Andros! Oh my gosh, what a great island. We’ve fallen in love and have a new favorite island. Why isn’t it better known?
Our day begins with a short walk down to the port for breakfast. We find a nice cafe and after a fine breakfast of omelets, coffee and OJ we hang around for another hour taking advantage of their excellent WiFi (it’s terrible in our room). A bit after ten we finally hit the road, heading south along the coast. Our destination for the day is Chora (also known as just Andros), the most important town on the island.
Biking in Andros is a constant surprise for us. For one thing, it’s so different from the other Greek islands we’ve visited so far. It’s part of the Cycladic group, but doesn’t really feel like it. Everything is different: the domestic architecture (gabled orange tiled roofs, brick accents); the vegetation (much greener); the geology (the island is predominantly a lovely greenish-blue schist). It’s quieter even than Naxos, just as mountainous, and spectacular. And Andros has Venetian dovecotes!
The ride begins with a few flat miles along the coast, and then a long lazy climb diagonally up the western face of the large ridge that splits the southern half of the island. Over the top, we enjoy a swift seven mile glide down the east side to the sea, descending through striking whitewashed villages and hillsides crisscrossed with a dense lattice of stone walls.
Setting out from Gavrio, looking down into a small resort beach south of the port.
Rachael chats with Lee, from Brittany, the first bike tourist we’ve seen on the tour. He’s seeking navigation assistance to his campground on the east coast.
We stop for lunch at Korthy Bay, a scenic little resort lining a small bay. This early in the season, the place is almost empty. It’s a great time to be here - facilities are just opening for the season, but it is still wonderfully quiet. Over a delicious salad and yogurt with fruit and honey we rest up, admire the scenery, and contemplate the second climb of the day that awaits us.
As we sit there, I spot what looks like a small lighthouse at the end of the bay. We decide to bike out there to check it out before starting our climb, loosening our legs up a bit with a lazy cruise along the shore. We leave our bikes, unlocked, by a church where the pavement ends, and walk up the short trail toward the presumed lighthouse. We find it, but it’s no great shakes. Nice views though.
The second climb of the day is more difficult than the first - did I mention yet that Andros is a quite mountainous island? It’s a five mile climb from the shore to the 1700’ summit. That averages out to a nice, manageable 5% grade. We have to follow the contour of the road though, which has its ups and downs and is heavily front-loaded: the first mile and a half are a steeper 9%. It doesn’t help either that it’s a rough, almost chip seal road. We have plenty of time though and we take it, with me taking stops along the way to break out the camera while Rachael waits patiently in the shade at the summit.
Andros has some really striking legacy architecture, including tower or fortresslike structures. I especially like the slate mullions on this structure.
At the top, we round a bend and lose it all back, falling into a rocky canyon. It’s a fairly rough road, so we can’t really let ourselves go. It’s a a very beautiful ride though, and the photos don’t really do it justice - I could never find quite the right perspective on the canyon to give the right feel for it.
At the bottom, I stop to admire the schist headlands sloping into the sea, and then round the bend where Rachael is waiting for me, awed by her first look at Chora.
When we arrive in town, our GPS route brings us to the top of yet another long staircase. Not again! I stare harder at the map though and see what looks like a paved alternate route, so we turn around, push our bikes back up a steep block or two, and then work our way to the shore.
Spiros, our host at Alcioni Inn, is stunned to see us arrive by bicycle. They’ve never had bikers as guests here before. He asks where we began our day, and which route we took, and can’t believe it. Very satisfying.
Dinner is yet another unique experience. Sitting by the sea again at a fish tavern, we’re accompanied by four unusually assertive cat beggars. Every so often one will stretch up and almost reach the surface of the table. For Greece though, not all that unusual. It’s the swan.
Andros!
The Venetian fortress off the edge of town, connected by a small arched bridge. We’ll get a better look at this tomorrow.
