Night 1
Travelled: 10 klms from Cesme to ferry port, then 10 klms by ferry to Chios, followed by 1 klm in Chios Town to the carpark.
Visited: A walk around Chios Town
Stayed: A car park just south of the port, free, no service. N38.365775, E26.143389 Just a dirt carpark, but convenient if your on the late ferry and need a quiet spot for the night.
Night 2
Travelled: 33 klms from Chios to Emborios
Visited: Chios town centre then Mavra Volia
Stayed: Bus parking area behind the village, free, no services N38.18917, E26.02767. We parked up near the restaurants in the shade during the day, but from the looks the locals were giving we decided to move to the parking area at dusk.
Night 3
Travelled: 5 klms from Emborios to Komi, Chios
Visited: Athena’s Temple, Emborios World Heritage site and the village of Komi
Stayed: Carpark just off the beach in Komi, free, no services. N38.20137, E26.04246. Filled with water at the Temple, free.
Night 4
Travelled: 54 klms from Komi to Mesta and back.
Visited: The ancient villages of Pyrgi and Mesta
Stayed: Back to the carpark just off the beach in Komi, free, no services. N38.20137, E26.04246.
Budget: 36 days @ âŹ97 per day (including gifts and balloon rides, but excludes ferries).
We arrive in Chios at last light. The small harbour seems to glistens with the lights from the many nearby restuarants and cars driving along the quayside. Anyway enough looking about, the ramp is down and there’s lots of shouting and waving. No one can get off the ferry until the Hymer is reversed of the ferry and onto the quay. Soon enough we are going through the process of re-entering the EU. Then there’s the Hymer and lots of question, ‘your Australian, why is your vehicle GB’. Questions about insurance and so on. In the end, he gives up and waves us through.
As the ferry entered the beakwater I noticed a carpark at the southern end of the quay with a couple of trucks parked there. As it was now dark and we don’t like driving at night any further than necessary, we drive along the quay and into the carpark. It’s a bit rough and dirty, but it’s level and has a water view. An hour later the carpark has pretty well emptied and we have a quiet night. Our first morning without the call to prayer blaring though loud speakers at 5.15 am for some time.
We have been having trouble with the Hymer’s fridge for almost two weeks now. Working well on 240v but very intermittent on gas. Whilst it lights up ok and holds a flame, it doesn’t chill properly. Having Googled the problem, rung Dometic and had a fiddle with it, I get the tools out and remove the burning assemble and give everything a clean out. Re-assembled it fires up and we’ll see how it goes.
We need a Greek data sim and having done a little research we head up town to the Vodafone shop and get that sorted, then it’s the tourist information for a few maps and recommendations. Pam wants some swim shoes as the stony beaches are hard on the feet, so we both get a pair. We then go to the shipping office and book our passage for Piraeus on the overnight ferry Monday. It been a successful morning all round. Even better the freezer compartment is icing up on our return.
We drive another kilometre around the hill into Komi. It has a long sandy beach facing the Aegean. It’s not Cronulla sand but it’s clean.
As tempting as it was to spend the another day in Komi lazing on the beach drinking Mythos we decide to drive some of the southern villages and drink Mythos there.
We sit at this little restuarant and enjoy souvlaki with a dry white and a big bottle of Mythos. The souvlaki on fresh baked pita…mm. Interestingly they include a handful of fries with the lettuce, tomatoes and onion and whatever meat you select.
Another quiet afternoon on the beach drift into an evening drink and dinner at the bar. We enjoy a quiet night and a good sleep.
It’s Monday morning or so says my iPad, I focus a little and decide I don’t care. After rising a little late, we walk along the beach and have a swim. It’s very quiet this morning, the season here is closing we think and there’s absolutely no one around. By late morning we decide to head back to Chios town, the cupboards are empty and we should stock up a little before tonight’s ferry to Piraeus.
Michael and Pam
PS: The news bulletins during our visit were full of of the tragic stories of drowning at sea as people try to enter the EU through Greece. The flip side of those stories is the bitterness of the local Greek people as tourism collapses in the islands like Chios that border Turkey.
The parks and town square in Chios town are where many of these illegal immigrant wait seeking papers that will allow them to travel on out of Greece. Almost every shopkeeper we spoke to would ask where we came from and go on to complain about business and the influx of foreign immigrants.
4 thoughts on “Chios, Greece. 2015 đŹđˇ”
maybe Michael would like to decorate our complex a bit like these places colleen
Hello! Found your blog when looking for information on Chios, it is well written and interesting, congratulations!
I plan to go to Chios by late september, 2016. How was the water temperature? Did you feel unsecure about the illegal imigrants?
Thanks for your comment on our blog.
The water was clear warm and inviting during our stay. The beaches around Chios Town are not as nice as those in the south, I have highlighted in the blog. We found the people friendly and helpful. You will need a car or scooter to get around, it’s a big island.
In relation to those claiming to be refugees, we did see a few inflatable boats and life jackets abandoned on beaches. But we gathered from the local they are picked up by the police almost immediately and taken to Chios Town for processing. There were lots of foreign young men lingering around Chios Town during our visit, but we presumed just waiting around for the ferry to Athens.
Europe will have locked the gate by the time your going, it’s a lovely island.
M&P
Thank you for your prompt reply. Really enjoyed your trip report about the Peloponnese as well, one of the most useful I’ve seen on my researchs about the area. Keep up the good work!