Part 2: Chios

Chios — The Island I Didn’t Know I Needed

Leaving Çeşme

One annoying thing about traveling like me is I have enough to travel, but I can’t travel and just blow money.

I could have paid a lot more to return my car to Çeşme, but it was cheaper to drive the car back to the airport, lose some time, and save money.

I can’t drive stick, so automatics in Europe are far more expensive.

I was already paying a lot for rental cars, so I decided to lose time and save money.

The positive was my ferry wasn’t leaving until 6 PM, so it didn’t really matter.

I got up early, left the hotel, and drove back to the airport.

I dropped the car off, took a bus back, and still had a ton of time to kill.

The problem was I had all my things with me, and I can’t enjoy myself while lugging around a suitcase.

So I found a restaurant, ate, chilled for several hours, and eventually walked to the port.

The port situation was easy.

Show my passport.

Get my ticket.

Go through Turkish immigration.

Wait for the boat.

The only negative was the boat arrived and left late.

Since it was a new experience, I just rolled with it.

There weren’t many people.

Greek immigration was easy.

Before I knew it, I was in Chios.

First Impressions of Chios

The sun sets late during the summer, so even arriving late, I still had some light to explore.

I was walking toward my apartment.

The good news was it was downtown, so while I did rent a car later, I didn’t need one the entire time.

I walked along the coast, seeing cafes and restaurants, but everything felt calm.

It looked like mostly OG locals hanging out.

I was thinking:

"This might turn out pretty damn good."

I saw castle walls while walking.

I passed their main park square, which was tiny.

I always compare things to where I live.

My city has places like Golden Gate Park, which is massive.

This park, parts of which were closed at the time, was only a few blocks.

The streets were narrow and often one-way.

I was not looking forward to driving here.

But I liked the architecture.

There was less graffiti than Turkey, but the buildings felt older.

Cracked.

Weathered.

Some even looked partially ruined.

It actually reminded me of Cuba.

Aside from the heat, Cuba had these colonial buildings, then a destroyed building, then a fancy restaurant right next to it.

Chios had a similar feeling, just without the Cuban vibe.

I was lugging my suitcase uphill.

Even though I was supposedly downtown, it was still a few blocks away from the real center.

Then suddenly I heard someone call my name.

WTF?

Who here knows me?

I looked behind me, and this Greek dude stopped his car and got out.

I’m trying to figure out who the hell this guy is.

He was with his wife and kids, so I went from guarded to curious.

Then I made the connection.

It was the owner of the apartment I was staying at.

His face matched the WhatsApp picture.

He asked if he could take my things.

I was still a little guarded.

I guess it was possible that it wasn’t actually the guy from WhatsApp.

But everything checked out.

He knew my name, he knew where I was staying, and he was literally waiting for me.

So I let him take my things.

Honestly, he saved me from dragging my suitcase around.

We talked for a bit, then I went upstairs, dropped my things off, and relaxed.

By this time, it was close to 9 PM.

Still light out.

But I figured I would chill for the night.

Day 1 — Wandering Chios Town

The next day, I got up early and began wandering.

I headed straight for downtown and found the walking street.

It was empty at the time, but I liked this walking street.

It was narrow.

Smaller scale.

Still the same bullshit you find everywhere — shops, tourist stuff, the usual — but the buildings and vibe worked for me.

As I continued wandering, it became apparent this wasn’t really a tourist destination.

Not to say it was tourist-free, but I didn’t get the feeling this island needed tourism to survive.

I was wandering the streets, chasing graffiti, taking photos and videos, and slowly the streets started coming alive.

I wandered and saw some kind of religious ceremony with some OG priests with the long-ass white beards.

You know what I’m talking about.

If you’ve never seen them in person, you’ve seen them in movies.

I paused and watched for a bit.

The priests.

The people.

The vibe.

That’s the kind of stuff I like.

The Castle Inside the Walls

Later I went to the castle.

Now this castle was cool.

It wasn’t really a castle in the traditional sense.

It was more the walls of the castle, and part of the city lived inside.

The main gate I entered through felt authentic as fuck.

I turned a corner and suddenly there were cafes and buildings.

As I mentioned, I’m not much of a cafe guy, but I liked the vibe.

I liked how they built a town within the walls.

I could wander around looking at homes, graffiti, cats, and people.

Yes, the cats did not end in Turkey.

There was a very similar cat culture here in Chios as well.

There was always something to see, and I’m not even a cat lover, but it just gave me more opportunities to video and shoot.

Learning From Locals

I went back downtown to have breakfast and eat some local food.

The waitresses were cool.

I ended up talking with them for a while.

Of course, as natives, they felt Chios was the best island.

I showed them some locations I wanted to see.

(I did do some research the night before.)

They told me my locations were legit and gave me some other ideas.

That’s usually how I get ideas on where to go.

Locals.

The Windmills and The Harbor

Chios also has windmills, but unlike the windmills in Alaçatı, these ones are right next to the water.

It was about a 15-minute walk from the castle walls.

Getting there was simple.

Before reaching the windmills, there are some ruins, then you hit the windmills themselves.

There were some tourists there, but nothing like Alaçatı.

There were old Greeks in the water and some tourists taking pictures of the windmills.

One of the old women wanted me to take a picture of her as she was getting out of the water.

Of course I did.

She was cool.

I was beginning to like this place.

Already, it felt real.

Authentic.

Most of the people were locals.

I left the windmills and entered the “castle” from a different place, wandering around and getting lost.

I found a Turkish bathhouse.

It looked closed down, but I think it actually runs today.

I was just there on the one day it was closed.

I managed to find a way up onto the walls near the bathhouse.

I got some good views.

Then I found out that by going through some bushes, you could reach another angle through the walls.

Now I was looking down at the bathhouse from above, and I also had a view of where I would be eating dinner later.

See, I make sure I talk to locals, and my host was no different.

I asked him where I could get a nice seafood dinner.

It just so happened I was looking at it from a distance from the castle wall.

Walking the Coast and Finding Dinner

I continued walking.

I saw some World War II small bunker-type structures.

I’m not exactly sure what they were called, but they looked like old military positions.

It was another one of those random things you find when you aren’t following an itinerary.

I walked past the ferry terminal and continued all the way to the end of the pier.

Heading back, I walked along the coast, passing cafes and restaurants before making my way back to the apartment.

It might not have seemed like a lot of time passed, but I spent that entire day wandering the streets.

No major attraction.

No checklist.

Just walking.

Seeing things.

Taking photos.

Watching people.

That’s the type of travel I enjoy.

I wanted to relax before dinner.

When it was time to eat, I walked to the restaurant.

It was set up outside, with tables and chairs by the water.

The view wasn’t perfect.

There were some big-ass boats blocking the harbor view.

But it was still cool.

I was sitting next to the water, eating seafood in Chios.

The food was good.

Fried seafood.

Very bad for me.

But it tasted so damn good.

After dinner, I took a slow walk back to the apartment.

Snapped some photos.

Let the food settle.

And that was my first real day in Chios.

Nothing crazy.

No huge attraction.

Just wandering around an island I knew almost nothing about and slowly getting a feel for it.

The next day, I would get up early and get my rental car.

Day 2 — Renting a Car and Exploring Southern Chios

The next morning, I got up early.

I was leaving Chios town and exploring more of the island.

But first, I had to get my car.

The rental place was right by the ferry terminal, which was convenient because that’s where I arrived anyway.

I left early because I wanted to catch morning light, and they told me to pick up the car at 7 AM.

But they got a call from the people currently renting it.

They said they would bring it back at 8 or 9.

I forget the exact time.

I was cool with it.

I used the extra time to take morning photos, then got there around 8.

The previous renters still hadn’t returned the car, so I got to talk with the semi-retired owner for a bit.

Turns out he spoke some Spanish and had spent time in Mexico.

He was a former sailor, so he had been around the world.

As somewhat of an international nomad myself, someone who has lived in a variety of countries, we naturally started talking about places.

I asked him what places he would recommend.

He mentioned Mexico, Costa Rica, and southern Africa.

Not South Africa specifically, but the southern part of Africa.

Now, this was interesting because my boy in Turkey also has a lot of good things to say about southern Africa.

So it looks like I might actually have to think about taking some trips out that way.

Not because some lame-ass influencer said so.

Because real people I trust had good experiences there.

Even though I didn’t know this guy before today, anyone who sailed the world is probably going to have some knowledge.

And it lined up with information from someone I already trusted.

Eventually, around 9:30, the paperwork was done and the previous renters finally returned the car.

I ain’t gonna lie.

I was pretty pissed off.

I wanted to say something.

But the dude had his family with him, and I didn’t want to start shit around kids.

So I kept my mouth shut.

But I was annoyed.

I was expecting to leave around 7:30.

Now I wasn’t leaving until almost 10 because I still had to go back to my apartment and grab my things.

The Medieval Villages of Southern Chios

Today was all about texture.

I would be hitting three medieval villages:

Pyrgi

Olympi

Mesta

When visiting these villages, here is some advice:

Don’t drive directly into them unless you’re a sav.

These roads are hella narrow.

Sometimes you turn down a street and suddenly it gets too narrow, and now you have to reverse out.

It’s a bitch.

Most of these places have parking lots, or you can park on the outskirts.

These are villages.

If you can’t walk it, don’t bother coming.

Pyrgi — A Village With Its Own Style

Pyrgi was dope.

Why?

Because it’s an old-ass village where many of the homes are covered in geometric patterns.

Honestly, was it the tightest thing I’ve ever seen?

Probably not.

I’ve seen way crazier stuff, both man-made and natural.

But it was still tight to me.

It had flavor.

That’s what appealed to me.

It actually appealed to me more than the cyber-city image people have of Chongqing, where I live now.

I mean, it’s some neon lights.

Billions of views over that?

Go during the day.

A place like Pyrgi has something else.

It has history.

Style.

Identity.

The streets were labyrinthian, twisting and turning.

I love getting lost through quiet, narrow, old streets.

I even visited their 14th-century church, which had that same feeling.

I talked to people and saw locals just doing normal local things.

I don’t even remember exactly what one old woman was doing, but she was putting tomatoes on a string or something.

Just normal life.

One of the locals spoke pretty damn good English.

She had a family member living in New York.

And here I am, someone who had never even heard of this place, having a random conversation in English.

That’s the stuff I like.

Olympi — A Smaller Step Back in Time

Now it was time to go to Olympi.

Olympi didn’t have the geometric style of Pyrgi, but it had a different feeling.

It felt more medieval to me.

The streets were narrower.

The village was smaller.

Everything just looked old.

It had that old European medieval cobblestone street feeling you see in movies.

I had some rooster at the square here with mastic sauce.

I had never eaten rooster before. Or is that the same as Chicken?

And I had never even heard of mastic.

Little did I know that mastic would become one of the biggest things I learned about Chios.

Discovering Mastic

Somewhere during this day, I learned about the mastic tree.

I honestly don’t remember exactly where.

It was probably somewhere around this area because I remember seeing some kind of caption explaining it.

This is all from memory, but mastic is basically one of the things that makes Chios famous.

The southern part of the island is where the famous mastic cultivation happens.

The resin is used for all kinds of things:

Soap.

Cooking.

Oil.

Food.

A bunch of other products.

It’s a huge part of the island’s identity.

And once again, this is why I like traveling the way I do.

I didn’t wake up thinking:

"Today I will learn about mastic."

I just wandered somewhere, saw something interesting, and learned about it.

Olympi Cave — Finally, A Normal Cave

Olympi was fun because it was small.

Narrow streets.

Easy to get lost.

Easy to find your way back.

It had that feeling of being in a very old place.

Then I discovered there was an Olympi Cave not too far away.

Hell yeah.

After my experience in a Chinese cave — where there were commercials the size of two IMAX theaters on the wall, a stupid slide, robotic dinosaurs, and all kinds of unnecessary shit — I was hoping to find a normal cave.

A cave where I could admire the nature itself.

Not some commercialized bullshit built around it.

I got to Olympi Cave and it had a small parking lot and a little shop.

You pay an entrance fee of around 6 euros.

Totally worth it.

The only negative was you couldn’t go alone.

You had to go with a guided tour.

The tour guide spoke English and was pretty funny.

I told him about my last cave experience.

He mentioned that this cave had also been changed by humans.

I was a little worried.

You enter this building and go down to the bottom where there is a metal door.

He gives some instructions.

Then he opens the door.

And you enter this amazing fucking cave.

Oh lord.

This cave was tight as fuck.

It might have only been 20 minutes, but the moment you step inside, it’s impressive.

There was light coming through the ceiling, casting this ray onto the rocks.

The human additions were fine.

Metal pathways.

Stairs.

Lights.

Without those, the place would be much harder to explore.

I’m not against making places accessible.

I just don’t want a mall inside a cave.

I’m not asking for much.

I just want the beauty of the place to be the main attraction.

Not fake-ass stuff added around it.

The Monster of Olympi Cave

There were tons of stalactites and stalagmites.

Amazing formations.

The only downside was it was short.

You can’t continue further because eventually it goes underwater, and some areas become too narrow for humans.

Apparently there is an exit that leads to a beach, but they only know this because they sent little drone-like devices through the cave.

Ancient people believed there was a monster here.

Since we were in Greece, and most people know the myths and legends, I was curious what monster he was talking about.

I had never heard of it.

The guide only explained it in English because there were children nearby.

Apparently, this monster would drag people into the cave and have wild orgies.

Crazy.

But honestly, the most interesting thing was there was another creature that only lived in this cave.

An endemic insect species.

We didn’t see any.

Thankfully.

You can see pictures of them in the shop.

They looked cool in pictures.

Personally, I wouldn’t want to find one crawling around near me.

I forget what he called them.

There was some simple nickname because the real name was difficult to pronounce.

Of course, he used me — the dumb American — to have some fun.

When he said the name, he had me repeat it.

Thinking I was the typical dumb-ass American, he was surprised when I actually pronounced it pretty decently.

He was impressed.

I hung around afterward and asked more questions before leaving.

Mesta — The Village That Needed a Party

The final village of the day was Mesta.

Mesta was the biggest of the villages.

It had some of the same feeling as Olympi, but bigger.

It looked like the classic old-school medieval European village you see in movies.

This was a fun place to get lost.

I spent the most time here.

Not looking for specific locations.

Just wandering.

Finding churches.

Finding random streets.

Getting lost.

I eventually ended up in the main square.

I saw a Greek cola and thought:

"Fuck it. I’m in Greece. I have to try the Greek Coke."

I grabbed one and sat there for a bit.

Honestly?

It tasted like a Safeway Select soda.

Back in the day, my dad would buy the generic sodas instead of the name brands because they were cheaper.

Dr. Skipper instead of Dr. Pepper.

Generic cola instead of Coke.

And because that’s what I grew up drinking, I actually developed a taste for those cheaper sodas.

So this Greek cola didn’t taste bad.

It just tasted familiar.

It tasted like a Safeway Select cola from my childhood.

Random shit like that is what makes travel funny.

Sometimes you travel across the world and find something that reminds you of home.

I probably missed a lot of things because I was having too much fun exploring.

Honestly, I would love to have a party here where the village itself was the party.

The main square could be the main DJ area.

Then you wander into the narrow alleys and find smaller areas with different music, different people, and different vibes.

People eating, drinking, wandering around, getting lost.

The village becomes the experience.

That’s what makes places like this cool.

Beaches, Pebbles, and Clear Water

After Mesta, I headed to Apothika Beach.

This was a calm beach.

You could rent kayaks.

The water was amazing.

Clear.

Refreshing.

Beautiful.

Pebble beach though.

Moving forward, assume every beach I went to is a pebble beach unless I say otherwise.

Again, I wasn’t coming here just to lay on the beach.

I wanted fish.

I wanted things to explore.

The place looked like it should have coral reefs, but this part of the world doesn’t really have them.

You still get tropical-looking fish, and I saw some fish that I recognized from coral reef environments.

They just didn’t have the same underwater beauty as Indonesia or the Yucatán.

Still dope though.

There were rocks where fish could hide, so I got in the water and explored for a bit.

Mavra Volia — The Black Pebble Beach

Now it was time to drive back.

It wasn’t too late.

Since I was already in the south, I decided to hit one more beach:

Mavra Volia.

This was a black pebble beach.

The only one I found during this whole trip.

That alone made it cool.

But it was not exactly comfortable.

Black rocks.

Hard pebbles.

Not the easiest beach to relax on.

But this place had more rocks and areas where fish could hide.

This was actually a legit spot to look for fish.

I enjoyed it a lot.

Back to Chios Town

Finally, it was time for dinner.

I stopped at a local joint in some small village on the way back to Chios town.

I had some local food and it was legit.

I guess it was a gyro.

I had never eaten Greek food before.

It was like a taco, but huge.

French fries.

Meat.

Onions.

Other shit.

It was honestly really good.

Then it was back to the apartment.

DAY 3 — THE FORGOTTEN SIDE OF CHIOS

This was a pretty pimpy day.

I was heading north this time, and the first stop was Nea Moni of Chios.

A Monastery With a Dark History

Nea Moni had a church, ruins, and a good view. The chapel was beautiful, and like always, I learned some more history.

This is the stuff I like about traveling.

You can look at a beautiful place, but then you start digging deeper and realize there are stories behind it.

Nea Moni was one of those places.

There was a room where there were skulls and skeletal remains connected to the history of the island.

During the Greek War of Independence, Chios experienced a brutal massacre. Thousands of people were killed, enslaved, or forced to flee. Nea Moni was one of the places where people sought refuge, and many were killed there.

History is crazy.

Fucked up shit today.

Fucked up shit in the past.

When will we learn?

The Tiny Village With 15 Residents

After Nea Moni, we hit Avgonima.

This was a village recommended by one of the waitresses from the restaurant.

She said it had a good view, and it certainly did.

This place was small.

Really small.

I had breakfast here, and the lady serving me said there were only 15 people who lived here.

I assumed she meant 15 families at first because the village seemed too big for only 15 people.

But maybe she was serious.

There were also some for-sale signs around the village for people who wanted to get a spot here.

Honestly, I wish I could.

I did a short about this place because the waitress gave me the check, and it was literally notebook paper with the prices and items written down.

I thought that was cool.

It felt personal.

Of course, some dumb ass online told me I got robbed.

So I broke down the list because he obviously didn't understand the check.

Then I asked him:

"Tell me how I got robbed."

Of course, no response.

The Abandoned Village on the Mountain

Then it was time for Anavatos.

This was the place I was most excited about.

An abandoned medieval village built into the side of a mountain?

Hell yeah.

Google Maps kinda fucked me on the location and took me through a shortcut that was a little sketchy, but it worked out in the end.

The drive up to Anavatos was amazing.

As I was climbing, I would occasionally see the village in the distance, literally etched into the mountainside.

I was feeling it hard.

This was exactly the type of place I wanted to see.

Then I arrived.

It was pretty empty, but there was some tourist stuff there.

A small cafe or restaurant.

A shop, I think.

I didn’t really pay attention.

I just wanted to explore.

I started walking up the road, and it became obvious that some people still lived there, but probably 95% of the village was abandoned.

I kept walking until I reached a gate that said:

Off Limits.

The only people allowed beyond were archaeologists and people connected to the restoration work.

I’m sure if you’re some big-time influencer, or someone with enough money and connections, you could probably find a way to get access.

But I’m at the bottom of the food chain.

So no.

I was disappointed.

This place reminded me of Shali Fortress in Siwa Oasis.

Much smaller scale.

Different architecture.

But there were similarities.

I wanted to see more.

I tried figuring out another way.

Eventually, I found a trail.

Or what I thought was a trail.

It kind of stopped being a trail.

I’m pretty sure I wasn’t supposed to be there, but I wanted more.

So I climbed up and managed to see quite a bit more of the village until it started getting sketchy.

I’m sure some younger or more skilled climber could have continued.

But I wasn’t trying to take unnecessary risks.

I still saw more than most people probably did.

A little disappointed?

Yeah.

But it was okay.

The highlight of Anavatos is looking at it from a distance.

Seeing that village embedded into the mountain is a real dope sight.

The Castle That Wasn't the Best Part

The last village would be Volissos.

This was the farthest village of the day.

The reason I wanted to go here was because it had a castle on the hill.

When you roll up from a distance, it’s a dope sight.

You see this castle sitting high above the village, and everything is built into the hillside.

It looks exactly like the type of place you would see in a fantasy movie.

So I drive in.

Immediately, I’m tripping.

These are one-car roads.

Narrow as hell.

I accidentally pull into the police station area and leave, and I’m pretty sure I was going the wrong way down a one-way street.

Thankfully, no cars came.

I decided to go around another way.

The whole time I’m looking for somewhere I can stop and ask for directions.

Eventually, I find a corner store.

It was bigger than the average corner store back home.

I go inside, and the woman working there gives me directions.

Actually, she does more than that.

She literally draws me a map.

She starts explaining everything, but realizes it’s way too much information for me to remember, so she grabs a piece of paper and draws the route.

She tells me:

Go past the police station.

Look for the pharmacy.

Look for the church.

Look for the parking lot.

Then you’ll be good.

A random person joins the conversation.

Another American.

A guy of Greek descent from Ohio, who I think retired and moved to the village.

We chopped it up for a bit.

We talked about the States and how happy he was that he left a while back.

Honestly, he had similar feelings to me.

He also confirmed the map was legit.

So I head back toward the police station road and drive right into the village.

I park at the parking lot in the village center.

There was also parking closer to the castle itself, but I didn’t want to do that.

I didn’t just want to see the castle.

I wanted to see the village.

I started walking through the narrow streets.

It wasn’t raining, but everything was wet, and I almost ate shit a couple times.

The streets were tight.

The buildings were old.

Everything had that medieval feeling.

Then a dumb Western couple drove into the village.

I was already talking shit.

Not really to them, but out loud I said:

"Look at these dumb fucks. I bet they're tourists, and they're about to regret this decision."

Then I got closer and heard them.

The windows were rolled down.

The woman spoke with some kind of English accent.

Maybe Scottish.

At that point, I knew they were fucked.

And they were.

I did not envy them trying to back out of that situation.

Meanwhile, I continued looking for the castle.

You would think finding a castle sitting on top of a fucking hill would be easy.

It wasn't.

Some streets dead-ended.

Some paths led nowhere.

Eventually, I found the route.

I climbed higher and higher until I reached the top.

And I’m not gonna lie...

I had déjà vu.

It was like Anavatos.

Amazing from a distance.

A little disappointing up close.

Now, the castle itself looked intact.

The walls were still standing.

From the outside, it looked impressive.

But once you get inside the walls?

Not much.

Just dirt.

Pits.

Plants.

Empty space.

It had some great views, though.

And obviously I don’t regret going.

The journey getting there was actually the best part.

Finding the village.

Getting lost.

Talking to locals.

Walking through the streets.

That was the experience.

The castle was just the destination.

After leaving the castle, I took a different route back to the car so I could explore more of the village.

And honestly, the village itself was dope.

I don’t know exactly how old it is, but it had the same feeling as the other villages.

Destroyed and damaged homes mixed with intact ones.

Old stone.

Narrow streets.

History everywhere.

I was really liking Chios.

There were barely any tourists.

This island was turning into a goldmine for me.

One More Swim Before Leaving Chios

Since I was already north and on the west coast, I decided to drive another 5–10 minutes to Paralia Lefkathia.

Another beach.

I had to return the car before 10 AM the next day, so I figured I might as well explore as much as possible.

I wanted one last swim.

The beach was similar to the others.

Clear water.

Calm water.

Some fish.

I got in and explored for about 30 minutes.

Then I dried off and relaxed on the beach before heading back toward Chios town.

The Drive Back

The drive back was actually one of the highlights of the day.

I took a different route than the one I came in on.

It was faster.

And it was fucking scenic.

Chios is kind of barren.

I didn’t see huge forests.

But there were definitely trees, and there were these amazing white rocks scattered throughout the landscape.

The best spots for photos didn’t have pullouts.

So I just had to remember those images in my head.

I did make one stop.

There were hella goats.

At first, I saw a couple.

Then I looked again.

There were like a hundred of them.

It was pretty cool.

As I continued driving, the road started descending.

Then came the switchbacks.

And suddenly you had this insane view:

Chios below.

The coastline.

That amazing blue-green water.

The towns scattered along the coast.

It actually reminded me of one of my favorite roads in Taiwan.

The road from Taipei to Yilan, but not the fast way.

The mountain route.

When you’re coming down toward Yilan, you get those views of the coast and the valley below.

That road is beautiful.

But honestly?

This was better.

Yilan is still nice though.

The Pizza Debate

After the drive back, I had dinner.

I went to this spot outside the town, or maybe more like the outskirts of Chios.

It was right on the coast.

And for some reason...

I wanted pizza.

I normally don’t eat pizza.

The last time I had pizza was over two years ago, back in Frisco’s North Beach area, which has some legit Italian restaurants.

That doesn’t mean I haven’t had pizza since then.

But I live in Asia.

Asia doesn’t really have good pizza spots.

Or Mexican spots.

I mean...

It’s Asia.

When I told my boy in Turkey I wanted pizza, he said:

"Pizza isn’t good here."

I’m thinking:

"This fool doesn’t realize I live in Asia."

My standards have been lowered.

I ordered a medium pizza thinking I was going to destroy it because a large pizza in Asia is usually like a small.

They brought me this fat-ass pizza.

And not only that, they brought other stuff too because I thought I was going to eat everything.

This pizza was huge.

And it was actually hella good.

Like...

The best pizza I had eaten in a couple years.

Since Frisco.

Now I don’t know if Greece actually makes good pizza, or if I’ve just been eating shitty pizza in Asia for so long that I forgot what good pizza tastes like.

Maybe it’s because Greece is close to Italy.

I don’t know.

I’ve had some bomb-ass pizza in Croatia too.

Someone tell me.

Does Greece actually make good pizza?

Because this was legit.

FINAL DAY — THE MOMENTS I TRAVEL FOR

The next morning was my final day in Chios.

I got up before sunrise and drove back to the windmills.

I wanted to get some sunrise shots.

When I arrived, it was just me and one hella old Greek dude gutting fish.

That was it.

No tourists.

No crowds.

Just me watching the sunrise and him cleaning fish.

We were both doing our own thing for a while before we started talking.

I was taking photos.

He was gutting and cleaning fish.

Eventually, I approached him, and he started talking to me.

His English was broken.

This dude had to be in his 80s.

Then he started telling me about the windmills.

He said during World War II, the Germans were there and would take the grain.

As a child, he would sneak into this area at night to get grain for his family.

Think about that.

An old man telling me about something he experienced as a child, standing in the exact place where it happened.

That’s the type of stuff you can’t plan.

He also talked about how the windmills wouldn’t last forever because the Greek government wasn’t doing enough to maintain them.

We talked about current events.

He definitely did not like Trump.

But honestly?

Neither do I.

We talked a little more, and then he explained he was cleaning the fish because he was going to have a barbecue later that day with his family.

He wasn’t selling them.

He wasn’t working.

He was just preparing food for his family.

Eventually, he left.

And I stayed.

The Old Man at the Windmills

This was one of those moments I travel for.

Randomly meeting an OG who is willing to share history, personal experiences, and stories.

No tour guide.

No schedule.

No attraction.

Just two people from different parts of the world talking.

After he left, I stayed there alone.

I didn’t take photos.

I didn’t record.

I just sat there and watched.

The windmills.

The ocean.

The morning.

Nobody else was around.

And honestly?

Those are the moments I remember.

A Real-Life D&D Setting

I still had a few hours left with the car.

I was desperate to squeeze out every last bit of Chios.

So I decided to drive to an area where the wealthy people on the island lived.

It’s called Kampos.

Now Kampos wasn’t "cool" in the normal tourist sense.

There wasn’t one specific thing to go see.

No famous landmark.

I just drove in, parked, and wandered.

But Kampos was cool in a different way.

It had:

Old citrus orchards.

Large stone walls.

Fortified-looking entrances and gates.

Old mansions and estates.

It was quiet.

Really quiet.

I walked around for about an hour.

One funny thing happened while I was exploring.

One of the estates had an open gate.

I wasn’t even sure it was an estate at first. I didn’t know if it was some historic building, a public area, or someone's home.

So I just walked through.

A few minutes later, someone came out.

I’m assuming it was the owner, someone who lived there, or someone who worked there.

He saw me.

He smiled.

Said hi.

I said hi.

And he just walked right past me.

As I got deeper into the property, I started realizing:

"Oh shit... this is probably someone’s house."

I felt kinda bad because I basically just walked into this dude’s estate.

But at the same time, I thought it was hilarious.

Because if this was the USA?

I probably would have been yelled at, threatened, or worse.

This guy just smiled, greeted me, and went about his day.

Different place.

Different mentality.

And then my brain started doing what it always does.

I started thinking:

"This place would be amazing during a zombie apocalypse."

I’m serious.

All I could think about was how these owners had huge pieces of land.

You could grow crops.

Collect water.

Have livestock.

And these giant walls?

Perfect protection.

Assuming we’re talking Walking Dead zombies.

Not World War Z zombies.

The movie was trash.

The book was fucking amazing.

Then I started thinking about Dungeons & Dragons.

Where would I put guards?

Where would people live?

How would this place function?

I run my own games, so I’m always thinking about nerdy shit like this when I travel.

But because Kampos didn’t have some obvious attraction, my brain just went into zombie apocalypse and D&D mode.

Discovering the Soul of Chios

Eventually, I filled up the tank and headed back to the car rental place.

I talked with the semi-retired owner for a minute and his daughter, who is now the current owner.

Then I said goodbye and went back to wandering my last day in Chios.

I had breakfast at one of the restaurants right by the water.

Nothing fancy.

Just sitting there, eating, watching people, enjoying the atmosphere.

Then I went to a shop that sold a bunch of mastic products.

This was actually pretty funny.

I walked in like I was some kind of mastic expert.

I started talking to the employee, telling her what I knew about mastic.

She was cool.

We started talking more, and eventually the conversation moved from mastic to current events and different ideologies.

It was actually nice meeting someone from another country who thought in a similar way.

We vibed well.

Of course, I had to buy something.

I got some mastic soap.

I couldn’t leave Chios without taking a little piece of the island with me.

Leaving the Island I Never Planned to Visit

For my final hours, I just wandered around downtown and the walking street.

No major plans.

No checklist.

Just enjoying the last bit of Chios.

Looking back, Chios felt a lot more chill than Turkey.

Not better.

Just different.

What I gathered about Chios — or maybe Greece in general — was that people seemed very focused on community.

Being friendly.

Creating relaxing spaces.

I wouldn’t say they were obsessed with entertainment.

It felt more like they valued leisure.

Taking time.

Sitting.

Talking.

Enjoying life.

The rhythm of the island was interesting.

I would wake up before most people.

Later in the morning, everything started buzzing.

Then around midday, everything slowed down.

People disappeared.

The streets got quiet.

Then later in the afternoon and evening, everyone came back out.

Eating dinner late.

Talking.

Hanging out.

People would create these inviting spaces.

Their yards.

Chairs outside their homes.

Little areas where people could sit and talk.

It felt very communal.

That night, I had dinner at another restaurant right off the water.

Then I went back and slept.

The next morning, I left the apartment early because my ferry was leaving.

I ate the leftover pizza and fries.

Honestly, not a bad breakfast.

Before long, I was back in Çeşme.

The ferry experience was easy and smooth.

And thinking back...

I couldn’t have made a better choice for a Greek island.

That’s not to say another island wouldn’t have been fun.

I’m sure there are plenty of amazing islands I would enjoy.

But I have zero regrets.

Everything worked.

The pace was right.

The people were cool.

The places were interesting.

And most importantly...

I discovered a place I knew almost nothing about.

That’s exactly why I travel.