Dodecanese Delights: Mastichari Village, Kos

 

Kalispera! We're back from the beautiful Dodecanese island of Kos.

Despite the doom-laden travel chaos headlines in the British media, our journey couldn't have been more straightforward. At 3.45am on Wednesday July 10th, Tony dropped us off at Birmingham Airport and, less than 15 minutes later, we'd passed through security and were sitting at our gate waiting to depart. Our return flights (£100 pp), booked through TUI a couple of days after we'd got home from Glastonbury, were on a huge Boeing Dreamliner, which made us feel like we were off on a long haul trip rather than a short three and a half hour hop over to Greece. Absorbed in my book for most of the flight, it felt like only minutes had passed when the pilot announced that we'd arrived at Kos and that the temperature was a sizzling 37°C.

 Our accommodation, which I'd found on Booking.com, included a free airport pick-up and, after getting our passport stamped, we met up with our driver and were dropped off less than fifteen minutes later at what was to be our home for the next seven nights, the bougainvillea adorned Agrellis Apartments in the little fishing village of Mastichari, where we were warmly welcomed by Evangelia, the mother of our host Nikos, and found a selection of local desserts and preserves awaiting us in our room. Although the family have been renting rooms to tourists since 1980, it was the first time they'd advertised on Booking.com and we were their first ever booking! 

When we'd visited Kos previously (HERE) we'd stayed in the south of the island at Kamari on Kefalos Bay and were on the verge of booking a studio apartment in the same area but, after some intensive research, decided on Mastichari (also called Mastihari) instead.

Following an earthquake which devastated the nearby village of Antimachia in 1926, eighteen families decided to settle in Mastichari, named after the mastic trees that grow in the area. Built on a grid comprising four roads, the village remains the same size almost a century later. Although there's several large AI hotels on the outskirts of the village (be prepared for a 50 minute walk if you're tempted to book), Mastichari itself has no package tourism with the villagers owning all the holiday rentals, ensuring that the money made from tourism is reinvested into the village. 

The village is immaculate, the cats are healthy & well-fed and the seemingly endless white sandy beach takes your breath away. The locals couldn't have been more welcoming, always waving and wishing us a Kalimera, a Kalispera or a Kalinikta! whenever we passed by. Mastichari boasts the warmest waters on the island with an average summer sea temperature of 26°C (needless to say, we swam in the crystal clear Aegean every day). Normally we'd lie on the sand but, with the mercury nudging 39°C, we took advantage of the free beach umbrellas and sun loungers offered by the beachfront tavernas. 

Pretty much all the food served in the tavernas is grown in the village. On our beach days we'd share a Greek salad, a plate of pitta bread and a couple of large draught Alpha beers at the very reasonable €20. By night we'd order mezzes to share or, when Jon craved something meaty, there were plenty of vegetarian options for me. One evening we ended up with a Greek Salad pizza - it was amazing!  

Our nearest taverna, The Traditional House Restaurant, was one of those old-fashioned places where diners are encouraged to go into the kitchen and point at what they like the look of (the food rather than the kitchen staff!). Their Feta moussaka comes highly recommended. 

The weather was so glorious we'd not leave the beach until gone 6.30pm and, with everything being so close, we'd be showered, changed and enjoying a rum on our little balcony less than half an hour later, contemplating our plans for the evening.

Our first evening on Kos coincided with the England Vs Netherlands game and, luckily for us, a couple of bars in the village were showing the match. After winning, we reserved the same table for the finals and wore the same clothes but sadly it wasn't to be.

I can't tell you how excited I was to be wearing both this £5 one-shouldered linen maxi and the sequin embellished ombre dress by the mailboxes above (reduced from £225 to £30 in the January sales). Our rubbish summer weather meant both had languished unworn for months. I have to keep going abroad so that I can get my clothes worn.

Despite the diminutive size of Mastichari, there was a great choice of tavernas and bars in the village. 

Number One, an adults-only rock bar which opened at 8.30pm every evening was a firm favourite. They served a mean Aperol Spritz.

Forget the sunsets in Santorini, the ones we experienced in Mastichari were spectacular- and we didn't have to compete with a billion Instagram w*nkers barging us out of the way either!

That lunar landscape we're standing on is dried seaweed, the beach is covered in it. (It doesn't smell, it's not slimy and it's rather nice to walk on!) 

The Aghios Ioannis basilica in Mastichari was built between 469 and 554 AD, a period of economic prosperity, free from the danger of pirate raids which ravaged the islands from the 7th to the 10th century. Believed to be built on the location of an ancient temple dedicated to Hera. 

When we stayed in Kefalos back in 2018 we'd found the public transport quite poor and had to hire a car to see more of the island but Mastichari not only had excellent bus links but also regular ferries and boats to the neighbouring island of Kalmynos & beyond....stay tuned for more.

Hope you're all well and will forgive me for not responding to the comments on my last post. We're racing to get ready for next week's Womad but I'll try to catch up with all that I've missed in Blogland and hopefully publish another post before I go. 

Love, as always, Vix xxx