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Following their recent viewing trips to Samos, our customers have written to us with extended testimonials about their experience of Samos, its culture, people the plot of Halcyon Hills... "Blue sky, clear views and a pilot that banked the plane so we could get a wonderful first view of Samos, – how far did the influence of Barrasford and Bird go?"
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Having nervously viewed the weather reports for Samos for a week before arriving, we were a little apprehensive that the English weather would follow us across the European continent. Not a bit of it. We had struck gold and the rest of our trip followed the same pattern... Sunshine and a welcoming breeze.
We were on our way to have a look at the location of the new Halcyon Hills development on Samos, a luxury spa resort our financial advisor had tipped us off about. He is careful only to recommend really good projects to us and everything we read drew us in even more. Originally wethought it would make a good investment but the more we talked to Barrasford and Bird, the company behind the project and read their glossy brochure, the more we realized that the care and deliberation they were taking over every aspect of the project meant that this might be somewhere weshould consider living, even retire to, for parts of the year. We were dithering between a townhouse and a villa. The Sales team at Barrasford and Bird couldn’t have been nicer. There was none of the hard sell you associate with other companies selling timeshares in the 70’s and 80’s who wouldn’t let you out of the room until you had signed on the dotted line. They were anxious that we make the right decision and arranged a viewing trip so we could see the location and get a taste of life in Samos, no strings attached – and they meant it. The only time I’d been to Greece was as a young boy, visiting the temple of Artemis in Athens at a time when you could wander freely around one of the wonders of the ancient world.
Heads of wild garlic mingled with wildflowers, so that again and again, in the fields and the roadsides, we met a tapestry of yellow, crimson and whiteWe were met at the airport by Ruth who had organized our viewing trip and was our guide for our short visit. I wondered if she would recognize us from the other passengers on the plane but I needn’t have worried. She came straight up and introduced herself to us – maybe it was the red carnation in my lapel or my large Tilley hat that gave us away. She whisked us off in her small jeep to Samos Town that was to be our base. Our hotel was on the long curve of the bay, a charming, Neo-Classical corniche backed by dozens of tiny shops and boutiques. The people we met were very friendly and generous. The restaurateur in the little taverna on our first night brought us a bottle of the local dessert wine on the house, served in tall, ice-filled glasses; resiny, rich and not too sweet. The food was hearty and the prices were very reasonable too. Tourists clearly matter to the islanders and they are anxious to make us welcome and want to return.
The next morning Ruth had us up at a respectable hour for breakfast and then a tour of the island and, in particular, the site of the Halcyon Hills resort. The island was greener than I had imagined with lots of flowers bursting out of thelandscapes even though it was only April. There werefrequent stops for me to take photographs and for my wife to exclaim over the great variety of flowers she encountered. In April, the green meadows were studded with ruby red poppies, a deeper, more jewel-like colour than the lurid scarlet of our British or ‘Flanders’ poppy. Heads of white wild garlic mingled with yellow wildflowers, so that again and again, in the fields and the roadsides, we met this tapestry of yellow, crimson, and shining white. Gaudy pink anemones threw themselves about in abandon, and in one field, where I had stopped to photograph a spectacular turquoise sea, my wife discovered a hidden colony of rare wild orchids. In England it would have been under armed guard.
The first bay we encountered east of Samos town was Kerveli Bay, uncluttered with a couple of small simple tavernas that were having the finishing touches added to them before the real tourist season began. We tromped along the gravel beach and gazed out over the water. It soon became apparent we were not alone. Two ducks appeared from the ocean to escort us up and down the beach, in close Ruth then took us onto the next bay, the town of Posidonio, winding down through the terraces of ancient olive trees, footed by meadow grass and wildflowers, that we came to recognize as a ‘classic’ Samos landscapeformation. They consented to have their photograph taken too, before taking to the sea to bodysurf as confidently as if it were an English village pond. Ruth then took us onto the next bay, the town of Posidonio, winding down through the terraces of ancient olive trees, footed by meadow grass and wildflowers, that we came to recognize as a ‘classic’ Samos landscape. There was more activity here with a couple of tavernas and several houses. It was nice not to be confronted with various beef burger chains I could mention that have not discovered this part of the world yet – long may it continue. It was clear Ruth was building up to revealing the Halcyon site and sure enough the next bay we came to was Klima bay. We stopped first at the tiny village with its two tavernas; populated by orange and lemon trees with their sun-coloured fruits dangling like Christmas tree baubles at the same time as new bunches of intensely sweet, aromatic flowers made their appearance. From here the jeep proved its worth as we ground and bounced over a track, winding up and around the brow of the hillside to the Halcyon Hills site.
The track takes you to the top of the site, from which the land leaps steeply down to thesea; with nothing there but a bulldozed track, the land was a sea of pink and white rock roses, while spikes of wild oregano cluster around your ankles. Before you is a broad sweep of a dark, pure Before you is a broad sweep of a dark, pure blue sea, and the land across the horizon is Turkeyblue sea, and the land across the horizon is Turkey. When we were told you could see Turkey I was expecting to need binoculars, what I didn’t expect was that I would be able to swim there (if I was fit). To your left is the tiny village of Klima we had just left, with its little fringe of white sand and a cluster of houses. The site is framed to the right with a picturesque headland of terraced grace and cypress trees – long may it stay undeveloped! From time to time a ship crosses the maritime road, between this last outpost of the Greek ‘West’ and the ‘East’ of Turkey. Here where our future house will be, where a deep spirit of peace pervades the site, is the meeting point between ‘Europe’ and ‘Asia’ – another continent is a swim away.
Ruth quickly spread out a map of the proposed resort and we were all clambering off in different directions working out where the various townhouses, villas and spa were going to be built, and how the beach with its amenities will be laid out. It really has been carefully planned, making sure everyone has a good view of the bay. When you scramble down to the water, close-up you find it crystal clear. It didn’t take much imagination to see what the finished resort will be like and we fell in love with the location – how could you not! If there had been doubts before they were blown away and we started pacing out where the villa would be built.
Eventually we returned to the map to find Ruth with a celebratory bottle of wine produced as if by magic and two Pythagorian wineglasses (the cork annoyingly got stuck in It didn’t take much imagination to see what the finished resort will be like and we fell in love with the location – how could you not!the bottle but was enticed out by one of the men driving the bulldozers). She told us the story attached to the glasses and their hidden secret, which I won’t spoil by revealing here, and we toasted the location and the success of the Halcyon Hills venture. A short drive away saw us in the marina where Barrasford and Bird are setting up an office to advertise the resort. It showed us how carefully they have been researching and planning for the long term success of the Spa resort. It looks like they are in Samos for the long term and ‘those who like splashing around in boats’ (as Ratty would say in Wind in the Willows) will be an important source of income in the future.
Ruth drove us up the hillside overlooking the south east side of the island, to the monastery at Panagis Spillanis built into the side of the hill overlooking Pythagorio. The beautiful white buildings hide a cave cut into the rock. It is a local shrine and has a small Orthodox chapel at the back. It was nice and cool too! The monastery was inhabited by a swarm of very friendly cats and an Orthodox monk who turned out to be an Iraqi oil man in his former life. We chatted away in a variety of languages, a kind of Greek Esperanto, where everyone felt they had glimpsed a little more understanding of each other and would be happy to return to the conversation at a later date.
Hunger as well as curiosity took us to the town Pythagorus hailed from, Pythagorio. Peaceful lanes lined with orange trees divide the houses, some bedecked in white and blue, and a charming waterfront finished off this fishing village, filled with bobbing boats of bright colours. Quiet on our April afternoon, this is clearly the place for tourist dinners and nightlife; but at the far end of the waterside we found a little ‘paradise’ (as its hostess called it.) She had a little conservatory atop the beach, virtually in the water, where she brought us embarrassingly large platters of meat and salad.
Fighting off the desire to linger all afternoon – or just have a nice siesta – we carried on towards the archaeological remains of the Temple of Hera and looped through the mountains at the heart of the island.The mountainous, rugged centre and west of the island would have to wait for another trip, but it promised us deep, green valleys, tough and challenging hikes, and a taste of ancient peace.
Dinner in Samos took us to another unpretentious taverna, filled by locals. We had fish whose name we did not recognize, accompanied by a pureed garlic sauce. Large tables of families, children polishing off unfeasibly large kebabs of meat, added to the Whether it was the sea air, the food and wine, or the congenial company, I slept the sleep of the Greek gods that nightrelaxed and welcoming atmosphere. Whether it was the sea air, the food and wine, or the congenial company, I slept the sleep of the ancient Greek gods that night.
As we all boarded the plane on our final day it was clear to us that we would return often even before the resort is finished. It is an island that has charm and is unspoilt with tremendous potential. The nice thing is that everyone who is involved is very clear they want it to stay that way too. We returned to London and made our decision. I don’t think Ruth was that surprised when I called her two weeks later to let her know – mind you, she wasn’t in England. She had already returned to Samos to open their office and supervise the first steps of building Halcyon Hills. Lucky lady!
If you'd like to visit Samos and witness for yourself how beautiful and intriguing this island can be, contact us TODAY on
0800 1 303 101.
To read another customer's testimonial from their viewing trip to Samos, please click here.
