitchen garden on the balconies gives us
tomatoes in abundance, wild strawberries, beetroot, lettuces and potatoes; as
some become exhausted Theo will sow broccoli for the winter. Betty is painting
decorative flower pots and pebbles with fish designs. Strings of home-grown red
peppers hang from some shutters and we are coaxing red Brazilian Jasmine to
bridge the courtyard completely over seductive ropes.
We eat our own salads in the courtyard and Theofilaktos’
partner Christine is a good cook. Yesterday we had papouchaiki, (minced beef glazed with cheese inside aubergine), her
moussaka is tremendous as are her
stuffed peppers and tomatoes. Theofilaktos is master of the BBQ, grilling
chicken, pork and fish, last time delectable fagri (sea bream) with great potato trimmings and a tasty sauce.
The wood-scented smoke attracts other friends and locals who often drop in for
a sociable drink and a chat.
In the heat, the lure of swimming is irresistible. The
nearby beaches are all shingle and not to my taste. For sea bathing I prefer to
drive to the mainly sandy shore at Votsalaikia
on the South of the island or even better the golden strand at Psilli Ammos outside Vathi with its busy
fish taverna. Our standard routine instead is to swim at the excellent pool at
the Samaina Inn, 10 minutes away,
fringed by its palm trees, sipping ouzo
or quaffing lager under an umbrella – bliss!
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| Samaina Inn pool |
There are plenty of events during the summer and we select
those we fancy. Hotels will have a weekly Greek night of music on the plangent
mandolin, hill villages have cheery wine festivals, there are art and
photographic exhibitions, pop concerts, not to mention sailing regattas, car rallies and
cycle races. Tourism is a mixed bag at present. The once plentiful Greek
tourists have been reduced in numbers due to the Crisis although there are many
Greek Americans and Greek Australians generously revisiting their ancestral
birthplaces. The hotels fill up in high season with East European tourists on
inclusive terms, who often spend hardly a cent at the hotel itself or in nearby
shops and tavernas. Better times are awaited.
There are still good restaurants to discover. In Karlovasi
itself, Dionysos at Meseo under shady
plane trees, run by charming Dimitri, consistently produces delicious chicken
and pork kopsidia (grilled cuts)
complemented by tasty mastello
(cheese pie). (see Trip Advisor under Dionysos Taverna Karlovasi) By the local
beach at Potami, Hippy’s restaurant
is ever welcoming with kind Apostoli and Yarmo dispensing lightly cooked
salads, meat and fish – last week lavraki
(sea bass) was particularly toothsome – and cold draught wine. A younger set congregates at the attractive bar and lolls over sofas and beds. The ambiance of
Hippy’s is laid-back and coolly appealing. (www.hippy’s.gr)
About 10 miles away in the pretty
village of Avlakia is the excellent sea-shore restaurant of Kosmos, run by master chef Tasso. We
have never been disappointed here. Tasso, using local produce like marrows,
onions, peppers and many fruits, conjures up wonderful salads and original meat
and fish dishes – scorpion fish recently was heavenly. The sea laps gently on
the shingle nearby and few places can rival the relaxation of this Elysian haven.
(see Trip Advisor under Kosmos Avlakia)
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| The bay at Avlakia from Kosmos |
SMD
12.08.14
Text Copyright © Sidney Donald 2014
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