Fourth time on Halki

[davidfromhastings]

Having been back in Hastings for just over a week now after another two fabulous weeks on Halki I thought I'd update here with a few comments and observations that, hopefully, some might find interesting. I had considered a daily blog from the island (in the Tom and Rosie style) but a combination of data costs - I ran out of credit in my first few days and had to make a call to the UK for an emergency top up - and trying to type on a small phone keypad worked against this. I hope I can still capture some of the Halki flavour all the same.



Departures and Arrivals:

Things got off to a great start when after queuing for check in at Gatwick for some time I realised I was heading for "The Gambia Experience". I'm sure that would have been lovely but it was The Halki Experience at the next check in that I was hoping for. A slightly delayed departure for the Enterair flight but pleasant and friendly cabin crew made up for this. I had slight concerns about the ferry connection due to the late arrival at Rhodes (especially when the Tilos bound couple in front of me were told they were being overnighted) but I was soon on a mini bus heading for Kamiros Skala. This was the first time in four visits it had been a mini bus rather than a full size coach and it became clear why after boarding the Nissos Halki when I realised there were just five of us making the crossing. I've never been in July before but I had expected it to be much busier than my last two visits in June. I have to say it was quite an emotional moment when we arrived at Emborio harbour -with a real sense of home coming.



Dorothea Studios:

My plan here worked and I was delighted and relieved to get the same delightful studio as last year. This is the one at the top with a stunning panoramic view over the harbour and its own private balcony at the side (see my review and photos in the Accomodation section here). The lower studios have a view which is partially obscured by the roof of the houses in front and the other top floor one has a balcony that you enter from the corridor so is less private. Look for "Side sea view" when booking. The TV didn't work any more than it did last year but I stand by my claim that this is the nicest Greek island property I have ever stayed in. Only a couple of other apartments at the Dorothea seemed to be occupied when I got there and in the second week just one other that I could tell. In fact, many of the holiday properties around the village appeared to be empty during my stay -maybe it is a July thing. Only the Nissia properties showed much signs of life including the one at the top of the steps behind the Dorothea -which I eventually realised was the Laskerina property I stayed in for my first visit in 2005!



Retsina:

I know this is a subject dear to the heart of many so a quick word on the subject. I mainly used the Lefteris supermarket -being closest to my studio and my 1.5 ltr bottle of Restsina started off at 5euro. To my horror supplies ran out a few days into my holiday and I made to the trip to the Petros supermarket only to be charged 7euros for the same Restsina! Thankfully, Lefteris soon received fresh supplies though price now migrated to 5.50euro. They did run out a second time but had the alternative of the 500ml bottles at 2euro so substituted with those.



Walks to Kania:

I've posted before that the upgraded Kania beach isn't to my personal taste and much preferred the unspoilt cove it used to be - with just a lizard or two for company. Nethertheless, I still always enjoy the road walk to there and back (I just leave out the stopping bit in the middle!). It's always good to see those bee hives are still there as they always have been and those two huge abandoned trailer things are still parked up at the side of the road. I made a more concerted effort this year to try and see what they actually were but lack of any name plates or signage on them left me none the wiser. Some sort of refridgeration units connected to the old fish farm? Something to do with road building or power lines? Who knows?



Castle renovation:

I reserved judgement on this last year as the work was very much in progress. I have to say that, overall, they have made a good job of this. Much easier path to reach it and some interesting and informative signage here and there. If I was afraid that it was going to become a crowded tourist attraction I needn't have worried -I was the only person there -as previously. A couple of minus points were that the numerous tall shrub like plants have now regrown inside the castle walls making photography difficult. It looks like having completed the work no further attention has been paid to it. It may well be that there is no budget available for this. Secondly, I was disappointed to find that the restored chapel was locked. I had hoped to see what they had done inside. Maybe it gets opened on special occasions (my visit not being one of them!).



Orange alert and Apaches:

My holiday this year certainly co-incided with a lot of events both in the UK and elsewhere. One such event was the attempted military coup just across the water in Turkey. This manifested itself on Halki in the following week when we had two ribbed patrol boats with guns fore and aft turn up in the harbour followed shortly after by two Apache helicopters thundering low over the island. I thought it was some kind of excercise but it turned out that the Greek military had gone to Orange Alert (combat ready) after reports of some Turkish military attempting to head for Symi after the failure of the coup. That was about it really but we did have the boats return a few days later before heading back towards Rhodes.



Tilos day trip:

On my three previous visits to Halki I have always made a day trip to Nisyros and its active volcano. For a change this time I decided to visit Tilos where I had a two weeks holiday around 2006. It was great fun stepping aboard the Dodekanisos Express yet again and powering over to Tilos. One of the highlights of my holiday there had been walking up to the old abandoned village of Micro Horio (about 45minutes walk) so I made this my first mission there. I knew there was some sort of off road shortcut there but couldn't remember where to pick it up so just used the road. I found it coming back however. After leaving Livadia and just past the side turn to Ilidi Rock hotel the road turns at right angles to the left. At that point scramble up the bank on the right where there is a rough path heading upwards through a ravine. This cuts out a lot of the road journey and provides some very welcome shade. The old village is fascinating to walk through and you may well encounter sheep and goats scrambling about in the narrow streets. Sadly, the music bar there doesn't open until 11pm so no chance of a refreshing drink! Tilos, for me, lacks the charm that Halki has but I certainly enjoyed my day there and I had a great photo opportunity when 40 or so yachts taking part in the Rhodes Cup race all moored up together in the small inner harbour. I'd never seen so many in one place before. Dodek Seaways were offering a "special" rate of just 18euro return so it was a good value day out as well.



Celebrity glamour:

My time in Halki was livened up by the presence of an U.S. actress (not a household name in the UK but she has appeared in numerous television and film roles). Initially on a yacht moored in the harbour, her and her family later moved to apartments close to mine. What was fun was that every night she organised games for the children on the harbour front. I never worked out exactly what the game involved but it consisted of her directing individual or groups of children to various points around the harbour (some sort of strategy game I guess). They all seemed to have a good time and one night there must have been fifty or so taking part! I'm not mentioning her name for privacy -in case she's still there.



Halki 2016:

So the end of another great two weeks on my favourite default island. As always, it is the little things that make it good. Toasted cheese sandwich and beer at Costas. The chickens clucking around by the cemetery. The goats on the road to the castle. And, of course, Prevelis gliding into the harbour with all the drama and excitement that causes. I never thought I would return to any island four times but Halki has lured me back and, no doubt, will again in the future.

[jamesthebutler]

Well done David, a splendid and finely observed write up thank you. When we were there in June we saw 5 litre wine boxes of Retsina (an old chestnut of a subject here), and we invested in one on our last day - it is in the very safe hands of a trusted friend for collection in September. The Tilos day trip offer is well worth noting to see if it is still on. I don't know about you but certainly we found Taverna prices unchanged this year from previous years (we've been in April as well as June). I tend to be overwhelmed to have photos taken and give autographs on arrival so hope that I do not steal the thunder of other celebs. You'll be back. Best wishes.

[davidfromhastings]

Thanks JTB! For brevity ( ) I left out about the Express Nikkos boat trips that I had considered going on. The round the island ran both weeks I was there but having been up one side of Halki anyway on route to Tilos I sort of felt I didn't need to do that. The Alimia trip ran the first week but as I had only just got there I didn't really feel ready for getting off the island so soon. It was advertised the second week but didn't run in the end -presumably because of insufficient numbers (and to be fair I didn't put my name down anyway).
Needless to say after fifteen years of going to Greek islands I yet again failed to see a single dolphin........

[Liz]

Great trip report .. Thanks .. I must apologise for the disprution I may have caused with. The children's games Jtb A 5 litre box is never a good idea on the last night ... You peeps never learn 😂😂

We've only seen dolphins once On the return trip

[Deleted]

David, the large trailers up on the Kania road are emergency electricity generators. I remember them arriving and at the time they looked quite smart and businesslike. Unfortunately, they were parked up there and haven't been touched since. It has been surmised that the plan to put them into operation fell flat due to lack of expertise but who knows. They are only fit for scrap now.

[davidfromhastings]

Many thanks Sth! I should have guessed that you would know. Well I was sort of on the right track by mentioning power lines but I certainly never thought of generators. Could have used them this visit when the power went off for an hour or so - took me back to earlier visits when power and water both went off at various times. But, as you say, those generators won't be doing anything -though they did provide some good shade for a few minutes during my walks  Thanks for solving that mystery! David.

[Deleted]

Anyway, they make a good marker for anyone heading off to Areta or Lagonia on foot. Turn left and follow your nose - up!!

[soupdragon]

Oh and nice report by the way Well done that man

Cheers. Tom and Rose

[stevec]

Hit the same Retsina shortage problem in the early half of July David. 5l box found to be the best (and most economic) solution.

Did the Tilos day trip as well but walked down the coast towards the abandoned village of Gera. Having stopped on the way for a couple of beers at Faros Taverna for old times sake (stayed in 2002) and found the parrot still there. Good views with a charming church at the top of the main ascent of the headland and some shade. Tilos has changed a lot in the last 14 years, more so than Halki where the changes are more subtle with more derelict buildings being restored, more variety of paint used on the render and relatively little new buildings.

Working my way through my images from our trip and looks very much as it will be in 5 albums - the usual 3 covering the village, the countryside beyond (got up to the eastern part of the high plateau) and a monochrome set (will take a bit of extra work as all my images have the date embedded in them and that will have to be cloned out first) plus a 'Round the Island' set (183 images to trim down to something more digestible) and Tilos. Probable won't be until September before these get published - still uploading China, haven't started on New Zealand or Sicily but Tasmania is underway.....

[davidfromhastings]

Aug 6, 2016 20:37:45 GMT @sth said:

Anyway, they make a good marker for anyone heading off to Areta or Lagonia on foot. Turn left and follow your nose - up!!

You may just have solved another mystery for me Sth. I couldn't work out why the big maps of the island that you see around Emborio show a non existent road turning off left from the Kania road. I've done that walk many times and never seen a turning. I've always assumed that the dirt track by the generators was just the entrance to a private yard and wouldn't have dreamt of turning in there. So that is the mystery road then? Leading to (I'm guessing) a rubbish dump? That will be on my to do list next time then!

Incidentally, maybe someone can comment on how strongly the concept of "private land" is taken on Halki. I'm never really sure if you can just head off over hills and the like where there is no obvious track or path. On my first visit in 2005 (not on my own) we were bolder and climbed the hill at the end of the village up to the "sheep church" (as we dubbed it) before descending down to the fish farm and on to Kania. This involved much clambering over Greek Gates (or pallets as we call them in the UK ). It was a lovely walk but we never really shook off the feeling that we were probaly trespassing on someones land.  I've stuck to the road ever since and I may have been missing out on some good walks for no reason.

[davidfromhastings]

Aug 7, 2016 7:03:34 GMT stevec said:

Hit the same Retsina shortage problem in the early half of July David. 5l box found to be the best (and most economic) solution.

Did the Tilos day trip as well but walked down the coast towards the abandoned village of Gera. Having stopped on the way for a couple of beers at Faros Taverna for old times sake (stayed in 2002) and found the parrot still there. Good views with a charming church at the top of the main ascent of the headland and some shade. Tilos has changed a lot in the last 14 years, more so than Halki where the changes are more subtle with more derelict buildings being restored, more variety of paint used on the render and relatively little new buildings.

Working my way through my images from our trip and looks very much as it will be in 5 albums - the usual 3 covering the village, the countryside beyond (got up to the eastern part of the high plateau) and a monochrome set (will take a bit of extra work as all my images have the date embedded in them and that will have to be cloned out first) plus a 'Round the Island' set (183 images to trim down to something more digestible) and Tilos. Probable won't be until September before these get published - still uploading China, haven't started on New Zealand or Sicily but Tasmania is underway.....

Thanks for the heads up on Gera, Steve. Never came across that during my two week stay circa 2006. I'll try and check that out on a future Tilos day trip. Roughly, how long in walking distance are we talking here?

I can emphasise with a long list of photographs to work on. I still have unedited and un-uploaded images from Symi in 2011 and other places ever since. Back in the film days I was a bit more restrained

[Curiouser]

Great trip report David. We're looking at Dorothea for next year. Is the room shown on the Olympic site with the three Windows in blue and white the room with
the side sea view balcony you stayed in?

[Curiouser]

Incidentally on your next visit to Tilos don't miss the walk to Gera and a stop at Faros. We stayed there in 2014 and it is a magical spot which catches the last of the sun's rays each evening.

[davidfromhastings]

Aug 7, 2016 18:58:21 GMT Curiouser said:

Great trip report David. We're looking at Dorothea for next year. Is the room shown on the Olympic site with the three Windows in blue and white the room with
the side sea view balcony you stayed in?

Thank you . I've never seen  "my" studio on the Olympic site (I assume you are looking at the ones that show the clock tower from the side window). That's the other top floor studio without direct access to the balcony. Have a look at the Accomodation Review section here -there are my pix and review there. As I said, my one comes up as "Side Sea View". The others (including the lower ones) as "Sea View".

[Deleted]

No rubbish dump up there. Well maybe an old bit of metal or two. Find a wooden gate top left. Go through and close it. Zig zag up to another gate. After that head up and generally bear right following a well defined goat track. Round the back of a huge round walled area, bear right again and head across the top of the big valley above Kania. Then up and up and just keep going. You will eventually find it dropping down towards Areta. Simplistic instructions but it really is not that straightforward. Just keep your wits and be careful. Away up there on the top another track leads off to the left past an ancient ruined chapel. Take care here - there is a deep well with no cover!!!!!!! Further on bear left and up again. Eventually you should come to a huge valley called Lagonia which lie s on the blind side of Maestro. Away on the far side of this (long hike) is the ruin of a very ancient settlement called Milo. Good luck.