Jingle Bells

 

The autumn was unusually warm and the serious rains only came to us very late. Due to the long drought only a few mushrooms have dared to lift their heads from the earth. My house carried on as an ideal hunting grounds for mosquitos. Continue reading ->

Sweet honey

Along with olive oil and goat cheeses, Lesvos has a lot to offer: like honey. When enquiring about the best honey, you will find suggestions for many sources. It seems every village has its own beekeeper and no matter to which local seller you go to buy, the honey tastes like food for the gods. Continue reading ->

Dream Hotel

When friends were joking about a Hilton on Faneromeni beach I thought they were kidding. But they were not far off from the truth: there are plans for a hotel to be built in the area between that house that rises like a pink creamy pudding at the Faneromeni beach and the little cave church, (Zoodochos Pigi). Continue reading ->

Looking for a dream house

More and more people dream of a house in Greece: away from the crowds, the cold, the rain, with a view on an azure blue sky hovering over an equal blue sea. Long live the quietness. Continue reading ->

Anna Paulowna

 Lesvos is rich with chestnut trees, but not all chestnuts are being harvested and the culinary use is mostly roasted chestnuts. Maybe because peeling these nuts is a horrible job. YouTube came with a new method: super. Also the use of wood of chestnut trees is limited. But look at a new forest in Sigri. There all trees already are sold! Continue reading ->

So long, Lela!

 

Another icon gone from Molyvos: Lela, who had a country house in Eftalou and could be seen during the whole year swimming. Her loud voice and roaring laugh so well known in the village as well as in Eftalou. A woman who loved living. She is no more. So long, Lela. Continue reading

Grape trees

 Lesvos was known for its delicious wines, until an illness at the end of the nineteenth century ended all vineyards. Also Dionysus was worshipped, God if the wine and the parties. Grape plants are hard to extinguish; they now again grow in abundance on the island, continue reading

From Parrot fish to Zebra fish

 (Parrot fish, photo: internet)

Summer can also be called the festival season, just like on Lesvos. From music- to food festivals, like the Sardine Festival. But there is more to catch in the sea, fish with an own story. Continue reading

Country of Beach and ashes

 

Saturday, July 23 2022, a big fire started at Vatera. It reduced some houses and a business into ashes, attacked the beach and burned ten thousands acres of land between Vatera, Stavros and Vrisa. Sad days for the island, continue reading

Fox Talk

 

(Photo: internet)

Lesvos is an island with plenty of foxes. Lately I saw a strange animal passing by, looking like a bald fox. What was that?! For sure it wasn’t Teumessus, who for a long time terrorised Thebes: continue reading

The guards

About a screaming Sultan, the very first artichoke and lots of more thistles that guard the island, continue reading

The attack

They are small terrorists making all the oceans unsafe: jellyfish. This summer the purple jellyfish has decided to invade the South European seas: keep baking soda and salt water ready. Continue reading

A magic garden

 

The month of June stands for mountains of fruit: cherries, apricots, mulberries, peaches. Masses fall out of the trees, when not picked. And they all ripen in the same time, making it very busy in the kitchens for fruit preservation. Here a column about this lovely month, continue reading

Artists of Lesvos

 

Thé painter of Lesvos is Theofilos, who captured his time of life on the island on canvasses and walls. Also photographer and film maker Tzeli Hadjidimitriou tries to save life on Lesvos from getting eaten by the time. But there are more artists on the island. Part of them will be represented at the end of May on the exhibition All Arts Expo Avlonas, continue reading

About the flowers and the bees

 

Lesvos not only is a unique place for petrified trees, birds and flowers, but of all Greek islands it also has the biggest bee population with about 650 different species. The volcanic landscape, the migrating birds, a long list of orchids, dragon flies, beetles, butterflies, they all form a Vahalla for scientists. continue reading

The Lesvos Beetle

 

The world, just like Lesvos, is full with beetles. But they are not one of the most popular insects, just like a fight between scientists about a beetle that has been found in Turkey as well as on Lesvos. The female beetles are not the same, meaning that the beetle on Lesvos should be a specie on its own and not a sub specie. (foto: internet), continue reading

Stories for bombshelters

Greek mythology has plenty of stories to explain natural events and other things as actions of the Gods. Even most of the plants, trees and stars have a story how they were born, with love and Gods having a prominent role. Entertaining stories about spring flowers, nice to be told in bombshelters, continue reading

Ancient Greeks and their wars

It is often said that in earlier times all was better. The same you could say about wars, that used to have a more humane face, before they got used at throwing bombs at each other. Here some Greek and Lesvorian war stories, continue reading

The King comes

Lesvos used to be an island full of little kingdoms. But now it is a time ago that a real king set foot on the island. So everybody is looking out for the visit of the Dutch King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima. And they come not only to visit the refugees. Read more about this in: continue reading

Lesvos: an empire of mills

 

Roaming over Lesvos you will not only meet monasteries, churches and little villages, but you will also find traces of a lost economy, like the remains of mills, olive presses and old factories. Once the mill stones didn’t stop turning, to produce flour and oil. The Ligonas Valley above Petra offers a unique sight of this milling past. continue reading

About asphalt and the coming disaster at Skala Eresos

There is some asphalt craziness going on on the island: several dirt roads are nominated to get asphalted, amongst others the popular walking route Eftalou – Skala Sykaminia. And then there is Skala Eresou, where a hotel complex threatens to get be build in the middle of the large beach. Continue reading

Rainbow island

 

Last month plenty of rainbows stood shining in the sky. Rainbows give a happy feeling, even that no stories confirm this. Of course the Greeks had a god responsible for this natural phenomenon: Iris. Continue reading -> https://smitakislesvos.com/en/rainbow-island/

Trees, balls and boats

For centuries Christmas trees have been decorated, first with fruit and nuts. Christmas balls only came later. Greece had its own Christmas symbols, even that nowadays there also are Christmas trees. This year there even is more than only Christmas trees. Continue reading: https://smitakislesvos.com/en/trees-balls-and-boats/

Orange energy

Bitter or sour oranges are best loved in England. Her popularity in the countries where they hang plenty in the trees decreases. A Spanish energy company found something to make them wanted again. Continue reading ->https://smitakislesvos.com/en/orange-energy/

The Sthandart

 

(Photo: Venny Limperi)

The armoured cruiser Georgios Averof will not get soon forgotten, because it led the Greek fleet when liberating Lesvos from the Ottomans. This year there also was The Sthandart, a replica of the Russian frigate from 1703. It seduced many people with her magic appearance on the Gulf of Kalloni. Continue reading: https://smitakislesvos.com/en/the-sthandart/

Just a day in November

There are some of those memorable days. Like on a sunny day in November you enjoy an outside lunch, at your feet water babbling against the wall of the harbour and happy rocking little boats, surrounded by the villagers going their usual way of life: continue reading: https://smitakislesvos.com/en/just-a-day-in-november/

Crispy snails

With the first rains in autumn the snails appear, where after snail catchers go for the hills to catch them. Snails are a delicacy when they end up on a plate, but they are a pest in the garden. What are we to do with them? Continue reading: https://smitakislesvos.com/en/crispy-snails/

Crow language

Birdwatchers used to be people that practiced bird prediction: by studying the movements of the birds telling the future. Like with crows. If you want to learn that art, you have to believe in it. And knowing which birds you see. Continue reading: https://smitakislesvos.com/en/crow-language/ 

The red island

Lesvos used to be a red island and remained that until some tens of years ago. The whole of Greece nearly disappeared behind the iron curtain. What would have become of this quirky country, that loves her freedom? https://smitakislesvos.com/en/the-red-island/

In an octopus’s garden

 

What will you do when plenty of fishes wash up the beach and why do you want to stop eating octopus: continue reading: https://smitakislesvos.com/en/from-an-octopuss-garden/

Stamp box

It is lovely to visit collections, or to make an own collection. It is also nice to drink beer, especially when in a beautiful tin or box: continue reading: https://smitakislesvos.com/en/stamp-box/

That heat

The recent heat wave, that caused biblical catastrophes, had us all flee to spaces where the aircon was working hard. History learns that there are many other ways to escape the heat, where water and air movement had a leading role. Continue reading: https://smitakislesvos.com/en/that-heat/

Pages full of Molyvos

 

More than once Molyvos is a back ground in books. Recently another two books that have a say about the village were published: the American book Fire on the island by Timothy Jay Smith and the African book Man op ‘n fiets êrens heen by Frederik de Jager. Continue reading: https://smitakislesvos.com/en/pages-full-of-molyvos/

A morning in Eftalou

It is very quiet on the island. Thinking back at the fizzing years when there were plenty of tourists roaming over the roads, it is difficult to remain hope that each crisis is temporary. Continue reading: https://smitakislesvos.com/en/a-morning-in-eftalou/

Cooking with bathing water

 

Cooking with seawater is not a bad idea. Because it still contains plenty of healthy minerals. And it makes food better tasting. Time to find bottled seawater, continue reading: https://smitakislesvos.com/en/cooking-with-swimming-water/

The ugly duckling of Lesvos

 

About an ugly capital, although with an environment full of remnants from the many layers of Lesvorian history: from the very old Stone Age to castles destroyed by the Ottoman. Kalloni: still at the centre of the island, continue reading: https://smitakislesvos.com/en/the-ugly-duckling-of-lesvos/