One day in Kea

Let’s say you have only one day at your disposal for an excursion in nature while in Athens. Which of the following will you choose?

a) a beach

b) an island

c) a trail

d) a flower field

Well, what if I told you that you could do all four in one go?

Hello from Kea (or Tzia for friends). Last year, I was mesmerised by this island’s lush spring colours. That’s why it was clear as day in my head that I should visit again this year. Same season and all. The plan is simple. We take the boat, we arrive at the island, we hit a trail to reach the beach, and we roll in the flower-fields in between. A god-sent plan, isn’t it?

*For the myths and history of the island, read this

Here’s how we did it. We arranged tickets for the first and last ferry connecting Lavrio port with Kea. The trip is just an hour, and the ferry schedule leaves around 8 hours to enjoy the island. The first stop was brunch at the port, because we skipped breakfast to be on board on time. Then we got a cab ride to Ioulida, the capital, so that we could walk around the small alleys of the colorful houses.

As we were enjoying the view from the balcony of a small church, we suddenly heard the distinct beat of New Order’s Blue Monday. Reaching the square we found out that a running contest was taking place. Alas it was a Sunday, kinda expected. We took the trail heading down from Ioulida to the beack of Otzias via the Lion’s statue. As we were walking down, we met every single runner of the event, running uphill. They weren’t as smart as us: why would anyone in their right mind run up from the beach instead of down to the beach? Although April, it was hot and the sun was burning my cheeks.

At the start of the trail we were greeted by blossoming Juda’s trees, bright poppies and plenty of yellow daisies. Because of the running event, the trail was recently cleared from all the weeds and the occasional spider webs. This was the case only up until the point were the trail meets the road, after that its wild west. At some point the trail separates in two, trail 1 towards Otzias and trail 10 towards Spathi beach. I left the latter for another time. The plant landscape quickly transforms into a wonderful forest of oak trees.

Eventually, we start walking atop abandoned berms that once supported terrace hills, the fields and farms of the island. Soon, we are surrounded by purple: lupins, amaranths and thistles. It took immense self-restraint not to roll myself in the daisy fields we met on our way. Blame the thistles for that. We end up walking in parallel to a farm at the outskirts of Otzias village and are finally able to see the beach below. Ah, I can almost feel the sea breeze.

We spent the next few hours sunbathing and periodically dipping in the sea: the water is still chilly this time of the year after all. When we got bored, we headed back to the port on foot, parallel to the sea-shore, so that we could enjoy the view and the smell of spring flowers a bit more. This meant, that it took a while to reach the port and left minimal time for a late lunch. We compensated the missed opportunity for seafood by getting ice cream on our return ferry. Second time on the island and I still didn’t manage to visit the ancient temple of Karthaia. Oh, well, it should wait till September. Until then, follow Trail #1: ‘Ioulida to Otzias’ here.