Fourth time on Halki

[Deleted]

Up and way above Milo you come down to St. John. (The near) which is on the track to St.Grorge. Etc.,etc. You will need a beer at Pondamos when you eventually fall back down the road.

[davidfromhastings]

Aug 7, 2016 20:08:22 GMT @sth said:

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.

Many thanks Sth. I like the sound of that  I only mentioned rubbish dumps because you said to "follow your nose"! Deep wells - no problem (I remember when the one at the castle had no cover).

[Deleted]

The one I am referring to is small and hidden by scrub. Just big enough to step into and vanish for ever. The one at the castle was a crater by comparison. When I first spotted it I was about 18" away. Made me feel kind of sick if you get my drift. Truthfully that track is not much used but an old ruined chapel sometimes draws curious visitors. Caution!

[stevec]

David - worth picking up a copy of the Topo Island walking map of Halki. Available mail order in the UK - see thread under 'Other Websites of Interest and Useful Links' in the bottom third of the home page. The notes on the Areta trail on the map are very much as sth indicates above, adding details of the climb (0m - 280m - 0m), a time (2hrs) and distance (4km) for each 'leg'. The 'road' off the concrete road to Kania is a gravel track and its not 'accessible' (no gate), similarly the track to Aghia Kiriaki which can be seen, just, from the harbour area.

Tilos - when you get to the little church on the headland, there is a slightly faded sign post indicating Gera 2.6km. Path is good and has only a few short steep sections. Views are lovely. If you allow 1.5km for the walk from Livardia to Aghios Ionnis, then its roughly 8km/5 miles return. Faros provides the option of the 'Ice cold in Alex' stop on the way back (or on the way up!). As for how long it takes, that's a bit harder to answer as we didn't really start off with the intention of walking to Gera when we landed from the Dodec Express. We ambled down the front trying to find old familiar landmarks from our stay in 2002 and it wasn't til we got towards the end and the apartment block we stayed in in the Laskarina days that we decided to check out Faros and whether it's parrot was still there (not as sociable as Theodosa's).

[Deleted]

Areta is a good outing for a reasonable walker. An early start is best,plenty of water and rest often if for no better reason than to take in the views. The homeward trek once you have made the shortish climb back out of Areta valley is somewhat easier. What is not easier (at least to someone who is not a Halki shepherd) is the downward descent towards the port on the back of a mule with a wooden saddle. This I can solemnly testify to. I had to walk like a crab with red raw nether regions for the next two days. The mule spat at me when I "fell" off at the end.

[davidfromhastings]

Many thanks to both Sth and Steve for all the walk info for Halki and Tilos. I'll be making use of all that when (not if) I make my next trip to Halki

[stevec]

David - there is another walk on Tilos to have in mind - that's taking the coastal path north out of Livardi to Red Beach (Ammochosti) or Lethra. Good views of Gaidharos island and the coast north. In 2002, the route up from Lethra to the main road was a poorly marked path (small cairns at infrequent intervals) but not hard as you just had to work your way up the valley to a dirt track which joins the main road a little north of the route up to the old village. Suspect the path is much better now. Lethra beach was very quiet and worth a visit - like Kania used to be when all it had a couple of broken sunbeds and a family of goats as the principle competition for space in the shade.

The only map of Tilos I've found which has any detail on it, such as tracks and paths, is on on Tilos Travel's web site - though I pulled my copy down by searching 'Tilos maps' and looking at the image selection that came up.

[Deleted]

You still come across a couple of old goats at Kania. I am actually Facebook friends with one of them.

[davidfromhastings]

Only a week now for me before I'm sitting on my balcony at the Dorothea sipping Retsina and taking in THAT view of the harbour. I'll certainly be doing a day trip to Tilos again -this time doing the walk to Gera as suggested by Stevec and on Halki maybe the long Areta and beyond circular walk suggested by sth (that might depend on how hot it is and how energetic I'm feeling). I had a little Halki moment in Athens last month when sitting eating a cheese pie (as you do) at Piraeus when a familiar and very welcome Prevelis arrived in the harbour. That's come from Halki I thought -and that's where I'll be seeing her next! I'll post some thoughts on my fifth visit in due course.......

[muriman]

DfromH, I have to admire the casual reference to sitting at Piraeus eating a cheese pie last month - that's one-upmanship! In an attempt to score back, all I can say is that I hope to get to Halki next Tuesday, and so beat you by a day. I shall sit next to the harbour and eat a cheese pie before you arrive. So there!

[davidfromhastings]

Jun 2, 2017 15:20:17 GMT muriman said:

DfromH, I have to admire the casual reference to sitting at Piraeus eating a cheese pie last month - that's one-upmanship! In an attempt to score back, all I can say is that I hope to get to Halki next Tuesday, and so beat you by a day. I shall sit next to the harbour and eat a cheese pie before you arrive. So there!

I'll have to concede defeat on that one then  The Athens trip was actually a bit of an Expedia bargain - five hotel nights and return Easyjet flights for the grand total of £170.00 -I couldn't resist that