We stayed at the Hotel Filliopi in Saint Kirikos. We had a spacious apartment which suited our needs. We will not be staying there again though. There was no second key to our room available, which was very inconvenient for us. Ken wakes up at 5 and after breakfast he goes for a long walk and usually comes back at 8 when I am in the process of waking up. He was not able to do this without a second key as it would have meant either locking me in the room or leaving the door unlocked. Neither option was satisfactory.
The mountain that towers over the town was always shrouded in cloud. This mountain is apparently the reason why the town gets so hot when there's no wind: it's barren, unlike most of Ikaria, and as the sun heats it, the heat gets reflected back into the town.
A short walk from our hotel led to the St Kirikos Cathedral.
We walked up the steps that led up to the church
A praying mantis on the steps
The church was unfortunately closed
so we walked around it
and entered the narrow lanes of the upper part of town.
Good views of the bay from here
the narrow lanes are pedestrianised
lots of steps leading up or down
very few people around in the mid-day sun
more steps
a mural on the wall of one of the houses - pity about the graffiti
most of Ikaria is built on hills or mountainsides so there are steps everywhere - part of the reason why people are so fit and healthy here
Another mural, partly obscured by the shutters
We eventually worked our way down and reached one of the tavernas we favoured, I Klimataria, The Vine, which is quite close to the waterfront.
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