Greece 2022 - Day 14: Beaching it Folegandros style

Today, our destination was Livadaki beach.  This beach is known for it’s turquoise waters framed by marble cliffs.  Like many beaches on Folegandros, the only way to get to Livadaki is to hike to it from any one of a number of different trails.  We chose the trail that started in the little town of Ano Meria.  From here it's about about 6 km round trip to the beach.  After another great breakfast at the hotel, we headed for Ano Meria where we parked the scooters at a small church hoping they would be safe there.  We loaded up with bottled water in a little mini market in Ano Meria and set out for Livadaki. 

I'm still mesmerized by the view from our hotel

 

The first kilometer of the trail was a dirt track, then it turned into a rocky foot path for the rest of the way.  The trail was well marked with small, blue squares with the letters “FL”  in white painted on rocks along the way (presumably, "FL" stood for Folegandros Livadaki) .  

It was downhill going for most of the way to the beach, which meant that that way back would be mostly uphill.  

Thyme and Oregano grows wild everywhere here

We made the beach in just under an hour.  The views were, of course, spectacular.  Folegandros is a very rugged, rocky island that gives way to some of the most spectacular coves. 

We went for a swim at the beach, then set up under the shade of a cedar tree where we lounged and read for the afternoon.  It was incredibly peaceful.  For the entire 3 hours were at Livakaki beach, we saw 6 other hikers who came and went, and one tour boat that stopped and anchored in the cove for 45 minutes to allow the tour group to swim and take in the sights.  

We packed up around 2:30 and hiked back out.  The uphill trek was every bit the grind we thought it would be, especially in the 30 something degree heat, without so much as a breath of wind.  We arrived back at the church where we parked the scooters and found them to be safe and sound.  We headed back to the little mini market and purchased more water.  The heat here in Folegandros requires constant hydration.  We then headed back to our hotel and went for a swim in the cove to cool off.

For dinner tonight, we decided to check out the food scene in Ano Meria.  We had driven through the little town several times now and had noted the numerous roadside tavernas.  Ano Meria is only about 5 minutes up the road from our hotel, so an easy scooter ride away.  As we passed through Ano Meria, we found only one taverna, called Maragkoudiko, that actually had people sitting at tables outside.  The rest of the options looked dead, which is never a good sign.  When we entered Maragkoudiko, we quickly discovered the place was a local’s hangout.  The only other ‘foreigners’ was a table of German hikers.  Out back of the taverna were two big metal cooking pits, one with whole sheep rotating on it, and the other, two whole pigs.  Clearly, we would be eating meat tonight!  I ordered the pork gyro plate, and Ian ordered the kebab plate.  Of course, we started with a Greek salad.  The crispy, smoky shavings of the pork gyro were extremely flavorful, and Ian’s kebabs were bursting with juicy, herby goodness.  After two weeks in Greece, we are yet to grow bored with the food!

Pork Gyro

Kebab