Some Greek islands suffer from the effects of ‘kalimari and chips’ mass tourism. But, sometimes, you only need to take a short trip in a ferry or a kaiki to enter a different world altogether.
Let’s look at one of the lesser-known islands, Leros. There are jails and mental institutions here, and the name is similar to the Greek word for a rogue or a rascal. This put a lot of people off visiting, for all the wrong reasons, because really, it’s quite a laid-back, pleasant place.
I suspect the average visitor with no prior knowledge would scarcely be aware that those establishments exist. There is also, after all, a large prison on the Isle of Wight, but that’s no reason not to go there. Neither does the name deter me from visiting the Scilly Isles.
The Italians took over the Dodecanese Islands from the Ottoman Turks in the years following World War I, and built their main naval base at Lakki’ and the most obvious way they left their mark is the ‘art-deco’ buildings along the esplanade.
One guide-book describes it as ‘… like stepping into an abandoned Fellini film set.’ Some of the buildings, it’s true, do look dilapidated and shabby, but they would seem to make interesting restoration projects. Indeed, some of them have scaffolding erected around them, and some restoration work does appear to be going on, especially in the larger buildings overlooking the harbour.
The guide-books tend to dismiss Lakki as having little to offer the visitor. Their usual counsel is to head for the ‘bright lights’ on the other side of the island, stopping only to grab a bite to eat, and check your e-mail. You can leave Lakki by bus or taxi, or some hotels will provide a transfer from the ferry port or the airport if you’re staying with them.
On Leros, all roads, and all bus routes, lead to the main town, Platanos, which stands on a ridge joining two low hills. To one side of the ridge, Platanos joins with the port of Ayia Marina, where the hydrofoils and inter-island catamarans dock. To the other side lies Pandeli, a fishing port which is also much favoured by yacht crews.
Both of these towns give their names to the beautiful bays upon which they stand, and Pandeli also lends its name to the Byzantine castle on top of Mt. Apetiki. This is open to the public, and can be reached either by the zig-zag road up from Pandeli or, on foot only, up a long flight of stone steps from Platanos.
It’s possible to visit the Monastery of the Madonna of the Castle. It was once the powder magazine of the castle, and is home to an icon of the Virgin, said to have miraculous powers. The legend says that the icon arrived at Pandeli in an unmanned boat, lit by a sacred candle. The Bishop of the island bore the icon away to the Cathedral … and the following morning found it gone! The commander of the Turkish garrison in the castle found it in his locked and guarded powder magazine … with the sacred candle still burning, which probably gave him a bad moment!
The icon and the candle were taken to several churches in succession, and each night, they say, it found its own way back to the powder magazine.
The Governor eventually decided to clear his magazine and store his ammunition elsewhere. Then, he gave the building to the people, so that they could convert it to a church, to house the miraculous icon.
Near the castle, a little white chapel overlooks Platanos and, built into the wall of the courtyard is a WWII bomb casing! There are a lot of these in the Dodecanese, which the islanders still occasionally use as garden ornaments. They’re also a reminder of the battle fought on Leros in 1943, when German Airborne forces re-took the island from British and Commonwealth troops, who occupied the island for a short while after the Italian capitulation.
If you came up to the castle from Pandeli, you can’t have failed to notice the windmills you passed on the way. They’re all of the traditional Greek round pattern, but they aren’t quite what they seem to be. They’re holiday apartments!
Those on the cliff above Pandeli Harbour were, in fact, converted from disused mills, but the ones on the ridge below the castle were built from scratch only recently.
To find a genuine Greek windmill, go to Ayia Marina, where the mill guarding the harbour is a well-known landmark. For the best views, just walk along the sea-front, and for a real close-up view, visit the Neromylos Tavern, which is right by the 120-year-old mill.
Modern windmills can be seen to the north-west of Alinda, where a wind-farm provides some of the island’s electricity.
Pandeli has some good restaurants, and was probably best noted for the well-known (or should I say notorious) Savanna Bar, run by British expats Craig and Peter. The décor and atmosphere were Middle Eastern, rather than Greek, where, out on the veranda, Eastern rugs cover stone benches, and I wouldn’t have been surprised if someone had started to smoke a water-pipe. I found it a rather surreal experience to drink Greek-brewed Dutch beer, served by a Scotsman, in an Arab café in Greece.
A word of warning, though … their infamous ‘Flaming Lamborghini’ cocktail is better witnessed than experienced!
They say that the resorts on Leros suffer because the beaches are shingle rather than sand … but there are other things to do on a beach besides building sand-castles, and I never heard of a camera being trashed by blowing shingle!
Away from the resorts … which are also working fishing ports; one of Leros’ nicer points for me was that tourism hasn’t completely taken over … the island is hilly and green, with deeply indented bays. It was said that, during WWII, the entire Mediterranean fleet of the British, German or Italian (depending upon who was ‘in residence’ at the time) Navy might find sheltered anchorage.
Even today, it seems remarkable that a 20-minute walk … or a 5-euro taxi ride … might bring you from the east coast to the west.
I feared I was in for a disappointment my favourite Greek dish, moussaka. Everywhere I ate, I asked for moussaka, only to be told ‘it’s too early!’ or ‘is finish!’ I found it on my last evening, at the Taverna Finikas, towards the northern end of the esplanade at Alinda. It’s a simple, unpretentious little place, and the lady who served me told me she makes enough fresh moussaka for eight people every evening.
I later learned that, traditionally, moussaka used only to be made for special occasions, when there were large numbers to be fed. In the days when few homes had their own ovens, it necessitated firing up the village communal oven, so wasn’t often made.
This, definitely is the place to go for moussaka … and excellent moussaka, too; poles apart from the pre-cooked, frozen and reheated travesty sometimes served as English ‘pub grub’. Just be sure not to get there too early … but you aren’t the ninth person in the queue!
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