Greece - Korina Miller [499]
Orientation & Information
Disembarking from the ferry, walk left along the waterfront and turn right to the plateia, site of the tavernas, museum and services. Further along the waterfront are cafes and, above them, a small church. A post office and National Bank of Greece stand adjacent, around the corner from the Nautical Museum. However, there’s no ATM; locals explain that having one would make one of the bank’s two workers redundant.
Doctor ( 22710 55300)
Dimarhio (Town Hall; 22710 55326) Local officials keep lists of available domatia and can phone them for you.
Police ( 22710 55222) Just above Hotel Thalassoporos.
Post office ( 22710 55398; 9.30am-2pm Mon-Fri)
Sights & Activities
Inousses has numerous hill-walking opportunities and untouched beaches. There’s no tourist information, so enquire at the dimarhio (town hall) or the helpful Hotel Thalassoporos. Bilali Beach, 2km from town, is the best nearby beach, with summer night parties. Also, a summertime open-air cinema (tickets €4) near the central waterfront brings Hollywood hits to Inousses, nightly at 9.30pm.
The fascinating Nautical Museum ( 22710 44139; Stefanou Tsouri 20; admission €1.50; 10am-1pm Mon-Fri) celebrates Inousses’ seafaring past. To create it, local shipping magnate Antonis Lemos donated his priceless collection of model ships, which include early 20th-century commercial ships, whaling ships made of ivory and whalebone, and ivory models of French prisoner-of-war vessels from the Napoleonic Wars. However, the museum is more eclectic; along with these models (accompanied by vintage maritime paintings by eminent painter Aristeides Glykas), there’s a swashbuckling collection of 18th-century muskets and sabres, a WWII-era US Navy diving helmet, a hand-cranked lighthouse made in 1864, antiquarian maps of Greece and (of course) a 6th-century-BC stone scarab seal, and various Bronze Age antiquities.
In true Greek style, the museum is timed to close just before the afternoon ferry from Chios arrives and to open after the morning boat back to Chios has left. Therefore you may have to stay for two nights just to see it, unless you can get someone to open it out of hours (Eleni at Hotel Thalassoporos can sometimes help).
To experience the significance of Inousses’ heritage, walk 10 minutes up the hill from the museum to the Church of Agia Paraskevi; in its leafy courtyard above the sea stands the Mausoleum of Inousses (Nekrotafion Inousson), where the island’s ship-owning dynasties have endowed the tombs of their greats with huge chambers, marble sculptures and miniature churches. It’s a melancholy, moving place, and speaks volumes about the worldly achievements and self-perception of the extraordinary natives of these tiny islands.
Sleeping
Ask at the dimarhio about private rooms.
Hotel Thalassoporos ( 22720 51475; s/d incl breakfast €40/50; ) This recently revitalised old hotel has clean, simple rooms with TV, fridge and small balconies, plus views of Inousses town’s rooftops and the waterfront. Co-owner Eleni can provide general information, and help arrange house rental elsewhere on Inousses. The hotel is a three-minute walk up a steep street on the ferry-dock side of the waterfront.
Eating & Drinking
Inomageireio To Pateroniso ( 22720 55586; mains €5-8) This whimsical taverna near the plateia serves Greek standbys and fresh fish, like the heads-and-all fry-up of atherinia (minnows) and onions.
Naftikos Omilos Inousson ( 22720 55596; 9am-3am) At the waterfront’s end, the Inousses Yacht Club’s long bar and outdoor patio are filled mostly with young Greeks (and their vacationing diaspora relatives), and pop music plays till late.
Getting There & Away
The little Oinoussai III (€4 one way, 1¼ hours, one daily) usually leaves from Inousses in the afternoon and returns in the morning (from Chios), warranting overnight stays. Purchase tickets on board, or from Sunrise Tours ( 22710 41390; Kanari 28) in Chios Town. There are twice-weekly summertime day excursions (€20), again with Sunrise Tours.
Daily water taxis ( 6944168104)