Hiking Tinos

Day Three – Hiking on Tinos

We were up early again, this time so we could get an early start on our hike for the day before the heat became too intense.  We left the hotel at 8:30 and were driven up into the interior of the island which is a whole different world from the village by the seaport.  Very tiny rustic rural villages on the hillsides and absolutely no one around except the very few locals who might be out walking.  In four hours of walking/hiking we only ran into a few local people.  NONE of the tourists that clog the town where we’re staying go out to the interior of the island.  So as we walked it felt like we were the only people alive on the island.  We walked through farmland, some of it under cultivation, some of it feeding ground for livestock (mostly goats, a couple of whom bleated plaintively at us as we made our way through their territory!)  The landscape at this time of year is very dry, arid and brown as it has been hot and dry for a long time.  Some of the trails we walked were dirt paths on the edge of a farm, some were rocky, some were paved, and some were steps made of stone in the hillside.  We walked up to the highest point on the island, a hill just above a Catholic Church with a large marble cross that can be seen for miles around.  We climbed right up to the cross and from there could see all of Tinos and across the sea to the neighboring islands.   It was extremely windy up there – I felt like I needed a tether to keep from being blown off the top of the peak down into the valley!  I’ve posted a some pictures we took up there, one of the whole group and one of me – you can see how windy it was, and one of the view looking out over the landscape from that summit.  We were grateful for the wind, though, as it kept us cooler.  Once we descended from that summit down into the valleys and small villages it was exceedingly hot.  In one little village we stopped for coffee and brief break.  We walked into a small little room, very nicely appointed, with a small kitchen, a clean bathroom, a refrigerator full of water and sodas and the essentials to make coffee.  It is a “self serve” coffee shop.  You go in, take what you want, leave money on the table, make your own coffee and close the door behind you when you leave.  They’ve got a TV in there, a small library with books, tables and chairs – its really very nice and just open for whomever happens along!  We took a little break there before continuing on our way.  

The countryside is beautiful and the little villages look like something out of a story book.  All the homes are white with blue trim, and there are teeny tiny little churches dotting the hillsides, that are opened when sacramental needs arise (Baptisms, weddings etc.) but otherwise are not in use.  They are so tiny they can only fit a handful of people in them.  The landscape on this island is also dotted with large, stone dovecoats, a hallmark of Tinos.  Doves are raised and kept in these dovecoats all over the interior of the island.  As we walked along one path we could see many dovecoats in the distance and then saw a number of the doves flying around nearby.  It felt like the Holy Spirit was swooping by as I looked out at them. 

When we finally emerged onto a regular road again, our driver was waiting for us and drove us back into town.  We had lunch in a small family owned restaurant on a little side street.  The food was, again, magnificent!  Homemade cheeses with fresh baked bread, salad, artichoke pie (kind of like quiche without a crust), followed by a pork dish in a sauce with local cheese, and then minced beef/pork patties with spices and tomatoes and fried potatoes.  We ended with watermelon.  Needless to say, by the time we’d consumed all that we were totally stuffed!

I walked around the village a little bit after lunch but then returned to the hotel to cool off and peel off the sweaty hiking clothes.  Even though the beach is nearby, I didn’t much fancy broiling in the mid-day heat so opted for the hotel pool, which doesn’t require a walk and has some shady spots to sit. 

At 6:30 we convened again and walked up the hill in the village to a huge Greek Orthodox Church, Maria Pelagia, which is the Greek version of Lourdes.  An icon of the Annunciation was found here centuries ago and was believed to have miraculous powers for healing. People come from all over to pray for healing and receive blessings, holy oil and water from the church.  There is a red carpet that starts down at the dock and goes all the way up the hill to the church and supplicants walk that carpet on their knees if they are going to ask for healing.  While we waited to go into the church a woman was crawling along the last stretch of the carpet just outside the church grounds and just before the carpeted steps that lead up to the church itself.  Amazing to watch!  We went inside and it was absolutely packed with folks praying and offering candles and receiving healing oil.  Orthodox priests were chanting the entire time and the place was a typical Orthodox sanctuary with hundreds of hanging votive lamps, icons, incense and candles everywhere.  We then went down into the crypt, which is where the baptistries are and saw several enormous metal baptismal fonts.  (See pics of church and fonts.  Impressive.)

Then we went to dinner at a really lovely restaurant right by the Aegean Sea.  We sat outside on the patio overlooking the water.  As always, the food was spectacular and we walked away stuffed.  Salad, a broiled eggplant dish with tomatoes and gruyere cheese baked onto it, a cheese that was grilled with sesame seeds, bread, and then chicken with parmesan cheese and rice. We finished off with Greek apple pie (more like apple cake) and vanilla ice cream.   All the restaurants that our guide, Dimitrios picks are places the local Greeks eat.  There aren’t many foreign tourists in them.  They are all family owned and the food is just unbelievably good. 

Tomorrow we leave here for the next island – Naxos.