The Island of Samos was this year’s CICLing Conference host. The island is known as a popular tourist attraction and an important source for wine. Tourist season has not started yet – most shops and restaurants were closed. This might seem bad, but I really enjoyed the quiet and peaceful streets.

The island has been populated for thousands of years. A few places on the island (like Pythagorio and the ruins there) are now UNESCO World Heritage sites. There is also an ancient aqueduct dug 2600 years ago underneath a mountain.

But I presume most people come here for the beaches. There are lots of them, most with pebbles. Some beaches are very isolated and they can make for perfect retreats – we’ve seen a few from a ferry that weren’t accessible by car.

I’ve stayed in the town of Vathy, the largest on the island. “Largest” is a relative term here – the population is 6000 in the old area (actual Samos) and 2000 in the new area (known as Vathy). The streets looked deserted at some times, with most stores closed – tourist season starts in a few weeks.

Samos is great if you want to jog! There’s nothing like running up and down stairs through some narrow Mediterranean streets.