Evia

Walking in the mountains of Evia

 

It was June 1 and temperatures in the Aegean were starting to rise to the high 30s, so we decided to head north to the island of Evia where we hoped to find cooler weather. Evia is Greece’s second largest island after Crete and sits just off the eastern Greek mainland.  We had read that the island was still relatively unspoilt and had some beautiful spots inland, so it was on our list to visit.



The harbour at Karystos

 

Our first stop was the town of Karystos on the southern tip of the island.  Set deep in a bay with mountains rising behind, it’s an unsophisticated place that’s off the radar for most charterers and the main quay in the harbour was almost deserted, so we had the luxury of tying up alongside. A quick visit to the Venetian castle was followed by a trip to the local supermarket for provisions.  The next morning we set off early for our sail north through the Gulf of Evoikos which separates Evia from the Greek mainland. 

 

Bourtzi Castle at Karystos

 

The sail from Karystos up through the gulf was both fun and challenging, as the geography of the gulf means that the winds are constantly changing. So to begin with the wind blew down the channel from the Aegean giving us a good downwind sail, then it abruptly changed to ‘on the nose’ as the steep mountains created a katabatic effect.  Later it died altogether, only to come back a hour or so later, from yet another direction.

The wind finally dropped as we entered the very pretty, sheltered inlet of Almiropotamos  and we moored on the quay at the tiny village of Panagia. We couldn’t believe our luck in finding such a lovely, unspoilt spot. The village was surrounded by wooded hills on three sides and had a stream running down the middle of the main street with ducks swimming on it. Just along from the quay there was a small sandy beach shaded by trees and we looked forward to an early morning dip the following day.

The weather closes in at Panagia

 

Be careful what you wish for. We had hoped for cooler weather and the next morning we certainly got it. We woke to dark skies and drizzle, then we had thunderstorms, more rain and high winds. It rained and the wind blew for two days as we huddled in the warmest corner of the village café poring over the weather reports on our laptop. We eventually saw a pattern emerging. The unsettled, stormy weather seemed to be sitting over northern Evia and the Sporade islands, while further south the Aegean was still enjoying  the sunshine, so we decided to head south again to the Cyclades and better weather.  

But before we left Evia for good we wanted to visit the mountains and the Dimosari Gorge, and talking to the friendly locals in Panagia we had discovered that the best way to do this was to join an organised walk run by a travel agency in Karystos.  The next day we sailed back down to Karystos and the following morning we joined a group of Greek Cypriots, a German and a Russian family who were all boarding the coach for the walk.

Ochi mountain - worth the hair raising drive

 

The drive to the summit of the mountains and the start of the gorge was terrifying.  We soon turned off the main road onto narrow, unmade tracks that wound up the mountain with sheer drops to the side. It was hard to believe they were taking a coach on a track made for off road vehicles. It was so steep that in several places the coach wheels couldn’t grip the road and began to slide backwards. As everyone took a deep breath the driver slammed the brakes on, jumped out, grabbed a shovel from the luggage compartment and moved the grit around until the wheels could get enough purchase to start moving again.

The view when we reached the summit was just stunning. The valley between the mountains was covered in lush vegetation and carpeted with spring flowers.  At first the descent into the gorge was very steep and slippery as the path criss-crossed rocky streams. But then the path flattened out and opened up to amazing views across the valley.  Here the undergrowth had grown so high that occasionally even Cliff was enveloped in it.



Cliff hidden in the undergrowth

 

Eventually we reached the point where the path followed the river as it tumbled down through the rocks. Here we were walking though ancient woods with the sunlight filtering through the trees. I wandered along completely absorbed by the trees, plants and quality of light, then suddenly something came thundering down the hillside and nearly collided with me. I screamed, and the poor thing ran for its life.  It was a wild pig, and subsequently we saw a whole family snuffling around in the muddy bank by the river.

Spot the wild pig!

 

As we continued walking down, the river turned into a series of waterfalls and our animal encounters continued as foxes, goats and donkeys crossed our path.  We were also amazed by the huge variety of flowers, the most spectacular being the Drancunculus Vulgaris or ‘Stink Lily’ which smells strongly of rotting flesh!

The Stink Lily

Waterfall in the gorge

 

After five hours we finally reached the end of the gorge. By this time we were both pretty tired and my legs were shaking from so much downhill walking. We were met by the coach driver who was now in a car, and seemed to be offering a lift back down to the coach pick up point. We had read that the end of the gorge was just a kilometre from the village, so we decided to let some of the rest of the group get a lift in the car while we did last bit on foot. It was only when we got to the village that we realised the coach was parked down by the beach – which meant we still had another 3 kilometres to go before we finished! Needless to say, we were both exhausted by the time we got there, but we agreed it had been one of the best days so far this year.