I get bored. Easily.
This is why I never go to the same place twice. And this is also why after about a week of the typical Greek island vacation I start looking at the ship schedules to get the next ferry back.
Don’t get me wrong, in the beginning it’s pure bliss: sleep, eat, swim, sleep, eat, swim – you get the picture. The typical Greek vacation on a typical Greek island.
But for me holidays are also about exploration. And there is one island I have kept going back to ever since I was 16. Kythira
You could say the Greek equivalent of the island from “LOST”
Kythira is a not-so-small island in the south of Peloponnese. It’s not very easy to access, this is probably why it’s not touristically developed. This and the fact that locals have never been really interested in tourism. They have their own way of doing things there.
Anyway, I don’t really know what it is exactly that makes me go back almost every year. Maybe it’s the islands’ mystical aura, maybe it’s the scores of super interesting and unusual people I always meet, maybe it’s the fact that I keep discovering something new every time I go.
So just as I try to figure it out myself, I’ll share my 10 top reasons to keep visiting Kithira:
1. The secluded beach of Kalami with the most amazing turquoise waters (don’t try to get there on foot if you hate canyoning) and the white sand beach of Diakofti port, where it is well worth a swim.
2. The waterfalls at Mylopotamos village. They call them Neraida, which is the Greek word for fairy, and there is a good reason for this!
3. The fantastic local products. Extra virgin olive oil from Tzortzopoulos Estate, thyme honey (the most famous in the whole of Greece), rusks from Karvounades bakery, yummy melomakarona and kourabiedes sweets from Marianthi at Potamos,
4. The view of the mysterious Hytra rock from Kapsali and Chora. A refuge for birds and seals, the rock is often surrounded by a mist that adds to its mystery. You can get there with Captain Spiros’ glass bottom boat (another of the island’s highlights!)
5. The unexpected jazz and classical music concerts on cool summer nights at the hidden amphitheatre of Zeidoros
6. Calliope’s Greek cooking lessons at her wonderful traditional house in Pitsinades. Such a cozy place, such great food and such an authentic feeling of Greek hospitality.
7. The view of the mediaeval castle at Chora with a full moon under a sky full of stars. For some reason the stars in Kythira shine so very bright.
8. The tavern of Filio at Kalamos. The food is homely but above all this tavern reminds me of taverns we used to go to with my parents on those carefree summer nights back in the 80s.
9. Kapsali, a small waterfront village, day or night: For the best omelet ever for breakfast at Vanilla or for a quiet stroll to take in the local bars and “loooong” talks in the evening.
10. The abandoned mediaeval town of Paleochora. Wandering among its ruins you can’t help thinking who or what will pop out in front of you from an era long forgotten.
