Greece 2022 - Day 13: Folegandros follies

We woke up to a beautiful sunrise here on Folegandros and started the day with a hike on a trail leading from the hotel. The trail passed through Galifos beach and ended at Agios Nikolaos beach where it appeared we would have to pass through a closed taverna to make it to the actual beach. We gingerly tiptoed through the taverna feeling like trespassers, and were almost through the taverna and on the steps leading back to the trail to the beach when we heard something growling from inside. A large, black pit bull-like dog appeared on the deck above us.  He continued to growl with his heckles raised. We froze.  The dog came down the steps and circled us. That’s when a surly man came from the depths of the taverna and said something to the dog who then started wagging his tail and looking for head pats. We thanked the man, who didn’t say a single word to us, and carried on to the beach. After wandering around the beach for a bit, we decided to head back to the hotel. We searched for an alternative route in hopes of avoiding the dog, but we saw no other options, so we again went through the taverna. This time, there was no sign of the dog or the man.

A cable car running from the dock to the taverna with the angry dog

Back at the hotel and before breakfast, we changed into swim suits and went for a dip in the cove by our hotel. The water was crystal clear, calm, and oh so refreshing after walking in the morning heat.  Breakfast at the hotel included a huge selection of complimentary offerings. We opted for a lighter fare of Greek yogurt with honey and walnuts, along with a variety of Greek pastries and bread.

 

Following breakfast, we were met at the hotel by an agent from Donkey Scooters where we had arranged to pick up a pair of Lambrettas to explore the island. A super sweet young guy, originally from Lesvos, drove us into the main town and got us set up with our wheels for the next three days.

 

We hit the road and headed northwest out of the main town passing through a few small towns on the way. We drove until the paved road ended and turned into a dirt track. Folegandros is a very small island with only one main road that is about 15 km long from the southeastern tip of the island to the northwestern tip. We parked the scooters when the road became too rough to safely ride and we walked the rest of the way stopping first at Ligaria beach, then on to Agios Georgia’s beach. It was insanely hot with hardly a breath of wind.

After hiking out, we were glad to be back on the scooters and have the head wind to cool off as we wound our way back to the main town (Chora) where we did a bit of exploring, and walked up to the iconic monastery that is perched high above Chora.

 

After so many hours in the hot sun, it was time for an ice-cold beer…

 

We then made the 5-minute drive back to our hotel where we went for another refreshing swim before we hopped on our scooters and headed back into town for dinner. We found a little place tucked deep in the town with an outdoor terrace. We started with our daily Greek salad ritual. Then, I ordered the rooster in red sauce with traditional Folegandros hand-made pasta called matsata, and Ian ordered the Moussaka. Both were very tasty. 

 

We had lots of feline friends join us for dinner…

Back at the hotel, we had planned to relax on our balcony and listen to the waves while writing about today’s adventures, but we ran into a bit of a glitch… the safe in our hotel room where we have been storing our passports and electronics wouldn’t open. It seems the batteries had died. We had someone from the hotel come with what we all thought would be the master key, but it didn’t fit the safe. We were told that “a guy” had been called who would be able to open the safe, but it would be an hour before he arrived.  We were also given a master code to try should the safe spontaneously start to work again.  After almost exactly an hour, we received a phone call from the front desk.  We were told “the guy” would not be coming tonight and would we be okay with waiting until the morning?  Okay or not, we really didn’t have a choice in the matter.  That’s when I decided to give the safe a good wallop.  The lights came on and I entered the master code.  Success!

I should mention that we solved the ant problem from yesterday.  I discovered that Aveda ‘Air Control’ hair spray not only has insecticidal capabilities, it can also serve as a sort of lacquer to seal off cracks in a door to prevent ants from entering.  Now we just need to figure out how to deal with the bloom of beetles that occurred today, all of which seem to want to be in our hotel room.