The Taxi Driver of Nisyros

Nisyros


Nisyros Caldera

South of Kos and facing Kardamena is the island of Nisyros, a brooding and from a distance a mysterious presence in the sea in the Dodecanese islands, between Kos and Tilos. It is basically a volcanic caldera 8 miles in diameter about 8 miles seawards south of Kos. It is a quiet place, far from the well trod tourist path, which is meant to fascinate and charm visitors with its strong colourful character, the dark brown of its volcanic earth, the white of its houses and the deep blue of its sea. Close by is the other volcanic island of Giali under the flight path to Kos Airport which looks like it has been bisected as it is mined for pumice. There are no large towns on Nisyros but rather a collection of villages by the coast and on the crest of the caldera (Emboria and Nikia) joined by the one road. Nisyros, was known in antiquity as Porphyris. Mythology holds that once it was united with Kos and that when Poseidon was chasing the giant Polyvotis, he split the two islands asunder.




Nikia - Village Square & Church

It is an island I had long wanted to visit but had been put off by the reports of the “Volcano bus tour” which meets you at the harbour, then brings you to the “volcano” and back to the harbour. I wanted to see the real Nisyros so I arranged with Sevi in Lauzimis Tours (who operate boats and hydrofoils between the islands) to book a taxi to show us around Nisyros. There are only two taxi drivers listed on the island so she suggested Irene as she was the better one and spoke English.


Nisyros from the sea

So, it came to pass on the appointed day we found ourselves waiting on the quayside of Kos Harbour for the boat to Nisyros. Only the boat had broken down so after some confusion we found ourselves on MV Petros, a 40 year old hydrofoil on the way to Nisyros. These are soviet built thunderbird like vessels originally built for the Volga and Don rivers and the Black Sea. Petros seemed to be one of the original stock and we sat in the back cabin behind the noisy engines and looking at the ritual of the crew making frappes for themselves in the rudimentary kitchen but no service for the passengers! Even by the standards of these old vessels Petros sounded rough and our suspicions were confirmed next day when we saw it out of the water for repair at Kos Marina being subject to frantic hammering and welding.


MV Petros the veteran hydrofoil the day after!

After a while Nisyros loomed closer, dark and mysterious from afar but closer up you begin to detect the houses and greenery and soon our destination, Mandraki, the harbour town. Because the hydrofoil takes half the time of the boat our taxi driver Irene wasn’t there but in the best Greek tradition we had a coffee at the harbour and mentioned we were early and a call was made to Irene who turned up in 15 minutes. I don’t mean to be unkind but Irene, when she appeared, was a generously constructed women. Unkind people might say she was constructed like a barn door but on a day when the carpenter was hung over and had forgotten his level. However placed beside the “best” taxi on the island Irene was a picture of modernity and elegance. The taxi was a diesel Audi 80 of indeterminate age (20 + was Irene’s best guess) with a loose manifold and an interior which had not been cleaned since new. Three of us sat nervously in the back as the front seat passenger made a fundamental error – they put on the seat belt. In the back this caused us to wipe smuts from our eyes and in the front our friend had a diagonal black streak on her white T-shirt – it appears despite the age of the car this was the first outing for the seat belt. As we trundled off to the sound of the clattering manifold the question occurred to me “what do you need to do not to get a taxi license in Greece?”





The Taxi of Nisyros - A 20 + year old Audi 80

Up the side of the volcano we headed on the steep road taking more than a passing interest in old Audi’s wheezing & rattling. The island of Nisyros is one big strato-volcano with a large central caldera. The island was built up above sea level about 66,000 years ago and may have risen as high as 1000 metres 24,000 years ago. The main central cone of the volcano then collapsed during an eruption to leave the caldera we see today, around 400 metres high. Pumice from this eruption may be found in 100m thick beds on the higher parts of the island. The last eruption was in 1873 when tuff cones were formed at the base and an explosion created Stephanos, a circular pit 300m in diameter and 25m deep. This pit is the site of the only volcanic activity on Nisyros at the moment in the form of sulphurous hydrothermal fumaroles, mud pots and hot springs.


"Nisyros Volcano"

It is this blast pit that tourists are presented with as the "Nisyros Volcano". Nisyros also has therapeutic springs with good curative properties at Loutra and on Kos at Thermes there is a hot spring in the sea from a fissure from the volcano 12 miles away.


Emboreios Church



First stop is halfway on the 8km road to Nikia at the village of Emboreios, which is just off the road. Here we could admire Irene’s command of English as she said “up there” and pointed towards the track to the village. Having said that Emboreios is the type of special and poignant place which makes traveling in Greece so special. It is a village still only accessible by track where there are only 20, mostly old, people still living here. Wandering through this largely deserted village and its vista of white and blue houses. many derelict and some collapsed, it is possible to imagine the harsh and frugal lives of the people who were once here like the village clinging to existence in a place of sparse resources. I tried the door to the village church and was surprised when it opened – inside was a treasure of icons and paintings and above all in the sanctuary a dome painted sky blue with golden stars. This orthodox tradition of painting a starry sky on their domes which represent the heavens comes from the Egyptian tombs - a pre Christian tradition imported by the Ptolemy’s.

Onwards to the end of the road to Irene’s home village of Nikia. In this atmospheric totally pedestrian (People & Donkey) village you find the loveliest little town square in Greece with a wonderful Zodiac design in the cobbles and around area it built in seating and two Kafeions. Most Greek villages have two Kafeions as families who were on opposing sides in the Civil War wouldn't drink or take coffee together – things are more relaxed today but the dual cafes remain! The church in the village overlooks and frames the square and the caretaker is happy to show you the icons and contents and out the back there awaits a splendid vista of the volcano crater – looking down on it you can feel sorry for the tourist ants below who have missed out on the real Nisyros.


Nikia Main Street


Nikia Church

Back down to the harbour where Irene gave us an extempore demonstration of navigating hairpin bends on the side of a volcano whilst smoking with one hand and holding a mobile in the other and having a heated argument in Greek all at the same time – a truly virtuoso display which we all appreciated as a somewhat relieved party bade farewell to Irene and her vintage vehicle back at the harbour.




Mandraki

The main town of Nisyros is Mandraki which in Greek means harbour or by extension, the harbour town . Mandraki is built at the foot of a steep hill which used to be fortified in the Middle Ages. To the northwest of the capital, clinging to the tip af a tall rock, lies the monastery of the Madona of the Caves (Panagia Spiliani), the patroness of the island. Built in 1600, it is linked with many traditions and has a lovely 18th century iconostasis. Every year a huge feast takes place here, with lots of food and drink. Yet another castle erected by the Knights of St. John looms above the small town.

Approximately 800 metres southwest from Mandraki we shall meet the ancient Acropolis with its remnants of Pelasgic walls. In the town-hall and the primary school there is an archaelogical collection with sculptures, ceramics, Hellenistic and Roman inscriptions and 18th/19th -century icons.

Mandraki has 650 inhabitants and it is impressively picturesque with lovely traditional houses on the waterside and white washed houses - some coloured - with flat roofs externally layered with pumice stone and internally covered with reeds. Balconies and gardens filled with flowers and creepers. Narrow little streets take you up to the castle and the monastery of Panagia Spiliani. (The Virgin Mary of the Caves) The monastery is located on the opposite side of the harbour (northwest) and sits on a rock 30m high which it shares with a Venetian fortress from 1315 A.D. The monastery was built around 1600 A.D. and its church is a basilica with a beautiful iconostasis from the 18th century. There is a small library with Greek and Turkish documents and a collection of valuable holy relics and ecclesiastical vessels, crosses, Bibles and icons. The 270 steps lead to the holy cave and the icon of the Blessed Virgin from which the monastery takes its name. Mandraki is a pleasant and photogenic town with some nice shops and straight forward tavernas.


Monastery of Panagia Spiliani

Wandering back through Mandraki we caught sight of Irene having a coffee and chat in a house. Who knows what secrets the Taxi Driver of Nisyros has to tell us? If you book her for your trip you may not discover her secrets but you will have a character forming experience on the side of a volcano and discover a unique island away from the tourist track. Yammas!

Nisyros is connected by boat with Piraeus, Crete and the other islands of Dodecanese. Twice a week the vessel "Nissos Kalymnos" runs from Rhodes to Kalymnos via Nisyros. Departure time is 09:00 am and the trip takes about four hours. The "Nissos Kalymnos runs in the other direction twice a week in the afternoon. The trip from Kos takes only about 1:30 hours.

In the peak season there are also hydrofoils "flying dolphins" between Kos and Rhodes that have Nisyros as a port of call. They are expensive and uncomfortable and they don’t run at all in rough weather. But in you can save yourself a hotel night in Kos or Rhodes; it could be a good alternative. From Piraeus you can take the big ferryboat "Dimitra" It leaves Piraeus on Mondays and Saturdays (in the afternoon) and reaches Nisyros early in the morning after.

See also; http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2008/08/kos-town.html


Location: Dodecanese, Greece.

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