KOS; Tigaki

KOS, TIGAKI

This year we are off  to KOS another Greek Island. Set in the Dodecanese group of Islands in the southern Aegean Sea and off the Anatolian coast of Turkey. If you want to know more about this beautiful Island click here for more info on Kos. We have had holidays previously in the resort of Tigaki and stayed in the hotel Kalloudis. If you like to chill in a typically Greek island resort then this is for you.

Airport lounge

Oh and guess what. This is the first time I have used the lounges at Manchester Airport. And yes, a really good experience

The Aspire lounge

Next was the flight to Kos. Yeah a good flight with Jet2, a bit bumpy on the approach to Kos but it was really windy. I like having the window seat on any flight since some of the views you get are spectacular.

The Alps never cease to thrill me - beautiful

The flight time was predicted to be 3 hours and 40 minutes and that was spot on. We arrived at 3.40 pm local time, and the coach transfer from airport to Kalloudis was about 25 mins.

Outside the entrance to Kalloudis

Checking in was easy, it helped that my sister in law managed to warn the hotel in advance that we required a ground floor room and thats exactly what happened. Impressed so far? I was. So next was a plan to unpack, get changed, and then out for the evening. 

Our ground floor room at Kalloudis

The room was generally tidy with some evidence of a sloppy cleaning regime... the edges of the tiled floor looked like the mop just wouldn't go to the edge. The bathroom was small but functional. The bath I am reliably informed by my wife is half size. And there was me thinking it was designed for children or very small adults. Ah well. Oh yes, the workmanship or finishing around the bath was poor. It looks like at the end of its installation someone realized that it just didn't quite fit and thought "have we got any materials left over from some other project that we can use to hide the fact it don't fit proper? Yes we have... some ceiling architrave, that'll do.

Our bath and shower area

What no WiFi

Oh and guess what. No WiFi! and that stings a little since modern communications protocol for me is essential for happiness and well-being. this means taking a trip over the road to Rendez-Vous and use theirs for those essentials like reading emails etc.

The Pool Bar

Kalloudis Pool Bar

A good selection of beers (bottled), and soft drinks.

Food was fair except one occasion a Greek salad yielded some dodgy tasting Olives and quite a lot of bin juice in the bottom of the bowl where the salad was. 

The pool

Kalloudis pool

Pool was cold but very clean as was the tiled area around the pool. The Pool area has a rules board and I recommend you read them and stick to them since rule breaking is not tolerated.

Sunbeds were new looking, lightweight

Parasols were ok once you got them up, but not secured in their holders very well (the clamping mechanism would not clamp the parasol stem. A strong gust of wind and the Parasol takes off) - solution, wooden stake.

Room service

Alternate days; sweep, empty bins, make bed, a cursory tidy up.

Balcony

Spacious, with table and 2 chairs, some shade in morning and afternoon. View was an Olive Grove and a nearby property development. Raise your eyes above the Olive Grove and you have a hilly backdrop with what looks like a communications tower. 

Our balcony at Kalloudis

View from balcony at Kalloudis

Air con

Newly serviced, easy to operate, 100 Euro for 2 weeks

TV

5 channels, no English channels. There maybe a couple of English film type channels after 10 pm

We exited the hotel at the main entrance, turned left and not 30 metres down the main resort road is Rendezvous. A sports type bar and with the 2016 Euros due to start in 2 days time I thought it was a good idea to sample our first drink there. A couple of beers and we were on our way. 

 Rendez-vous

We fancied a cocktail and since we knew of a good cocktail bar, next stop was Ipanema. An innocuous looking bar but renowned for a cracking cocktail and yes we were not disappointed. Excellent value for money. Good waitress service.

Ipanema

If you ever frequent Ipanema watch out for this guy. He goes by the name of Murgo and I'm not kidding the dog is a proper dude. Randomly chasing vehicles up and down the street. Also, on the opposite side of the road is Kivotos which has a what looks like a resident cat that snuggles up to one of the uprights on the roadside. Well I would never have guessed but Murgo sometimes trots up to the cat and licks it? what is that about? and then trots off no doubt looking for something else to chase.

You can just see the Cat between Murgo,s legs

Right then, somewhere to eat, and we decided to try Mylos . Yes, a good experience, good waiter service and value for money.

Aspro Mylos

Mixed souvlaki at Mylos

Ok its been a long day really so it was back to the Kalloudis and sleep. Incidentally, when we checked in earlier in the day we decided to purchase the air conditioning and at 100 Euros for 2 weeks I thought it was a bit steep. We used it and it was very effective during the night... it made the room comfortable. We had a good nights sleep until...

Cock Tales

Ok let me focus you on the subject of this passage. I love the idea of free range, especially in the context of farm animals.  In particular, chickens and their other halves the majestic, elegant, magnificent Cockerel.

Now, I don’t know about you but I become exceptionally likeable and at peace with the world when I have had my 8 hours of kip which means when I go to bed at midnight, which I do most nights I like to rise at 8 am.

By mis-fortune our room looked out onto an olive grove, and let me say, absolute kudos to the guy who nurtured this grove since not just Olives were grown there, but citrus fruits, grapes, and in amongst, free range chickens (presumably to lay eggs) and of course the chicken’s best friend and spouse the mighty Cockerel.

 Click here to hear this bad boy

Now these cockerel fellows appear to have a complex when it comes to territory, and they are at their most fearful of intruders when there is the smallest indication of light breaking the darkness of night in this case around 5 am. How do they communicate their fear? Well, just like us humans they have a voice and they CROW loudly . Let me tell you, when one cock crows so do all the other cocks that are in ear shot. This exchange goes on for about one hour presumably until every cock is satisfied that the boundaries of his territory have not been breeched by someone trying to expand theirs. There was only one solution and it worked for me, windows and doors closed and ear plugs.

Squeak, squeak, squeak

The door to the bathroom started to squeak when opening and closing. So any night visits to the toilet was heralded by an annoying squeak that broke our/my critical sleep pattern.

I fixed that annoying bathroom door squeak with a little improvisation.

Places to eat

These are the Restaurants that we sampled and the comments that follow are our opinions and our experiences.

 Oneiro

Traditional Greek taverna. Nothing special but value for money

Kitchen

Kitchen (formally Spiros). A contemporary/modern development. Looks very impressive from the outside and has a very new feel to the interior. Tip, look at the menu on the outside of the restaurant and ask if they have what you fancy before you get seated. I was disappointed to find that they didn't have Rib-eye or fillet. Good service and value for money.

Rodini

Slightly disappointing regarding quality of food. Waiter service good

Hercules

This is a lovely traditional Greek taverna. The service was quite quick and the quality of the food is good. Portion sizes are quite big. Make sure you wear some mosquito protection. Excellent value for money.

Dimos

Traditional Greek Taverna, Quick and pleasant waiter service, Great value for money.

Vasalis

Traditional Greek Taverna, Quick and pleasant waiter service, Great value for money.

7dayz

7dayz

7dayz

A nice little Mezze Restaurant not 30 meters from Kalloudis. I don’t remember it being there on previous holidays but my missus says it was there. However, It has been revamped and it caught our attention. It’s simplicitly, imagination, niche, and acumen were clearly on display. The surroundings had a crafty/arty feel. The waitress explained well how the Mezze system worked. Portion sizes were OK. Speed of service was just right for us. Value for money, a bit expensive for what you got.

Tigaki Beach Taverna

Traditional Greek taverna. Good waiter service. Value for money. Situated just off the beach it can be a bit breezy.

Meni

We tried this restaurant on the last evening of our holiday. Previously, we noticed that the Kitchen’s menu had a reference to Meni and from that we assumed that there was a connection between them in some way. We had decided that we were going to push the boat out a little and sample something from the menu a bit more up market. Once again and as at the Kitchen I was going to try order either Rib-eye steak, Fillet steak, or T Bone. My preferences were in that order. I asked, and only T Bone was available. So, I ordered T Bone, medium rare with rice and Mediterranean vegetables. It came and was perfectly done.

Meni

My wife ordered a starter; Beef Carpaccio, and that was perfect. Salmon Salad was her main course and she was a little disappointed that there was not more Salmon and less salad which only consisted of chopped Cabbage. The wine was good. The waiting staff were absolutely brilliant and we would certainly go there again. The surroundings were modern, contemporary, simple and clean.

Nutter on the bus

I don’t know about you but I go on holiday to relax and get away from the hustle bustle of everyday working life in the UK. I manage to achieve this state by switching off, immersing myself in a book, sitting/laying quietly by the pool having covered my snow white skin with factor 15 to 50. Occasionally averting by eyes from the pages of a book and asking my missus… “are you ok? to that she answers “yes” then 15 minutes later I would say to her “do you think we will have enough loo roll to last us until the maids turns up tomorrow? to that she answers “yes”. This is my daily routine and by the end of my holiday I am once again ready to face the rigours of life. You get the picture.

Now, anything that detracts from this routine tends to cause me stress and thats not good especially when my guard is down. One of the worst things that gives me stress is having to engage in unsolicited conversation with people you don”t want to get to know, but they want to know every last detail of your entire life, and trawl your mind harvesting every last morsel of personal data that can be held in a living organism, and use it against you.

We sat by the hotel pool on our first full day along with a number of other couples and it wasn’t long before I became aware of this guy. He had a deep tan, sun glasses, short sleeved denim top, cowboy hat, short shorts, and flip flops. probably in his late fifties. He was standing over a couple who were laid on sunbeds and talking… constantly. The guy on the sunbed covering his eyes from the sun with one hand occasionally interjected with one or two words before being cut off by Mr X. When done Mr X would walk away three or four steps and thinking that it was all over the sun loungers would resume a more comfortable posture. Only seconds later having to reset to the uncomfortable posture for Mr X was to return to the couple to say something else a few times.

This went on with another 3 couples that we counted and we were wondering when it would be our turn. Phew, he never got that far. The day expired and we had escaped.

The following day once again we headed for the pool and with no sign of Mr X we settled into our usual pattern for a day round the pool. It got to noon and we had some lunch at the pool bar. Now, I'm not a prolific sunbather a couple of hours in the morning and maybe an hour or so after lunch and that was as much as I can stand so early in the holiday. So I leave my beloved on her sunbed, and I head off to Rendez-Vous where I can switch on my phone or tablet and use their WiFi for as long as I wanted, all for the price of an Iced Coffee. So I gather all my techware and wander off the pool area towards the exit. Then out of the blue a voice “Where are you from mate?” I looked round, nothing. The voice again “your’e from Yorkshire aren't you?” I looked up and there was Mr X leaning over his balcony two floors up.

Mr X 

Probably 15 mins of small talk before I was released. It’s hard work craning your neck up two floors. I wonder if this is how the term “Pain in the neck” was created.We met this way on a number of occasions and additionally on Mr X’s daily rounds at the pool. This became a daily pattern sometimes twice daily. During the time I actually had to myself I would try work out how many hours out of my holiday Mr X was stealing. The impact that Mr X was having on me reached far beyond the occasions that I was engaged in conversation. Seriously, I would lay on my sunbed and try think of ways I could avoid an encounter. For instance, was there any other entrances to the hotel or routes off the pool area that didn't involve passing under Mr X’s balcony? How long before Mr X was going home? The answers were No and 3 more days respectively.

Look, I try tell myself he’s someone's son. One of nine that shared the same parents I'm reliably informed, and this, Mr X tells me, is the reason he has to have very close human contact. I guess it’s his way of building a secure environment around himself. Ironically, I was brought up as a single child with a single parent and maybe that explains why I'm a bit withdrawn in social situations...Yep, a clash of personalities perhaps.

Mr X’s last day arrived and he didn't wait for me to pass him by before he made a special trip to the pool bar where we were sat eating lunch.  He told us another tale about  the time the pool bar attendant gave him a roasting for smoking while sitting on the poolside dangling his feet in the pool. He bid us farewell, we shook hands,and he turned and disappeared from view. It’s very likely that I’ll never see Mr X ever again, but when I'm sat on the bus and that nutter sits next to me and doesn't shut up for the entire journey, I’ll think of Mr X. 

Sunset in Zia

Equipped with camera and a few Euros we caught the coach outside our hotel as arranged. A minibus turned up. We were first on the bus and after a few more pick ups we were in Zia. More about Zia . A nice little village nestled in mountains above Tigaki renowned for it’s spectacular sunsets, views, tavernas and bizarre type shops. The trick here is getting there a good 90 mins or so before sunset then find a taverna with a good vantage point. We have been a couple of times using Tigaki Tours and Tigaki Express and found that you are always dropped off in the village square. The Olympia 2 Roof Garden at the top of the main road is a good place to see the sunset. It gets busy about 40 minutes or so before the sunset and waiters are rushing around taking drinks and food orders, naturally, trying to capitalise on the time window between people taking their seats at the tables and the sunset. Once the sunset is gone people leave the taverna.

Olympia 2 Roof Garden

We were seated at our table approximately 1 hour before sunset and we were made welcome. Within 5 minutes we had our drinks order, only I ordered a draught beer and received a bottled beer it was 50 c cheaper so I didn’t say anything. My wife ordered a ½ carafe of wine and that is what she received.

Five minutes later we were being hassled for our food order. We explained that we hadn't finished reading the menu and the waiter went away to hassle someone else. Another waiter came to take our order 5 mins later and we were able to oblige. We ordered two starters to share and a side of garlic bread. At the same time we ordered our main course. I ordered meatballs, and my wife ordered Moussaka. Five minutes later one starter and the garlic bread turned up and we sat waiting for the second starter to arrive… two or three mins elapsed and I called over a waiter. Apparently it was on its way. It turned up two or three minutes later and we tucked in. Now, five minutes later the head waiter is heading for our table closely followed by one of his minions holding two plates like the proverbial Buddha. Presumably that was our mains. Are you ready? clearly we were still eating our starters and with no room on our table to plant another couple of plates our mains made their way back to the kitchen. Five minutes later our starters were done and our empty plates were quickly rushed away. Five minutes later our mains courses emerged from the kitchen and planted in front of us...do you require anymore drinks? er no thanks. My meatballs were cold, presumably there is no hot plate in the kitchen. My wife tells me her chips were warm. We ate what we could, and left the Garlic bread since neither of us fancied a trip to the dentist to try fix some broken teeth.

 The setting sun reflecting on the sea

The setting sun as viewed from Zia

The sunset came, we flicked a few amateur looking photos. The sunset went and we departed Olympia 2. We sauntered down the main street towards the square at the bottom and looked in a few shops, but we didn't buy anything. The pick up time was 10 pm so we had about 45 minutes to kill which we did by sitting on a bench in the square my wife eating an ice cream and me drinking a bottle of water. Someone was impressing me with a Drone that was lit up. I never saw the pilot. The coach arrived on time and we were back in Tigaki within 30 mins.

To summarise. It was a good experience… a typical sunset. The experience at Olympia 2 was ok and the staff were attentive but it felt just a little rushed. If you like bizarre type shops and “crafty” places to look round then this is a good place to spend your money.

Mosquito feeding frenzy

OK I don’t want to patronise people but why is it that holidaymakers go to countries where Mosquitoes are basically the main residents and not understand their eating habits. When are we humans at our most vulnerable? answer, during the first couple of days of our long awaited expensive holiday. You can just imagine the relatively elusive Mosquito saying amongst themselves “Hey lads come look at this a lily white limb of a human and guess what? it has no repellent!… yeah tuck in lads” A feeding frenzy ensues.
Check this out for more info. on the Mosquito and human reaction to Mosquito bites

A bad case of Mosquito leg

Here is the plan we use to stay safe. It generally works for us:

1. Before you fly - Buy some mosquito repellent spray/lotion/wipes and keep it handy for you will need it before you step off the plane at your destination.
2. Before you disembark your plane (and I do this in the aircraft toilet). Cover with repellent every last square centimetre of exposed skin.
3. Enjoy the transfer to your resort
4. Check in to your accommodation and dump your bags in your room and quickly check all the doors and windows etc are closed - do not linger in your room, immediately retreat and go buy a Mosquito killing aerosol spray.
5. Return to your room closing the door behind you.
6. Now spray EVERYWHERE. Including: Under the bed, between the sheets, inside furniture, down the side of fridges, back of curtains, and pelmets, in bathrooms. You get the picture.
7. Retreat from your room and return 30 mins later.
8. If your room has air-con then hire it - this way you can keep the room cool and doors and windows closed.

Final thoughts

We only did the one excursion to Zia for the sunset although there were quite a few more to choose from. We saw three excursion companies down the main street in Tigaki  and noticed that they all roughly offered the same excursions 

The sun sets on this years holiday in Kos. The resort of Tigaki and the hotel Kalloudis has been a destination for us on more than one occasion. Greece in general has had a few crises of recent  but the spirit and optimism of the local people was on show. We are glad to say that there had been no fundamental changes to Tigaki. Although, there has clearly been a few evolutionary changes with new restaurant business occupying existing premises, and other premises being revamped. Everything else appears unchanged. We look forward to our next holiday in Tigaki.