The mastic villages, slowly
South Chios
Why this plan
One region rather than the whole island: three fortified villages, the museum that explains them, and a swim underneath.
The day, hour by hour
What time do you land?
09:30Chios Town quay
Collect the car and drive straight south; the road runs along the coast for the first half.
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Collect the car and drive straight south; the road runs along the coast for the first half.
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10:00Chios Mastic Museum
Start with the resin itself. Everything the villages look like follows from what it was worth.
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Start with the resin itself. Everything the villages look like follows from what it was worth.
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11:15Pyrgi
The xysta and the small church of the Holy Apostles off the square, a Byzantine building on the scale of a chapel.
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The xysta and the small church of the Holy Apostles off the square, a Byzantine building on the scale of a chapel.
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12:45Olympoi
The least visited of the three, with its central tower still standing in the middle of the plan. The cave at Olympoi is nearby if the hours suit.
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The least visited of the three, with its central tower still standing in the middle of the plan. The cave at Olympoi is nearby if the hours suit.
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14:00Mesta
Late lunch in the square under the plane trees, then the vaulted lanes when the light drops.
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Late lunch in the square under the plane trees, then the vaulted lanes when the light drops.
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15:45Back to the port
The inland road back is faster than the coast road you came down on.
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The inland road back is faster than the coast road you came down on.
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Back on the quay by 15:45
That leaves the last hour before a sailing at 16:45 for passport control and boarding.
That leaves the last hour before a sailing at 16:45 for passport control and boarding.
Before you plan around it
The three villages are twenty minutes apart on narrow roads. Adding a fourth stop is what turns this plan into a rush.
Be back at the quay a clear hour before the return sailing. Passport control, ticket collection and the queue for boarding all take longer than the walk suggests, and the boat does not wait.
The three villages are twenty minutes apart on narrow roads. Adding a fourth stop is what turns this plan into a rush.
Be back at the quay a clear hour before the return sailing. Passport control, ticket collection and the queue for boarding all take longer than the walk suggests, and the boat does not wait.