Before the Hoards

Before the Hoards

Spring flowers



An almost empty Agora

Because we come to live in Lemnos for six months sometimes I feel rather smug that I’m not one of the hoards of tourists that arrive in July and August. Being retirees, having a house on the island gives us the luxury of enjoying the island, at a time others are not able to be here. I realise that many have to come in their European summer holidays, and perhaps only have a fortnight so want to be sure of warm weather. However, if you don’t mind the fact that the weather is not completely guaranteed to be hot, hot, hot, the months of June and September offer swimming for sure and even in May and October the weather will most probably be warm enough for a swim some days. And in those months so many other wonderful things are on offer that you’d miss in mid summer.

 Lemnos in May

 



The Limani in Myrina (the port)

Mending the nets



A quiet taverna in Moudros



On the island I love the lifestyle that is lived before and after the tourists. Not only is it easier to park a car the beaches are empty, the tavernas are quieter and the local shopkeepers and other Lemnians have more time to chat to you. Also in May, June, and September there are still many days when the sea is warm enough for a swim.

 

Takis with our friend at Keros Beach



Come the summer the shopkeepers and beaches, the Agora and the port change to cope. Many find this busy, buzzing, atmosphere exciting, and it is just what they have come to experience. Goods spill out of the shops onto the Agora, young people on the beaches play beach tennis, or relax with a coffee at their elbows on the beach lounges, and clubs turn up the music so that the beach-front throbs for a couple of months.



Our empty and quiet beach at Rhia Nera

(A Plea to Tourists, any time of the year)

Use your eyes and store up some mental experiences.
In the Guardian Bernard Toutounji, a freelance writer, expresses his amazement in an article, ‘Too many smartphone photos, too few memories’

He writes, ‘In our obsession with digital images, we forget to seize the moment and live a full life.’ Continuing with these statistics, ‘In 2014 it is estimated that 1.5 billion smartphone cameras will take nearly 1 trillion photos - that's hundreds of thousands of photos every minute (3000 in the time it took to read this sentence).

Three hundred million photos are uploaded to Facebook every day, capturing every poignant, funny, strange, exotic and dull moment, from our latest meal, to the TV show we are watching, to the Ikea furniture we just assembled. Every two minutes mankind collectively takes as many photos as the whole of humanity took in the 1800s.’

The accompanying picture was of thousands of people holding up their smartphones in St Peter's Square as they waited the arrival of Pope Francis.

May Guests



With my friend at Kotsinas

We have just had some May visitors and what a great time we had. We lit the furno and made bread (too hot to do this mid summer). We sat on empty beaches watching the sunset behind Mount Athos (in mid summer we would have been surrounded by young people playing beach tennis and loud taverna music. We visited sights and we could take pictures without having to wait for others to move out of the shot!



Not too hot to use the furno



Sunset at a taverna in Romeikos Gia Los

Sunset behind Mount Athos (on the mainland of Greece)



 


Remember Greek islands have a lot to offer beside the iconic seaside beaches filled with sunbathers.

 





Sunset behind Mount Athos