If you couldn’t already tell, I had the most amazing time in Greece last year. I especially enjoyed the quiet island of Ios – ok, maybe not as much as Mykonos, but it was a completely different experience and one that I treasure. I’ve read that Ios is the top party island in the Mediterrannean during July and August, but going in September was a completely different story. Many of the shops and almost all the clubs in Chora (the town) were closed for the season so most of the people I ran into were locals or seasonal workers. I was one of not many people staying at my hotel, Homer’s Inn, (which resulted in very personalized and amazing service), and was one of the few tourists walking around Chora during the day. Kids were already in school, so I walked past them during their lunch hour!
Ios is very different topographically from Mykonos and Santorini; it is extremely hilly and most of the parts of the island that meet the water are cliffs. It’s also a much drier, arid climate than the other islands. Being more hilly, one of the prettiest places in Chora is at the top, at the three churches. These churches overlook Chora, the port and all it’s surroundings.
The craziest thing about Ios, for me, was how incredibly windy it was. Walking uphill was pretty much always against some kind of wind, to the point where walking up to the Three Churches I had to tread carefully and I practically crawled down! By the time I got to the highest church, I sat right up against it to steel myself and let it block my wind. The video below is of me, sitting against the church, tightly gripping my phone with both hands!
While Ios’ hills and mountains are beautiful, traveling across them to Manganari Beach on a quad (ATV) is not something I’d recommend. It’s incredibly windy, the hills are steep and you ride along cliffs for a large portion of the journey. In an effort to be more aerodynamic, I was leaning forward and gripping the quad for dear life! I only stopped one time on the way there, at a spot in between two mountains. I was trembling, cussing at myself like a sailor when all the sudden – sheep! Goats! And the following two are the only pictures I took for fear of losing my phone.
The irony is that Manganari Beach is very flat and shielded by hills, so there was virtually no wind there! When I got off my quad, my legs were sore from gripping the seat and my hands were drenched in sweat from nerves. I wanted to have someone tow me back, but that wasn’t an option. I looked around the beautiful, calm beach, had a coffee and went back to Chora. There’s no way I was about to get caught on the 45 minute trip back in the dark! There was one point where the quad lost all forward momentum up a hill so I had to get off with one leg and push it upwards. Not exaggerating, I thought it might roll down the mountain.
Another amazing feature of Ios was Skarkos, a prehistoric settlement that was excavated and has been preserved since the 1980s. I wasn’t able to get an aerial shot, but the picture below is of the entrance. It is an amazingly well-preserved city, that you can walk through to see the urban development of the Bronze Age.
Overall, Ios is a lovely island with lots to offer. I would definitely make sure anyone going is aware of the season so they can plan accordingly!
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