Along the Coast of Amorgos by Boat, Part II

Start reading part I of our boattour along the coast og Amorgos.
Right after we pass the mines you can can see the Melania Forest on the hill to your left, one of the last remaining forests on Amorgos. The typical mediterranean forest of sclerophyllous plants, spans about five hectares. The lush green of up to five meter tall holly oaks and scrubs, blended with the deep ocean blue is a feast for the eyes. Read more details about a hiking tour from Stavros to Melania Forest.

Continouing our tour to Amorgos’ easternmost point at Cape Xodoto where we change our route a bit to the west and we see the highest mountains of the island (Mt. Krikelos) going up to 821 m above the sea. At this part of the island impressive vertical cliffs reach up nearly 700 meters.

Above the cliffs you will find the beautiful hiking trail from the Monastery of Theologos to the chapel of Stavros.

[stextbox id=”info” caption=”Agios Theologos” color=”000000″ ccolor=”ffffff” bcolor=”CCCCCC” bgcolor=”EEEEEE” cbgcolor=”CCCCCC” image=”/wp-content/plugins/wp-special-textboxes/images/info.gif”]The location of this monastery is marvellous, the building is impressive: there are huge foundations like fortifications and a couple of outhouses. In these outhouses pots and potatoes are waiting for the pilgrims. The church is very beautiful, with nice brick arches, an altar on an old pillar and some fairly well preserved wall paintings. On the outside there is a fantastic view on the massif of Kroikelos and on the coast. A couple of workers give us refreshing water and some loukoum; we eat in the shade of an outhouse with an oven.[/stextbox]

Now heading south the Megali & Mikri Vlichada beaches worth the stop as they are quite difficult to be reached from Tholaria village. After a few minutes we are passing a little bit away from Aegiali port, one of the 2 ports of the island.

Very close to Aegiali is Agios Pavlos Beach and Nikouria Island with incredible beaches and unique underwater caves. This is one of the best areas of the island for scuba diving. A few miles away, passing Katapola Bay, we meet the Lefkes Village, very close to ancient Minoa. We make a stop to Agioi Saranta beach, a beach, with different water colors, because of the different morphology of the land.

Leaving this beach we can sea the mountain of Kastri, which looks like a pyramid. That is where the ancient town of Arkesini is located. As we are very close to the point we had started our trip, and before our destination stop, we pass by the golf of Paradisia, right across the Gramvoussa islet, which was always used from the fishermen of the island. A surprise to the passengers arises as the wreck of the boat Olympia appears. Located in the small golf of Livero, this boat was driven there ashore back in 1979, coming from Cyprus, and without any human loss. A tug boat the Matsas Star tried unsuccessfully to pull the Olympia out of the golf and since then this ship wreck is part of the island’s history.

Scenes of “Olympia” wreck, along with scenes of the bottom of the sea of Agia Anna beach, were used in the famous film The Big Blue, which made Amorgos worldwide famous.

With beautiful colors of the sunset coloring our eyes and souls, this trip comes to an end. “No matter how many times you make this trip, never it is the same” says the captain, encouraging those who haven’t yet experienced this trip to do so as they will definitely be rewarded!

Take a look at the stories part I.

Captain Stelio Rousso

Captain Stelio Rousso knows what he talks about. His passion belongs to the sea and his vessels, he loves to be on the sea with his boat, telling you a punch of stories and relevant facts about the island.
Please note: boat cruises on Amorgos Island can only be done at appropriate weather conditions. Whenever there is a chance for you, just call Stelio and try to get a seat on his boat!
Pricing depends on the number of participants and cruise route (up to 15 people) usually price will be between 20 and 30 Euros per person.
Call: +30 22850 72230 or mobile: +30 69324 52508
More info on Stelios homepage

Special thanks to John Maldemis of airphotos.gr for providing the beautiful airpics.