Kalinychta, Lesvos!

Three evenings a week hotel guests could get a free minibus ride into Plomari. As we liked to stay on the beach until late we only used the service once, opting instead for a 7€ taxi so we didn't have to rush. One night we shared with a couple of the Danish guests who'd hired a car for the day and visited Molyvos, Lesvos's most popular tourist destination. They told us that it was gorgeous but really expensive, with beer and food costing twice the price of those in the beautiful, less-visited South. 

Posing at Plomari's tiny harbour before hitting the bars.

  

Cats are loved here and there's several feeding stations around the town. 

We loved this building by day and were thrilled to discover that it opened as a bar by night, a fab spot for people watching.

Every time we visited this cat had the table to himself.

Shops in Greece stay open until 10pm. Every so often the butcher would fire up his machine and make a batch of sausages, selling out almost immediately.

Nothing feels more Greek more than sitting beneath a 200 year old plane tree in a cobbled square (and the 4€ carafes of sweet red village wine made the evenings even more special).

Having a Shirley Valentine moment!!!

I ate some amazing food when I was in Lesvos but I think the gemista (herby rice stuffed vegetables) I ordered here won.

Jon loved his lamb chops (as did the cats).

Jimmy's, the bar opposite, had a cracking DJ set on Friday nights...Chic, Earth, Wind and Fire, Kool and the Gang and The Trammps to name but a few.

 

This kafenion* is the place to sit after sunset when what seems like the entire population of Plomari put their glad rags on and feast in the town square. Kids run around until the early hours while their parents and grandparents share mezzes and carafes of village wine.

*A Greek cafe which sells coffee, beer and ouzo.

This is what it look like inside during the day.

Nice to see that Black Country legend Jude Bellingham is loved as much in Greece as he is at home!

Jon got chatting to a retired DJ from Athens. There's so few tourists that we were seen as a bit of a novelty.

 

Dimitri decided he and Jon were long lost brothers!

Traditional Greek life, no age limit, no language barrier, all are welcome.

The food in this taverna was so good we went back - no idea of the name, it was written in Greek - such great value, even with half a kilo of wine we still we had change from 25€! 

This oven-baked aubergine with hard Lesvos cheese was the stuff of dreams.

 Another night in Plomari.

In Lesvos you always get free snacks with your beer.

And that, my friends, was our idyllic and very lazy fortnight in Lesvos. I'd move there tomorrow if I could! Where next? We're already looking!

In a few hours time we'll be making our way to our first festival of the season, Womad! I'm beyond excited to see Barrington Levy and looking forward to Emma-Jean Thackery and Greentea Peng, too. 

See you on the other side!