On The Road – Athenaze and Ariobarzanes – Greece 2021, Part II: More Hiking in Andros

This picture, taken near the village of Mesa Vouni in the southern part of the island, presents a clear juxtaposition of the old and the new that defines the landscape of Andros. The terracing you see is the oldest feature, and may well date to antiquity. The building in the center is a dovecote, probably built during the Venetian occupation. And, of course, the solar panels are decidedly modern.

According to local folklore, the village of Menites takes its name from the Maenads of Dionysus. It is famous for its fountain, which delivers spring water (rumored to have therapeutic properties) through six lionhead spouts. Regardless of whether or not these stories are true, the lionhead spouts definitely evoke ancient architecture. Similar features can be seen on buildings from antiquity elsewhere in Greece.

This is definitely a picture for the Balloon Juice commentariat. We think this is a Muscovy duck. We saw many of these wandering freely in settlements around the island (we encountered this one in Menites). It’s a duck that says “I used to be a dinosaur.”

This is a picture of Fourtalia, a traditional dish on Andros. It is similar to a tortilla española and contains slices of potato fried in pork fat, which are mixed with eggs, sausage, and herbs, before the whole thing is baked. It’s a hearty dish and incredibly delicious after a long day of hiking. You can find it not only in traditional tavernas, but also in more upscale restaurants that specialize in New Greek cuisine.

The capital of the island, like the main towns on other Greek islands, is called Chora (“the town”; in Greek, the “Ch” is pronounced like a harsh “H”). The town was founded in the Venetian period and sits on a spit of land that could be easily fortified. The buildings of the town today are mostly in a neo-classical style, and reflect the wealth of Greek shipping families that based themselves on Andros in the 19th and 20th centuries. Some Venetian and Ottoman buildings remain, most notably the so-called “Lower Castle” of the Venetian period, visible on the rocky outcrop just to the right of the town.

This picture shows the Venetian Lower Castle in Chora, as seen from the square (“plateia” in Greek) at the easternmost edge of the modern town.

The Lower Castle was one piece of a larger network of Venetian fortifications, which also included the Upper Castle, located a few kilometers to the south on a promontory overlooking Chora at an elevation of 580 meters. The Upper Castle itself is now mostly in ruins, which are visible in the background of this shot. Today, the heights are dominated by a chapel dedicated to the Virgin Mary Made Manifest (Panagia Faneromeni).

Chora is a small town, but its main streets (many of which are not accessible by car in the oldest parts of town) can be lively in the evening. This kid and his dog played ball for hours outside his house in the street just outside our hotel.