Original subtitles

(pleasant Greek music)

- [Peter] In the first series, I began unravelling

the story of this spectacular and historic nation

by travelling from Athens, around the Peloponnese

and up to the Ionian Islands.

I took in parts of the country that

lots of tourists know well.

But in amongst the popular places

were hidden gems, undiscovered by the holiday masses.

This series, I'm back on board

my beautiful boat, Mia Zoi,

and heading to a region of Greece

I haven't spent much time in.

The plan is to skip between the islands,

taking in the sights of the Northern Aegean.

It'll be a journey of discovery

where I'll be digging deeper in the fabric

that makes Greece so unique,

and immersing myself a century's old culture,

unlike anywhere else on Earth.

This episode sees me finishing up my time on Thassos,

before heading to the holiest place in Greece, Mount Athos.

From there, I'll be making my to Samothrace,

the Aegeans' adventure capital.

(gentle Greek music)

Another beautiful day in paradise.

The sun is shining, the water warm,

and I've planned a busy schedule

to make the most of it.

You can go to a beach that's crowded,

or you can go to a beach that's secluded.

Thassos has everything to offer.

But you gotta go out to find it,

get off the beaten track.

We left my travels on the south of the island

where I explored the region around the town of Aliki.

Having seen the sights in this area,

we enjoyed one final breakfast,

overlooking the peaceful harbour,

before it was time to up-anchor and move westward.

(gentle Greek music)

Our next major port was Limaneria.

But before reaching there, I had to show you a special beach

that's a favourite with tourists and locals alike.

It's accessible by road, so anyone can pay it a visit.

But plan to spend the whole day there,

because there's more to do than just relax in the sun.

You know, I love the Thasian beaches.

There's so many of them.

But they all have their own identity.

The beach behind me has this beautiful structure up there,

looks like a fortress.

But it's not.

This beach is called Metalia Beach

and you can work that out.

Metal beach.

So this is where they mined iron, ore and zinc.

And I wanna go up there and have a look.

I've been for a swim this morning,

so, let's just go straight up.

(subtle music)

Most of these fun loving beach goers

are oblivious to the rich history that surrounds them.

The island has a past of wealth and mineral exploitation.

And I'm told clandestine intrigue before

and during last century's world wars.

Some of that story is told by this unique sight

I'm about to show you.

(subtle music)

Although I've never been to Thassos before,

this place brings back memories of when

I was a 10 year old with my cousins

on the beaches of Greece.

They've all got something like this to offer

and the nooks and crannies you go around and explore 'em.

It's great if you come into the beach,

kids got somewhere to play.

The beach is surrounded by a massive buildings

and this huge infrastructure.

I got no idea what this building is, but it looks awesome.

These buildings and the remnant processing equipment

are protected for their heritage significance.

The massive pipes and stacks

form part of an intricate plan

that extracted calamine from ion ore.

Calamine, you ask?

Well, I'm told the minerals in calamine

are the origin of a very special metal

we use in coins, roofs, batteries,

and amongst other things, dietary supplements.

Since the earliest settlements,

different people have exploited

the mineral wealth of Thassos.

Beneath the rugged beauty of the place, lay great wealth,

and everyone wanted a piece of the pie.

In 905, the Germans came here and built this

massive infrastructure to exploit the minerals.

Come 1914, World War 1 started,

and the Germans left.

But apparently the locals tell me,

some of 'em hung around and use this place

as a base to spy from.

Now, I don't know how much truth there is in that,

but it sounds pretty good.

These shells of the past act as reminders of a time

when the island was thriving with industry,

beyond just the marble quarries.

They're engineering marvels built with stone and steel,

creating a dramatic backdrop to a stunning beach.

One of the locals that has called Thassos home

for almost his whole life,

and has seen many of the changes that have occurred here

is cafe owner, Christos.

His stories of living here in his little piece of paradise

left a lasting impression on me.

(speaking in Greek)

You would think that the Greek islands

are a laid back place where time is insignificant.

And for the most part, you'll be absolutely correct.

But there's one place in this region

where appointments must be kept,

where there are strict rules

that have lasted for over 1100 years.

To visit this place, we needed a permit,

which was organised many months before.

They were also stringent clothing regulations,

meaning no shorts or short sleeves.

So the usual beach guard was packed away.

If you wanna step foot on this hallowed ground,

there's a number of other restrictions

you must adhere to also,

all of which exists to maintain the sanctity of the place.

The location I'm referring to is Mount Athos,

where 20 monasteries sit on a

300 square kilometre peninsula.

It's about as holier slice of earth

as you can find anywhere.

And a location I've long wanted to visit,

not particularly from a religious point of view,

but to see what all the hubbub and mystery's about.

Very excited.

Right now, we're about two hours drive from Thessaloniki.

Mount Athos is right behind us,

50 kilometres of peninsula, seven kilometres wide.

This boat's gonna take us there

'cause you can't go by road, special spot.

Now I better get going.

My priest's waiting for me, I better ago.

We're just having a few issues trying to get on

because cameras are not allowed on Mount Athos.

So we're, there's all sorts of issues.

(officials speaking in Greek)

Not gonna let us on.

(officials speaking in Greek)

They know that we're taking the camera

and we can't hide that, you know?

Yeah.

But we've got a letter from,

well, you've got that letter, haven't you?

Despite all the paperwork and agreements in place,

we still had to negotiate our way aboard.

Countless phone calls to various powers,

cajoling by Captain Yianni, requests from our office

in Athens to the head abbot

and we were finally given permission to board the ferry.

Mind you, it does help when you tell 'em

that you're flying your parish priest

all the way from Australia to escort you.

(pleasant music)

(pleasant Greek music)

Father Gerasimos, or Father G, as some of us know him,

is my parish priest.

His brother is a monk at Mount Athos.

So who better to take me on this segment of my odyssey?

So you haven't seen your brother for five years.

We're gonna see him today.

What are the emotions like?

- Separation feels like someone's passed away.

But the great joy is that you get to see them

every now and then.

- Five years.

That's not every now and then, father.

- That's right.

- So what is the emotion?

Right now, how are you feeling?

- It's measured anticipation.

- And I gotta tell you,

major anticipation for me because

I've read a lot about Mount Athos,

but I'm not too sure what to expect.

A lot of men, obviously.

- Well, it's all men.

And Mount Athos is a place of

full spiritual commitment and dedication

to the spiritual life.

- [Peter] Major sacrifice.

- [Father Gerasimos] Sacrifice all the worldly things,

the property,

the money,

and they maintain their virginity as well.

- Yeah.

Coming into the monastery of Vatopedi

sent shivers down my spine.

To say I was blown away is an understatement.

My first thought was I wished Helen was there

to share that feeling with me.

But that that could never happen.

We do everything together.

And I know she, like my mother,

would have loved this spiritual journey.

- [Father Mathew] Well, the monastery in its present form

was built in the late 10th century,

and it was one of the first monasteries

built on the holy mountain of the present era.

There was a monastery that existed here before that time,

which according to the tradition

had been built by the Emperor Theodosius, The Great,

in the late fourth century.

And the place of the church built by Constantine, The Great,

a few years before that.

(Gregorian chant music)

Vatopedi is the largest monastery in Greece today

as far as the volume of its buildings go.

It has about 10,000 square metres of living space.

- [Peter] And number of monks?

- Number of monks...

So right now, we're about 125.

- How does that rank on the mountain?

- It's the largest brotherhood in Greece.

- Wow. - And we're still growing.

When I came here in 1993, we were about 40.

So the monastery has tripled.

(Gregorian chant music)

- [Peter] This was more than just a step back in time.

It was a leap through the ages.

The architecture was mediaeval and spectacular.

The stillness, absolute quiet and simplicity

were unlike anything I'd experienced before.

I felt humbled.

It's definitely the perfect setting for meditation,

collecting of thoughts, and of course, prayer.

You know, the common denominator I see

in the Mount Athos monastery

is these big thick defensive walls.

In the first two centuries

of settlement here in Mount Athos,

there were 180 monasteries and 20,000 monks.

And the only ones that survived through the Crusades

and pirate attacks were these large monasteries

with these big defensive walls.

The monks actually used to defend themselves

from all these pirate attacks.

For the next 800 years, the monks learned to

negotiate an armistice with their conquerors.

And that's why they survived these 1100 years.

These monasteries have had to endure

many difficult times over the last 11 centuries.

They've survived all types of crisis,

from economic and political

to the forces of nature and several wars.

Today, vast numbers of pilgrims visit the monasteries

in search of healing, solace and meditation.

Others simply want to get away

from the rat race and collect their thoughts.

But most come here to be surrounded

by the beautifully adorned buildings

and reboot their spiritual journey in life.

Making this your home is a major commitment.

Only eating twice a day, praying for five hours

in the morning, and having no women on the island

would test even the most devout.

I definitely wouldn't last long here.

- [Father Gerasimos] The work that has been done here

over the last three decades has been remarkable.

- And how many monks are in here now?

- It's about 123.

And together with those monks, there'd be

anywhere between 50 and 500 visitors daily.

- And how many monks were they back in the 80s and 90s?

There weren't many, were there?

- In the 80s, there were about 10 monks left

after a period of decline during the 20th century.

- [Peter] And now there's over 100 so,

it's really shot up, hasn't it?

- Since the 90s with the coming of a new brotherhood,

which had new life, and I think the average age,

even now he's about 35.

- [Peter] That's impressive.

It's something you wouldn't expect here, is it?

A lot of people think monks, you know,

monasteries, everybody's old.

But there's a lotta young people here.

- [Father Gerasimos] There are,

and they're actually quite educated,

University trained.

- [Peter] I mean, brother, how old's your brother?

- My brother is in his mid 30s.

And he was University trained himself in Australia.

And he came here almost a decade ago.

- So they're all young people.

It's something you wouldn't expect.

It's an amazing thing.

I'm dying to find out why there's so many young guys

coming here to give their life,

to sacrifice everything for the rest of their lives

here in the monastery.

Mind you, I'm dying to go into that place

and have some food.

Should we go?

- Let's do that first. - Let's go.

The monks with by code that centres around

the celebration of God,

and a life of contemplation and sacrifice.

Their daily life is a product of this code.

And an example of its simplicity is their meals.

The food is very raw.

Generally some fruit, vegetables,

lentils and fish once a week.

I don't think I've ever been in a dining hall this old.

It's a thousand years old.

Just these marble tops.

They're 1500 years old that were given to Vatopedi

from a monastery in Constantinople from the fourth century.

The abbot sits down there with the priests.

All the monks sit in this space here.

The pilgrims sit back there.

Moments from now, everybody will be in here.

It'll be full.

I better grab a seat right now,

'cause I'm starved.

(delicate music)

Ready to go.

Kiwi fruit in Mount Athos.

(delicate music)

It felt a little awkward being served

by a man of the cloth, but that's the way it is here.

Monks grow and collect the vegetables from the field,

they cook everything and then serve you.

If you studied as an accountant, lawyer or doctor

and wanna take up life as a monk,

then that's what you'll most probably

be tasked with at the monastery.

This place is a living breathing city

that's almost totally self-sustained.

They rely very little on the outside world.

The majority of the food is grown here.

They make their own clothes,

provide basic medical treatment,

maintain their equipment,

and have minimal influence from beyond the monastery walls.

You could easily see this limiting.

But for those that live here,

this minimalist life is liberating.

And if there's one thing I learned from this experience,

when you eat only twice a day,

the food tastes that much better.

(delicate music)

(pleasant Greek music)

Life for a monk in the pilgrims in Athos

is an early morning and a long day.

The bell just went off at three o'clock

and we don't even get snooze buttons.

There's a guy, a monk, hitting sticks every 10 minutes

to make sure you wake up for prayer.

Now, we're not gonna go to prayer.

We're actually gonna go to the kitchen

and see 'em cooking fish this morning.

So, I don't know why I'm being quiet, 'cause everybody's up.

If the monk with the sticks doesn't wake you,

the scent of frying fish certainly will.

My nose led me to the kitchen.

God only knows how they're praying

through this at the moment.

I for one was starving and the food smelled amazing.

There's about eight or nine monks working in here

and it's a well organised kitchen.

I mean, I worked in a kitchen before,

and you can see there's process happening,

it's well organised, they know exactly

what's gonna happen next.

They're feeding 130 monks and probably

about 50 pilgrims this morning for breakfast.

And it's five o'clock in the morning so,

we're not far away from brekkie.

They're all in prayer at the moment.

These guys missed prayer.

They'll do it later.

They're not only frying grilled food for 200 people,

the monks also catch and clean the fish

from their own aquaculture farms.

After having conducted the same process for centuries,

it's no wonder they've become incredibly efficient at it.

This has to be the longest running,

vertically integrated business in the world.

1100 years and they haven't gone broke.

Maybe they should consider listing on Wall Street.

There's a real buzz.

They're trying to ramp it up

because they wanna make the last hour of prayer,

the one hour of liturgy at eight o'clock.

It's 20 past five.

I'll tell you what, the aroma is awesome.

I'm starved.

I don't know if I can wait for three hours.

(chanting music)

As day breaks, at a time when most other people

are still sound asleep, Mount Athos

has already been awake for hours.

The dramatic backdrop leaves you breathless.

However, this is just another day

in the life of the monastery.

The kitchen is running at full steam preparing breakfast,

while the rest of the monks are in prayer.

They do this every morning.

It's their job.

Praying from 4 a.m. to 9 a.m.

Only then will they eat.

(Gregorian chant music)

The pilgrims are invited to prayer.

Here they will stand with the monks for hours.

It's part of their sacrifice,

and of giving up your normal routine

for what you believe in.

This is where you see the monks true devotion.

This is a life that's tough

for the average person to understand.

We have our possessions, our jobs,

and most importantly, our families.

These things are hard to give up.

And for the majority of us, it's impossible.

But the monks have willingly left that life

and the outside world behind them,

for something they believe is greater, the love of God.

And this thought is what gives them purpose

and fulfils them.

It was expressed beautifully by all the monks I spoke with.

However, none had a story more enthralling

than the three Australian brothers I met,

who had found their home here,

all the way from the Gold Coast.

You are the one I'm most excited to meet.

I have been thinking about your story

for a year and I'm sorry to make you all nervous,

but it's a great story.

When did you first come to Mount Ethos?

- First came in 2006.

After being here for a period of time,

my brothers came to visit.

- Together? - Together.

Two brothers came.

One had an experience here.

It was, he stayed.

The other went back.

And my other brother came with my other brother.

And he stayed and the other one left.

So one sort of handed off the other.

- Right.

And so all three of you are now here?

- Yeah.

- How is life different here with your brothers,

the experience that you have with your two brothers,

compared to what it was like in Australia?

- Our life here is more of a spiritual connection we have.

It's more spiritual than anything.

Whereas in the world we had a connection,

but it was more so worldly.

Here we're on the same path as well as

we share the same sort of goal together.

- [Peter] And do you still have that same connection

that you had?

Have you lost that or?

- I think it's more, we're closer and more so here.

- Wow. - Because,

it's the life in Christ that we live here.

Which is the true life.

See, the worldly life has its

human weaknesses in between,

but the spiritual life is, which is higher

than the worldly life.

- You're sacrificing your career,

you're sacrificing your family.

Even though we have some minimal contact

with them obviously.

We're sacrificing our own family

that we could have had as well.

All for Christ.

And in essence we are fulfilling the first commandment,

which is to love God with your whole being;

your mind, your soul, your heart.

This is the fulfilment of the first commandment

in absolution.

- I was 14 when I first got here.

I stayed for two days, forgot about that experience,

and then came back you when I was 22.

- And you've never left since?

- And from then I'm still here.

- So how many years have you been here?

- Seven years now. - Seven years.

And what did you do when you were in Australia

before you came here?

- I studied music and philosophy.

And I was concerned about thinking

about certain things, but I was pretty

stuck onto my music. - Yep.

- I started going out.

I thought oh, my friend's working in a bar,

I'll start working in a bar as well.

I was a barman for a couple of years, for a few years.

And then I studied music, I started playing music,

started playing the music I enjoyed,

and I was pretty much just living around

that whole, getting as much joy, fun, happiness

out of life as I could.

But in doing that, I started to realise

that there was something inside that was still empty.

And I thought that it was probably

just gonna get filled by getting married,

having a family, having that sort of thing.

I mean, I tried girlfriends, I'd seen sort of

what might be like getting married,

and I realised that there's still something

that's even deeper than a person's emotions.

There's something that exists that's even more inside.

That whatever happens, if a person

doesn't have some spiritual connection,

if a person doesn't touch on to God,

then he could become 80 years old,

and not ever really have lived a second of his life.

- Are there any regrets?

I mean, are you happy to be here?

Are there any teensy little regrets of not being?

- For me it was a matter from the will of God.

And once I found that, that was it for me.

- It seems absolute, it's the same answer

I get from all of you.

It's like you're singing from the same hymn sheet.

- This is not something we've had,

something God does for each one.

- Even though I was incredibly happy in the world,

I'd lived anything that anyone could dream to live.

Like, it wasn't all my friends had the thought,

had the question, "You were the happiest guy we knew,

"why would you chuck that stuff away?"

And it seemed strange at the time when I did it.

But for me, it was the most natural thing to do.

- All that can happen without

somebody having the monastic calling.

It's something special, which comes from above,

and call someone to the monastic life.

And not everyone gets that.

So we have to respond to that calling.

And we respond to that with our whole heart.

And that's why we sacrifice all those things

that we said before.

- Talking about your brother, were you happy to see him

after not seeing him for five years?

- Of course I was happy to see him.

- Yeah.

But he doesn't drink coffee.

You don't drink coffee either as well, do you?

- Not really. - Really?

- I'm still young and strong,

so I can last in the services when it's dark.

So, you can enforce yourself a bit.

- I think, listen, we've got very little time together

as brothers and sisters, so why don't we go

and have a coffee with him.

We will convince him to have a coffee, yeah?

- I might have a tea.

- Okay, let's go.

(subtle music)

(pleasant Greek music)

(bell chiming)

At the monastery of Vatopedi,

the sound of a mallet tapping rhythmically on a board

is the centuries old way of gathering monks

for prayer, food, or to wake in the morning.

With over 10,000 square metres of floor space,

you can understand why it takes the monk of while

to get around each time.

No doubt he's a fit guy too, racking up

plenty of steps on his daily routine.

At the moment, he's waking up everyone

from their afternoon naps.

And getting them to mass, which will last

another few hours before dinner.

Again, this happens every day.

Some monks still look as though they could do

with a little more sleep.

But the work has to continue,

regardless of how one feels.

Tradition is important here.

It dates back a millennia.

So change is not overly welcome.

The old guide maintains control of how everything operates

and educates, and mentors and new arrivals

with this new way of thinking

and into embracing this strict way of life.

So in order for there to be any variation in the processes,

it would take somewhat of a revolution.

Although, from what I see with the younger generation,

they're chipping away at it,

albeit it very slowly.

One thing they've modernised a little

is their farming practises.

In order to feed all the new arrivals

and service their ever growing export demands,

the monks have embraced certain

contemporary agricultural luxuries.

You know, modern society over the last 10 or 20 years

has become sustainably conscious.

But here at Vatopedi at Mount Athos,

they've been doing it for over a thousand years.

And not only do they do it well,

but they sell their product to the outside.

And they do it on the best real estate

in the best climate on this earth.

Have a look at this.

Working the land for centuries,

these monks have learned a thing or two about agriculture,

and to a greater extent, business.

They export a number of products,

ranging from skincare, shampoo, herbal creams,

and therapeutic soap, to books and iconography.

It's a well oiled machine that has lasted the test of time.

As the world has developed the massive

technology filled cities, this monastic state

has battled through the ages, with little or no change

to their communities' way of living.

It's a long movie on pause,

and no one wants to press the play button.

It's certainly got both ardent followers

and others that want to pull this male only institution

into the 21st century.

To be honest, I can understand both views.

In the end, even though I couldn't share

this experience with Helen, I must say,

the small sacrifices I had to make,

and spending a few days away from my family

were well worth it.

Well everything comes to an end,

and my stay at Mount Athos and Vatopedi finishes now.

I've got to tell you, it was an experience

that I'll never forget.

I was a bit underwhelmed coming here

because I had to put the long sleeves

and the long pants on and

it was like I was being prepared.

But I wasn't prepared.

I wasn't prepared for what was about to happen.

My whole view of what a monk does

and his life has changed.

They're just like you and I.

My whole view of Mount Athos has changed.

It's been a spiritual enlightenment.

I loved it.

The architecture, the food,

the people, the sustainability.

It's been absolutely awesome.

It's something I'll take with me to the grave.

Travelling to our next destination

gave me a chance to reflect on the

unforgettable experience that was Mount Athos.

I felt grounded and tranquil,

but also enlightened and wiser for it.

Anyway, the island of Samothrace awaited.

And while I was oblivious and in some other dimension,

my crew were busy doing what they do best,

running my beautiful boat, Mia Zoi.

The team on the boat are like my third arm.

And they've become family.

I love them dearly.

They're passionate and hard working,

and make life on the boat a lot of fun.

- [Captain Yianni] Everyone on the boat must

know how to drive the boat safely somewhere

in case that something happened to me.

Of course, at the moment, Kyriakos think

that he drive the boat, but it is on autopilot.

(pleasant music)

- Let's go.

Hello girls.

- [Girls] Hi.

- How are we going?

What's happening?

So tell me, is it the glamour job they all talk about?

You guys look fantastic, mind you.

It's like you put makeup on for this,

but they haven't, they don't know that we're coming down.

What's this, is it the glamour job that they talk about?

- Of course, look what we're doing.

- [Peter] Yeah?

- Looks pretty glamorous to me.

- [Peter] How can you guys stay so bright?

When in the morning, when I wake up at 5.30,

they give me a cup of coffee,

and when I go to bed at night,

when my guests are still up there,

you guys are serving drinks.

What's the story?

How do you do it?

- Good team. - Yeah, definitely.

- [Peter] Good team, yeah?

Would you recommend the job that you do

for other young people like you in their early 20s?

- A hundred percent. - Definitely.

- Yeah?

- Yeah. - Yeah.

Work hard, play hard.

Get to save a lot of money.

- I know you work hard, I didn't know about the play hard.

What's the story?

Tell me what's the play hard.

- Oh, well we don't get many days off,

so we haven't played hard yet.

(laughing)

(gentle music)

- Living the dream.

(gentle music)

(pleasant Greek music)

- [Peter] An overcast and grey morning

wasn't enough to take the shine off the excitement

for the coming days.

We were headed to Samothrace,

an island big on adventure, as well as relaxation.

I'm always amazed that each Greek island

has its own offering.

Even this small landmass.

It's only 17 kilometres long

and covered almost entirely by the massive Mount Saos,

the Aegean's highest peak.

Legend has it that Poseidon sat atop this mountain

to watch the Trojan War.

Samothrace or Samothraki as the Greeks know it,

is where they unearth the famous winged goddess,

statue of Nike.

She has her own chamber in The Louvre.

They named a shoe brand after her,

and the emblem called the Spirit of Ecstasy,

which sits on the bonnet of every Rolls Royce car

was inspired by her.

You'll learn more about that later.

Today, Samothrace is known for its thermal screens,

running waters, and adventure sports

like mountaineering, hiking, diving,

mountain biking, and canyoning.

It's a hub for tourists that like to get

their heart rate up and adrenaline pumping.

But like I said earlier, it's also a place

famed for soothing waters.

So you can start the day with

a bit of excitement and exercise

and finish it off by relieving your tired body

in a natural spa.

Add to this, the archaeological sites

and you've got every base covered.

I think this is gonna be my kind of island.

Don't need a bottle of water round here,

I'll tell you that now.

This is one of three castles that were built

by the Genoese in the 1400s.

Beautiful structure.

But I didn't come here for the structure,

I came here for the view.

(upbeat music)

Pretty much every view worth checking out

requires a bit of effort.

In this case, the winding path of numerous stairs,

led to a fantastic reward.

(upbeat music)

Now, Chora is just such a beautiful little town.

These red roofs in this amphitheatre,

it's just so picturesque and

the red roofs with the rocks on them,

the rocks holding down the clay tiles

because the weather is just so unpredictable here.

There's a massive mountain in the middle of the city.

And the weather conditions change all the time.

You know, the other thing I like about it

is that it reminds me of Paleochra in Kythira,

and for that matter,

many towns in the islands of Greece,

the small islands of Greece,

where they built in the shelter of the mountains,

but they can still see the sea

and they can see the pirates coming in.

They're only five K's from the sea.

(gentle music)

From up here, you get a real appreciation

of just how sparsely populated

and undeveloped island is.

There's around 3000 people living here,

most of whom are in one of the three major settlements,

with the remainder scattered about

in tiny mountain villages.

The remote location makes it difficult

for tourists to get here.

And being so rugged, means there's only

so much growth that can happen here.

These things have combined to

help keep the island more genuine.

Samothrace provides an authentic experience

of rural Greek life in a dramatic and beautiful setting

that I hadn't come across elsewhere in my travels.

But as more people discover this gem of a place,

the influence and impact of the outside increases.

What's great is that a lot of these houses

that are abandoned, have been turned into shops

and all sorts of stuff.

(subtle music)

Today, the locals are embracing a growth in tourism numbers,

and are cautiously optimistic

that it might mean few of the younger people

need to leave to find work.

Shops are opening, hotels and restaurants are being built,

and there's a positive friendly atmosphere

that openly welcomes outsiders.

The one commodity that Samothraki has a lot of

that many of the Greek islands

don't have enough of is water.

And they've got lots of it because of that

big mountain up there, Saos.

And I reckon the water is pretty good

because it's filtered well through the rocks.

I'm gonna try it out.

Nice and clean.

Nice to get it without all that fluoride in it.

Above it you can see the insignia of the Kabeiroi,

which is thousands of years old

from the sanctuary of the gods.

And you can see the two headed bird

which was from the empire the Byzantine times.

Anyway, I'm starved.

I reckon the food here is awesome.

All this walking has not only worked up a thirst,

but a very healthy appetite.

I was warned that the food here is incredible

and the servings are big.

So an empty stomach is required.

(running water)

Did I mention there's a lot of water?

Mate, there's so much water here.

The last tavern got washed away.

I'm going to the only one that's left.

Every Island in Greece likes to think that they're

the culinary hotspot, that their meals

are the best in the Mediterranean.

Well, some places are certainly much better than others.

In the case of Samothrace, the food is sensational.

And they're specifically known

for the quality of their goat,

and the many ways that they prepared it.

A testament to just how great the food was

at this gorgeous tavern, is how fast we ate it all.

It took a matter of seconds,

from being placed on the table

to going down the hatch.

There wasn't even enough time for the cameramen

to get a decent shot of the dishes

before we decimated them.

Mealtimes are always a favourite part of my travels.

Sitting with friends and family,

gorging ourselves on amazing food,

and gazing at scenery that leaves you in awe,

all the while, there's plenty of laughs

and banter about what we all got up to

during our days.

Communal eating isn't limited to the Greeks.

However, it's something that is disappearing

from a lot of cultures.

As the pace of life increases and

free time becomes a rarity,

things like sitting for a meal with your family

fall by the wayside.

It's something I'm doing my best not to let occur.

Despite how chaotic life can get,

you always have to make time to share

the journey with loved ones.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again;

there's two sides to Samothrace.

Not just experientially, but geographically.

I know, obviously, right?

But it's quite apparent just how different

the opposing shores are here.

On the leeward side,

you've got a more dry and barren landscape,

but head around the northwest of the island

and the mood changes.

This part is where the prevailing winds

crash into the coast, bringing with them

the moisture that builds up on Mount Saos.

Eventually, falling of soaking rains.

For your average tourist, it looks cold, bleak,

and not terribly inviting.

But for the adventurous, this is paradise.

There also happens to be all sorts of ruins

dotted all on the coastal road.

Even though this was the rugged

and less popular side of Samothrace,

there were still small settlements,

and it required forts and towers

to keep a watchful eye of a potential invaders.

Mind you, they'd probably wreck on the rocky shores anyway.

(pleasant Greek music)

I might not be an adventure seeker or adrenaline junkie,

but I do appreciate the occasional

bit of outdoor fun beyond a simple hike.

So I met up with Clio and Dan

to see a more extreme angle of Samothrace.

They're experience canyoners that

regularly take groups on week long adventures

into the mountains.

I was lucky enough to spend a few hours with them

on a short walk to one of the watercourses

that the island is known for.

So Clio, you're a nuclear engineer.

- Yeah.

- And Dan is, you know, in astronomy.

What brings you to caving and canyoning?

Why do you do this?

- Well, before being engineers,

we was mountain lovers, let's say.

- Yip. - So...

Should we cross here?

- Yeah, let's cross here, man.

- So, after graduating and beginning real engineers

we didn't forgot about our hobbies, you know?

- Yeah.

As you can see, I'm not quite as nimble as these two,

Even on relatively smooth ground, I battled to keep up.

So, how long have you been coming to Samothraki now?

- This is the eighth.

- Eighth year?

Wow.

- Usually, I'm coming here only once a year,

but in the last three years,

I came twice a year.

- Ah, that's good.

We've only got so much time left,

you know, we must abuse it.

Hit it hard.

(gentle music)

(river water flowing)

The extreme height of Mount Saos,

and the small size of this island,

have created several different micro climates,

which are extreme during the winter months.

The heightened volume of falling water

over the centuries has created

these magnificent canyons and waterways

that weave their way to all parts of the island's coastline.

Many, like the waterfall we hiked to, are easily accessible.

Climbing them though, I suggest you're guided

by someone like Clio.

This is not the kind of place

you want to have an accident.

The slightest of wrong steps can mean disaster.

And being in the middle of nowhere,

it'll be a long time before anyone could come to your aid.

If at all.

Clio, I really loved coming up here.

It was a beautiful walk.

Even that last ascent was exciting.

I get up here now, I've gotta tell you,

I didn't sweat coming up, but I'm sweating

just looking at this, it's just too mu--

And you're gonna go down that.

You're gonna repel down that now.

- Yes, of course.

That's the purpose of our trip.

- Are you sure everything's there?

- Well, yes.

Being afraid is not a shame here.

- Right. - And I'm afraid

when I'm making the first step on the waterfall.

But after that, the feeling of being one with the nature,

it's great, it's just gorgeous.

- I'm getting a little bit of it.

Obviously, I wanted to come with you,

but I forgot my helmet and gear down there.

So otherwise I would have come with you.

- Yeah, that's for sure. - I forgot the gear, you know?

So tell, me what is gonna happen now?

What are you gonna do now?

Explain to me what's gonna happen now.

- Well, for the beginning,

we are going to the path.

It's a very exposed path.

We shall reach that point where the waterfall starts.

We shall find, hopefully, we shall find the anchors,

make the riggings, and descend,

in a spatial technique called the repelling in Canyon.

- [Peter] Right, okay.

Tell me, if I was to learn how to do this,

how long before I could do that?

- Well...

One day.

- No way!

No chance in the world!

I was thinking maybe one year.

- No, not that--

No, because there is a first level,

let's say ground zero in canyoning,

is discovering canyon. - Yeah.

- And you will be able, after one day of practising ,

to descend on such a waterfall,

safely of course, and comfortable as well.

But under my supervision, yip.

- Well listen...

Can you do me one favour before you go up there?

Help me get down outta here.

I've gotta get down now.

I think it's gonna be worse getting down than going up.

Look at that, look at that!

- [Clio] Okay, go inside my backpack.

- [Peter] All right, well good luck, mate.

- Thank you. - Good luck, good luck.

I hope to see you on the other side.

- Okay.

- I'm not worried about you, I'm worried about me.

Okay.

- I will come and help you down.

- Thank you, mate. - Bye.

- Thank you.

I think he's nuts.

I think all these guys are nuts.

(gentle music)

You know how they say the camera adds 10 pounds?

Well, it also makes everything less steep.

Why do I do this stuff?

I prefer the taverns and the beaches, you know?

And the archaeology and the history.

That's all better.

This is crazy.

Don't be fooled by the camera angle.

This is almost a vertical descent.

And taking 100 kilos down

is not easy for a gentle giant like myself.

It's not the most flattering look.

Maybe I should consider a body double

like Bear Grylls for the next time

I do something as ludicrous as this.

That looks like Clio coming down first, it's a double rope.

Dan is at the top.

It's a double rope because their shackles are up there.

They leave the shackles in there

and they just bring the rope back down.

So they can use it again for the next the descend.

I'm scared right now just looking at it these guys.

(water flowing)

(gentle music)

So canyoning is only one sport that they do here.

There's some nice dive spots,

some beautiful sea creatures to see.

There's a whole lot of other sports that they do.

Mountaineering, they climb to the top of

that 1700 metre Mount Saos.

All these sports, none of them I'm gonna do.

None.

I'm not doing any of them.

It's bad enough that I came up here.

Here he goes, he's a nut, have a look at this.

Check it out.

It just goes to show that you're never too old

for a bit of adventure.

I have to admit, that as much as I say I won't abseil,

watching these guys, I started to think,

I might just give it a go.

Although maybe on something a bit more tame.

Yeah, what though, I might be scared,

but what they're doing looks absolutely spectacular.

I can understand what Clio means when he says

he's one with the earth, with nature.

The feeling he's getting right now.

Check him out right now.

He's nuts man.

(gentle music)

(distant cheering)

This episode might have come to a an end,

but my exploration of Samothrace sure hasn't.

In the next instalment of My Greek Odyssey,

I'm delving deeper into the history

and culture of this tiny island.

And showing you why it punches well above its way.

Apart from exploring ancient ruins

and archaeological wonders,

also be lacing up the hiking boots

and heading to the heart of the island.

Plus, I'm gonna visit the spas

and thermal springs Samothrace is famous for.

And of course, I'll be giving you a taste

of a few of the island's delicacies,

including the most delicious goat I've ever had.

But before any of that happened,

I had to terrifying hike back

to the bottom of the mountain.

Let's just say it took a lot longer to get down

than it did to climb up.

And there was no way I would let

the cameras roll on that ordeal.

(pleasant Greek music)