Íos

From Síkinos to Ios is no great distance – 7nm between ports at most. By the time that we set off at 1120 on Monday 1^st September the wind was blowing quite briskly again so we started off with just the one reef in the main and genoa. However, with the wind increasing as we approached the acceleration zone between the islands we dropped a second reef into the main to keep things nice and easy as we were hard on the wind.

All too soon we were at the entrance to Ormos Íos and, with the wind funnelling down the bay, we dropped the main and rolled up the genoa and prepared to moor. There was plenty of space on the eastern quay so we didn’t need to go alongside another boat but, to make life easier in the moderately strong crosswind, we elected to moor, bows-to, between 2 boats so that we had someone to lean on as we sorted out the lines. We were part way into our berth when the motorboat skipper told us that the lazy line for that berth was broken, so we repositioned for another berth. The pick up line for that one seemed to be skewed and BV didn’t want to settle straight at all so we moved into the next ‘mooring lane’ and finally got her sorted out as we wanted. It all took a frustratingly long time.

Up above us was the chóra, a delightfully picturesque village filled with whitewashed chapels and meandering narrow lanes in which it was easy to get lost. During July and August the chóra is extremely popular with backpackers and the village gets really lively with buzzing bars and cafés. Even now in early September we watched hoards of tourists march off the ferries in long crocodile trails. With around 10 ferries arriving every day Íos is one of the most popular Greek islands and we rather wondered to where everyone disappeared.

Looking up at the small chapels on the hilltops we hatched a plan to go up to the chóra and find a nice restaurant for dinner because it was our last evening with Neil on board. Unfortunately, as soon as we had arrived in Íos he’d got a text message to say that he was needed back in Athens sooner than expected and so his immediate priority was to check on the ferry times. The news there was not good; the Tuesday ferry would not get him back in time and so our plan for a last evening together had to be cancelled so that he could get the late afternoon ferry back to the capital.

So, it was just Nicky and me that climbed up the 2 km winding path from the port to the chóra. We found a laundrette and passed the odd bar/nightclub or two (claiming to open at 0230 and run on until daybreak) before we got into the really narrow alleyways of the town. It is a lovely village and great fun to amble around.

We rested with a beer in a very pleasant bar and then Nicky remembered that she’d read that it was worth climbing up to the hilltop chapels to watch the sunset. Suitably refreshed we climbed again following the helpfully painted arrows, zig-zagging our way up to the peak.

We were certainly not alone in the idea. There were people sitting on every rock on the hilltop waiting for the sunset. It wasn’t crowded but there were probably about another 30 people up there with us.

Looking down on Íos, as well as the old windmills, we could see small chapels and churches practically everywhere. We have no idea why there are so many. However, the first priority was to watch the sunset, which was indeed worth the climb.

We then took a look at the 3 chapels and the church (dating from 1727) on the hilltop. They were all beautifully kept and ornately decorated. The previous islands we had visited painted their church domes white. Íos’, however, are blue and the views were very much the picture postcard scenes that we had expected to see in the Cyclades Islands.

Eventually we climbed down from the hilltop and, by fluke, took a lucky turning to pass a great looking Greek restaurant with lovely cooking smells coming from the kitchen and signs advertising their rooftop terrace. Sally and Nico’s Arhondiko restaurant turned out to be a real gem. Sally made us feel welcome from the moment we walked in and we ate some lovely dishes. Nicky’s salt and pepper calamari was excellent and fortunately was so large that I just had to help her out finishing it off.

The views over the village from the restaurant and down to the port as we walked back down the path were great. The churches and chapels were floodlit and the port area was just as alive as the village.

We found Íos to be a lovely place to stop and stayed an extra 2 nights to enjoy it, as well as getting some admin and the washing done. Despite our guidebook’s claims that it can be very noisy in the chóra with different bars trying to out-do each other with music, we were not at all disturbed and loved the lively ambience of the place. Perhaps that is because it is early September rather than high season but, even so, we’d like to visit here again.

Íos