FULL FATHOM NONE: Nisyros - Simply Wonderful

Wednesday, July 3, 2012—Mandraki, Nisyros, Greece

Took the boat over from Kos to Nisyros two mornings ago. It was a good move: I had pretty much had my fill of Kos. Nisyros has turned out to be quite a nice stop. I came here, like most people do, to check out the semi-active volcano at the island's heart (which I did—it was interesting, if not mind blowing), but I'm glad I've stuck around. It's a truly beautiful place. Due to the the rich volcanic soils the island's very rich—its inland areas are teaming with plant life, both of the wild and the domestic variety; it's even more lush than Kos. It's also got a great climate. Due to it's small size (it's probably only around a quarter of the size of Kos) even inland you catch the coastal breezes, which are pretty strong, to the point where my first night here, when I was eating at a little restaurant right on the water, I felt the need to throw on a pullover because things were getting a bit chilly. It's also a very rugged island. I went hiking yesterday and found myself in an absolutely beautiful gorge, which, despite its rugged nature, was also one of the most fertile places I've been to in Greece. The hills there were lined with very productive terraces and on the way there I passed all sorts of different types of crops growing (plus of course many goats and sheep).

The town I'm staying in is the island's capitol, Mandraki. It's one of the cooler little towns I've run into in Greece. It clings to a very narrow, mostly rocky, coastal strip and climbs a fair way into the mountains. In regards to its layout it's your typical windy Greece village, but there's just something really nice about the place—it gives off a wonderful vibe. It's got its tourist shops, but not that many of them and the restaurants attract as many locals it seems as they do travelers. It's especially nice here in the evenings. Each morning/afternoon day-trip tourist boats come in from Kos so people can see the volcano. Once that's done they hang out in town for a few hours before they go back. For these hours Mandraki becomes a bit of a zoo, crowded with all the tourists who don't have the imagination to come here on their own, minus a tour company. When these uninteresting people bail out in the afternoon, though, the town becomes the laid-back, good vibe place I've been describing. I like it so much that I've been considering staying another day. But other destinations beckon. Besides, it's better to stay somewhere too short of a time than be there one day too long …

Nisyros Notes:

This island has THE best regional archaeological museum I've ever run into. Fantastic displays, well explained—I walked out of there (after two hours, even though it's not that big) really feeling that I had a pretty good handle on the prehistory/ancient history of the island (and to some extent the region). I'm thinking of going back again today while I'm waiting for the afternoon boat …Also, above the town, there are remains of the ancient wall surrounding ancient Nisyros, which goes back to classical times. It's reputed to be the best preserved city wall from that time in all the islands. Cool stuff …

Yesterday, for the first time on this trip, I had to abort a hike about halfway thru because my left ankle was hurting too much for me to continue. I have had problems with the ankle for years, but yesterday was one of the worst flareups ever. This concerns me because my next stop is supposed to be the island of Tilos, which I'm going to mainly because the hiking is supposed to be great. There. Hardly seems any point in heading that way if I can't hike, though …

Later in the day on Nisyros …

Bought a ticket for Halki. No point in going to Tilos if I can't hike. There's supposedly not much to do on Halki except relax—the island's so small there's little temptation for me to do much hiking. I'm a little bummed out at missing Tilos. But I wasn't planning on going to Halki and I've since decided that I'd like to see it. So I suppose everything in the end equals out …

Noticed that I'm going back and forth between islands/parts of islands that are crowded and those that are more tranquil and less visited. I guess this is healthy, that I need both experiences, in reasonable doses …

Trying to put my thoughts together as to why I like Nisyros so much, but the specifics are just not coming to me. There are just some places whose vibes meld with your vibes to great a special combo. Wish I could stay a bit longer here, but the way the boats run I'd have to wait till Tuesday to get a ride going where I'd like to be—and I can't stay here that long. That would ruin things. It would be like seriously over eating a dish you love. The old cliché about leaving the table a little hungry is probably a good metaphor here …

Hard to believe that a laid-back place like Nisyros can exist just a short boat ride from the tourist craziness of Kos …

Kos is easily visible from the south coast of Nisyros, as is the coast of Turkey. There are also some small, uninhabited islands just off the coast here. Two feature massive mining operations. One is for obsidian and I forget what they're after on the other island. From here it looks like these islands are being dismantled piece by piece. It must be weird to live here and watch an island be carted a away. I wonder if it's noticeable or if it's such a slow process you loose track of what things used to be like without the aid of photographs. Mining of course goes on over the world. But when an island vanishes thru it it brings home how destructive the process is, the price we pay to live or burn-it-all-up-now lifestyle; it becomes so obvious how little respect we have for the land—we use it, we do not live with it. Shit, don't want to preach here. But this scene really bugs me. I wonder what I'll see in regards to these two islands if I come back ten or twenty years down the road …