Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
The harbour
Since few buildings in the east-facing harbour community predate the twentieth
century, a strange hotchpotch of ecclesiastical and secular architecture greets you on
disembarking. There's a distinctly southern feel, more like the Dodecanese or the
Cyclades, and some peculiar churches, no two alike in style.
9
Around the island
Psará's
beaches
are decent, improving the further northeast you walk from the port. You
quickly pass
Káto Yialós
,
Katsoúni
and
Lazarétto
with its off-putting power station,
before reaching
Lákka
(“narrow ravine”), fifteen minutes along, apparently named after
its grooved rock formations.
Límnos
, 25 minutes from the port along the coastal path, is
big and attractive, but there's no reliable taverna here, or indeed at any of the beaches.
The only other thing to do on Psará is to follow the paved road north across the
island to
Kímisis (Assumption) monastery
. Uninhabited since the 1970s, it comes to life
only in early August, when its revered icon is carried in ceremonial procession to town
and back on the eve of August 5.
ARRIVAL AND DEPARTURE
PSARÁ
By ferry
Psará has decent ferry links with Híos Town (6
weekly; 3hr), Mestá in southwest Híos (3-4 weekly; 1hr
15min) and Lávrio (1-2 weekly; 6hr) during the summer
months; frequencies drop drastically off season.
ACCOMMODATION
Kato Gialos Apartments
Behind Káto Yialós beach
T
22740 61201.
A mixture of spotless rooms and larger
apartments with kitchen facilities, all wit
h se
a views and
only a minute from the water. June-Sept.
€50
Psara Studios
At the back of the harbour village
T
22740 61233.
The rooms here are large and furnished
well enough, and have functional kitchenettes, pl
us th
ere's
a pleasant garden fringed with palms. May-Sept.
€50
EATING AND DRINKING
Iliovasilema
Behind Káto Yialós beach
T
22470
61121.
As the name suggests, sunset is the best time to
dine here on seafood delights such as fried kalamári or
octopus with aubergines. A friendly welcome is guranteed.
June-Sept daily 11am-midnight.
Ì
Spitalia
Behind Katsoúnis beach
T
22740 61376.
Located in a restored medieval hospital, this great taverna
comes up with specialities such as stuffed goat and other
home-style dishes, plus grills, salads and good wine.
May-
Sept daily 11am-1am.
Ta Delfinia
In the middle of the harbour
T
22740
61352.
Probably the top place for simply but expertly grilled
fish and seafood, such as lobster,
tsipoúra
and
barboúni
. Also
does various
pikilíes
.
May-Oct daily 7am-1am.
Lésvos
LÉSVOS (Mytilíni)
, the third-largest Greek island after Crete and Évvia, is the birthplace
of the ancient bards Sappho, Aesop, Arion and - more recently - primitive artist
Theophilos and Nobel Laureate poet Odysseus Elytis. Despite these
artistic
associations
, the island may not initially strike one as particularly beautiful or
interesting: much of the landscape is rocky, volcanic terrain, encompassing vast grain
fields, saltpans or even near-desert. But there are also oak and pine forests as well as
endless olive groves, some more than five centuries old. With its balmy climate and
suggestive contours, Lésvos tends to grow on you with prolonged exposure. Lovers of
medieval and Ottoman
architecture
certainly won't be disappointed, and castles survive
at Mytilíni Town, Mólyvos, Eressós, Sígri and near Ándissa.
Social and political
idiosyncrasies
add to the island's appeal: anyone who has attended
one of the village
paniyíria
, with hours of music and tables groaning with food and
drink, will not be surprised to learn that Lésvos has the highest alcoholism rate (and
some of the worst driving habits) in Greece. There is a tendency to
vote
Communist
