Leros was a strange sort of place; we originally wanted to go to Tilos, but the ferry was irregular enough that we couldn't make it work with timings (and I, alas, was nearing the end of my trip, as I had a deadline back in England to begin my Masters program). According to myth, Leros was the island Artemis used to go to hunt, but historically, it has a darker past. Occupied by the Italians (along with most of the Dodecanese islands) in 1912, it was fortified and largely taken over by the military. It was bombed by both the British and Germans in WWII (as it changed hands from one side to the other).
We had chosen a lovely looking airbnb above Vromolithos Bay, with the idea that we could walk down to it for cheeky swims whenever we wanted. The airbnb itself was one of my favourites, with air conditioning, a big kitchen and a lovely deck with a view down to the beach. We ate our dinners out there often (and discovered that the bushes were infested with mice (or maybe rats, they looked pretty large) so we had to be careful not to leave food unintended, though they only came out at night, we didn't want to tempt them otherwise!
Our host was super lovely, and at one point his mum even brought us a cheese pie she'd made us! Score.
The first day of arrival, Christophe and Necia were understandably pretty tired, but Yannick and I were in an exploratory sort of mood, so we set off in the car for an adventure. It soon became apparent that at least half the island belonged to the military (Mussolini had at one point taken it over to build a huge naval base) this meant at what felt like almost every turn, we were blocked from going down that interesting looking road, due to the military signs forbidding us from going any further. At one point, following google maps towards something that looked interesting (our first mistake was trusting google maps!) we drove past a soldier on duty towards what looked suspiciously like a military camp, he didn't stop us but kept watching us suspiciously.
As it became more obvious that google was leading us astray and we seemed to be really heading into a military base we quickly reversed and ashamedly drove past the soldier again. I'm sure he was thinking oh dear, more silly tourists! There were also weird remnants of military activity from WWII, from old tunnels and crumbling buildings to tanks and planes in one place that we stumbled across!
The plans and crumbling buildings were rather interesting and atmospheric, whereas the tunnels with their dark gaping maws just creeped me out. I later found out that after WWII the army barracks were used to house internal political prisoners and then in the 1980s became well known as a mental hospital where patients were severely mistreated. Basically, Leros has a dark past, and, without trying to sound melodramatic, you can feel it. Funnily enough, the online tourist guides for the island mostly fail to mention all of this, focusing on the lovely beaches and villages instead. Hmmm.
On our adventure that day, we also found an epic church on the water, and promised we would take the others back to it. Agios Isidoros is a little chapel, built on the ruins of a temple (people do love building things on top of other, older things don't they?).
The little chapel reminded me of the church at the end of the first Mama Mia movie, where they go to get married (c'mon, you know the one, don't pretend you don't!) If you just got rid of the hill. I wonder what the walkway looks like during a storm? The chapel itself seems to have weathered time well.
One of my other issues with Leros was the fact that it seemed to have a rock shelf surrounding it, which was slippery and rather unpleasant to try swimming from beaches, especially after being so incredibly spoiled previously. We went on many an epic adventure looking for a decent beach, and eventually did find one, past the town of Lakki, well hidden and tucked away behind an abandoned building (also military looking) which seemed to only be occupied by goats.
The beach didn't seem to be particularly well known, as we never had to share it with many people, which is always ideal!
We also passed a lovely looking bakery, so of course had to enter and purchase some treats.
The village was incredibly picturesque, and just like the stereotypical images you hold in your head for Greece.
Also cats! Man I like this village.
There were also windmills and a Kastro up on the hill (though these we drove to as they were a little high up!)
Overall we had a number of awesome experiences on Leros, but there was something about the island I didn't love. Maybe it was simply the feeling of being unable to access a lot of the island, trapped within set boundaries by the army, or its unhappy past. Whatever it was, I was excited to be heading to Kos next, though I won't soon forget the beautiful view from our balcony on Leros!
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