The chapel on the spit
A small white chapel between two bays at the village's end.
**More rain, higher mountains and water-holding ground โ it belongs more to Anatolia than to the Cyclades.** โ **Position**: Samos is **right against the Anatolian coast** (the strait is barely two kilometres at its narrowest), **and receives a rainfall regime like the mainland's** rather than that of the dry, exposed central Aegean. โ **The mountains**: it has **Mount Kerkis** at nearly 1,430 m and **Mount Ampelos** โ **which force moist air upwards to condense and rain** (orographic rainfall); low islands like Mykonos or Delos cannot. โ **The springs**: the mountains store water and release it year-round โ **which is why the valleys stay green in summer** and the hill villages sit among vines and pines. โ **The practical result**: **pine and oak forest**, **vineyards** (Samos's muscat wine is famous and holds a designation of origin), **olives and citrus**. โ **The trade-off**: **higher humidity** in summer than on the dry islands, **and mosquitoes** in the valleys at dusk โ take repellent.
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**A fishing village on a rocky spit between two bays, with the green mountain dropping straight down to it** โ on Samos's north coast, and the island's prettiest village. What distinguishes Kokkari is that it **has not entirely turned**: real fishing boats still line the quay, narrow lanes run between white houses with balconies, and a **small chapel stands on the headland** between the two seas. โ Its beaches are **shingle, not sand** โ fine white pebbles, which is why the water is so exceptionally clear. โ From Kokkari begin Samos's finest inland walks: the **Lykoudis valley** climbing towards the mountain villages of **Vourliotes** and **Manolates**, through pine forest and springs. โ And Samos is **surprisingly green** โ not a dry Aegean island. โ But the north coast is **exposed to the meltemi**.
A small white chapel between two bays at the village's end.
Genuinely working boats in front of waterside tavernas.
Vourliotes and Manolates among pines directly above.
Kokkari, 83100 Samos, Greece