Lemnos: more than beaches

 

Lemnos: more than beaches

 

In one of my blogs I talked about alternative tourist activities. The old style Greek tourism emphasised Sea and Sunshine

 

And because of this many just associate Greece with Sea and Sunshine


Yes I know, nothing can beat the Greek waters! But....

 

But, for something new go inland and try mountain climbing

 

view of the island from the mountains



Mountain Climbing

climbing the mountain



Mountains hold their own delights, including an abundance of herbs such as thyme, oregano and rosemary, as well as honey that cannot be rivaled.

 

some rocks grusome and fearsome





witches turned into stone!





Plus on the mountains are many hill top churches. Elias is one church that is always perched on the very highest mountain top. And you will find a way to walk up to this church as on the evening of the 19^th many will climb up to celebrate Agios Elias day, the 20^th July.

 

the small church at the end of the climb



On Lemnos there are many chapels dotted all over the island, each the location of a ritual celebrated on some day or other during the year.

 

Another high on the hill that we have just visited is Panagia Kavaviosta. This Marian chapel is in a cave on the top of a hill. There is a half hour walk to get there, and the views of the island are magnificent.

 

Sea Excursions

Multi-island cruises. Greece has over 400 islands, not just the main five that everyone knows about.

 

view of the red rocks from Anemos

We have just taken a trip around the Lemnian coastline in the good ship Anemos. We left at ten in the morning and returned by five in the afternoon. The cruise included lunch and time for the kids and some others to jump off the boat and swim to shore and back.

 



don't forget your sun screen lotions





jumping!! on the boat and off the boat.



Anemos is a traditional 18 metres boat, constructed in 2001. It had some shaded areas but as you’ll notice I took an umbrella. Very Merchant and Ivory!!

 

Me, auditioning for the next Merchant and Ivory film!



Thermal Waters

And today we went with our grandchildren to Therma Spa. Here they played in an outdoor spa pool while their mothers took a thermal bath, and I drank coffee. This site is situated between three hills and the spa is surrounded by tall shady trees. It is a cool spot even on the hottest of days.

 

 

(I’m looking forward to the fete for our local, Agios Pandeleimonos, on the 26th of July. It is one of the best attended of all the island’s local gatherings. We usually sit on our balcony and watch the evening procession pass by. First there will be a number of priests carrying crosses, and then a couple of small local bands leading the throng of participants around the bounds of the village.)

 

The Top Floor (nearly done!)

The Top Floor (nearly done!)

 

 

 On the top floor in the 1920’s

 
From my book about the house.

‘After travelling from Alexandria, with nine children, servants, two cows, and who knows what else to keep the whole Mavrellis family fed on their journey one can imagine the family’s joy when they saw Lemnos on the skyline. They put down anchor in the harbour beside the Venetian Castle, known at the time as the Castro, and await local ferrymen who rowed out to take them ashore. Small landing craft would come alongside the ship and help the family unload. (However my imagination fails when I try to think how they might have unloaded the cows.) Everything was then packed onto donkey carts, to be taken to the village of Androni, while the livestock were driven up the track.’


Grandfather George with his nine children

‘I can imagine the arrival of George and his family of nine children at the house, and how it might have been when all the children tumbled out of the carts. They would have rushed up the stairs to see their old bedrooms. I could imagine some wanting to immediately catch up with old friends in the village, perhaps local children or the children of other Alexandrians who’d also sailed back to the island for their summer holidays.’

 

‘Ephterpi, their mother, was probably the most relieved to be back in her family home, breathing in its special smells of scrubbed floorboards and polished furniture. I could imagine her walking from room to room to check if all was well: the pictures on the walls, the furniture in place. The younger children were probably checking out whether the same cats were in the garden as were there last year. And perhaps there were one or two daydreaming girls who just wanted to lie down on their beds at the top of the house with a book. These top rooms look out over to the sea towards the Castro. However, with such a busy household I’m sure they weren’t allowed to daydream for long, but would have been dragged downstairs to help look after the younger children or unpack the bags and cases.’

 
( I've been told that the door between the bedrooms on the top floor facilitated circle dances, through bedrooms and hall way.)

 

The top floor, 2003



Water damage



 

 

 

 

 



More water damage



Anestis inspecting the water damaged floor!

‘Going out the front door onto the front steps and looking up at the balcony, we pointed out to an engineer that was with us that this was a major hazard to passers-by. And we all wondered how the T.V. technician had managed to install an aerial onto its railings. Then we came inside and up to the top floor, where Takis pointed out the dip in the floorboards. He proposed that this was the result of the badly leaking roof and showed the engineer the ceiling stains. He added that if the house was constructed in the same way as the old ruined outbuildings, as we believed it to be, we could expect that once the roof gave way the walls of the house might also slowly collapse into a pile of stones.’

 The top floor, 2004


Takis finishing off one of the new windows

'With some trepidation we climbed the stairs to the middle floor, concerned that even our footfalls would disturb the balance of the sloping floors above us. So aware were we of the sagging ceiling boards above us, and of the bent newel post at the top of the stairs, that we held our breath as we climbed.

‘Don’t you worry,’ Takis laughed. ‘This house has stood for a hundred years, and it’s not going to fall down today.’

That first day’s exploration of the house was in many ways a repeat of the investigation Takis and I had made the previous year. Lisa was with us this year and the two of us went from room to room and opened up a few shutters here and there.’

‘As we opened up one set of shutters a neighbour outside yelled up a warning at us, as he could see that the shutters were hanging by only one hinge and were in danger of falling down into the street below. We looked at the piles of rubbish in each room – at the old beds and mattresses, chairs and pictures – we wondered how and where to start cleaning the place. In some despair Lisa and I looked at each other. Would we ever get the house cleared and cleaned enough to enable us to live in a couple of rooms? I decided we needed a plan of action was needed to tackle the interior. While Takis spent his time contacting various workers, Lisa and I would began the cleaning. We started at the top of the house and worked down, one room and one floor at a time. We began by taking out everything we weren’t willing to live with, and we used a room on the top floor to store those things that could be renovated later.’  




Center wall removed, and replaced, with the electrical wires now hidden

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



 

 



New lights fitted



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 





 

The top floor today



Today we have almost got an entire flat to ourselves on the top floor. Almost, but not quite as one room is still being renovated.



Top floor bathroom



 



The top floor rooms are large and have very high ceilings



Our top floor living room, opening out onto a balcony that looks out to the sea

 

Kitchenette





Anesitis is now removing the plaster from the last room on the top floor. It needed doing but perhaps more so after the earthquake that we have just had. We could see a few cracks in the plaster. He’s now removed the plaster and cemented the cracks. A messy job which brings dust down into the house. Thus we’ve asked him to put it on hold while the summer guests are here and we’ll start again in September. Perhaps we’ll get it finished before we leave again for Australia.











 







Work in Progress



 

July in Our Lemnian Garden

July in Our Lemnian Garden



For Tourists but for me?
(quote from the internet)

 

Tourist may write, dreamily, of warms seas and blazing sunshine, especially if they come from colder parts of Europe. For me July is a mix of things I enjoy and the problems the summer brings. First of these is mosquitoes!
 

It has taken a few years to achieve this lolly-pop bay tree I now enjoy



A late magnolia bloom



 

 



We have just begun picking the pears





And collecting the tomatoes





 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Midsummer Night Itch 

 

Mosquito is out,
it's the end of the day;
she's humming and hunting
her evening away.
Who knows why such hunger
arrives on such wings
at sundown? I guess
it's the nature of things.

N. M. Boedecker, 

 

The butterflies are visiting the lantanas





 But it is a joy to see the bees, and even the bugs – so many in so many beautiful colours, and of course the butterflies. I also like the occasional trip to the beach!

 

 



The Agapanthus is in bloom. (a weed in Australia!)



Lantanas are another plant that are considered weeds
in parts of Australia









Answer July


Answer July —
Where is the Bee —
Where is the Blush —
Where is the Hay?

Ah, said July —
Where is the Seed —
Where is the Bud —
Where is the May —
Answer Thee — Me —

Nay — said the May —
Show me the Snow —
Show me the Bells —
Show me the Jay!

Quibbled the Jay —
Where be the Maize —
                                                                                      Where be the Haze —
                                                                                      Where be the Bur?



But in Lemnos I love their summer colour

                             Here — said the Year —



                 
                        Emily    Dickinson                                                   
 
                                                                                                    































And July means more watering. I have to water the pots everyday, keep the bird bath filled, and give the vegetables a soaking every third day at least. This year I’ve set up a shade cloth area to try to keep a few salad greens throughout the summer.

 

The grapes will be ripe in September





And the figs too will be ripe in September





 

 'A perfect summer day is when the sun is shining, the breeze is blowing, the birds are singing, and the lawn mower is broken.'

 

James Dent

 As I said, a mix of good and bad, no the wrong words – a new mix of joys and worries!

 

 

And one more plant, that appeared and has never been watered!

'Ah, summer, what power you have to make us suffer and like it.'

 

 Russel Baker

Sailing to Lemnos part 2

Sailing to Lemnos Island, part 2

 

When Sail Boats got Engines

 

A Turner painting of steam and sail



The Mavrellis Family Coming to Lemnos

Takis grandfather George and grandmother Ephterpi become wealthy enough in Egypt to hire their own boat once a year to bring their many children and servants to Lemnos for their summer holidays. Evidently they also brought two cows with them as well. One was slaughtered immediately for meat, while the other was to be killed half way through their stay. Perhaps this was because there are few grasslands on the island and beef and dairy products have rarely been on the menu. The few cows that were kept here in those days were used for farm work and were too precious to kill for food. In Lemnos only the oldest cows were traditionally slaughtered. Still today beef is rarely eaten and chicken and pork are the more typical meats on offer in tavernas.

 
The First World War, Lemnos and Gallipoli


A boat on its way to war

Each May the islanders still remember the 1915 attack on Turkey by the allies. Before the invasions of Gallipoli Lemnos had sheltered more than 30,000 soldiers and Moudros had over 300 ships anchored in the bay. Among those camped along the shoreline at that time were many soldiers from Australia and New Zealand. The injured soldiers were ferried back to Lemnos and housed in temporary tent hospitals set up along the shoreline.

Some boats in Moudros Harbour before they sailed for Gallipoli

 

In Australia commemoration services are held for the hundreds that were slain in that war on April 26, with dawn services and marches all across the country. Not many of the old Anzac soldiers are left to join in the marches now, and it’s their grandchildren who walk alongside today’s soldiers wearing their grandfathers’ medals.

 

One of two WW1 cemetries in Lemnos





Hard to decipher, but shocking to read.







Those who come are struck by the peacefulness of this place





The Anzac story is one that touches the hearts of many younger Australians, and today a growing number of youth make the journey to Turkey for the commemoration service at Gallipoli. Next year is the 100 anniversary of the 1915 attack and it is expected that many will journey again to Lemnos for a remembrance ceremony. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Charter Yachts

Many tie up in the Myrina port, others in Moudros harbour. Many, as their flags tell you, come from England, Turkey, France and even Australia.

  







A typical harbour for charter vessels

But in harbour you have to watch out







A holiday vessel in the Aegean











 



 



A holiday village offering sail boat experiences





 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tourist Trips

Our grandchildren love
Trips on a local wooden boat around the island of Lemnos,
or even to a nearby island called Ayios Efstratios.

 

This boat is called 'Anemos'
                                                                       daily trips,

                                                                                    bookings
                                                                                              6946212294
                                                                                              6945132163

Catching a Local Ferry

The main ferry service Nel Lines who arrive from Thessaloniki once a week and from Kavala more often. From Lemnos you can catch ferries to these ports, or to Lavrio port near Athens, or to some of other Aegean islands such as Lesbos, Chios and Samos.



Some shipping lines from lemnos

See Nel Lines

Pravlis Travel, Online Bookings: www.pravlis.gr