That’s (Amore) Amorgos

When the world seems to shine like you’ve had too much wine

That’s amore” 🎵🎶

Travelling around the fabulous Greek Island of Amorgos in our ultra small hire car, this old song kept playing round and round in my head – only with the word “Amore”(love) substituted by “Amorgos”.

Amorgos, the Easternmost island of the Cyclades group, is truly magnificent and an island so very easy to fall in love with.

Our first stop was the ancient maze-like chora about five kilometres inland from where we were anchored and which rises to 400 metres above sea level.

Dominated by the remains of a 13th Century castle and surrounded by a chain of ancient windmills, the chora is romantic, mysterious and utterly charming.

As we roamed the intricate and deserted (because of Covid 19) network of passages and narrow alleyways, some of which date back to Medieval times, it was easy to imagine that we had gone through a wormhole in space and time and were wandering around in a bygone era.

But soon we were just below the castle at a very modern day coffee shop. Jonathan enjoyed a “proper” Greek coffee served from a little copper pan while I relished my milky but so-strong cappuccino.

The castle remains were just that- remains – but it was amazing to climb to the top and take in the magnificent views this once-grand fortress commanded.

After a long wander round this magical place we set off to drive round the island – first heading North.

The dramatic vistas over the sea and landscape were breathtaking – photos just don’t do them justice!

We arrived in the port of Aegiali in the north of the island in time for our usual late lunch. This village is quite a bit newer than other towns on the island as in the past, settlements were built away from the sea to avoid pirate attacks.

There were a few lovely looking bars, tavernas and other eateries overlooking the ocean and the port. Sadly they were mostly empty of guests. We stopped at one and shared a delicious Greek Salad and a non-traditional hamburger, soaking up the glorious view as we ate.

We carried on with our tour of the island, taking in more glorious views and stopping to take a look at the hilltop village of Tholaria.

Turning south we drove through tiny hamlets and towards a very special destination – the 11th Century Monastery of Panagia Hoziviotissa. More of this truly astonishing place to come in my next blog……