Europe,  Greece,  Independent travel,  Photography,  Travel Blog,  Walking

Amorgos: The Big Blue

September 12, 2021 /

We’ve only been on Amorgos for a few hours when we first start talking about it. 

So instantly attractive and with so many things to do and see, Amorgos quickly asserts itself into needing more than the 4 days we have allocated to it on our schedule. By morning we’ve extended that to 6 days after poring over the changing ferry schedules and finding ways to re-jig our forward moves.

After a 5:15am ferry departure from Astypalea, we have made the crossing, driven over Amorgos’s mountains and down to our new base in Katopola before the menus are out on the breakfast cafe tables.

Xilokeratidi, Amorgos

Katopola is one of a trio of villages strung together around the deep bay, Rachidi and the tongue twisting Xilokeratidi are the other two, together forming a very picturesque curve of white between the deep blue and the soaring mountains. There is a discernible graduation in its tavernas, moving from traditional fish tavernas at the port end through coffee shops and local produce restaurants in the centre, on to eateries with a more obvious though still modest nod to tourism at the beach end. Somehow there is something here which is more like Greek islands used to be. It’s instantly appealing.

Amorgos coastline

These Amorgos mountains really do soar upwards in spectacular style. Way up amongst these sits our new Chora, yet another beautiful little village with colourful flowers, inviting tavernas and a couple of leafy squares. We know this all sounds familiar but of all the lovely Choras we’ve seen, the Amorgos version quite possibly wins on charm, improbable as that statement may have seemed just a few days ago.

Chora
Chora

Within Chora stands a rather sudden upright rock, on top of which the remains of what must have been a tiny castle still stand. The entrance gate is locked, but in a lovely quirky twist, we learn that by leaving ID or collateral in a local cafe (we leave Michaela’s phone) you can borrow the giant iron key and give yourselves a private tour. The views from there are magnificent, both of Amorgos and across to neighbouring islands.

Chora

Between those soaring mountain peaks, this long and thin island is well farmed and for the first time in a long time we see recognisable agricultural plots and regimented lines of crops; there are also familiar looking mountain villages clustered around the main road rather than the tiny alleys of villages on most islands. We don’t think we’ve seen actual roadside villages like this since leaving Crete. 

Amorgos windmills

Amorgos’ most famed sight is the incredible Chozoviotissa monastery, hanging 300ft up a sheer cliff above the sea and built into the rock face, leaving us wondering just how this amazing place could possibly have been constructed so many centuries ago. It turns out that it wasn’t without difficulty; monks fleeing their ransacked base in Palestine and grabbing what they could, arrived on Amorgos purely by chance in the 8th century and were immediately struck by the similarity of the coast to their previous home, taking that as a sign that it was to be the site of their new monastery.

Chozoviotissa monastery

Unusually for this kind of story, divine inspiration wasn’t enough and, devoid of sufficient funds and defeated by the enormous challenges of the location, the monastery was unfinished and stood half built as the monks settled instead in what is now Chora. Over 200 years later the God-loving benevolent Byzantine emperor Alexius Comnenus I, knowing the story, provided the funding and wherewithal for this magnificent structure to finally be completed.

Not only is this monastery free to enter, but if you’re willing and able to climb the  many steps to the top, one of the remaining monks (there’s only three of them) will give you a free glass of honey raki and a chunk of loukoumia.

A rather different spectacle meets us on another stretch of coast towards the southern tip, where the rusting remains of a 1980 shipwreck loom in a rocky cove. For reasons best known to themselves, this wreck has been renamed the “Olympia” by the islanders, even though the ship was named “Inland”. It ran aground here with its skipper seeking shelter from storms, purportedly carrying contraband goods which is presumably why no salvage operation was ever mounted. There’s something strangely captivating standing here watching the waves swash through its decaying bows, its undoubtedly proud history sinking slowly into a quiet demise. 

Olympia shipwreck

One of the other publicised attractions of Amorgos and one of our reasons for staying longer is its hiking trails; there’s about a dozen or so around the island. The ones that we take on are excellent, well thought out and well waymarked, somehow making the effort-versus-reward equation achieve better results than usual. Part of me wants to come back here and complete the full set. It’s that good! We follow trails out to the lighthouse at the very tip of the island, and up to the remains of the ancient city of Minoa.

Amorgos walking trails

The more we explore Amorgos, the more this lovely island has to offer. A road trip towards the northern extremities brings us to three delightful villages: two, Tholaria and Lagkada, are elegant and stylish places occupying elevated positions up in the mountains, whereas the third, Egiali, nestles neatly around a lovely sandy beach with a laid back take-me-as-you-find-me feel. 

Egiali delivers surprises, including what is without doubt the worst meal of this entire trip. “Home made seafood pasta” and “oven baked fresh fish in special sauce” both arrive on our table within about three minutes of ordering. Enough said.

  • Tholaria
  • Egiali

Amorgos acquired its moniker “The Big Blue” from a movie of the same name which was apparently shot on location here, and it seems a highly appropriate tag, as we have found precious few places where the expansive Aegean isn’t a big part of the panorama. 

In the end our two day extension means leaving the Kingdom of Thomas and moving for a brief stay in an apartment at the fish taverna end of the bay. We are initially a bit disappointed to move – until we see not only the lovely apartment and its great position but also meet our new hosts, the delightful Costas and Eleni, an adorable elderly couple who immediately make us feel like family.

Enjoying Chora

Amorgos has been great. Driving its roads is easy yet exhilarating, its terrain varied and interesting, and it has been a welcome change to have the option of visiting a number of different towns on one island.

That won’t happen again for a while, as we head out to those tiny islands collectively known as the Lesser Cyclades.

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