Plomari

Time seems to have stood still in the village squares where old men pass the hours playing backgammon, drinking Greek coffee and watching people passing by. Donkeys with side riding shepherds clop past, a proud horse and rider tripple by, the butcher shouts a greeting to the ouzo maker who has a retort for the town joker drinking coffee. The aroma of freshly baked bread intermingles with freshly ground coffee. The taverna’s are superb and inexpensive - sample the daily catch of sardines, octopus, and calamari, grilled to perfection; stuffed zucchini flowers oozing spicy cheese; wild asparagus freshly picked in the mountains, fried local goat’s cheese – the list is endless.

During the day explore the winding cobbled streets or go to one of Plomari’s beaches said to be amongst the best on the island.

In the evenings, the cafes and taverna’s buzz with live music, attracting locals to listen, sip ouzo, sing and dance. This is not the Greece of Zorba being pumped out at full volume, this is the Greece of Rebetiko, or Greek Urban Blues. This passionate evocative music evolved in the mid 1800’s by people living on the fringe of society, displaced and marginalized. They sang songs of love, loss, despair and longing and the sound of these songs evoke a feeling of nostalgia and immense pleasure.

Plomari is for the romantic, for those who are seeking the old Greece as it was 40 years ago before so much of it was taken over and spoilt by mass tourism.