I am a fan of small villages in Greece, because they usually have fewer tourists and fewer shops. Such a place is accessible from Kalymnos by boat – regular ones run every day from 8am until 12 midnight to this small island.
Telendos (Τέλενδος) is opposite the tourist area of Myrties (Μυρτιές), and used to be part of Kalymnos itself. That was until 554AD, when an earthquake lasting 14 days cut Kalymnos into 2 – submurging under the sea a village which, according to the Telendos website, “can still be seen on calm days”.
There are very few residents – between 20 and 50 at various points of the year – so it is very quiet and there are very few tourists. There are about 4 beaches which can be accessed easily. There are no roads on Telendos, so footpaths (often just dirt tracks, although there are a couple of paved ones) are the only way of travelling the island.
The main waterfront/harbor on Telendos looks over the sea (I’m guessing its less than a kilometre) back to Myrties, on “mainland” Kalymnos; if you are wishing to watch the sunset then you would have to walk to the other side of the island – this only takes about 5 minutes: and thats if you walk slowly! There is a footpath beside a taverna, which takes you to Hohlaka Beach. The locals will be pleased to point you in the right direction if you get lost/don’t know the way.
There are a few tavernas on Telendos, nearly all along the waterfront, where you can watch the small boats running between Myrties and Telendos whilst you enjoy a meal of your choice. My reccomendation is the Zorba Restaurant, which also has rooms if you wish to spend a few nights on the island. It is next to this location where you will find the paved footpath to Hohlaka Beach, mentioned above.
The friendly owners, Niki and Miha, whill serve you traditional Greek meals at good (considering Telendos is very remote) prices. When I went only on Monday, I enjoyed a lamb in red -tomato- sauce (αρνάκι κοκκινιστό) and highly reccomend it. There are many other dishes if you don’t like eating lamb.
Also located on Telendos is a mini-market (μίνι μάρκετ) which operates under the name of: «Η Ωραία Τέλενδο» (“The Beautiful Telendos”). I like the sign hanging outside, which looks as though it has been hand pained! I haven’t been in, but its located on the main waterfront, and is probably the only mini-market on the island.
When you’ve finished exploring Telendos, had some time on the beach, eaten your meal and wish to return to your apartment/studio/hotel etc. you can simply jump back on the boat and head back to Kalymnos. The boat costs 2 per way, per person and you pay when you get off the boat at each end – once when you get to Telendos and once when you return to “mainland” Kalymnos.
The photo used shows me stood in front of Telendos from Melitsachas (Μελιτσάχας) Beach, near Myrties. It is licenced under a Creative Commons license. This means you are free to copy, distribute, display and perform the work on the conditions that you attribute it (with a link to this website) and do not use for commercial purposes. If you alter it, the work must be re-distributed under an identical or similar license.
