Folegandros, part of the Greek Cyclades, is a very small island, of only 32 square kilometers, located in the South Aegean Sea. According to mythology, God Poseidon created the Cyclades, when Cyclades nymphs angered him, he would turn them into beautiful islands. Folegandros’ history is very vast: the island was conquered and inhabited by a long sequence of people such as the Carians, the Cretans, the Dorians, the Athenians, the Romans, the Venetians, the Byzantines, and finally, the Greeks. This island’s name derives both from the shepherds inhabiting it a long time ago (Polyandros meaning “many men”, Polykandro in sailing language) and from Folegandros, son of Minos, leader of Cretans who settled on this beautiful island and gave it his name. We arrived to this outpost of seclusion late at night and went straight to the hotel we had booked in advance. Our trip until here started on the island of Santorini; we were waiting for a longer while than expected for the ferry which would take us to Folegandros to arrive, so we knew something was not okay: the sea was very turbulent and stormy, the winds were very strong, thus we had our first bite of adventure while traveling aboard the Sea Jet 2 ship. This particular accommodation we stayed at on Folegandros island has the air of charming estates, facing the Aegean Sea and Karavostasi Port. Its typical Greek design includes a dreamy porch, caressed by pink Bougainvillea flowered trees, handmade woven pillows in soft colours such as light aquamarine, dusty salmon pink and apricot, laying around, creating a beautiful contrast with the traditional wooden doors and pure white walls. From our balcony, we could hear the waves breaking on the shore, and luckily, my beloved guardian, the Moon, was also present, reflecting into the undulating surface. The sudden morning which followed revealed even more beauties to our sleepy eyes – we opened our windows and were greeted by the sun’s warm rays and the absolutely stunning sea coloured in shy hues of cyan and electric blue. We instantly packed our beach gear and served a light, Greek breakfast. It came as a surprise for us that no cars, scooters or ATVs were available in the port, so we decided to take the local bus to Chora (the main town/village) and search for more options there. Unfortunately, (or fortunately, for me) we did not find any in Chora either. We left the exploring of this chic small town for later on in the evening and continued our promenade along the island’s main road, leading us towards Agali Beach, also known as Agkali or Angali. It was a rather short walk, only 5 kilometers, but splendid in terms of sights and emotions. Here and there, a small whitewashed church would appear, pure and lofty, in between the steep green and white rocks – by this time, we had already figured out why Folegandros is surnamed The Iron Land. Agali Beach is a small sandy beach that will mesmerize you in a second. We found a way inside a tiny blue lagoon, bordered by cliffs and rocks, while no one else was present, so there we laid for a few hours, simply enjoying the view, the sun and the marvelous waters bathing the sand. Boats were anchored, scattered across Agali golf, quietly swaying, and not a single worry or question has crossed my mind while being on this beach. We grabbed a delicious lunch at one of the nearby few taverns and felt our entire beings energized with positivity. We went back to Karavostasi port by foot, enjoying the scenery. One tiny downside of such a small island is the fact that it is terribly windy; actually, the wind is so strong that it might carry you further or backward while simply standing. During the day, due to high temperature of August, this was not at all a problem, but at night, when temperatures lower, the adamant winds may freeze you up a bit. We finally found an ATV, and we were very happy knowing that we would explore the island better with its aid. Our first stop for the evening was Chora, the capital of Folegandros Island. Immediately after making our first steps inside the town’s “walls”, we felt the authenticity of this place. It seems that little close to nothing has changed throughout the centuries, decades of traditions still preserved inside the white gathering of small villas. Chora’s unique center is composed of three squares in a row. Mighty trees offer their protection, Bougainvillea flowers paint the scenery in purple, pink and orange, joyful hibiscus flowers allure you to have a seat and live in the beautiful now you are in. We walked in enchantment along the cobbled streets, until we realized that our steps were ambling towards the Church of Panagia up the hill. This church’s location is very interesting, you have to climb a very narrow and intricate cemented alley to reach it; we witnessed an incredible sunset here at Panagia Church, everyone gathered here sat in admiring silence as the majestic sun-lord descended and ultimately escaped our sight after a precipice. Such a blissful experience! It interestingly felt as if the maze-alleyway was actually a manner of atonement. Inside, solemn and traditional liturgy took place, since Greek-Orthodox religion celebrated the Assumption of the Virgin the following day. Our next stop was the small village of Ano Meria. It was already night by now, winds became quite aggressive so we quickly found shelter at Maragoudiko, a restaurant which was recommended to me by a dear Greek friend living in Athens. The rustic scenery and the incredible good food compensated for the breezy weather and lured us towards dreamland soon. I think I have already mentioned that from our room’s balcony you could easily see and hear the sea making love with the shoreline, so we enjoyed really profound and reposing sleep while being on Folegandros island. Plenty of dreams, inside of other dreams, I dreamt of while dreaming… Explorers at the dawn of a new day. After serving a slender breakfast in beautiful Chora, we drove on the main road for about 15-20 minutes, and then on a steep dusty narrow alleyway descending the cliffs to some remote beaches. And we soon found a local Paradise – first, Ligaria Beach appeared – a very small sandy beach, facing a tumultuous tiny golf. Not far from here, after yet another cliff, Agios Georgios waited for us in its royal isolation. Few trees offered to shadow the vehicle, while we laid our towels on the soft sand. The scenery was incredible, the rampant turquoise waves broke into thousands of tiny water crystals both on the rocky shoreline, and on the pier where I was standing of course, hunting for the best pictures’ angles. We spent some lovely hours on the beach, took pictures, read a bit, and designed small zen towers employing the flat green and white rocks of Agios Georgios. We left this amazing cyan lagoon with our souls filled up with good, blissful energy. Passing by Ano Meria again, I stood in complete admiration for the steadfastness of this tiny island’s establishments. We indulged in more beach time in the port, on Karavostasi beach, featuring white pebbles and deep mint blue waters. This matching of colours is absolutely stunning throughout all beautiful Ellada (this is how Greeks name their own country), and Folegandros is no exception. Some more beaches were in vicinity so we photographed those as well. We quickly found Livadi beach while we continued to drive on the main road. This beach is a direct correspondent to the Livadi village (also a very traditional settlement), it is sandy and rather long, exposing the same turquoise water surrounding the entire island. Going back to the port, on its left side, rests Vardia beach, sandy, quite wild – dried seaweed was flying all over this spot, blending with the sand and wind and breeze, with big waves breaking really close to our toes. Vardia beach can be reached by climbing down a set of stairs, and I would say I had a strong feeling of seclusion, even though a few other people were also present. Since we still had the ATV, we went back to Chora to say goodbye. I also wanted to walk around Kastro, a small fortress made by the Venetians in 1210, nowadays a small village inside Chora – mostly locals live here; everything seems to have suffered no change, as if time stood still. The night Empress quickly took hold of Folegandros, as we waited for our ferry to pick us up and take us to our next adventure: the island of Ios. I read a lot while we were waiting, but I must admit that some pages I had to re-read because I was not paying attention at all times - my mind would just wander around, trying to take in as much as possible from each remote corner on this rocky island. Folegandros’ magnetism is so strong I could barely resist it, and probably words will not convince you, but I believe this island is host to magic, that kind of magic that conserves your spiritual essence.
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