Agios Konstantinos: Independence Day 2014





The beach where we swim

The beach at Agios Konstantinos is where we swim most afternoons.  It is a quiet little hamlet, one of the fabled “Seven Villages” along the north ridge of the island, an area known and prized by Greek nationals for its pristine beauty and cultural authenticity.  Just a few kilometers east of Agios Konstantinos, and set against a dramatic backdrop of rugged mountain faces, two hundred year old stone houses with terra cotta tiled roofs sit on plots of farm land and vineyards that grow right up to the edge of post card perfect beaches.  Shortly after leaving the Whitehouse, Bill Clinton visited the area and stayed in a house that one of his staffers had bought in Monolates, a mountain village that sits directly above Agios Konstantinos.

In Monolates there is a tavern named Lucas with an open air veranda, shaded by the living grape vines on the pergola above it; you can look down the mountain from that veranda with a cool drink in your hand, and see the concrete enclosure of the break wall and the fishing boats below.  When there is no wind, the shadow of their hulls  is visible against the harbor bottom through the crystal blue water of the Aegean Sea.

The water at the beach can be surprisingly brisk, enough to take your breath away, even in July, but it’s easy to get used to and very refreshing.  After a swim we usually shop for groceries in Agios Konstantinos or eat at one of the seaside cafés there.  You can smell your lunch cooking as you sip an afternoon frappe’ or a glass of wine made from the vine terraced hillsides above, and notice the mountains of Turkey across the water in the distance.



From an outdoor café
with Turkish mountains visible in the distance

Kathy began visiting the area in 1992 as a summer instructor at the Art School of the Aegean.  The teaching job lasted into the late 1990’s, but by then she never stopped coming back.  As I sit at the keyboard, it is the morning of July 4^th, 2014, and we have a beach day planned for Agios this afternoon.  No fireworks or watermelons on our agenda today, just Independence.

photos by Newell - 2014

  



For a 2012 post with a picture of Bill Clinton in Agios Konstantinos, click on:

http://mysamoshome.blogspot.gr/2012/06/arrival.html