Vathy Kalymnos

And today we reach the beautiful area of Vathy on Kalymnos Island. It is located about thirteen kilometers north-east of Pothia the capital and is one of the most beautiful areas according to our point of view.Located in the greenest and most fertile area of Kalymons, Vathy is well known for its lush valley that offers fruit trees of oranges, mandarins, lemons, figs, pomegranates and even almonds which are also exported to the neighboring islands.

It ends in a beautiful fjord and only the journey to get there will surprise you with the beauty of the area, until you reach the small port of Rina where you can enjoy a refreshing swim. There is no beach waiting for you, no sunbeds or umbrellas, instead you can spread your towel on the steps or on the ground and enter the clear Aegean waters or take an acrobatic dive from the rocks above. The sea here despite a tourist port is crystalline and limpid from an emerald green to blue color with small lagoons on the sides that will catapult you as if by magic into a nature with an exotic flavor, all surrounded by high cliffs where the goats live free.

A particular territory, which changes constantly and which will make you take a real journey even in a few kilometers. At the port of Rina, the excursions that usually go around the three islands arrive every day (http://www.infotourskos.com/catalogo/tour-delle-tre-isole.aspx ) but you can also independently book a taxi boat that will take you to coves that can only be reached by sea and where only you could be there such as the private beach of Kampi, or to the Megales Almyres beach completely virgin of small clear stones and a sea to leave you breathless, and again Mikres Almyres with its two solitary trees that give shade in the hottest hours, to finally reach the Drasonta beach.

In Rina, you will also find some delightful souvenir shops and stalls selling the original sea sponges for which Kalymnos is among the most famous islands in the world as until recently the best fishermen of these aquatic animals were the Kalymni. the delicious local honey which I personally can no longer do without it, refreshing and vitaminic orange juices and for the greedy ones a nice lady who will prepare you at the moment of the unmissable Loukoumades the typical fried Greek donuts served with honey, cinnamon (I literally make them cover the Greek nutella with a "snack").

There are also taverns where you can stop with your legs under the table and taste the local and traditional dishes all based on the freshest products. The quality of the food in Vathy is so high that even the locals go as far as here for dinner or lunch.As you know by now, the Kalymnos island is a very popular destination for sportsmen who dedicate themselves to free climbing, and Vathy also has wonderful routes to try such as Little Eden, a cliff that comes into the shade just before noon and that below it has blue-green waters which, seen from above, have a totally different atmosphere.

The Vathy area, however, is not only nature and good food, but also sites and historical places of great interest. In your mini traveling tour through the valley do not miss the opportunity to visit the ruins of the Chrysocherià Castle built between 1445 and 1450 where along the stone staircase leading to the entrance you can admire the coats of arms of the knights of St. Johm they lived there and contributed to its realization.

And again the remains of the two towers still in good condition and the Crysocherià Church which means the Madonna of the golden hands.We continue with the Embola's Acropolis a fortified place in the eastern direction of the Metochi village dating back to the 4th century BC inhabited until the Hellenistic period.

Today the surrounding wall is visible with a thickness of over one meter and a perimeter of almost one hundred meters by fifty where there were four ports of four meters wide.The Taxiarchi Basilica dating back to the early Christian period of the sixth century, built with the material of the acropolis where there is an ancient mosaic and a church that houses traces of frescoes from the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. This church has a beautiful legend that goes around it, it speaks of a child who during the period of the Ottoman domination was kidnapped by the Turks who later became Pasha and after many years he decided to return to his place of origin in search of his father who in the end he found and as a sign of gratitude to Christ, he had the Basilica built.And finally, the Daskalio Cave in the Vathy fjord at Rina on the rocky wall to the north. Discovered in 1922 and inside are finds from the Neolithic period and the Bronze Age.As we said before, only the journey to this wonderful valley offers enchanting views.

Coming from Pothia, along the coastal road, you can admire the fish farms, real farms in the open sea where sea bream and sea bass are grown to get to the small but real pearl of Akti beach that from above looks almost like a task to reach but a steep road, especially uphill, will help you to get there almost comfortably.

After the Akti Beach you reach Vathy from above, a spectacle to be immortalized in the perfect photo and descending you will be inebriated by the scent of mountain herbs and you a completely different landscape will appear from the arid and rocky one you have seen along the way. Arriving instead from Arginonta which is about fifteen kilometers from Vathy, you pass through the majestic mountains where you can also see specimens of birds of prey such as the lesser eagle and the harrier.

Going down the valley and turning left, you pass a dam where at the top of the mountain you can see the chapel of the Profiti Elias that all the Greek Islands have and therefore could not be missed in Kalymnos. Before arriving in Rina, two small but picturesque villages meet, one is Metochi with its four houses, a church and a huge football field, the other is Platanos also composed of a few inhabited buildings but with in the middle of the road a large plane tree where you can stop for a moment of respite from the sun.

Simple my dear travelers, or with a rental vehicle that is car or scooter it does not matter (we chose the scooter to better enjoy the wonderful nature that surrounds the island and also for a matter of comfort when we wanted to stop to take a nice photo.

The only recommendation is to take at least a 125 cc, the climbs are sometimes a bit difficult).For those who are not autonomous, there are public routes from the main seaside resorts but always pay attention to the timetables.

A visit to Vathy and its surroundings is a must, to be included absolutely among the things to do in Kalymnos, you would miss a part of the island that is truly amazing from all points of view.