We travelled to Lemnos from Venice with a short stopover in Athens. With 6 hours up our sleeves we decided to make a quick dash to the Acropolis. Do not believe the cynics as I have for many years. The Parthenon is breathtaking in its splendour. Just breathtaking. And if the ruins are of no interest, then the view from the top of the Acropolis alone is worth the entry fee with a clear view over the magnificent city of Athens stretching out to the beautiful Blue of the Mediterranean.
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| Church overlooking the port at Myrina, Lemnos. |
We flew to Lemonos with Olympic Air. It can also be reached by ferry from Athens, but this takes about 12 hours. We decided to take the quicker option. Situated strategically in the in the northern Aegean sea, near the mouth of the Helles straights Lemnos has a population of around 20,000 people today, down from around 40,000 inhabitants in the late 1950s. One of the cab drivers who we travelled with told us there are as many as 25,000 natives and descendants of Lemnos living in Australia alone. The island is surrounded by protected Sandy beaches. It is a great place to go for a long training swim. The waters were clear and relatively safe. Of course always check with the locals before going for a swim off any of the beaches. One gentlemen was very helpful in letting me know not to swim on a particular part of the beach, even though he could not speak English and I no Greek. He just pulled out a sea urchin out of the rocks and saved me from a particularly spiky experience!
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| Crystal clear water and rugged cliffs, attesting the volcanic origin of the island. |
We stayed at the Apollo Pavilion using the main port of Myrina as our base during our stay in Lemnos. A highlight of the trip was a sea cruise up the west coast of the island. We went to the far North West tip of the island and sailed back down with a swim at Karvounolakka Bay. The water is fantastic to swim in and unbelievably clear. I was able to clearly see the sea floor to a depth of about 8 m even without goggles. After our swim we were treated to a lunch of dolmades, baked eggplant, fresh garden salad and pasta with Lemnos Bread. Lunch was delicious. After lunch we cruised on down towards Myrina and stopped for one more swim before proceeding back toward port.
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| Sun Setting over Holy Mt Athos |
There was a plethora of Cafés around the port and they serve a wonderful range of traditional Greek meals including sardines, octopus, souvlaki. Beer is inexpensive and the wine available copiously. It is a treat to sit by the port and sip on Ouzo or eat dinner in one of the beachside restaurants as the sun slowly sets over Mt Athos and the long twilight lingers. We didn’t eat out every meal. Our favourite supper during our stay consisted of Greek yogurt, Lemnos Honey and bananas. Lemnos honey has a beautiful aromatic flavor, redolent of the flowers and thyme that grows wild on the hills of the island.
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| The "Parliament" site at Poliochni |
On the East coast of you can visit Poliochni, one of the oldest cities in Western Europe and thought to incorporate one of the oldest parliaments in Western Europe. Poliochni which was first settled in about 4000 BC and is thought to predate Troy. On a clear day one can see the coast of Turkey near Troy, and the archaeologists believe that there was trade in technology between the 2 settlements.
The site at Poliochni was first excavated in 1936 and the archaeological work was finished in the early 1990s. Many artifacts from the site are housed in the museum of Myrina, as well as the museum of Ancient History in Athens.
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| View from the top of the port at Myrina. |
The port of Myrina is dominated by the Byzantine Castle that sits high over the town. We walked to the castle in the late afternoon. The castle was constructed over 200 years of occupiers from Turkey and Venice on top of fortifications first set down by the Etruscans who were earlier immigrants to the island. It took us about 20 minutes to climb from the port to the top of the Castle and the view was well worth the climb.
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The comfortable cruise ship tied up in port. This trip is a must during a visit to Lemnos.
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We visited in June and the water was still very refreshing. Best times to visit according to the locals are Spring, when the hills are covered in wild flowers, and September to October, when the air is mild and the water beautiful and warm, early to mid autumn when the air is cool and the water still warm from the Summer. Summer is great as the days are long and hot; maybe a little too hot for some. Winters universally described as dire with a cold wind whipping across the island and the place best to be avoided.
We loved our stay in Lemnos. There is a lot more for us to see than we were able to get to during our short stay and would be more than happy to drop in should we pass that way again.
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