Eressos Lesbos
Eressos town together with the twin village on the coast Skala Eressos can be found in the southwest part of the Lesbos island about eighty five kilometers from the capital Mytilene.
A place of particular interest for its architecture, a still extremely intact and wild nature, with one of the most beautiful and longest beaches in Greece, a relaxed and bohemian atmosphere that attracts artists and where you can be yourself without problems or someone who judge And yes, because Eressos is the place where Sappho was born, the greatest poetess of antiquity whose poetry became a paradigm of female homosexual love, thus giving rise to the term "saffic".
LGBT communities love to meet here thanks also to the beautiful festival organized in September, gays, nostalgic hippies and people who love to enjoy a holiday in total freedom. Don't think it's a sort of Sodom and Gomorrah, on the contrary, Eressos is one of the most beautiful holiday resorts in Greece where families with small children can enjoy moments of absolute relaxation in complete safety without giving up the typical Greek flavour.
When you arrive in this part of Lesbos, the landscape transforms into an almost lunar landscape with mountains devoid of vegetation and particular rock formations due to its volcanic origins. At one point the road splits leading one way to Sigri and the other to Eressos and Skala Eressos where a huge green valley opens up with the old village just on the top of the Vigla hill. On the coast, the Skala town Eressos, with its peaceful mood and perfect for escaping from everything, a long pedestrian area is the host and allows you to live in complete serenity. Excellent restaurants and typical taverns, some on colored wooden platforms like stilt houses on the sea where you can taste fresh fish and ancient local recipes, cafes, shops, boutiques, bars, clubs and beach parties where you can spend unforgettable evenings, and still a great choice of accommodation, supermarkets, bakeries, idyllic coasts in short, everything you need for a holiday as God intended. The area includes five other villages to be discovered with their own personal character such as Messotopos, Vatoussa, Chidira, Sigri and Pterounda where you can go to taste the traditional mezedes accompanied by an excellent ouzo in the shade of huge, centuries old plane trees. Obviously there is also a small port where fishermen dock their boats when they return from fishing trips loaded with excellent fish which is distributed among the taverns and restaurants.
Eressos is also the most important center for those with a spiritual mentality, so much so that right here is an Ashram Centro Afroz Osho dedicated to Baghwan Shree Rajneesh known as Osho which attracts thousands of followers like a magnet and those who want to experiment with new New Age practices for physical and mental well being. And again, Skala Eressos boasts a beautiful open air cinema under the stars where films for all tastes are shown. For lovers of hiking and birdwatching, the whole area is a real paradise that offers natural spas, archaeological remains, trekking routes between farms orchards, tiny churches, a fauna and flora rich in rare species starting from wetland of Psaropotamos up to the highest peak where the Pithari Monastery is located to rest and enjoy a wonderful view of the spring lake which is located at the edge of the town along the beach full of turtles, frogs, and strange fish.
Another attraction not far from Eressos is its incredible Petrified Forest that we find in the Sigri area where you can have confirmation of what the territory was like twenty million years ago before the violent geological changes caused by earthquakes. An area of immense value where once it was completely covered by immense oaks so as to be considered the lung of Lesvos which were completely covered by fossilized lava. There are two petrified forests in Greece, one in Lesbos, the other in the Peloponnese.
But the most precious jewel of Eressos also called Skala Eresou Gialos by the locals is undoubtedly its famous beach which is located a couple of kilometers from the village. Three kilometers of dark sand mixed with some pebbles, transparent waters that change color depending on the time of day, going from sparkling blue to deep blue to purple during sunset. It is well equipped with sunbeds, umbrellas, bars, taverns, showers, changing rooms and a vast choice of water sports to have fun and spend carefree hours recharging your batteries with precious vitamin D. Every year it is awarded the Blue Flag for its environment considered the most clean and cared for throughout the Hellenic territory. If on the other hand you want something more secluded as Eressos beach is very popular but given its size
In ancient times, Eressos was an important commercial center which also hosted the philosopher and botanist Theophrastus considered the father of Botany and the philosopher Fania, a pupil of Aristotle and remembered as the first ecologist in history.
For archeology enthusiasts, don't miss the Archaeological Museum which preserves finds from the ancient Eresos city dating back to the late Hellenic period up to the early Christian era, or the main church where the ruins of a basilica dating from between the first and 5th century AD with a floor full of amazing mosaics with geometric, plant and animal decorations as well as the icon and relics of Agios Andreas, bishop of Crete and patron saint of Eressos.
Looking at the infinity of things that this part of the island offers, one should write endlessly, but the best thing is certainly to put Eressos and all its valley among the things to see in Lesvos so as to discover this world in the world still almost unknown to mass tourism.