Samos Island
Our first stop back in Greek waters was the island of Samos in the Eastern Aegean, less than 2km away from the Turkish coast. After changing out our courtesy flags at the sea boarder, we tied up in the little Samos Marina on the south side of the island. Nearby, the ancient town of Pythagoreio was once called Tigani, but renamed in the 1950s after its famous son, Pythagoras; that Ancient Greek philosopher who influenced Plato, Aristotle & Newton. Amongst many things he is most well known of course for his famous mathematical theorem.
We spent a couple of days in this charming and friendly little town, hiring a car to run errands and explore the verdant island. On the first evening we dined out in Samos Town (aka Vathy), the island’s capital and main port on the north side of the island. The following morning we went to tour the Tunnel of Eupalinus, an underground aqueduct constructed in the 6th Century BCE. Unfortunately we couldn’t enter as the children needed to be at least 14 years old for safety reasons. Never mind!
Onwards to explore the ruins of The Heraion; the Temple of Hera. According to local myth, the goddess Hera, both sister and wife of Zeus, was born here under a chasteberry tree. It is here that a gigantic free-standing temple and large sanctuary were built in her honour. At the time of its construction it was the largest of all known temples. Today, a lone reconstructed column sits amongst the rubble. It is just half the height of the initial structure, not to mention only one of the 155 original columns! A truly mind-blowing thought.
That evening we enjoyed a wonderful meal in a lively taverna on the beach. In the corner of the room a bouzouki duo played for hours on their stringed lutes - that classic Greek soundtrack accompanying our delicious meze plates and local vino. Heaven! We rounded out our stay in eastern Samos with a sunny afternoon spent in the characterful village of Kokkari, filled with waterfront restaurants and cute little laneways. These few days were the perfect way to ease back into the season, and ease back into Greece!
