Greece - Korina Miller [479]
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EVDILOS ΕΥΔΗΛΟΣ
pop 460
Evdilos, Ikaria’s second port, is 41km northwest of Agios Kirykos; they’re connected by Ikaria’s main road. If you haven’t a car, take a taxi (€40). The memorable trip takes in high mountain ridges, striking sea views and slate-roof villages. Evdilos itself is sleepy, though its streets are narrow and poorly planned for the summer influx, as attested by the chronic vehicle congestion. It features stately old houses on winding streets (follow Kalliopis Katsouli, the cobbled street leading uphill from the waterfront square). For the local beach, walk 100m uphill from the plateia, then take the path down past the last house on the left.
Information
The waterfront has ATMs, and the ticket agencies for NEL Lines ( 22750 31572) and Hellas Ferries ( 22750 31990). Aventura ( 22750 31140), in a side street off the central waterfront, has car and bike hire, sells tickets and offers information.
Sleeping
Hotel Atheras ( 22750 31434; www.atheras-kerame.gr; s/d €50/60; ) The almost Cycladic feel to the Atheras derives from its bright white decor contrasting with the blue Aegean beyond. The friendly, modern hotel has a pool bar. It’s in the backstreets, 200m from the port.
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REVEALED: THE SECRETS OF IKARIAN LONGEVITY
In 2009 Greek and foreign media announced that Ikarians enjoy the longest average lifespan in Europe. To what can be attributed this mark of distinction?
To be sure, the time-honoured, laid-back lifestyle of remote Ikaria, untroubled by mass tourism or the stresses of modern life, is a factor. But to really get the story on the secrets of Ikarian longevity, it’s best to go, as reporters say, straight to the source.
Take Ioannis Tzantas: born on 9 February 1910 in the village of Akamanatra, this contented chap sitting outside the local kafeneio (coffee house) happily recounts his island life, and all the little things that have gone into extending it far longer than the average person’s.
By the age of 14, the bespectacled centenarian recalls, he was looking after his whole household, as his father’s health problems left him incapable. ‘I sold goats, and worked for my family every day and night,’ recounts Ioannis. ‘In those days, we would walk everywhere, all day long, following the sheep – walking is very good for you, you know.’
Ioannis was married at 26, and recalls the vibrant life of a village that has since become sleepy due to emigration. ‘We had many festivals, with lots of singing and dancing,’ he says, ‘And I would drink some wine, but I never got drunk, not once!’
Indeed, Ioannis is firm about steering clear of vices. Although he was a pipe smoker for 18 years, he never touched cigarettes. ‘Life is very good, even though there are always problems that can’t be avoided,’ he says, ‘But other potential problems can be avoided – like drunkenness and drugs. It makes me very sad when I see people with these problems.’
Instead, Ioannis prescribes two glasses of wine a day, ‘but without getting drunk, of course. And no smoking!’ With a twinkle in his eye, he adds, ‘and be sure to have lots of sex.’ (At this, Ioannis’ septuagenarian sons erupt with laughter from the corner.)
It takes a hardy and disciplined diet to keep up a man’s vitality, of course. Ioannis advises eating lots of eggs, cheese and milk. ‘I once even had 32 eggs in one day!’ (More laughter.)
For a man of his years, Ioannis has a sharp memory. As his life lessons meander into tangents, he recalls a sometimes harrowing childhood in wild Ikaria, and a facet of life that perhaps helps explain its Communist tendencies. ‘In those days, the pirates attacked our island very often,’ he says. ‘That’s why nobody wanted to have lots of things – the pirates would steal them anyway!’ He also recalls WWII, when he was stationed in the north, near Albania. Although precisely 225 of his comrades were killed, ‘thanks to God,