If it wasn’t so warm, you'd think we are in Norway.
A small village with a harbour, two modern windmills, old windmills, beautiful bays with sandy beaches, rugged rocky coastline and countless churches and chapels - we are on the small island of Psara. It lies about 15 nautical miles west of Chios. Turkey is not far away either.
With the electricity working perfectly (thanks to the new batteries), we have come 57 nautical miles over from Skyros, heading east-southeast. Here we moor alongside at the pier (later also in the pack). Village life takes place right before our eyes. Fishermen are sorting their nets, the walkway to the ferry pier is painted white, people drink coffee in the shade during the siesta, and when the ferry from Chios comes over, there is a lot of activity. Everything is a bit sleepy, as befits such a small island, but not at all quiet. The men in particular communicate by shouting, from house to house, from the kafenion to the fishing boat ... And in the distance you can always hear at least one rooster crowing. This is the soundtrack of Psara. We find it very cosy here.
We can also get enough exercise here. A board with a map of the island shows us various hiking trails. As sailors, we hike to the lighthouse, of course, meeting shy goats on the way, standing high up on boulders like the chamois in the Alps. The boulders are interesting - sometimes it's slate, sometimes it's marble. It looks as if a giant had thrown them into the landscape.
The people of the island have suffered heavy blows of fate in their history, which began in the time of Mycenae. There were times when the population was expelled, new settlers then came, for example from Euboea. When Psara took part in the liberation struggle against the Ottomans, these killed a large part of the island's population in revenge in 1824, and the rest were taken into slavery. The paintings on the harbour pier created by a street art artist on the occasion of the 200th anniversary bear witness to this. Together with the city of Messolongi on the mainland, Psara is revered as the most important heroic city in the Greek liberation struggle.
Now a strong south wind is blowing. We stay here for another day. Time to read and play the guitar.
And here a few more pictures:
