Original subtitles

- My travels around Greece as part of this odyssey,

have taken me from the heart of the nation, Athens,

and throughout several of the major island groups.

We've cruised around the coast of the Peloponnese

and traveled amongst the Ionian Islands.

Then we made our way across to the Northern Aegean,

before spending time exploring the hidden gems

of the western Cyclades and man, was it beautiful.

This series sees us steering Mia Zoi further eastward

and into the Dodecanese.

In this episode, I'm finishing my visit to Ikaria

and spending time meeting some of the locals.

I want to understand why they live longer

than they do elsewhere.

Is it the food, the lifestyle, genetics?

I just have to find out.

I'm also heading to some of the most popular sites

on the island, doing a bit of cooking with Kyriako

and even trying my hand at surfing.

But perhaps best of all, I'll be catching up

with a close friend who was born here.

This series is mostly about the Dodecanese

but I'm visiting a few islands that lie outside the group.

Fournoi, Ikaria and Samos are actually part

of the northern Aegean but they're so close geographically,

that it made sense to include them.

To be honest, I couldn't help myself.

These three islands are highlights in the region

and Ikaria was one place I was really keen

to have a look at.

There's so much history and great reading about it,

that both excited and intrigued me.

At one point, we only had a couple of days

planned for Ikaria, but that quickly turned

into the best part of a week.

There's just so much to see, do, taste and admire,

that you can spend a month or more on the island

exploring, relaxing and embracing the lifestyle

that makes the people here so long lived.

It seems the number one thing to do here,

is well, to do very little of anything.

On a day like this when the sea is so flat,

it's like giaoúrti, as the Greeks say, yogurt.

You've got to explore the north coast of Ikaria,

because it's where the prevailing weather comes from

and it's normally rough.

And there's places like Karavostamo,

or Karavostamon, I'll never get these names right.

It's probably one of the most populated villages

here in Ikaria and it doesn't look like it,

but it goes further into the gorge.

But what's nice, is there's a beach,

there's a port, you can have your boat here.

It's just taverns everywhere and there's villages like this

all the way along the north coast.

Not only do you have these absolutely wonderful beaches

with the silky sand, but you've got these nice towns

like Armenistis right next door.

And it could be the French Riviera, you wouldn't know,

apart from the food and the language

and the food's probably a touch better.

Language, well, they're all the same, aren't they?

Some say that French is the most romantic tongue.

Greek might not be so delicate,

but it's impact on the English language makes it

possibly the most influential language on the planet.

Most of us in the Western world say a word or two in Greek

every day without even knowing it.

The whole of the north coast is punctuated

by these deep gorges, these ravines that are created

by the heavy weather that comes in winter

and all the rain, you can see how green it is.

But what's great, is it creates these lovely sandy beaches

with this beautiful aqua water.

Yes, and you see that there are people along these beaches

tons of beaches along here.

It's so dramatic.

Generally in life, whether it's work or play,

I'm surrounded by people.

I love socializing and sharing life's adventures.

But there are times when I also like to be alone.

It gives me a chance to reflect, relax

and take in my surrounds free from distraction.

It's a similar feeling to what I get

when I'm doing my morning yoga.

It's a from of mindfulness that helps me appreciate

all the wonderful things the world has to offer.

I find one of the best ways to attain a sense

of peace and focus, is to go on a long walk.

It's easy to get lost in the moment

and become totally engrossed in the surrounds.

You quickly forget the daily stresses

and get some clarity in your mind.

The location I was headed to, can actually be accessed

on a drive from town, but arriving by sea

seemed like a whole lot more fun

and the views were pretty awesome too.

In the distance, we see Samos, Fournoi.

This was a major shipping lane in antiquity.

And in the Hellenistic -time, four centuries B. -C,

they built this magnificent tower of Drakanon

and the whole settlement around it,

just to watch this shipping lane.

Let's go and have a look.

When most people gaze upon this town,

they would probably just see another decaying relic.

But when you look a little deeper,

you discover it has so much to offer.

I see intricate architecture, precision engineering

and thousands of man hours in construction.

I see an ancient beacon, that for centuries

has stood as a sentinel, looking across the Mediterranean.

Now, if you're walking from the east side,

the side facing the sea,

you'll notice that it's not as well preserved

as the west side and that's because it faces the sea

and it was used for target practice in the 19th century.

Thankfully they weren't the best shots.

Wow, everything about this tower just amazes me.

I love the engineering.

Just this block here, it's about four tons

and it's not locally quarried.

It's come from over the road at Fournoi.

It's that beautiful white, seamless marble.

Just look at the circle, it's perfect.

Six point eighth meter diameter and the surveying quality,

the management, the amount of people to build this thing,

it's just amazing.

I love it and it's about 12, 13, 14 meters high.

I don't know.

You can see those holes up there,

they would have held the gluts,

the joints that held each level.

There's three levels here,

so they watched from three levels.

It's amazing, I love it, I love it.

Can you tell I love building?

Oh man, it's beautiful.

This is as much a work of art

as an achievement of engineering.

They could have built something simpler

and less costly, but there was a lot of thought

behind Drakonon.

It was a symbol of security.

It gave the people both pride in their town

and confidence that they would be safe from invaders.

That self-assurance helped unshackle their minds from fear,

which empowered them to live freely.

It's in environments like that,

where people can achieve so much more.

There's no better way to understand a people

and their culture than by seeing it

through the eyes of a local.

A close friend of mine, Michael, who was a school mate

of my sister's, was born in Ikaria

and left here in the civil unrest in die 1970's.

I timed my trip here to coincide

with his annual pilgrimage to Ikaria.

So Michael, 52 villages.

This is pretty typical, Dafni, this is your village.

How many people live here?

- In winter, probably about 50.

In summer, probably about 300.

- And when you left, how many were there here?

- Ah, there were a lot more people.

Constantly, 150 maybe constant,

but in summer again, 250, 300.

- Wow, things have changed.

- Things have changed.

People have moved off.

- Technology and advances in farming techniques

have forever changed life on highlands like Ikaria.

The mountainous terrain doesn't lend itself

to modern agricultural methods.

As a consequence, people moved away

to the less labor intensive plains of the mainland

or simply found new occupations in the larger settlements.

- Yes, this used to be a storage area

for the grain of the local village

but now, there's not as much agriculture.

- Yeah?

- So, it is not used anymore.

- Right.

Nice flower, mate, beautiful smell.

- Well, Peter, this is one of a number of springs.

In the old days, when I say old days, the 60's,

this is where people came to get their drinking water

with buckets or whatever, you know,

and it's clean, it's fresh.

And it wasn't until the 70's, we got pipes

taking the water to the house.

- Yeah, but you know what, I want to try your Ikarian tea.

Everybody raves about the Ikarian tea.

- Let's do it, let's go to the cafe.

- Over the years, I've heard a lot about

the teas of Ikaria.

So naturally while here, I just had to try them for myself

and learn why they are different

from those on other islands.

One thing I was already aware of,

is that they don't just have the simple

sage or chamomile tea that you'll find everywhere else.

Some folks here have a dozen or more different local herbs

that they mix to form a concoction.

- Have a look at these, Pete.

- Wow!

They drink it religiously and amongst the myriad

of idiosyncrasies, it's one of the things that contributes

to why they live so long.

Knowing that, I've placed an order

for 20 kilos of the stuff, regardless of how it tastes.

So this is and that's

Mountain tea and like a mint.

- Like a mountain mint.

- All right, let's give it a shot

and see what it's like.

Tell me, you come back to Ikaria every year?

- Now I try and do every year.

It rejuvenates me.

- Yeah, fantastic.

- You wouldn't think I was 85 years old.

- Awesome, awesome.

Great day, mate, really appreciate.

I enjoy being here in a real village,

in a real authentic village.

I think the place hasn't changed.

- No, it hasn't changed.

- Hasn't changed.

- That's what I love about it.

- Yeah.

- That's why I come here.

- Yeah, fantastic.

- It's the one constant in life.

- Let's hope you live a long time

like most Ikarians do, mate.

- I hope so.

- Mm, awesome.

While sitting here, enjoying my tea,

a series of events unfolded in front of me,

that went path the way explaining why these people

have such longevity.

To begin with, an excavator was making its way through town.

It held up traffic for 15 minutes, causing lots of noise

and no doubt making people late, but no one cared.

I was the only one stressing out about it.

Others sat patiently in their cars,

or kept sipping their drinks,

oblivious to what was happening.

You see, to Ikarians, an appointment is more

of an estimate of when they think they'll arrive,

rather than being a set time for a meeting.

Their out lies in a world where punctuality

and the stress it causes, don't exist.

They're also happy to take their time,

enjoying their drinks, playing games

and watching the world go by.

It's a lifestyle at the opposite end of the spectrum

to my self inflicted schedule.

- No stress, no stress.

- Here in Agios Kirykos, wherever we went

and chatted to locals, we discovered they were

in their late 70's and 80's,

but we knew there were plenty of much older people

living here too.

However, after many ears of having film crews visit

and interview townsfolk, a superstition

has risen amongst them.

You see, shortly after production crews left,

there seem to be a trend that one of those

who had been filmed, passed away.

So when they heard we were coming,

the most elderly of locals decided to stay indoors.

An Ikarian baby, 75.

That's how you can tell,

the Ikarian babies have still got teeth.

All their teeth.

George's niece later told me that in fact,

she was a lot older than mentioned,

but out of respect, I can't tell you.

Later, I was lucky enough to meet a couple

in their early 90's, Spiro and Anna.

They met in Athens 60 years ago

and lived in the US for 16 years.

They moved back to Ikaria and have remained here ever since.

Despite their age, they're still full of life.

What is it about Ikaria that people live a long time?

What is it?

You guys look--

They not only live a long time,

but in your 90's--

Don't worry about anything.

But you're wearing a watch.

- I'm American.

- Yeah, but he's wearing a watch.

Yeah, he's a nervy guy, he's not Ikarian.

The Ikarian walks and before he goes

to the next step, what happens?

He thinks about it.

- Nothing happens before 12 o'clock.

- Supermarkets 10 o'clock.

- Supermarkets open 10 o'clock in the morning.

- In the morning.

- Wow, what's the advise that you can give us

from the Ikarians, saying to the younger people out there?

What should they do in life?

What is the best bit of advise you can give us?

- Keep smiling, be happy, love people.

- Love people, keep smiling, be happy.

- The main thing.

- That's the main thing, hey.

- Smile, love people.

I love everybody, I don't know.

- I can see that, I can see that.

- I love people.

- Smile, love people and be happy.

Great advise.

I like to think I'm already embracing that a little.

I also notice a trend starting to emerge.

Many of the people on Ikaria grow their own food

which keeps them both mentally and physically active.

It's not easy work.

Spiro's garden is totally organic too,

so his fruit and vegetables are probably much healthier

than the store bought produce.

Oh, can't loose that one.

That was a beauty.

It's a massive garden, all in perfect order.

To think, a 92 year old does all this work every day.

It's incredible.

He actually ends up giving most of it away,

as he and Anna can't eat it all.

That's awesome, eggplant, wow.

I think one of Spiro's secrets to longevity,

is his daily routine.

He's up before dawn and with just a cup of coffee

or tea in his stomach, he heads to his little farm.

He's home by midday for lunch with Anna

and a catch-up on the news before an afternoon nap.

He then spends his evenings with close friends

and a very light meal.

But perhaps most importantly, Spiro is always smiling

and turns a negative into a positive.

I'm leaving.

Spiro is still working away in there.

You know, the last 24 hours have been really special for me

with Spiro and Anna.

They taught me so much about life

and when I leave an island, those last couple of days,

especially a remote island like Ikaria,

I treat them as if it's the last time I'll ever come

and I feel like it might be the last time

I ever see Spiro and Anna again.

But I think they're gonna outlive me

and there's a good chance I'll see them again

and I look forward to coming back to this island.

It's awesome, it's been great.

I'm here in Messakti beach and I can't believe it.

There's waves, there's waves in Greece.

Not only that, there's a surf school!

There's a surf school.

I better go try it out.

You'll probably never see the names Dimitris or Vassilis

carved on world surfing championship trophies,

but it's pretty cool tosee people on boards

in this part of the world.

It reminded me a little of home.

Isi, Greece, surfing, I can't believe it

there's people surfing here.

What's the story?

What's going on?

- Yeah, nobody could believe

that there's surfing in Greece,

but actually Greece and other countries of Mediterranean

have some really decent surfing.

They're like ideal for beginner surfing

and sometimes you have the conditions

to have some really decent surfing.

- What got you into surfing?

What made you--

I mean, Ikaria, surfing, you're Ikarian, right?

- Yeah, yeah, I'm from here, yeah.

- What got you into surfing?

- You know, that was really important

because I was from a place that I was coming for vacation

during the summer.

But during the summer, we have like,

Ikaria is really consistent for waves,

so I have the chance to do it.

But, as they say, only a surfer knows the feeling.

After I got my first wave, I was really into it.

- And that's it, you're a surfer for life now.

- Yeah, yeah.

- And you're teaching it.

- Yeah, actually, like I was starting

construction of musical instruments.

I was really loving it, but then I decided

I was so into surfing, that I decided to leave it and start.

I went and I took a surf instructor license

and I start teaching and founded the surf school

here in Ikaria.

- So your life now is surfing in Ikaria, right?

- It's all about surfing, yeah.

I work for five months during summer,

giving surf lessons here.

And even during winter,

I'm organizing groups to other islands of Greece,

some places abroad like Morocco, Bali and stuff.

I'm grabbing groups from Greece and going over there.

- So you know, Isi, I'm a bit embarrassed

because I'm Australian from Bondi.

I learned to swim there and it's one of the best

surfing beaches in the world and I don't know how to surf.

So, you're gonna teach me.

- For sure I'm gonna teach you.

- How do you think I'll go?

Will I go like that?

- It's going to be a piece of cake.

If you're really good swimmer,

it's going to be super easy.

- But isn't is a bit ironic

that someone from Australia is learning to surf in Greece?

- Actually, you're not the first one

that I'm going to teach, the first guy from Australia.

There are a lot of guys from Australia,

coming here and I'm teaching them.

Like, some of them, they are Greek Australians

or Ikarian Australians, so they have the chance

to surf for the first time in their birth place.

So they're feeling really light and really happy.

- Well this is awesome.

You know what, I'm gonna learn to surf here,

go back to Australia like I've been surfing all my life.

- Let's go, let's go.

- Learning to surf, like a lot of things in life,

takes persistence and I wasn't gonna stop trying

until I actually caught a wave.

It felt like I was there the entire day,

constantly falling off.

All the while, people on the beach,

relaxing, drinking cocktails and playing volleyball.

But then it happened.

I surfed a wave and boy, was I elated.

After that, I managed to get a few more

and before I knew it, I was hooked.

You get a rush of adrenalin as the energy of the wave

carries you froward.

It's an unreal sensation and it's easy to see

why surfing is so addictive.

I left the beach, buzzing with energy.

So far, it's bee a fantastic day,

full of laughs, new friends and experiences.

I came away feeling rejuvenated.

Maybe the sea water has a little to do

with the Ikarian longevity too.

I finished my afternoon with a road trip

to see a few more of the sights.

To absorb Ikaria to the fullest,

I suggest you hire a car.

That way you can explore the lush green

and mountainous landscape at your own pace.

You'll discover the interior of the island

is just as pretty as the coast.

This island has a number of different micro climates.

Only 15 minutes ago, we're down on the beach,

30 degrees, water was aqua blue.

We come up into the mountains of Raches here,

and there's a couple of little dams that were built

by the exiles in cooperation with the locals in the 50's

and it's beautiful.

Temperature's probably 10 to 15 degrees lower.

No humidity whatsoever, but there's a hint

of sulfur in the air and I think that might be volcanic.

I'm not too sure, but definitely there are thermal springs

on the other side of the island.

But don't drink the water here,

because you might get a bit of that sulfur.

Although, the water's piped down to the houses.

That might be why they're living so long.

A bit of sulfur in the water, who knows,

but it's awesome up here.

Have a look at it.

Have a look.

It might be New Zealand, it could be Canada, who knows?

Many people don't realize, that this was once

an island of exile.

During the Greek civil war, approximately 13000

left the supporters and politicians were exiled here.

There was a fear communism would rise

and strengthen Stalin's position in Greece.

It lead to Ikaria being called The Red Rock.

Amongst the many people sent here,

were poets, artists, academics and musicians.

They no doubt influenced the culture of the island

and some loved their time here so much, they never left.

To tell you the truth, a drive around the place

only strengthen my opinion that this was

one of the best islands I've been to.

There's so much going for it.

I'm particularly fond of the long life,

but maybe I've left it a little bit too late

to reap the rewards of living here.

Now these Ikarians, they're a tough bunch of people.

Special DNA, something I don't have.

The last week, I've walked halfway across the island.

My legs are sore, I learned how to surf,

my back's sore, I dived in Fyrodi.

My ear's blocked, I'm feeling hammered.

Anyway, I'm down here in Therma,

the thermal springs, therapeutic water.

It's radioactive, but who cares, it's radon.

Three point eight day life, who cares,

or half life.

We're gonna jump in Iri?

- Yeah.

- Let's go.

The amount of radon in the water here,

is very minimal, but the idea of it

still raises a few concerns.

In some parts of the world, this is actually used

as an expensive medicinal spa treatment.

Research suggest that the water has

an anti-inflammatory effect, which is no doubt good

for my aching muscles and bones.

They also say that in high enough concentrations,

it can work like a painkiller

in a similar manner to morphine.

Whatever the science, bathing in these waters

is really relaxing and soothes both the body and mind.

Another thing I find good for the soul,

is spending quality time with my son, Irinaios.

We both love the company of Helen,

but back in Australia, we devout

Friday afternoons and evenings to father and son time.

Just the boys.

Sometimes we talk about meaningless stuff.

Other times we argue and there are occasions

when we just sit and don't say a word.

And to be honest, I don't care what we do,

I just love being with him.

Awesome, awesome.

We're doing horta and keftedes.

Keftedes are Greek meatballs and horta.

We've actually got the horta from Spiro's yard.

So these are as organic as you can get.

Now horta are wild greens or field greens.

In actual fact, they're weeds.

But anyway, we're gonna do those last.

'Cause they're really, really quick

and they're the healthy part of what

we're gonna eat today.

Very, very important.

This is why Ikarians live forever.

We have a muncher, the food processor.

Olive oil, one cup.

200 mils, whatever it is.

Wow, vinegar, we're putting vinegar in.

Wow, I didn't know that, vinegar.

We've got four cloves of garlic, beautiful.

A handful of parsley.

Mint, so we can stick some mint in,

a handful of mint.

Fresh tomato, neh, but my mother used to use tomato sauce,

ketchup, this is very controversial, right.

It sweetens it up.

That's what I use, Kyriako uses the tomato,

but that's okay.

My preference is tomato--

You're gonna keep going, sorry.

We've got four eggs as well.

- Yes.

- And then we blend these babies.

It's amazing, the blender does all the work

and then we put some onions in as well.

He puts the onions in last because he wants the onions

to be--

We don't want the onion to become puree.

We don't want it to become mashed.

Awesome.

My mother would have chopped the onions, right.

He's doing it the easy way, right.

And what do we got, we got a--

we throw that in there?

- Can you show us that again?

Show me.

You can see little bit of onion bits.

That's really important, so you're actually tasting

the onion in the meatballs, awesome.

We actually have a secret, controversial ingredient

that my mother never used, but for some reason

Kiryaki uses it and I like his keftedes.

I like his meatballs, so I'm gonna let it happen here

even though my mother would be saying up there,

"What the hell are you doing?"

I can't say that, sorry.

Okay, so.

The captain, we have major controversy earlier.

The captain saying no, no, you can't put mustard in

but he's putting mustard in.

Just one spoon of mustard.

I think it's blasphemy, but anyway, it's okay.

Mom, it's okay.

All right, what's next?

40% of the mince meat volume in bread.

It's soaked bread.

That's right, I love that.

I just absolutely love that.

The mystery to doing this well,

is to make sure that you mix it through well

so that the bread crumbs gets into the mince meat

so it's one, wonderful little solution.

And ooh, this looks like fun.

I wish I could be in there with you, but I can't.

That only fits one hand , doesn't it.

I'm gonna help him later when we make the meatballs.

I'm looking forward to that 'cause I used

to make them with my mother.

I used to sit there, 'cause I love meatballs.

The aromas, you can smell the onion,

the parsley and the mince.

Yeah, okay, I've got it wrong, but no problem.

You keep going, you keep going, come on.

Look at, look at, ooh!

We sprinkle a bit of flour on.

Now this is gluten free flour.

It makes it crispy.

All right, what do I do?

We're making small meatballs.

And just throw them in there, right.

Hey, I get the hint, okay,

I get the hint okay.

He's saying by rights, it should be one person

making it, because we're gonna get awkward sizes.

He's right, he's right, I'll let him do it.

That way, we're gonna get uniform meatballs.

Those big ones are mine.

Wow, wow, lets put this aside.

Traditionally, you'd fry the keftedes in olive oil,

which is how my mother would have done it.

But in today's health conscious world,

you can also grill them in a flattened meat patty fashion.

We had a few guests on the boat that were

the fit and healthy type,

so a batch of the keftedes were prepared

in the reduced calorie way.

The water's got to boil obviously and then

they only need like a minute or two in there, you know.

The nutrients that are in the horta,

in the wild field greens, is awesome.

There are several field greens freshly available in Greece.

Chicory, endives and golden thistle amongst others.

They only need a minute or so in boiling water

plus a light dressing of olive oil,

lemon juice and salt.

They're fully drained.

There's no water in them whatsoever.

Okay, fantastic.

So getting the lemon on there,

just to soak them and then a bit of olive oil.

These are my favorite, though.

Ah, it's so good.

I can't leave that on the plate.

Horta and keftedes, awesome.

We'll do the chips when the camera turns off, okay.

- Yes.

- Simple, but delicious and always a favorite

in the Maneas household.

The world has had cars and the road networks

that connect them for well over a century.

But here in Ikaria, the north to the south of the island

has only been connected in the last couple of decades

by road and tunnel.

And as a result of building that tunnel,

there was a bit of a collapse on the south side

that created this absolutely magnificent beach

they call Seychelles.

It's considered one of the most exotic beaches

in the Aegean.

Just check it out, it's absolutely magnificent.

The greens, the blues, there's every color.

And before I head further down the east coast,

I think I might jump in for a swim.

There's only two ways in and neither are that easy.

You can get a boat across, which might involve

asking round a bit as there's no scheduled service.

Or you drive to the top and make the treacherous descent.

Either way, it's worth the effort.

The water is stunning and while the inspiration

for the beach's name is kind of cool,

I think it deserves it's own identity.

Maybe we should run a competition to rename the place.

The lack of a beach bar or deck chairs

are what makes this such a great little spot.

However, there's a guy that comes across in a rowboat

laden with coolers full of drinks and other refreshments.

He sits here all day and services the handful of people

that make the journey.

It's very simple and unobtrusive, but works a treat.

At the end of the day, he packs up

his mobile shop and leaves the beach unscathed,

free of any impact or commercialization.

Talk about a perfect place to escape and relax for a while,

but I'm not one to sit still too long

and there was more exploring to be done.

Heading east from Seychelles, the whole coast,

the whole south coast is lined with caves.

It's lined with, every time you pass a bit of mountain,

there's a massive gorge and there's beaches

all the way along that have been formed as we speak.

And they're awesome little beaches that you can only get to

by a boat or you hike down the gorges.

We're gonna check some out.

Have a look at this, awesome.

I love what time and geology does.

It creates these beautiful gorges

that create the wonderful beaches that we see here.

And they're gonna get bigger and bigger

as time goes by and there's more being created.

All along the south coast and the north coast of Ikaria.

Absolutely magnificent private beaches.

You can get to them by hiking or you can get to them

by caïque, a fishing boat can take you.

It's awesome.

Your own, private beach.

Just like these people behind us.

Thank you, Yanni.

Oh man, the things I do for this show.

Oh man.

Oh man, this is not easy.

Here we are south of the island in the Icarian sea.

Sitting on this rock in the middle of nowhere.

But it's very significant because there's a saying,

"Don't fly too close to the sun"

and it originates right here.

It's an idiom that comes from popular mythology

when Icarus's father, who was jailed with his son

in Crete, wanted to get out somehow.

What did he do?

He built wings with feathers and wax.

He said to his son, Icarus, "Icarus, whatever you do,

"don't fly too close to the sun because your wings

"will fall off, because the wax will melt."

What did he do?

He flew too close to the sun.

He fell on this rock and that's why this place is called

the Icarian sea and that island is Ikaria.

Many of the stories from mythology are the basis

for the morals we live by today.

In this instance, it's all about the cockiness

and ego of youth.

Icarus crossed the fine line

between confidence and arrogance.

The moral of the story here is, don't be over confident.

I've seen people step over that line many times,

me included and it only leads to one outcome,

everything falls apart.

On the surface, the people of Ikaria live

like almost every other Greek on the islands.

But peel back the cover and look deeper

into the fabric of this community

and a number of traits become clear.

When they're combined in the right way,

the Ikarian way, it creates an idyllic existence.

They don't worry about time and stress over things.

They're generally positive people

who care for one another.

They well from crops grown in their own backyards

and they keep active walking to most places.

But these are the behaviors of the older people.

The current generation have been spoiled

by modern society's ways.

So in time, the face of Ikaria will change

and you'll no longer find this abundance of the elderly.

However one thing that will remain,

is the remarkable scenery.

That's not going anywhere.

Our next destination has some wonderful memories

for Helen and I.

We've been to Samos on four different occasions

and we never grow tired of it.

There's just so much on offer.

But before arriving, there was one stop we had to make

at the tiny island of Samiopoula.

It's only a kilometer from it's big brother, Samos,

yet in all my visits to the area, I'd never been.

Like I said, there's so much to do on Samos,

that I'd never found the time to head over,

but as part of my mission to set foot

on all inhabited Greek islands, we had to make the effort.

Plus, I was more than a little intrigued

by some of the research we did about the island.

Thanks captain.

We're here on the island of Samiopoula.

It's just a stone's throw from Samos.

Two kilometers long, 700 meters wide.

We're gonna go and check it out.

From the small bay of Katsakas down here

where the sailing boats come and anchor

and spend the night, because they're protected

from the north-west winds, you can walk up this track,

up to where a couple of churches are.

I think it's Agia Pelagia and the Church of the Ascension

or something like that, anyway.

There were five people living on this island

at one stage and the final person that was here,

on his own, looking after the goats,

only passed away a couple of years ago.

But what's special, is on the other side.

The beach of Psalida.

Fine sand, awesome.

I made it.

As the smaller islands are being abandoned,

Hollywood stars and other wealthy people

are swooping in and buying them.

It turns a once publicly accessible piece of paradise

with its history and capacity for production,

into a private oasis.

One day, that may well happen to Samiopoula.

In summer, you can take a boat, a caïque,

from Pythagorion in Samos, it's called the Agia Thekli,

and it brings you here to Samiopoula.

Walk up the hill and come to this taverna

and they'll feed you here and then

you go for a swim afterwards.

I want to meet captain Yanni.

Apparently he's a bit of a weirdo.

You can hear him from here.

After meeting this captain Yanni,

I can tell you there's no one else on the planet like him.

This guy has no filters.

His rawness can be both intimidating and cringe worthy.

There's no smoke or mirrors,

something you rarely see in this world.

And you bring them from Pythagorion every day.

Different people every day.

- I come from Pythagorion with my boat every day

and I've been doing this work 45 years.

- 45 years!

- I like what I do and I do it the way I do it

and people like it, they have a good time.

- And I see you like an Ouzo too.

You like Ouzo, hey?

- If you don't lie Ouzo, what are you doing?

I am a family friend from the past people

and now I have the island I took over

to take care of the island

because when the elderly people were here,

I was helping them to build the place.

This in 50's, 60's.

When they died, this place started to fall down,

to fall apart and I feel very bad

and very sorry, so I decided

to rent it from their grandchildren.

Because they didn't want to be here.

So I'm very proud that I keep the place going.

- You're doing a good job.

I'm telling you, I watch these people,

they're very, very happy.

But tell me, all these Hollywood stars

that are buying all the Greek islands,

all the small Greek islands,

they might come here and buy this island, what do you think?

- There is a game about this island.

- Yeah?

- That nobody will step here before I'm dead.

- Is that right, no chance?

No chance?

If the ouzou and scenery doesn't put a smile on your face,

then the antics of captain Yanni, certainly will.

He's quite a showman, but what you see, is the real deal

and makes for a great holiday memory.

Wow, what a reward here at the end.

Nice, fine, sandy beach.

This island of Samiopoula, this tiny little dot,

in the Aegene, has everything to offer.

You come up through a bay, nice walk to the top.

A couple of churches, have a good feed,

a bit of entertainment and walk back down,

have a swim, it doesn't get any better.

What a place, hey.

It took me a few years to make it here

and now I know what I was missing out on all that time.

I'll definitely be back.

There's not much I can say other than the colors

of green and blue are probably the most relaxing colors

of the spectrum and when you just sit here

with this light breeze,

looking out at green and blue from a height,

it's almost like you're meditating.

Meditating life and re-energizing.

It's beautiful here.

Looking out at Samos, I couldn't help but think

of the vast difference between these two islands.

It's those variations that makes traveling through Greece

so much fun.

I was really looking forward to rediscovering Samos again.

My wife and I first visited 27 years ago

and every time we're back here,

we always find new things ad relive a few of the old,

which is exactly what I plan on doing in the next episode.

I'll be taking you to some of my favorite points

that capture the essence of Samos

and I'm noting a few new things.

There's always something fresh to be seen or experienced

and like all of Greece, the fascinating history,

rich culture and awesome food complete the picture.

I'll be showing you exactly why I keep coming

back to Samos every few years.

But now having discovered Samiopoula, I might have

to add another regular stopover onto the list.

It would be awesome to catch up with captain Yanni

and see if he maintains that same vigor over the years.

Something tells me he's never going to slow down.