Alónisos – The Island

Alónisos – The Island

Old Alónisos from aboard Friederíki
Old Alónisos, aka Liadhrómia or simply "The Old Village" –
seen from aboard Friederíki while rounding Cape Marpoúnda, the southernmost tip of the island.
And if you think the blue of the water has been processed – it has indeed. In the original photograph,
the water was such an incredibly deep blue, you would never have believed it.

   A bit of geography
   Alónisos is an island in the group of the Northern Sporades, in the northern part of the Aegean Sea between Greece (in the west and north) and Turkey (in the east). The biggest islands in the Northern Sporades are Skíros and Skópelos, somewhat smaller are Skiáthos (an important hub of tourism) and Alónisos; the latter is about 21 km (13 miles) long, very oblong, with a surface area of 64 sq km (25 sq miles). Especially in the area around Alónisos there are many little islands, some of them have several square miles, others are as small as a soccer field.

   The Old Village
   More than half a millennium B.C. Alónisos, then called Ikos, was described in Greek literature as "dípolin," i.e. with two towns. One of them was the ancient capital Ikos on the peninsula of Kokkinókastro, and the second may have been what is now the "Old Village".
Situated at an altitude of 250 m (830 ft) on top of a steep hill in the narrow south-western part of the island, this fortified settlement provided shelter against frequent pirate raids. Almost completely deserted after an earthquake in 1965, it was rediscovered by foreign visitors in the 'seventies. More and more of them bought decaying houses and restored them, and meanwhile the Old Village has become a somewhat motley yet picturesque accumulation of various styles.

   Patitíri, the new "capital"
   Before 1965, Patitíri was a settlement with just a few houses along a pebble beach. After the earthquake, lots of little concrete homes were planted around the circular harbor bay to lodge more than 1000 people from the Old Village. So Patitíri is not quite a good example of traditional Aegean architecture but mainly a conglomerate of assembly-line concrete boxes beautified by simple elements of rustic charm.
   The waterfront promenade with its row of more than a dozen restaurants, cafés and bars as well as some more eateries in other streets of Downtown and Greater Patitíri attract tourists and locals alike. In summer the waterfront is a humming beehive, but by the end of August "the sidewalks are folded up," as my friend Peter Rupp once put it. Or, as the French say, "Rien ne va plus."

   Vótsi
   A walk of less than twenty minutes takes you from Patitíri two coves eastward to Vótsi, a village of less than 500 souls, very simple, with not much more than four taverns and a bar around the small anchorage. The little port is encircled by white and red rock faces crowned by lush pine woods. A few boarding houses and a number of private rooms for rent provide a bit of modest tourism in summer, periodically enhanced by students of the International Academy of Classical Homeopathy situated on the hill just north of the village.

   Stení Vála
   8 km (5 miles) NE of Vótsi there is the even smaller port of Stení Vála. It is safer than Patitíri and Vótsi when the sea gets very rough, because it is situated at the Sound of Vassilikó between Alónisos and the smaller island of Peristéra (the ridge visible in the background). The population may total around 50 year-round inhabitants, but there are 3 taverns and restaurants along the pier. Only Kalamákia, an even smaller fishing village just around the corner of the shore has an even crazier population / tavern ratio.

   The interior of the island
   There are a few hamlets widely scattered over the island, none of them with more than about a dozen permanent inhabitants. The rest of the island is mostly wooded, with some orchards, vineyards and fields in between. The forests in the southern half mainly consist of Alepo pines, which provide nice shadow in the summer heat, whereas much of the northern half is covered with dense scrub, mostly Kermes oaks, very thorny and hardly penetrable unless you tackle it with a chain saw. Just be warned.
   By the way, the hills that are barely visible in the haze on the right hand belong to Skópelos, Alónisos's big sister.

Last update Dec. 7, 2003

© Copyright 2003 Hans Joerg Rothenberger, CH-8880 Walenstadt, Switzerland.

	A bit of geography Alónisos is an island in the group of the Northern Sporades, in the northern part of the Aegean Sea between Greece (in the west and north) and Turkey (in the east). The biggest islands in the Northern Sporades are Skíros and Skópelos, somewhat smaller are Skiáthos (an important hub of tourism) and Alónisos; the latter is about 21 km (13 miles) long, very oblong, with a surface area of 64 sq km (25 sq miles). Especially in the area around Alónisos there are many little islands, some of them have several square miles, others are as small as a soccer field.


	The Old Village More than half a millennium B.C. Alónisos, then called Ikos, was described in Greek literature as "dípolin," i.e. with two towns. One of them was the ancient capital Ikos on the peninsula of Kokkinókastro, and the second may have been what is now the "Old Village". Situated at an altitude of 250 m (830 ft) on top of a steep hill in the narrow south-western part of the island, this fortified settlement provided shelter against frequent pirate raids. Almost completely deserted after an earthquake in 1965, it was rediscovered by foreign visitors in the 'seventies. More and more of them bought decaying houses and restored them, and meanwhile the Old Village has become a somewhat motley yet picturesque accumulation of various styles.


	Patitíri, the new "capital" Before 1965, Patitíri was a settlement with just a few houses along a pebble beach. After the earthquake, lots of little concrete homes were planted around the circular harbor bay to lodge more than 1000 people from the Old Village. So Patitíri is not quite a good example of traditional Aegean architecture but mainly a conglomerate of assembly-line concrete boxes beautified by simple elements of rustic charm. The waterfront promenade with its row of more than a dozen restaurants, cafés and bars as well as some more eateries in other streets of Downtown and Greater Patitíri attract tourists and locals alike. In summer the waterfront is a humming beehive, but by the end of August "the sidewalks are folded up," as my friend Peter Rupp once put it. Or, as the French say, "Rien ne va plus."


	Vótsi A walk of less than twenty minutes takes you from Patitíri two coves eastward to Vótsi, a village of less than 500 souls, very simple, with not much more than four taverns and a bar around the small anchorage. The little port is encircled by white and red rock faces crowned by lush pine woods. A few boarding houses and a number of private rooms for rent provide a bit of modest tourism in summer, periodically enhanced by students of the International Academy of Classical Homeopathy situated on the hill just north of the village.


	Stení Vála 8 km (5 miles) NE of Vótsi there is the even smaller port of Stení Vála. It is safer than Patitíri and Vótsi when the sea gets very rough, because it is situated at the Sound of Vassilikó between Alónisos and the smaller island of Peristéra (the ridge visible in the background). The population may total around 50 year-round inhabitants, but there are 3 taverns and restaurants along the pier. Only Kalamákia, an even smaller fishing village just around the corner of the shore has an even crazier population / tavern ratio.


	The interior of the island There are a few hamlets widely scattered over the island, none of them with more than about a dozen permanent inhabitants. The rest of the island is mostly wooded, with some orchards, vineyards and fields in between. The forests in the southern half mainly consist of Alepo pines, which provide nice shadow in the summer heat, whereas much of the northern half is covered with dense scrub, mostly Kermes oaks, very thorny and hardly penetrable unless you tackle it with a chain saw. Just be warned. By the way, the hills that are barely visible in the haze on the right hand belong to Skópelos, Alónisos's big sister.