Day 7 – Greece: Apolichnon Castle & Vrouladia Beach
Today is our last full day in Chios, and the weather could not be more perfect. Today’s high was 65 F and sunny, which was warm enough for a beach day and even a dip in the Aegean Sea. We woke up at 10am and decided to go on a hike first and then drive to the beach after to relax and swim. We stopped at A La Crème for spanakopita , frappes and Orange juice to get some sustenance in before the hike.
Then we drove 35 mins west to the town of Armolia and on the way there I told Stelios the motorcyclist in front of us looked like Tasos – turned out it was! What are the odds! Along the drive I noticed there was a lot more greenery and trees on this side of the island compared to the east side which is more dry and desert like. It’s wild how different sides of the island have completely different climates, but that is one of the things that makes Chios so unique and the microclimates allow for the mastic trees to flourish here.
There was a free parking lot at the starting point of the hike and again we were the only ones there and had the trail all to ourselves. Today’s trail was called Apolichnon Castle, another 2 mile hike with castle ruins at the top and great views of the island below. It was HOT and the sun was strong on the way up. I immediately regretted forgetting to bring a hat to give myself some shade. While we climbed up the mountain Stelios told us the legend of the mastic trees and some other fun facts about Chios. I turned to Stelios and said “You know you could be a really good tour guide. Maybe THIS is our retirement plan!” And then the business wheels inside my head started spinning about how we could purchase a small van, run a tour called “Guided hikes and Greek legends”, perhaps even incorporate a stop at A La Crème for breakfast beforehand or lunch after. You never know! The possibilities are endless but writing this here to manifest it for the future. Truth be told, my dream is to get out of working in corporate one day and turn this blog and my travel knowledge into a full time gig. I have a long way to go and lot of different ideas to iron out before that happens, so for now I’m grinding out the 9-5 life because that’s what pays the bills.
After several water breaks under a shaded tree (which I was very happy existed on this trail) we finally reached the top – Apolichnon Castle. This castle was MUCH cooler and the remains were much more intact compared to Grias Castle. The castle was built in 1440 by the Genoan Nicola Bianca Gustiniani and had 62 rooms, a rain tank, and small church. It was HUGE. As we explored the castle remains Leo spotted what looked like a cave. We climbed down and it seemed to be one of the rooms that more or less stayed intact after 500 years. A very cool find!
Overall I thoroughly enjoyed both hikes that we did on this trip. They were the perfect length for Leo who enjoyed Apolichnon Castle more because it definitely was a cooler castle to explore, but I think Grias Castle was more scenic and the wild animals and panoramic sea views were beautiful to see. I would definitely do both hikes again.
After the hike we were ready to jump in the ocean. We drove 20 minutes south to Vrouladia beach. To get to Vrouladia beach we drove down a long, narrow and windy road with an area for parking next to a Taverna that was closed. We followed a paved rocky path down to the beach and we were the only ones there except for 1 other girl. Vrouladia is a beautiful hidden cove of beach in between two cliffs and the water is crystal clear. This might be my new favorite beach in Chios. It was very refreshing to take a dip after hiking for 2 hours in the hot sun. After swimming and laying out at the beach we decided to head back to Chora for some lunch.
It was a 50 minute drive back to Chora to go to Ihtheoskala (the fishery in Chios that we tried to go to yesterday). Talk about a hole in the wall hidden spot. There is no way a non local would know about this place because it’s behind a shipyard. Maybe it was overhyped to us, and we had higher expectations, or maybe we ordered the wrong things, but I thought the fishery was pretty subpar. Everything on the menu here you could also order at Nostos or Mouria Taverna, and the experience and vibe was much better at the other 2 spots. What did impress us was the whole calamari. It was the best dish and we ended up ordering a second one prepared a different way. The other annoying thing about this spot was that the cats here were scavengers. One jumped up and tried to grab a piece of fish from Leo’s plate! For dessert they brought out something that looked like a pickle. Stelios said he thinks it’s a marinated orange even though it’s green. Leo said it tasted like grossness and that had me laughing out loud. I took a bite and I got a hint of orange, followed by “grossness” as well. We left the fishery confused and underwhelmed.
Back at the house Leo wanted to play basketball with his cousins since it was their last day together, so Stelios and I decided to walk to Chora for some shopping. I bought a bathing suit cover up and we got some Chios sweatshirts to wear on the plane ride home since the plane ride here was absolutely freezing. On the walk back to the house we met up with Mike and stopped at a la crème for gelato. Mike got a chocolate mouse which is apparently a Greek staple at patisseries. It is very cute and looks delicious.
By the time we got back it was 8:30pm and sadly time to pack up our things in anticipation of a 6am wake up time to head to the airport for our flight home tomorrow. All of the family members stopped by to say their goodbyes. Mike came upstairs to hang with us, Stelis parents, and Leo. Then Markello and Virginia brought over one last treat from a la crème for us to enjoy. Shortly after they left Thea Maria & Tasos stopped by, and then Bobby and Marika. They all wished us a safe journey home and that we come back soon. We definitely plan too!
By this point it was 10:30pm and we had two options – go to sleep or go out. We chose the latter. Leo was already in bed (I think the hike and the sun wore him out) so Stelios, Mike, and I walked down to Chora for one last night out on the town! We decided to walk back to Black Sheep. The guys ordered Chios beer on draft, and I had a glass of Rosé. We also ordered a small pesto burrata pizza to share for a late night snack. I’m not a huge beer drinker but the Chios beer is honestly delicious, and although my wine was quite tasty, a beer would’ve went better with the pizza. After hanging out at Black Sheep we walked to the waterfront to check out Sueno. What a drastic difference between Thursday & Friday night. It was 12:30am and Sueno was packed and popping off! The dress code was also very mixed – some girls were in cocktail dresses and heels and others in pants and blazers. I ordered a Mastiha and we danced at Sueno for about an hour.
At 1:30am we called it a night, walked back to the house and went to bed. I can’t believe we have to wake up to catch our flight in 4 hours but it was worth it. At the end of the night I racked up a new personal best of 9.31 miles and 23,882 steps. It was such a full and fun last day in Greece. Goodnight!
