Having done as much as we could on Nimmie in Lavrion, we left our AirBnb flat to catch a flight to Lesvos on the Friday morning. As we wouldn’t have time to sail her there this summer, we decided the best thing was to go and have a look and decide whether we wanted to move her to the marina in Mytilene in October. The hour’s flight was uneventful although fun in a dual prop plane.

We were being very decadent and stayed in a hotel in Mytilene (the capital) with its own pool as day time temperatures were in the mid to high 30s and we figured that if we weren’t on Nimmie in a secluded anchorage then we needed a way to cool off at the end of the day!

We decided that, as Lesvos is the third largest island in Greece after Evia and Crete, a rental car was in order. As it happened, we still only managed to see less than a third of the island during our five days. Basically, the south east corner! We arrived at the hotel around 3pm so after checking into our room we made a bee line for the pool. God, did it feel good and very refreshing even with the sea water. We didn’t want to venture too far on our first evening as we were tired so we walked up the road to a local taverna that had good reviews on Trip Advisor. The Balcony was a typical taverna but it did good quality food at reasonable prices. We had realised earlier on the trip that the portions are pretty large in Greece so we generally share a starter and a main. With a bit of local bread and half a litre of local wine, that’s more than enough.

The next morning we needed to change rooms as we had left it late to book the hotel (like two days earlier!) but the hotel moved all our stuff whilst we spent our first day sightseeing. We wanted to see the eastern part of the island for a couple of reasons. Partly because neither Liz nor I had spent any time there when we last came to Lesvos a million years ago with different partners and also wanted to investigate whether the island had enough anchorages and interest to warrant moving Nimmie here. First of all, though, we headed up to a couple of art galleries/museums close by. This is when we first encountered the tiny roads and alleyways through the villages. They were clearly built when a horse and cart was being used or maybe a donkey as so many of them cannot accommodate two cars and Lord help you if you meet a truck!

We then drove to Skala Loutra on the SE shore of the Gulf of Hera, a large inlet on the south of the island. The most direct route was straight across the peninsular but unfortunately, it was along a road/track that had seen better days. I was glad we were in a hire car rather than our own as I suspect the suspension was getting a battering.

Skala Loutra definitely had potential as a safe anchorage, particularly in a blow. We continued on our exploration and came upon Agios Ermogenis beach with its chapel, crystal clear water and an anchorage in the next bay. Perfect.

We had decided to eat in one of the tavernas in the nearby village of Taxiarches. As we approached the village, cars were parked either side of the road but we kept on going hoping to be nearer the tavernas as the village was set on a very steep hill. The roads got narrower and narrower with cars, motorcycles and people all in the now extremely narrow roads. We literally had an inch to spare on several occasions either side. Once we got through the village, we decided that caution was the better part of valour so we chose a small taverna on the road back to the hotel where we could park outside! The taverna, Oi Vagies, had a warm, friendly feeling to it and our server gave us great recommendations. This time we didn’t stick to our plan of shared starter and main. Instead we had anchovies marinated in garlic, a rocket and parmesan salad with a citrus dressing, zucchini flowers stuffed with cheese and onions stuffed with rice and meat. All of it absolutely delicious and a very simple drive back to the hotel in comparison.

On Sunday, we realised that not a lot may be open so we decided to drive towards the other large inlet on the island, the Gulf of Kallonis and do some more research on anchorages. First point of call was Skala near Polichnitos. There weren’t any boats at anchor but it did look a possibility. On the way there, we drove through a mountain track full of pine trees and olive groves. Apparently, there are 11 million olive trees on Lesvos which produce highly regarded olive oil. It was gorgeous if a little treacherous in places – the norm in Lesvos it seems. We stopped at a place called Agiassos that had a wonderful church with, apparently, a wax icon of the Virgin Mary and Jesus made by St Luke. The really endearing feature of the place was the coffee shops all along the tree lined alleyways around the church where it seemed the whole village was congregated having a drink and a chat. All very civilised.

The highlight of the day, however, was finding the Panayia Kryfti Cave Church near Melinda. Again, it involved a dirt track followed by a path a goat would have been proud of. However, the church at the end with its hot springs was worth it. The bay was used by Greek partisans during WW2 to board submarines. You could see how this would evade the Italian or German authorities. The day had involved a lot of difficult driving so we went back to The Balcony taverna for dinner, which was within walking distance.

We were finally able to go to the marina in Mytilene on Monday morning to discuss our plans to move Nimmie here. They very kindly kept their prices for 2022 if we decided to relocate. The marina is very nice and the facilities are good but the boatyard hasn’t got its own travel lift and has to bring in a third party crane. Not so secure as a travel lift but there were boats in there that looked bigger and heavier than Nimmie. We were also concerned about the migrant issue as Mytilene has a large refugee camp nearby as it is only some 10nm from Turkey and we don’t want to be worrying the whole time that Nimmie might be stolen by people smugglers. It should be said though that Mytilene felt relatively safe.

We decided to stay local and went in search of the Roman aqueduct in Moria and hot springs. This involved yet more dirt tracks and, courtesy of the sat nav, a route through the village down impossibly narrow roads! The aqueduct was worth it though.

Most of the hot springs we came across appeared to be derelict or abandoned but we did find a wonderful private beach at Petalidi. It belonged to the hotel there but they were happy for you to use their sun loungers for free. We did have a drink there as felt it only right. The beach and sea were glorious so we indulged in some sun bathing for the afternoon.

We braved the village of Taxiarches again in the evening but this time we took heed and parked below the village and walked up the hill to Antoni’s Ouzeria. The view from the taverna was stunning across to Mytilene and Turkey but the food wasn’t as good as we expected. Still, always good to try somewhere new.

Tuesday was our last day with the car and we wanted to go to an ouzo distillery so we set off back towards Plomari. Apparently, Lesbos is the capital of ouzo with Plomari at its epicentre. The aniseed produced in Lesvos is renowned so there are a lot of distilleries on the island but only a couple dating back to the 19th century. One of them is Ouzo Plomari. For €2 we had a tour and a tasting. Needless to say, we also bought a couple of bottles.

On the way there, we stopped at Mytilene Castle only to find that it shuts one day a week – on a Tuesday! Once we dropped the car back at the airport, we decided to indulge ourselves by the hotel pool for the afternoon. We wandered along the beachfront to a beach bar called Istoriko. Set in a lovely location with great music in the background and good food. A lovely way to spend our last evening on Lesvos.

We couldn’t leave Lesvos without finding the statue of Sappho!