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Topics - Grounded

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Where to stay / Margaritas apartments

« on: June 10, 2022, 10:14:13 PM »

Tomorrow we leave this beautiful island and travel on to the UK. We arrived on 23rd May after a truly exhausting 45hr trip from New Zealand via LA and Toronto. We arrived, but my luggage didn't, and still hasn't. We stayed in the Margaritas apartments right down by the beach. Our apartment was large, airy, well appointed and very comfortable. We made very good use of the included air conditioning as well as the day beds in the garden. I highly recommend this as a place to stay.
However i think the most enduring memory i will take with me is the help and support i received from Noula, Aline, Lesley and the team at San Stefano Travel. Nothing was too much trouble from checking the airport everyday for my missing suitcase to getting my emergency prescription filled with essential medication. I am very grateful for all of their help.
We return to NZ on 16th July and i wonder if my suitcase will have caught up with me by then?
Chris

Where to eat out in San Stefanos? / Zorbas

« on: June 09, 2022, 11:11:17 PM »

We ate our evening meal at Zorbas tonight. There is no escaping the showmanship of the guys there, but the real highlight of the evening was the food. Lyn had pork fillet in honey and i had the beef with aubergine topped with feta and both meals were superb. A thoroughly enjoyable evening and we got to watch the lightning show from our balcony.
Chris

Where to eat out in San Stefanos? / The Waves

« on: June 05, 2022, 09:57:15 PM »

Lyn and i chose to have our meal at the waves tonight. It is the only place we have seen with beef with aubergines and she wanted to try it, and i fancied a pork chop. My chop was very acceptable but her beef dish was beautiful. She thoroughly enjoyed it. The draught beer was dashed good too!
Chris

Out and About / Our walk to Avliotes and beyond

« on: June 19, 2017, 07:30:29 PM »

I may have mentioned that SWMBO and i enjoy a walk. Shortly after we arrived here we were told of a "shortcut" to Avliotes. We have now taken that path on at least a dozen occasions, but only once have we seen anyone other than locals on it. So i thought i should post it here.
The walk starts by the medical centre/surgery, opposite Spiros bikes. When we sought confirmation from the chap there (no doubt called Spiro) he looked at us in amazement that we should be contemplating it and he informed us the local football team use it for training. Anyroadup, i digress (frequently).
So you take the path between the surgery and the apartment/pool complex until you reach the T junction. I should say at this point that good footwear is essential, no high-heels or jandals please. Take the left turn (the right is supposed to come out opposite the 3 Ws but we have been unable to find a way through) and start through the olive groves. The path is very steep in places and frequently very loose underfoot. The silence in there can be deafening and the dappled light a true pleasure out of the sun. There are some stunning scenes through the old olive trees and some spectacular views of the sea. It is a very pleasurable walk of about 40 minutes, depending how long you spend looking at views, lizards, eagles (i think), ants you could trip over, and various other forms of wildlife.
At the end of this path you arrive at a staggered crossroads. Left would take you back to Ag Stef. You want to face between 1 and 2 on the clockface and cross the road to take the road signposted to Avliotes. After around 500m you pass a petrol station on the left (with a very sad parrot) and shortly after this you arrive at a fork in the road and you take the left option. You follow this up to the village of Avliotes, which takes perhaps 30 minutes from leaving the olive path.
Arriving at the village, turning left will take you to a beautiful church with wonderful views, whilst turning right takes you down into the village proper. You pass a gift shop and the post office and arrive at Ilias Taverna (where they serve some of the best chips i have ever eaten).
If you wish a longer walk, you can carry on along the road, past the playground and you will see a "satellite" cafe on the left. Immediatley past this is a left turn down the hill. Follow this, taking the left choice at each junction (only 3 i think) and after about 20 minutes you will arrive at Logas beach and cold beer. It was walking back from there today we saw our first wild tortoise in 20 years. By wild, i do not mean it could have shredded a lettuce, but he did not have a number painted on his back and answer to "Fred". It really made our day and we got some great pics.
Anyway, i just thought i should share this as we have enjoyed it so very much.
Oh, to get back, just reverse your steps!

Out and About / Walk to Porto Timoni - almost

« on: June 17, 2017, 11:26:13 AM »

My wife and i do enjoy our walks and prefer perambulation to slow basting. We have managed a few, our longest being to Logas Beach, which was a bit of a challenge but a very pleasant outing. So we thought we might try Afionas/Porto Timoni. The first stretch through Arillas was easy enough, but then the drag up to the Night Owl really took it out of us. We arrived at rhe Dionysos Taverna after about 1 hour and 45 and began to attempt the descent to the beach. This track is more suited to six-legged mountain goats than a pair of over-ambitious old duffers so we reversed our steps and went back the the Dionysos for a couple of very cold ones. The trip back was a little shorter, with some magnificent views we were better able to appreciate. Perhaps on a cooler day we may have made it, but i am glad we tried.

Out and About / San Stefanos beach

« on: June 14, 2017, 06:42:08 PM »

San Stef has a beautiful beach, perfect for kids and i would love to bring my grandchildren here, but can i ask when it became a nudist beach? We took a walk along there this afternoon and we had hardly got past the serried ranks of sunbeds and there was wedding tackle everywhere. I am no prude but it was like the butchers shop full of Christmas turkeys in every direction. Just a surprise really.

San Stefanos news and views / Happy memories

« on: June 08, 2017, 05:27:08 PM »

There is a saying that you should never go back, i guess meaning that the further back in time an experience, the rosier the tint in the specs.
My wife Lynda and i first visited Ag Stef in, i think, 1986. The first year that Thompson Holidays were here. We stayed in the Panorama apartments at the top of the hill. I think for our first week we were the only two tourists here, at least that is how it felt. There was only a handful of places to eat. The Nafsica, Manthos, and the Waves - though in those days the Waves was exclusively seafood and frequented more by the locals. There was also the Margherita bar (now gone) the Sunset Taverna (now gone) and George's Taverna at the t- junction (also now gone). I think that was it. The people were the most friendly and welcoming they could be to two very inexperienced travellers and that memory has stuck with us more than any other. We visited a few more times over the next 10 years or so and watched the place grow. We now live in New Zealand and this is the first time we have been back in over 20 years.
The place has grown, a lot, and changed, a lot, but the people seem as genuinely warm and friendly now as they did over 30 years ago. Some are the same people we knew over 30 years ago. This is something of a nostalgia trip for us and we are here for 3 weeks. Already it has been worth almost 30 hours in the air.
So glad to be back in Ag Stef.