Tinos is not tiny!!!
And not a tiny day on the bike either…as I set out to explore!….rather than the let the grass grow….as this Tinian cyclist seems to have done!
Iain walked today…so I had the day to myself…my longest solo ride ever!
And what a day…..!!
As you can see from the map I covered most of the island….and it really was impressive!
Wild and desolate in parts (particularly as I circumnavigated the island’s biggest mountain….
Full of lots of delicious villages…..
But this one really stood out. Volax! Reminded me a bit of Monsanto in Portugal last year (remember, John?). A landscape strewn with boulders, large and small….amongst which they built a village!
Gorgeous place!
And the riding was simply spectacular..
……on deserted roads……
….uphill and downhill all day!
But what really sets Tinos apart…are the dovecots! There are apparently over 1,000 of them scatted around the island. And they are not miniature houses on poles…these are literally houses. The same size as houses. And extraordinarily elaborate!
The story goes that they were used for two purposes. Food….ie eat the doves! (Each dovecot produced around 500kg of meat per year!). And birdshit! ie…fertiliser! Apparently making Tinos the most fertile of the cyclades islands!
They really are everywhere!
The other stand-out was the terracing. Lots of places have terracing…but here the extent was extraordinary…obviously making good use of all that dove-shit….back in the day when the population was many times today’s 8,000.
Today….tourism – not agriculture – is the main crop…and almost all the terraces are now the domain of goats…..and snakes!
Now…I read about the snakes after I competed the ride. Thankfully. For there were places when even without the knowledge of snakes, I felt a bit vulnerable!
The other common landmark…are the old windmills. Hundreds of them!
……and of course churches! So, so many for so few people!
But the main church of Tinos is back in the town…
……built following the unearthing of an iconic image of the Virgin Mary.
And now a major pilgrimage place for Greek Catholics. And to show how much you care….you do not just walk up to the church…you crawl there on your hands and knees. Thousands come on the main festival days…but today there were only two dedicated souls.
At least the authorities have laid down a a mat to soften the pain….for it must play havoc on the knees!
The sweetest spot on Tinos? Maybe the aforementioned Valox…but if you like the water…then it has to be Panormou in the North West corner of the island.
Just gorgeous…and has to bump Loutro off top spot on this segment of the ride…..so far!
My beers were well deserved today! Especially it being a rest day!! 2,500m of climbing is a bit excessive really!! A true busman’s holiday!!
We had an interesting discussion with our gyros man about street painting. White paint around all the stones. So pretty. And redone every year.
But apparently the source of much disagreement…for you are supposed to paint half the street for the length of your shop.
But some people do not!!
Alas…….
Not too much else to worry about here!
A special day today! Loved it!!
I’m so loving your blogs, Neil. Interested in the windmills on Tinos – apparently they provided the power for grinding the grain. ?wheat?
Love to you and Iain, Jan.