small island of Folegandros
My journey to this island of Folegandros began in Bodrum. When I boarded the ferry from Bodrum to Kos with the intention of taking the ferry to Santorini, there were no plans to visit Folegandros and I didn't even know the island existed.
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Santorini and Mykonos are beautiful islands that we often see in most of the advertising photos of Greece - the white buildings of houses of hotels restaurants on the slopes and the domes of blue and white churches and thousands of tourists, but Folegandros is different.
There are 600 islanders permanently living on the island, and this is exactly the real Greece.
40 minutes by high-speed ferry from Santorini and you feel like you are in another Greece. There is a completely small port on the island - a pier in the small town-village of Karavostasi. On a small pier, fishermen unravel their nets and unload fresh fish from their boats. Another small town or village of Hora, which is located 2.5 km from the port, can be reached uphill on foot or by local bus.
The town of Hora is located on the top of a very steep cliff, rising more than 200 meters above the sea. Some of the houses are built right on the edge of the cliff with verandas above the cliff. The view of the Aegean Sea from the main square of Chora is incredible, and the sunsets are even more breathtaking and more beautiful than in Santorini, and most importantly without thousands of tourists.
We wandered around Hora, a real Greek village: old people play backgammon in the shade of trees, men sit in a bar, peacefully read a newspaper, drink coffee or a glass of brandy, women sit on the steps of their houses discussing the latest news. Fresh octopuses are hung up to dry, just like we dry fish. The island pharmacy sells wine and crayfish from local vineyards.
We walked along the road from Hora inland, only met one passing car, the main moving vehicle on the island are donkeys and goats grazing on the sides of the road.
When we walked along the streets of Hora, we wondered all the time: Where are the people, Where are the people? Where are the crowds of tourists? Cats only in stock
Before going to the Agali beach closest to Hora, we decided to stay overnight on the island, find a not very expensive hotel. Local aunt advised Kallisti Hotel in Chora (my hotel review https://www.turpravda.ua/gr/folegandros/kallisti_hotel-h77061-r280112.html)
A bus stops next to the hotel, which takes you to the beaches of Folegandros and the view from the hotel rooms to the Church of Our Lady of Panagia. For 3 adults with breakfast we paid 73 euros for one night.
On the beaches of Folegandros there are no sun loungers and umbrellas organized in advance or any water sports and beach cafes and mini shops, hotels can give you a sun lounger and an umbrella for a fee. But you can lie down on the beach for free on a beach towel. Take water and food with you to the beach.
You can get to Angali Beach by bus, there is a bus stop near the Kallisti Hotel and a schedule written in chalk on a blackboard.
Angali beach is one of the ideal beaches of the Greek islands.
In the evening we decided to climb the most famous landmark of the island Church of the Assumption of the Mother of God of Panagia, to the snow-white church, a zigzag road from Chora leads up to the top of the cliff.
At the top, there is a stunning view of the island itself and the Aegean Sea, and the sunsets on the island of Folegandros are not inferior in their beauty to the sunsets on the island of Santorini. Without thousands of tourists and in silence, you can take beautiful photos and enjoy a beautiful sunset.
The next morning, after breakfast, we went on a small boat to the wild beaches of the island Agios Nikolaos and Livadaki. The schedule of boats and boats to the beaches was learned from the owner of the hotel and on Angali beach there is a board with a schedule of boats and boats to different beaches of the island. All the beaches of the island are wild, there are no umbrellas and sunbeds, and there are practically no people. And Silence)))
Already the view from the boat on the white Livadaki beach among the rocks impressed us. The beach is small, pleasant pebbles, but nowhere to hide from the sun. If you go for the whole day, then you need to take water and food with you
Toward noon it was hot and I wanted to have a bite, yesterday's food and water taken with me from Santorini ended, we took the advice of the locals that there is a cafe on the rock above the beach and took a boat ride to this beach. You can get to the beach of Agios Nikolaos not by sea, take a bus from the town of Chora to the town of Ano Meriadistance 5 km and walk down the mountain
The view from the cafe from the cliff to the beach of Agios Nikolaos is also amazing. The cafe ordered inexpensive pasta and ice cream.
The view from the cafe on the cliff to the sea and the beach was amazing, there were no visitors to the cafe except for us and the three of us enjoyed the shade under the canopy in the cafe and the silence of the island.
Another secluded beautiful beach of Katergo with turquoise absolutely transparent water
Time flows slowly on the island of Folegandros, away from the bustling city life. This small island gives a feeling of peace and serenity and silence. The nature of the island is a feast for the eyes and for the smartphone camera.
