Sitting on the balcony outside our apartment.

Sunday morning on Tinos island and the meltemi winds are up, the sea looking quite white now, and Mykonos just a silhouette in the haze.

Yesterday was a quieter day, as we chose to stay in the Ag. Ioannis Porto area. There are two beaches in walking distance from Anemologio, the apartments where we are staying – Ag. Kyriakis and Porto.

The beach of Ag. Kyriaki.

We spent the morning at Ag. Kyriakis beach. As the winds were up we chose to sit on the rocks so we would not be sandblasted! Both of the beaches here are sandy, sunbeds in some areas but there is plenty of space for those wanting to get away from all that. Several guidebooks say they are the best beaches on the island.

For lunch, we went in to one of two beach bars located between the beaches. We went in to the Anemos bar. It’s quite a nice place to sit to keep out of the hot sun. There is another right next door.

Mum and Dad enjoy their drinks at Anemos Beach Bar.

At both, drinks and snacks are served all day, as are full meals if you are particularly hungry. The two more traditional tavernas are also open for lunch – and are in fact busier at lunchtime than they are in the evening, since this is when most Greeks have their main meal of the day. In the afternoon, Mum and Dad went to Porto beach, and I returned to the apartment for my siesta.

Later in the evening, we took the bus to Chora. Tinos’ main town has lots of narrow side streets leading away from the main shopping street. The main street leads up to the large Church of the Virgin Mary; a lot of Greeks come here as a pilgrimage and you will see people crawling up the red carpet which leads from the harbour to the entrance of the church.

The main street of Chora Tinos, looking up towards the big church.

In the narrow streets, plenty of tavernas, bars and cafenia can be found hidden – away from the bustling main street. We found a nice taverna – Malamatenia (named after the little square on which it is located) where we enjoyed our meal next to a small church.

Since the last bus back in the direction of our apartments is at 22:00, we took another taxi on our return. The taxi rank is located on the sea front, by the roundabout. Just walk up to a taxi at the front of the queue, and tell the driver where you would like to go. If you are in a village wanting to get in to Chora, you can always phone for a taxi on (+30) 22830 26000.

Today – Sunday – I am going to get the bus in to Chora to get some bread from one of the many bakeries which can be found there. I will also collect our ferry tickets for our transfer to Syros on Tuesday. This afternoon I will return to the beach… if the wind is not too strong.

Bye for now.

FH.