July 13, 2018

We were in Cunda, Taş Kahve around 7 am and we had a nice breakfast. Then we went to the pier where we would wait for the Mytilene boat at 9 am. Going through the security control and waiting for a while at the Billy’s Rentals for our car, it took a little time to arrive at Vatera. However when we got there it was great again, same place, at least the 4th time we come here 🙂 Zouros. Knowing all abouts is a great thing when you’re on vacation only for a few days. Knowing the menu and what to order is a luxury for instance 🙂 It gives you an opportunity to crave for stuff even on the way. Knowing where the restrooms are and where to change and take a shower allows you to walk around as if it’s your own.

We had tzatziki, Greek salad, imam, 2 spaghettis with tomato sauce and a bottle of Lemnos wine. We also had Greek coffee at the end of the meal and I had a Frappe lying on the sunbed.

The fact is I don’t think I’m a beach person or who enjoys sea holidays for more than a weekend. The heat is no good to me and I feel dehydrated and kind of sick afterwards. So at the end of my first day at the beach, I had enough.

We stay at Sapphos Studios. When we came to the place, it was after 7 pm and a man was waiting for us in the garden to give us the key. It took us two hours to settle down and get ready before we could leave for dinner. We parked our car near the port and walked to Kafeneion O Ermis following Ermou Street.

I think we were there close to 10 pm and there were a few people still eating. Since we had too much during lunch, we tried to be as selective as we could and ordered Greek salad, fava, zucchini flowers filled with rice and grilled sardines. It was nice – I especially liked the fava and zucchini flowers. I must admit sardines were very nicely cooked as well.

July 14, 2018

After spending the whole day travelling with only 3 hours of sleep, I had a deep sleep and woke up with a fresh mind at 8 am. On the way to Zouros, we stopped by to have breakfast at a small cafe in Polinichtos. Later I found out its name: Once upon a time.

Apparently the girl looking after the place wasn’t expecting any guests so when we asked for breakfast it was a little difficult for her to understand what we ordered. Nevertheless the end result was kind of cool and we enjoyed every bite.

We went to Vatera, parked our car outside of Zouros and picked the same sunbeds as yesterday. The sea was sweetly warm and beautiful.

We had our frappes as usual and then lunch with a lighter selection of food such as Greek salad, okra, watermelon and a bottle of Mythos beer to share. It was perfect and after lunch they brought us a favorite dessert; baklava roll filled with ice-cream. Coming here two days in a row, they of course recognized us and the waitress again talked to us in Turkish. Her brother is living in Istanbul and she’s been to Besiktas, Kadikoy and Taksim. She speaks good Turkish and has a joyful smile. After lunch, I finished reading Stefan Zweig’s book, “die reise in die vergangenheit”.

At 6:30 we left the beach to head for Molyvos. I had forgotten how crooked the roads were and it took us more than 1 hour to get there. We parked our car and walked uphill to the restaurant, Tropicana Platanos. We’d first discovered the place two years ago and this would be our second time there.

The same lady took our orders. She is the sweetest, joyful and always smiling. We ordered Greek salad, artichoke, green beans, zucchini flowers filled with rice, moussaka (aubergine with melted cheese) and ouzo. It was lovely, sitting under the plane tree, having a nice conversation about friendship, womanhood, marriage and not having kids at this age. After two hours, we noticed it was 10:30 pm and we had at least an hour drive for the hotel so we had to leave.

Especially the first half of the ride was fully in darkness, through a winding road. The good thing was the sky was full of stars. It was very nice to see them in total darkness, driving in the forest. We came within an inch of hitting two dogs on the way. The second one unfortunately was hit by the car driving in front of us and at least one leg of his was hurt, he hardly stood up and walked. It terrified me and as someone who is scared of handling animals, I wanted to get out of the car to help him and carry him to a hospital or something. I hope he wasn’t hurt that bad.

July 15, 2018

We had our breakfast at Panellinion, in Mytillene, close to the harbor. The omelet and spinach pie were both nice.

By the time we arrived at Zouros, it was almost noon and the beach was quite packed with people. We saw what it meant to be at the beach on a Sunday.

It was an extremely hot day and seaside was crowded. We had a lighter lunch at the restaurant with eggplants mashed with garlic ( which we didn’t like much ), okra and Greek salad.

Our dinner was at Baluchanas, near Perama. It was a really interesting spot, quiet and cozy place, good food, right by the sea and very peaceful… If you ask me, it was also a very romantic restaurant and if you sit in the corner table, you feel you’re surrounded by the sea, lovely place for sunset as well. I really enjoyed its solitude. On our last dinner, we had fried papalina fish, Greek salad, dolmades, fried zucchini flowers filled with cheese and Barbayanni green. After dinner, we walked a little towards a narrow street where we saw that people were sitting, talking and having fun. It was a colorful sight, Sunday evening, many many “islanders”, young and old, sitting outdoors. How nice! Maybe I should consider living on an island for a period of time.

The restaurant was close to our hotel, approximately half an hour drive only.

July 16, 2018

Last day on the island. A little sad but since I’m not a typical beach person, I guess it was about time 🙂 We enjoyed the tranquility of the beach and the ferry as well going back to Ayvalık.

Today, becoming locals ourselves, we bought “börek” from a shop close to the port, Méli and drove to the beach. We had our breakfast with tea there. I tried the one with cheese and loved it. My friends tried ones with cream and spinach and both were happy with theirs as well. I also bought half a kilo of Kourabiedes from Sugar House. Mom loves them.

For our last lunch at the beach, we went back to the basics and ordered our spaghetti Napolitano in the oven, Greek salad, imam and okra. We drank a small bottle of Barbayanni and said cheers to our long awaited summer holiday together.

Today it was a little windy so I could go into the sea only once and after 4 pm, we took of for the port. But before that I have to say a few words about the restaurant and the beach and the lovely people working in this place. They’re kind, friendly, fast and hardworking. Even in the busiest hours they’re rushing around with big smiles on their faces. They’re very very efficient. The girl who takes order from the beach has a tough job since on a typical Sunday all sunbeds are full with people from all ages and under the sun she walks back and forth first writing down and then carrying orders. She doesn’t stop working even in the early evenings when people start to leave. This time she cleans the sunbeds from the sand and rubs away the dirt from the small tables. She keeps everything clean and in order and I admire her even more when she does all of this with a relaxed facial expression.

Coming back to the ferry ride, it was a perfect decision to go back on a Monday evening. The ferry was empty so was the line at the passport control. We walked to our car and started our journey to Istanbul in approximately 10 minutes.

I was home at midnight.

And now we’re back to where we were before we took off for the holiday season… now staring sadly at the receipts and ferry tickets, missing all those happy meals and free time, looking forward to others to come…