Tinos Blows Us Away, So Does Meltemi

The Meltemi wind blows through the Cyclades for many months of each year – we’ve experienced it before but nothing like these last few days here on Tinos. It was windy on Sikinos a couple of years ago, but wow this has been different. For instance…

• When we collected our hire car, they warned us about opening the doors because they get more damage from doors blowing open on to other cars, or walls, than anything else.
• You don’t sleep through the night because the wind is too loud.
• It’s difficult to walk in a straight line.
• It’s difficult to hold a conversation.
• You can’t wear a hat. Wearing a dress is a danger zone.
• When on the beach, you are peppered with sandstorms which feel like a million needles piercing your skin.
• Restaurants struggle as table cloths lift up and catapult glasses and crockery on to the ground. Chairs move on their own.
• At one place, our bread rolls blew out of the basket.

The saving grace is that Meltemi is warm even in the evenings so it’s a bit like living next to a giant hairdryer, therefore it spoils nothing completely, and of course we have still loved both the island and the sunshine, but this incessant howling wind has been a challenge. 

After breakfast today we visit the pilgrimage cathedral in Tinos town. It is a spectacular building, the carpet laid down on the road for pilgrims to crawl to this place continues through the archway and up the marble stairway. As we saw earlier in the week this is an emotional pilgrimage in itself, slowly crawling on hands and knees from the harbour up this steep hill, we can only imagine what emotions they feel as they enter through the archway, this magnificent building towering above them, exhausted, just this steep staircase to climb before they finally reach their destination and stand to kiss the sacred icon, such devoted people.

• 

• 

• 

So our last full day on Tinos is another road trip to take in most of the rest; the highest point of the island at Xombourgo, a longer visit to the beautiful village Pyrgos, and a couple of hours on the beach at Ormos Isterrion. At Pyrgos we take a delicious lunch (fennel sausages – what’s not to like?) in the tiny square which still puts us in mind of Capri, and the incredibly steep road down to the beach is as exciting as it gets. The cove itself is a lovely peaceful beach with tamarisk trees and beautifully clean, clear water.

And so return our hire car, pay our host  Georgos, and start to wonder whether Meltemi might be a little more gentle on our next island.

• 

• 

• 

• 

•