Greece – Walking without a donkey

Tinos and Kionia

May 2023

In this blog

T1A walk to Kionia, Poseidon Sanctuary, walk from Kionia to Chora (Tinos town).

Dovcot of traditional design outside Ktikados, Tinos, Greece

There are a wide range of walks around the Greek island of Tinos. Look out for wild goats, the most stunning variety of local flowers, and unexpected chapels with cool interiors, often with murals and other atmospheric images. On the whole the paths are quite well signposted, and the ones I made travelled through varied scenery, almost all taking in at least one of the famous dovecots. There are no high mountains, but there is some climbing and descending. Do look out for trails that can be dusty from lack of rain and slippery, also narrow and overgrown ones through lack of clearing, however, none of the ones I tried were impassable.

T1A trail – flora, Ktikados, chapel, and geology

I started the T1 trail at the Panagia Shrine, Chora, Tinos, Greece

View of Chora (looking back) from T1 trail, Tinos, Greece

It was a wonderful day which took me steeply out of the city, hard by the Panagia shrine (Holy Monastery of Virgin Mary Evangelistria) and an olive grove, past hens, goats and ladybirds in the fields, and a vast array of wild plants: pink and white oleander, fig trees, sea lavender, and a giant cacti replete with prickly pears. I meandered along crazy-paving paths with spectacular views of the sea, across slopes with small churches, and amongst giant geological specimens.

Oleander, sea lavender and prickly pears along the T1 trail, Tinos, Greece

Geological map of Tinos from a presentation made as part of the Artist’s Residency, The Inherited Earth, part of the Fe26 project a collective research program by the NWMW NPO team 2023

There was a small church open for me to visit. Co-ordinates 37°33’35.8″N 25°09’34.2″E

I stopped in the small village of Ktikados for a break, enjoying melizanosalata (baba ganoush / aubergine dip) and a cup of tea.

View from the Drosia Taverna, Ktikados, Tinos, Greece

This walk comes highly recommended.

Great views of Exomvourgo (hill), Tinos, Greece

My offerings to the Panagia on the T1 trail, Tinos Greece

Eventually I descended to the beach in Kionia (see below) and had a refreshing swim.

The Poseidon Sanctuary

Along the boardwalks I was delighted to discover, by chance, the Poseidon Sanctuary which, in its heyday, attracted pilgrims from beyond the borders of the Greece, as far away as Italy, Asia Minor, and Africa.

The Poseidon Sanctuary is believed to date from the 4th century or earlier, placing it in the Hellenistic Period. Dedicated to the sea nymph Aphrite (Amphitriti) and Poseidon, god of the sea, it was a place where visitors would come to clean and purify themselves. As a complementary therapist, I was particularly interested in the site of the former therapy rooms (above left).

I gave Shiatsu to one of the artists I met, on the beach below this typical church while a kitten played with my rucksack, Kionia, Tinos, Greece.

I returned to Chora from Kionia, a walk of 40 plus minutes, along the main coastal road. Careful as there is no pavement in parts!

During my stay on Tinos, I crocheted wild flowers that I found as I walked and offered them in little niches by way of thanks for my experience on the island.

The title photo showing the peacocks, is of a plaque outside the Panagia shrine in Chora town. All images are my own.

Links

Tinos and Chora town

May 2023

Introduction

I thought I might take a break after teaching Shiatsu and giving supervision in Athens, so I looked up islands which were easy to get to from the capital and typed the word ‘pilgrimage’ into the search engine as a starting point. Tinos came up immediately. It’s not only a vital place of pilgrimage for Greek people, but it’s also famous for its dovecots (see photo at the end of this blog), which I have been studying for a few years now. To Tinos I had to go!

Map of Greece showing the location of Tinos in relationship to Athens

A sacred island of pilgrimage, Tinos is one of the Cyclades, and has a deep history that is crucial to Greece herself. Since the 7th century, a feast has taken place there in honour of the Dormition of the Virgin Mary (her passing from the earthly state). Then, in 1823, two years after the Greek War of Independence had started, a nun called Pelagia found the Holy icon of the Annunciation of the Panagia in a field. Considered a divine omen for the Greek Revolution, a shrine / church was founded to coincide with the agricultural calendar on the island, and a festival was established on 15 August to which women and men flock each year.

In the first [of several chapels at the Shrine] is a holy spring, where pilgrims collect water which has powers of fertility and cures sickness. According to tradition, the well was found during the excavations in search of the icon. The well was dry. On the day the church’s cornerstone was laid, it filled up with water. The source is seen as a miracle, and the chapel of the holy water is called the “Life-Giving Spring.”

Evy Johanne Haaland

Evy Johanne Haaland, a Norwegian researcher (Dr/PhD, history) and government scholar, writes here about Palagia, and the ritual that women through the ages have performed – climbing up the steep hill from the sea to the shrine on their hands and knees, sometimes with a child on their back.

Greek women are strong and active persons …, thus paralleling the divine Panagia.

Evy Johanne Haaland

Shrine to the Panagia, Chora, Tinos, Greece

Practicalities

Chora is the main town of the island, also known as Tinos, and is where the ferry arrives and leaves from Athens. I took the ferry to and from Rafina (not far from Athens – take the inexpensive KTEL bus).

The town is well stocked and bustling with pretty, narrow streets, a long waterfront (including the port) and steep climbs to the Panagia shrine.

There is a good bus service across the island, but NOT on Sundays and I didn’t find it easy to get information about when they run.

Café

Recommended book café: Antilalos, Fr. Paximadi & Afentouli, 84200 Chora, Tinos. The owner and other staff were so very kind to me. I arrived on a Sunday and had booked an air bnb at the opposite end of the island – too far even for me to walk in one afternoon (though I walked from Pyrgos to Panormos which was wonderful). They made phone calls on my behalf and really helped me out. There were no taxis because, of course it was some sort of festival and so everyone was celebrating with family. I started to walk, but it was far too hot at midday, so in the end they arranged for a taxi driver they knew to come on his day off from another village and pick me up. He took me to Pyrgos – more than three quarters of the way there, and I was really grateful.

Antilalos Café in Chora, Tinos, Greece

Accomodation

I stayed at the Pension Selenti which I would recommend.

Evening view of Chora town from the Pension Selenti, Tinos, Greece

Old Weaving School, Chora

“Zarifios Vocational School (Βιοτεχνική Σχολή Τήνου Υφαντήριο) is a legacy of the Zarifis family originating from Constantinople. Since 1898, Zarifios School has been a reminder of the gratitude of the family of banker Nikolaos Zarifis towards the governess of his children, who took them to the safe environment of Tenos (sic), when riots broke out in the Constantinople. The school emphasized in the traditional weaving art supporting women and society in adverse conditions. Today, 200 years later, it still continues to have a presence by supporting the School and textile workshops.” Description from thehouse.gr website

Archaeological Museum

The Archaeological Museum is worth a visit.

Built in the early 60s by the architect Charalambos Bouras, the Archaeological Museum of Tinos contains finds from Chora, the main town, as well as the hill of Exombourgo, local villages, and the Sanctuary of Poseidon. I particularly enjoyed the little courtyard with its bodyless legs and lace-like mosaic.

Archaeological Museum, Chora, Tinos, Greece

Artist’s Residency and Maria Valela

There was an Artist’s Residency taking place on the island when I was there, and I was particularly pleased to meet Maria Valela, a weaver, who gave an inspiring demonstration at the Old Weaving School in Chora, and invited me to accompany her to a local women’s knitting and weaving group that she was visiting. In return I offered her Shiatsu.

“The island is widely recognised for its marble tradition and was home to some of the most widely revered Greek artists of the 19th and 20th centuries.” from Kirki Projects page

Various photos of Maria and the knitting / crochet group, Chora, Tinos, Greece

The Inherited Earth artist residency programme was part of the Fe26 project a collective research program by the NWMW NPO team 2023. “The Fe26 project brings together an interdisciplinary group of people to exchange knowledge and practices around metal as matter, material, and object in conjunction with locus, crafts and identity. In this aspect, the NWMW team has envisioned along with curator Christos Artemis “The inherited earth” Fe26 residency.” ARTrabbit.com

Links

The second in this series of blogs about Tinos is Tinos and Kionia

Map and walks by Desired landscapes

Secret Tinos blog

Community Walking Projects

First Friday Walk – July, Psarades

7 July 2023

A maze of pathways scored into the hillside
Stories, only half-hidden
Of children severed from Spain, England, Western Macedonia.
Women walk the whitening circle of remembrance.
Marble slabs lie aslant.

The First Friday Walk is a Walking the Land artist collective monthly event. The brief for July 2023 was from Amanda Steer @adamandadraws ; the theme of the walk was our tracks and the traces we leave in the landscape.

Kel Portman and I walked together through the village, up and along to the cemetery.

On the evening of the FFW, Soazic Guezennzec invited us to listen to the memories of older people living in the area, and Alexandra spoke movingly about her sisters and brothers who were evacuated from the village (200 young children) in 1948 when she was a baby.

The next morning (8 July), I participated in a pilgrimage organised by Jenny Staff (see The Roll of Emplacement) in which seven women collectively walked over 19,000 steps in a circle in the town square. Each carried a stick which had white chalk on its end which drew on the ground.

Invisible to Visible by Jenny Staff, Psarades, Greece

I was at the Walking Arts Encounters ’23 at Psarades / Prespa in Western Macedonia, Greece.

All photographs copyright Tamsin Grainger

Greece

Thessaloniki

June 2019

Icon in a little hut — Greek Orthodox religious street shrine, Achiropitos Church, Thessaloniki, Greece

I liked Thessaloníki. It’s a mixture of dusty urban streets with shops selling beach umbrellas, interesting portals, attractive heritage sights, a glittering seafront, and varied cultural delights.

People standing under tall metal umbrellas — Captivating umbrella sculpture being used for community gathering

One minute I was standing surprised in front of a shop that seemed to be only selling beach umbrellas, the next I spotted a woman behind one on a far away balcony.

I stopped off here partly to break my journey to the north, but mainly to meet Shiatsu practitioners and teachers.

Thessaloniki — Daphne, head of the Shiatsu Academy Thessaloníki

The Shiatsu Academy

Evening drinks with Marie-Helene and a yummy lunch with Daphne were both really satisfying exchanges. The joy of meeting others in my own, rather niche profession and being able to talk shop, knowing they speak the same language (Shiatsu I mean! I spoke French with one and English with the other) was delightful.

Sparrow perched on chair back — I had a chirpy visitor as I sipped my fizzy mineral water, and gazed at the shining sea over the top of my laptop

Doorways

Beautiful doorways abound.

Ornate orange door in a green wall with lamp outside — Copper bells outside a bar

I thought it was a church, but it turned out to be a night club! Thessaloniki, Greece

Door, steps and flowers — Someone’s front door – care and attention to detail make for everyday beauty here

Pink walls and green lattice doorway — A domestic front garden of contrasting colours

2 White columns with lattice work — Doric columns adorn this frontage. Thessaloniki, Greece

Hostel accommodation

There was WiFi at the Studio Arabas hostel where I stayed for 2 nights, on Satchouri. I booked through Hostelworld. It is steeply uphill and I didn’t have time to explore the Old Town that it is in because I was meeting people in the part nearer the sea where most of the monuments are – that’s a good trek down and climb back up so be warned.

I left early to walk the hour to the bus station and caught the morning sunlight, Thessaloniki

The hostel was clean, but not in a squeaky clean sort of way. I got some advice from the lovely Charlotte while I was there. Although you can’t do this at her place…

Tip

… It is always worth booking a hostel by phone or in person because you often get money off or a free breakfast. They save money on the fees they have to pay to the third party, the booking website.

The book fair was on that day, Thessaloniki, Greece

Cafés

I was on my way to a meeting but needed a cup of tea. It was going to be an hour’s walk. Until, that is, I spied Vermilion.

Just my sort of place. Creative and friendly, good WiFi and recycled jewellery.

I was early and they were cleaning and preparing for the day, Vermilion, Thessaloníki, Greece

The menu was handwritten in the front of an exercise book

Nearby are other nice places – a bakery, cheese shop and more.

Recycled jewellery made by the owner

Outdoor restaurant with foliage — B café

People sitting at tables with drinks — Café full of young people including women playing backgammon

Local people resting in the shade

I was fascinated to glimpse women sewing and men and women sharing a drink in the shade.

A group of men in the distance, taken with the zoom. They went back and forth through a door in the wall behind – I was so curious!

You can just about make out the women who had been keeping the church yard spic and span, taking a welcome break

She turned round and gave me a huge smile so I asked permission to snap

Churches

In Greece many people draw a cross on themselves when they see a church. A woman on the train did it as we whizzed past one. Later I saw a man walking a dog, doing the same thing .

The priest was just emerging as I crept around the lovely church near my hostel

Greek Orthodox Church, Thessaloniki, Greece

Columns

There are Classical Greek columns everywhere in Thessaloniki.

Ionic columns add finesse to the Cathedral, Thessaloniki, Greece

Ruins

Soft coloured stone arch with blue sky and buildings visible through — Arch of Galerius, Thessaloniki, Greece

This ancient monument was built in 305 AD following the final victory of Emperor Galerius against the Persians.

Carvings from the arch

I liked the apartment blocks cheek by jowl with the ancient stone

Gardens

Everywhere there was marble – walls, floors, and columns of course!

Table and orchids — The marble basement of the B cafe at the Museum of Byzantine Culture

Other sights

Railings by the sea — Padlocks for peace

Men sitting on edge sea — Enjoying the sunset together

Musicians against setting sun — Trumpeter in silhouette

Red sculpture in front of building — Museum of Byzantine Culture

Reclining Greek figure — Greek Archeological Museum

Whitened stone memorial — Sarcophagus, part of the Field, House, Garden, Grave exhibition at the Archeological Museum

Trees and religious building — Church at night

Man on horse on plinth — Alexander the Great. The spears are arranged in the formation from his best known battle

Statue and author — An undressed version Emanuel Pappas (1772- 1821) and me with my clothes on. He was the leader of the Greek War of Independence.

Greece

Athens and Greece – getting from place to place

Getting Around

Travelling around Greece is straightforward. On this, my second solo trip, I flew to Athens overnight with Air Baltic (on time, efficient) from Edinburgh; walked and took the metro in the capital; and then went to Thessaloniki, Komotini in the north, and the village of Proskinites by bus to see my friends’ new born baby. There I either walked or was driven in the jeep. I returned to Thessaloníki the same way, and then flew to Paris with Transavia for 39 euros.

Morning sun on religious building — Greek Orthodox Church, Proskinites, Greece

Travel around Athens

Crossing the road: Wherever you are, beware the motorised scooters – either being driven wildly with one or more people on them, or abandoned in the middle of pavements.

Scooter on pavement — Looks tame sitting on its own like that I know, but add 1+ humans and it becomes lethal!

Like everywhere else in Europe, look left before crossing the road!

Old urns in terracotta — Museum antiquities exhibited in Acropolis Metro station

The Athens Metro

Metros are clean, cool in temperature, crowded at rush hour as anywhere in Europe, efficient, regular and all stations are announced in English as well as Greek. Ticket machines are quite easy to use and you can choose to view the screen in English. Tickets cost 2.70 euros for 2 tickets and go down in price if you buy more. You can use one anywhere within 90 minutes, which I didn’t realise and so wasted a second one on a bus connection. Make sure you register your ticket on the machine both in and out of the metro, and in (but not out) on the buses.

Ancient statuary — Reclining male nude – statue in Acropolis Metro station, Athens, Greece

Trains, buses and travel out of Athens

I took the Athens to Thessaloniki train, even though there is a lot of bad press to be found on the internet about trains in Greece. The service was clean and smooth (“better than the UK, like Italy” said my neighbour!) You can book online via the OSE website.

Station platform with book store — Athens mainline train station, Greece

Bus travel

For the rest of Greece, the bus is better, but finding information and booking by website is hard work if you don’t read Greek. The main page of the main Greek bus company website (ktelmacedonia.gr) comes up in English on my phone, but the list of places does not and anyway, even looking up the Greek spelling for the places didn’t mean that they appeared on the list although they do have buses which go there! On my laptop, the website was impossible for me to operate. If you are stuck, you could try asking a friendly waitress as they usually speak great English and can often be really helpful making calls for you.

A round tower and a metal serrated monument — Interesting juxtaposition of satellite tower and saw sculpture, Thessaloniki, Greece

I have discovered this since writing the above : Bus tickets pagebus website KTEL Macedonia – new e tickets available. I am leaving both sets of information so that you have 2 options. Please leave a comment if you find the best way and that will help others. Thank you.

You can also buy ferry tickets, and transport or store luggage through KTEL Macedonia (as above).

The police boarded the Komotini – Thessaloniki bus, looked at random people’s passports, and took 3 men off this morning who had no papers.

Green fertile countryside flashes by through train window — On the way to Thessaloniki by train

Which bus station?

It is therefore best to book at the bus station (KTEL has 2 bus stations in Athens: Kifissos and Liossion. Note that when it asks you which one you want to leave from, it also includes ‘Pireus, Athens’ which is actually half an hour away by car so you don’t want that unless you happen to be staying near there). Alternatively you can ring up: I got a very nice man on the phone who spoke manageable English and he took my name and gave me the information and advice I needed. ( When I got there a few days later and went to buy the ticket, he introduced himself to me saying it was he who I had spoken to – what service!) There is a 25 per cent discount in advance which is hard if you are making spontaneous decisions.

Rural scene with terracotta roof — The Greek countryside between Athens and Thessaloniki

Other

There is no bla bla car (online car sharing in France, Spain etc) here in Greece. There are regular tolls along the motorways – between 3-13 euros depending on the distance. See below for other people’s blogs about travelling in Greece.

Bus Athens to Thessaloniki 39 euros one way, 59 euros return (note that the English translation says ‘refund’ instead of ‘return’!

A round old stone building by the sea — The White Tower, Thessaloniki, Greece

23 euros bus Komotini to Thessaloniki (6 hours)

2 euros X1 bus Thessaloniki (dome) Macedonia bus station to airport. Every half hour. Buy ticket from kiosk by bus stop.Very crowded. 40 – 60 minutes.

1.50 euros bus Proskinites to Komotini

Here is a good Athens Guide https://www.nomadicmatt.com/travel-guides/greece-travel-tips/#getaround

In this blog

T1A trail – flora, Ktikados, chapel, and geology

The Poseidon Sanctuary

Links

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Introduction

Practicalities

Café

Accomodation

Old Weaving School, Chora

Archaeological Museum

Artist’s Residency and Maria Valela

Links

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Doorways

Hostel accommodation

Tip

Cafés

The menu was handwritten in the front of an exercise book

Local people resting in the shade

You can just about make out the women who had been keeping the church yard spic and span, taking a welcome break

She turned round and gave me a huge smile so I asked permission to snap

Churches

Greek Orthodox Church, Thessaloniki, Greece

Columns

Ruins

Gardens

Other sights

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Getting Around

Travel around Athens

The Athens Metro

Trains, buses and travel out of Athens

Bus travel

Which bus station?

Other

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