Tinos - a Cycladic island

As well as re-visiting some of our favourite Greek islands, we are also visiting islands new to us and our first stop was the mountainous Cycladic island of Tinos.  The journey from Athens port of Rafina to Tinos is just two and a half hours on the fast jet ferry, and while we haven't been here before we definitely feel that we're back in familiar territory - white washed villages, sugar cube stone houses, blue church domes, and the white painted outline of the marble and stone paving are characteristics of all Cycladic islands.  The Cyclades are named because all the islands of the group form a circle around the sacred island of Delos.  Our nearest neighbour Mykonos is just a 15 minute ferry ride away. 

Tinos has a busy Chora (old town) with pretty alley ways, shops and tavernas but for the Greek people the jewel in Tinos's crown is the Church of Panagia Evangelistria - Our Lady of Tinos - also the patron saint of the entire Greek nation.  It's a huge white and cream church with arched colonnades and an imposing bell tower and it stands on a hill at the very top of Chora.   Thousands of pilgrims visit the church each year and the side of the road leading from the port all the way up to the church is carpeted.  Many pilgrims after arriving at the port actually crawl on hands and knees along this carpet all the way up the hill and into the church!  We are here in Tinos leading up to 15 August, one of the most important dates in the Greek Orthodox calendar.  Greeks everywhere return to their villages or their islands to celebrate - the most devout make their pilgrimage to Tinos.

Don't leave Tinos without exploring beyond Chora. Our recommendation is to first take a day tour - a small local bus took us up through the narrow mountain roads to villages stopping at many, and down to the seaside at Panormos.  Marvel at it all - the incredible landscape completely covered in ancient stone walls called volux; the elaborate Venetian stone dovecotes called peristeriones, the 1,000 tiny churches called ekklisáki that dot the countryside.  After the day tour introduction by a local Tinian use the remaining days of your stay to hire a car, a scooter, or just take the local buses back up to these villages and spend the days visiting the art galleries, marble galleries, basket weavers, painters, ceramicists, the museums, the local tavernas and sit in the shady town squares sipping frappé.  Our favourite villages were Volux set amid a moonscape of massive round boulders, beautiful Pyrgos where marble can be seen everywhere, and the little fishing village of Panormos lined with seaside tavernas. Every village is a gem and it's all utterly stunning and beautiful.

Don't forget to visit Halaris, the island's famous 100 year old patisserie.  For less than 2 euro you can buy half a dozen delicious Tinian biscuits to share on the the onward ferry journey to the next island destination.  For us, it's the island of Ios, via Mykonos.

Tinos port

This is the road from the port to the church of
Panagia Evangelistria at the very top of Chora, 
and the carpeted 'lane' that pilgrims crawl on
hands and knees to complete their pilgrimage.

Red carpets lead to one of Greece's
most important churches - Our Lady
of Tinos - Panagia Evangelistria

The pebbled forecourt and the marble
archway leading to the main entrance

The marble bell tower

Back in the blue and white Cyclades 

Tinos Chora

Pretty old town shops and alleys

Tinian landscape of ancient stone walls
over every hill, every mountain and 
every valley linking the white villages

The village of Volux

There are 800 dovecots on Tinos -
this is the oldest one. 

In the marble village of Pyrgos is the
the studio and beautiful gallery of
marble sculptor Petros Marmarinos

Some of the smallest works of
Petros Maramarinos

Under the shade of the enormous oak
tree in the Pyrgos village square

Pyrgos, Tinos

The valley of the dovecots

In the marble village of Pyrgos, even the local
bus shelter is a magnificent creation of marble.

The landscape is breathtaking

Lunch today at the lovely fishing 
village of Panormos.  Confusingly, in
Tinos the villages up on the mountain
share the same name as their nearest
village down by the sea.

Tip:  In the small villages we always
choose the taverna where the locals
are eating

Mountain tea time

I love the local art