Original subtitles

(THEME MUSIC)

In the first four series of My Greek Odyssey,

we visited islands of the Saronic,

the Ionian, the Dodecanese, the Western Cycladic,

and the Northern Aegean.

In series five, we are seeing the Southern and Central Cycladic,

islands you've never heard of like Levitha, Anafi, Donousa,

and ones you know well like Santorini,

and the big one, Crete.

In this episode, I'm finishing up my time

on Santorini's neighbouring island,

Thirassia, and heading east to the island of Anafi.

Being in the far south-eastern corner of Greece,

it's a place that few tourists get to.

This isn't an island you visit if you want luxury hotels,

shopping and restaurants.

As I'll show you, Anafi is a destination

for the type of traveller that wants to get away from the masses

and have some downtime.

You come here to embrace the slow pace of life

and interact with locals that are amongst

the most welcoming people you'll come across.

The last week or so had been spent exploring Santorini.

As always, it didn't disappoint.

But there are a couple of nearby islands

that are also well worth checking out,

including where we left off last episode, Thirassia.

It's only a quick cruise across for the tourism Mecca of Santorini.

However, it's a world away in terms of how developed it is

and the amount of visitors that make the journey.

That's a huge plus for me as I love the islands

that are a little less busy

and a bit more authentic in terms of the experience they offer.

Like its better known neighbour, this island has the dramatic cliffs,

white-walled houses and stunning views,

but it also has plenty of its own quirk and character,

as well as friendly locals.

Is anybody living here?

Nobody lives here right now.

They left.

This is the dining room with an oven with baking.

A dining room with an oven?

Yeah, exactly. Yeah.

Over the centuries, it's seen its fair share of turmoil

inflicted by both people and nature,

but the inhabitants have constantly adapted and evolved,

embracing what's been thrown at them and forging ahead.

Today, they're building more infrastructure

to entice visitors to come over,

which is something I encourage you to do.

Thirassia won't disappoint and gives you a taste

of what Santorini would've been like 50 years ago.

The local math teacher, Pantelis, came here from the city

and has never looked back.

Pantelis, you've come from Athens, that's where you originated,

big city, and you've come

to one of the smallest islands in Greece,

Thirassia, and you're almost a Thirasian now.

You left your teaching job.

Why?

This is the answer.

Pretty simple answer, man.

Pretty simple answer. But you do more than that.

You just haven't come here for yourself,

for the beautiful blue Aegean that Santorinian and Thirassia have.

You spend a lot of time with your kids.

They're important to you, teach them more than just math...

Yes. Yes. ..you teach them art.

I like this place.

I came before 15 years. Yeah.

And I know all the children

from the very small age until now.

And I like very much teaching in this place...

Yeah.

..because the school is a very small school.

Imagine that we have only eight student in the...

Yep. ..school.

So, it's very personable?

Yes. It's personal.

There is a contact. Yeah.

It's not like the other schools in big cities.

Yes. Yes. I know them.

And I am trying to teach them a lot of things.

Not only math, because I'm a math teacher.

I can teach them painting also because I like painting.

And there are 24 children in the whole school?

Yes. And 14 teachers?

That's fantastic for an island like this.

That is fantastic. Yes, it is.

So, there are three or four villages here.

Do you know everybody here?

Yes. Yes, yes. Everybody?

So, there's nothing you do that everybody won't know.

It's that sort of community?

It's only 250 people in this island, so almost all.

Do you miss Athens?

Do you miss the big city?

Not at all. Not at all?

Not at all, the opposite.

I'm going to see my family, my mother,

my sister that live there.

I'm going for a week and I leave in five days

because I can't stand anymore the big city.

Yes, I'm used to living here now...

Yeah. ..and I prefer this way of living.

And I don't know. It's a bit weird.

You live in Thirassia most of the winter

and you spend time in Santorini

during the summer and you come across

for teaching the children.

You catch the ferry across from Santorini

to Thirassia every day...

It's close. ..for these kids?

It's close.

It's only eight minutes long, but it's nice too

because sometimes, I stay here also.

But usually, I do this trip every day.

Trip every day? Yes.

And there's a lot of people that do that?

Yes, a lot. Yeah.

But it's the big difference between Santorini and Thirassia

because Santorini is the most touristic place in Greece.

Yeah. And Thirassia is the opposite.

Exactly the opposite, isn't it?

Exactly the opposite, yes.

Since I met you, you've been smiling all the time.

That says a lot about where you live and the life you are living.

I've got to thank you very much for the time that you spent with us.

Thank you very much. Thank you very much too.

I hope to see you again.

Yeah, you bet. You bet you will.

I love Thirassia.

It's so beautiful, man.

Yes, it is. Look at it.

You're looking out at Santorini, the exact opposite.

The opposite, yeah. Yeah, the exact opposite.

Pantelis' story isn't unique.

More and more people are looking to escape the rat race.

It's in contrast to what's happened

on a lot of these smaller islands in the past

where the young people have left to seek work,

education, or more excitement in other cities.

Perhaps it's the wisdom of age

that brings the likes of Pantelis here.

It's only when you've seen both sides of the coin

that you appreciate the importance of community, serenity,

and a slower pace of life.

In keeping with the theme, my next stop was to the east,

to the island of Anafi.

It's a remote little landmass with a similar feel to Thirasia.

As soon as you arrive in the peaceful port,

you know you've come to a place

that's well off the beaten tourist path.

There's just a couple of fishing boats, an empty beach,

and a few taverners.

I could immediately tell

that this was going to be my kind of place.

Much like Thirassia and Santorini for that matter,

the port has a handful of tourist facilities

and some housing.

The main town is atop the cliffs.

From there, you can enjoy the views and cool breezes.

Mind you, it's a bit of a slog getting up and down.

(THEME MUSIC)

I'm very proud of my Greek heritage.

None so more for the fact that the ancients used

to name their islands after some mythological journey,

which conjures up the juices of future generations, forever.

Case in point, Anafi, which means to make apparent.

And in the journey of Jason and the Argonauts,

they came up with some stormy weather

and Jason called to Apollo.

The god Apollo and said, "Apollo, help us in this storm."

Apollo then drew this island out of the sea.

And that gave them safe haven.

This rock behind me is Kalamos.

And Kalamos is the second highest rock

in all of the Mediterranean after Gibraltar.

It's 460m high.

And I'll always remember this rock because of Jason and the Argonauts,

and I'm looking forward to climbing from Zoodochos Pigi, the monastery,

all the way up to the church.

It's going to be a long climb, but the first thing I'm going to do

is take the tender and just go around

that rock and just check it out.

Look at it. It's just so powerful.

Let me give you some context here.

The largest monolith in the world

is considered to be Uluru in Australia,

also known as Ayers Rock.

While this monster might not be

as big in terms of total area or mass,

it's 72m higher.

And the Rock of Gibraltar might be 6m taller,

but you can't sit at the bottom

of that rock surrounded by the watery depths.

This rock is just absolutely enormous.

This is a rock climber's dream, a rock climber's wet dream.

It is just...

Kalymnos, eat your heart out.

Those rock climbers actually come here.

I'm not too sure if they do rock climbing here,

but I think anyone watches this, they'll be coming out.

I don't think you can say much. It's all there.

There's only one expletive for this and can't use it on camera.

I mean, look at that.

That just blows me away.

There's no doubt, this has been pushed up

out of the earth on its own.

You don't need to be a geologist to work that one out, do you?

In 1700, French botanist, Tournefort, described Kalamos

as the most terrifying mountain in the world,

such was its imposing form and exposure to the elements.

That description has stuck.

And today, some still call it the scariest rock in Europe.

Atop sits a church, acting as a beacon of hope

for anyone scaling the mountain.

Our plan was to head up there in a couple of days.

But before dragging the crew on a hike to such a daunting peak,

we first needed to learn more about the town and its people.

Who knows, maybe we'd never make it back down

from the rock.

What's more, I needed to spend more time getting a bit of fitness,

hiking up and down all the stairs.

Everybody tells me that this island is awesome.

People that have come here,

come back again, and again, and again.

It's a bit quiet.

I can see some people waving over to me there.

I better go over.

First people I've met on the island, so, I better say g'day.

(SPEAKS GREEK)

After Santorini and Thirassia,

all these stairs on these Cycladic islands,

I had to lighten up my load as much as I could.

I took my bag off.

It's going up in the taxi with the film crew.

I'm going to walk up all the way to Chora.

Gee, it's wow.

Now, the path could do with some manicuring,

but 150 people on the island.

When are they going to get time to do all this?

Anafi is just one big bunch of rocks.

Nothing grows here except for thyme,

and oregano, and all that sort of stuff.

But it's still really beautiful.

I mean, doesn't matter where you're looking from.

See that island behind me, it's called Pachia, "Fat."

I think I should have taken the road with a taxi.

This path was once the main thoroughfare.

The road up the hill is only very recent,

and the island was principally built

using the labour of donkeys and mules carrying material

up and down this trail.

The limited access meant slow progress,

which is partly why it feels like

this place is decades behind the rest of Greece.

I can't do it to ya.

You go back, I'll see you at the top.

It's too much. It's hot.

When we visited Anafi, it was mid-June.

And by 10:00am, it was already really hot.

And as you can see, there aren't any trees for shade.

My motivation for the effort was twofold.

Firstly, there's apparently a couple of great cafes at the top

where I could grab a cold drink.

Plus, it meant I was getting in some quality exercise

so, I could justify seconds tonight at dinner,

not that I need an excuse.

Do we tell them that you cheated and caught the taxi up?

Very rare for you. I've never seen you do it before.

I know you're going to cut that.

After the long walk up those stairs to Chora,

it's well worth the visit

because this just seems like one of those

typical, quiet Cycladic villages,

and the people here are just so accommodating.

I'm having my coffee, having a drink of water.

It's very, very quiet.

I don't know why anyone would want to leave Anafi,

but many of them did in the early 1800s

when King Otto was enlisting tradesmen

to build his palace.

And apparently, the Anafiotes were considered

some of the best tradesmen in Greece.

So much so that many of them left and stayed.

There at the base of the Acropolis.

They built a little village for themselves.

And if you go there now, it's very Cycladic.

It's actually called Anafiotika.

So, if you can't make it to Anafi, at least you can get to the base

of the Acropolis and speak to some Anafiotikas.

Anafiotikas?

I don't know what they're called, but they're good people from Anafi.

I refer to Cycladic architecture all the time

and the most obvious elements

are the whitewashed walls, splashes of blue in the doors,

windows and church domes, and the cubic shape.

The houses are also quite minimalist in design,

clustered together with narrow alleyways,

often built into cliff faces

that are common in this island group.

An abundance of stairs is also a frequent theme,

as well as curved roofs.

But by far, the most endearing thing about this part of Greece,

and the smaller islands in particular,

is the welcoming nature of the people.

With the slower pace of life comes a greater appreciation for humanity.

The desire for wealth and assets gets replaced with the need

for connection and sharing your time with others.

Nothing encapsulated this more

than an experience I had while walking back to Mia Zoi.

(SPEAKS GREEK)

Captain Yianni and George broke the ice with these fishermen.

Then as I dropped by, they invited me aboard.

Before we knew it, Kyriako and Katerina were there too,

and it became a mid afternoon party.

(SPEAKS GREEK)

This is what the Greek islands are all about.

It's cliche, but the real deal.

(THEME MUSIC)

In a tiny island like this, everyone knows their neighbours.

In fact, everyone knows everyone

and what's been going on in their lives.

You could see it as a bad thing,

having a lack of privacy and all that.

But as the saying goes, it takes a village to raise a child.

And Anafi, with its strong community spirit,

is a place where you grow up to appreciate

your surroundings and the people that live within them.

It extends the inviting attitudes of the locals.

They'll even welcome a stranger into their kitchen.

I love these.

This is the way my mother used to make them.

You got to do it with your hands.

(SPEAKS GREEK)

Yeah, look at that. Look at the white comes out.

Look at that.

They're in pure, virgin olive oil.

(SPEAKS GREEK)

Well, I got that wrong. Corn oil.

Corn oil, corn oil.

I thought it was olive. You don't do it in olive oil.

This is very heavy after.

Too heavy.

I thought everything was cooked in olive oil.

We're here because our boat's parked in the local port here,

and this house is the second house on the port.

And they've invited us

over to have loukoumades on a Sunday morning.

It's just a simple thing.

We don't know them, we met them yesterday.

And Evie is kind enough to make the loukoumades.

And captain came over, Kyriako came over,

the engineer came over.

The whole My Greek Odyssey crew came over,

and I think there's a crowd out there

waiting for some of Evie's loukoumades,

and they look good.

They smell fantastic.

(SPEAKS GREEK)

(SPEAKS GREEK)

That's a big call.

That's a big call.

Kyriako has been to many Greek islands.

And he's saying that the filoxenia, which is the Greek way

of befriending those strangers,

he's only seen on one other island and that was Kasos.

So, that's a big call from someone that has,

you know, seen all of the Greek islands.

And I think I'd have to agree with him.

Greek islanders are known for their filoxenia.

The word literally translates as friend to a stranger.

But these guys are at a different level.

You're more than a friend, you're family.

You know what I love about this?

We've just brought these loukoumades from Gregory's house,

down to here to the local cafe.

We're going to have a coffee. They don't care.

Gregory's mother made them.

You're going to be sitting here having a coffee with the boys

while his two girls, Iris and Chloe,

are sitting there on the water with their grandfather.

They're going to be at the beach here in the port all day long.

What a life?

(SPEAKS GREEK)

Let's go again. Come on.

Mmm.

Awesome.

What a life.

(SPEAKS GREEK)

And the honey is local honey too.

And they've been making the honey here,

continuously for 2,500 years.

As a matter of fact, that's what we're going to do next.

Before heading off to see the bees,

there were two platters of loukoumades to demolish.

And in true Greek style, we took our time,

enjoying the setting and plenty of laughs.

Ahead, we had a big day planned

and I needed all the energy I could get.

Anafi may not be a big island or that well known,

but it's long been inhabited.

Most people live on the coast, building homes on the hillsides

where they can enjoy the scenery and cool breezes

and have easier access to the port.

Today, island life is all about a connection with the sea.

But in centuries past, it often made more sense

and was safer to be inland.

Threats from abroad were many,

ranging from Venetians and Ottomans to pirates.

So, being able to see an approaching enemy

was to your advantage.

Those that lived here adapted to their surroundings

in order to grow crops, collect water,

and sustain themselves.

A port provided trade, but we're talking about an island

that's a long way from civilisation today,

let alone a thousand years ago.

And as you can see, Anafi is an arid landmass,

covered in dry, rocky terrain.

It's not exactly a farmer's paradise.

The ancients built their town in the parched hills,

terracing the land in order to grow crops.

They also developed their own methods for bee-keeping,

and those techniques are still practised today.

Anafi reached its height in the second and third century BC,

during the Hellenistic period.

And so much so that it produced its own coinage

with a picture of Apollo on one side and a bee on the other.

And that symbolised the growth of making honey and bee-keeping,

and they've been doing it ever since.

I'm just about to meet a family

that does it the ancient way, still today.

And they've had it in their family for generations.

Manolis is just a top guy. You need to meet him.

I'm not ashamed to say that I suffer from melissophobia.

In simple terms, I'm terrified of bees.

But I love the whole process of how honey is made.

More so, I love the taste of it.

So, this is the Ypseli, right?

Ypseli.

Yes, Ypseli.

The ancient way.

OK, hold on.

Can I have this? There's a couple there, mate.

You're going to take the gun, aren't you?

He's left with me without the gun.

I thought I'm going to keep the gun.

Now, they're in there. The bees are in there.

Yes, the bees are inside.

So, what's happening now? Manolis, what are we looking at?

Oh, you're going to put your hand in there?

Yes, yes. Right.

I show you the wax.

I can hear them now. I can hear them around me.

Let's hope.

But listen, I'm fully dressed now.

Last couple of times I did it, I was a little bit uncovered

and I was a bit scared, but...

Well...

You can see. Wow, yeah. I can see.

Just smoke them up, mate. Smoke them up.

Smoke them up.

Beautiful, right? OK.

You can see the honey inside.

Here, we don't have honey now. A little bit, isn't it?

A little bit is the inside here. Yeah.

You can see it. Yeah, I can see that.

Well, no, I don't want to touch it, mate.

It's Alright, sorry. OK.

It's OK. OK.

It's OK. I'll get it.

I'm happy to touch it when it's in the jar, OK?

Alright, there's some at the back as well.

Yes. Yeah.

Fantastic.

I want one day to be able to kiss the bees.

You love them that much. He loves the bees that much.

You know what Manolis said to me. Can I tell them, Manolis?

Yes, of course. Of course. Of course.

So, when he proposed to his wife, he said, you know,

"Number one is my bees.

"They're my bees. You're second."

Amazing. I mean, he loves his wife.

There's no doubt about that, but the bees are his life.

It was his life. It's your father's life.

Your uncle's life. Your grandfather's life.

Yes. And your great-grandfather's life.

Yes. Goes back.

He's a bee-keeper forever.

And, well, I think that waving might have pissed

the bees off a bit, you know?

Don't wave at them.

Oh, man, they're everywhere now.

Just don't wave at them.

I'm not going to wave. I'm not going to wave.

You're OK? Yeah. I'm OK.

I'm OK. OK.

So, continue.

They can't penetrate through this stuff, can they?

Here... One gets inside...

Mate, what are we looking at?

Is that too much?

Yes, too much smoke.

Sorry.

(THEME MUSIC)

Manolis was totally at home handling the bees.

Perhaps, even a little too comfortable.

He was swinging them around and barely using the smoker.

If it were up to me,

there would be a thick blanket of fumes filling the air.

Because now, we search for honey.

Right.

Wow!

Now, we have the honey.

I can see the honey down there, mate.

Yes. There's a lot of bees here.

I'll hold that. Yes.

Oh, man. There's a lot of bees here.

Yeah, you take that. OK.

Let's go.

Bee-keeping takes patience and a gentle hand.

I possess neither of these attributes.

Add to that my phobia,

and you can see why I was quick to leave the scene.

Oh, wow, that golden honey.

Look at that. Look at that.

Look at that.

Oh, look at this.

Yeah, look at this.

Oh, you taste this all the time, so, let me try it, OK?

Yes, of course. It's all yours.

Mate.

Well, you think after 2,000 years of making honey continuously,

you'd think you've got to get it right by now.

I love this, you know.

I love the honey, but you know what I love more?

I love the fact that you do it, your father did it,

your grandfather did it, your grandfather did it,

your uncles here, they're all honey people,

you know, bee-keepers.

It's a real culture, isn't it?

It's a family work.

We start to work with the bees.

I don't know from when.

My family learn us the bees is a child.

It's like your children? Yes, it's like my children.

It's like your children. Yes, yes, yes.

Well, your children make good honey, mate.

It's some of the best honey I've had.

I'll tell you. It is absolutely magnificent.

Hey, thank you so much, mate.

This has been such a trip.

Thank you, buddy. That's very sweet.

Like I said, the honey may have tasted amazing,

but what I enjoyed most was the story behind it.

There's a simplicity to the life of a bee-keeper,

but one that's intrinsically bound to nature.

You have to move to the rhythm of the bees

and treat them with care.

In turn, they reward your efforts with delicious honey.

It must be a gratifying vocation.

It's much like the life of a winemaker.

It's a year round, often lifelong passion.

The days are spent tending to the vines,

making sure they're watered when necessary,

pruned in the right way, and kept free of pests.

Then there's the harvest

and knowing exactly when to pick the grapes.

From there, it can be months or even years

before a barrel is opened and the end product

can be properly enjoyed.

That takes patience.

Another line of work that requires patience,

but also comes with a huge amount of pressure,

is being a cardiac surgeon.

The man you're about to meet, Alkis,

spent 45 years at the top of that profession.

Today, he lives in a place of total contrast,

where there's little stress other than tending to his winery.

Naturally, I wanted to know how he found his way

to this far corner of Greece.

I think I was very lucky to find this place.

When I was invited to come and spend the summer here,

I didn't even know the name.

And looking backwards and reading a little bit,

I realised that

it was notoriously famous as a place of exile.

And so it was an exile place for political prisoners

and also for criminals.

Yes, but you're not a criminal?

No. Why would you come here?

No, because I wanted a place with no electricity.

We love that, having vacation with my wife and my children.

Yes.

And going in places, "primitive," let's say.

(SPEAKS GREEK)

Primitive places with great civilisation

but not with many comforts.

Yeah.

The first time we came here, there was no harbour.

So, we had to step out of the ship using little boats.

And it was 4:00 in the morning, 5:00,

and we saw the rise of the sun.

The colours were magnificent.

So, we decided this is the place and...

This, when you're getting off the ship?

Yes, yes. Wow.

This is the place for us.

Almost everyone that visits the Greek islands

leaves saying that they would love to find

their own piece of this paradise and live there.

For most, it's a dream that never becomes reality.

In the case of Alkis, it was love at first sight.

Such was his passion for Anafi that he followed through

with the aspiration, and now, lives here.

This inspired me to do the same, on my home island of Kythera.

But tell me something. Yeah.

What is it about Anafi that made you stay here

and say, "This is my place.

"I made the right decision."

What is it?

Many things.

First of all, you have to know that

Anafi is crowded

for about 40 days every year.

But the rest of time...

Yeah, it's fantastic.

It's fantastic.

There are 300 people living here.

I know everybody and everybody knows me.

I feel proud when they come and they like the place.

Well, you are now an Anafioti.

Anafioti, yes. You're an Anafioti.

Yes. That's fantastic.

Although my origin is Epirus. Epirus.

Has nothing to do with islands.

Yes. Yes.

But you've become a full islander in Anafi.

That's right.

So, I must say to you,

I've met a lot of people on the island now.

They've all been so wonderful to us.

The filoxenia that we've got.

Tomorrow night, we've got a bit of a barbecue going on at the boat.

Will you come? Sure.

That'd be great, mate.

Thank you. That's a heavy shake.

Come on, come on.

Listen, don't give me such a hard time.

Come on, mate.

Let's go and have something to eat I think.

I struggled to pull myself away from here.

I was having such a wonderful time,

enjoying the generosity of Alkis and his wife.

They're incredibly kind and gracious people,

who were happy to give a stranger

a fabulous lunch and share their story.

I knew I was going to like Alkis from the moment

I saw the Willys Jeep parked out the front.

They're also big tennis fans and we happened to arrive

at the beginning of an important match,

so, you can imagine what happened next.

We're going to make one more toast.

Yeah. OK.

To Tsitsipas.

To Tsitsipas, he might win today. Tsitsipas.

He might win today. Today, he's winning.

He's winning. He's winning. Winning over Djokovic.

He's winning. Let's hope he beats Djokovic.

Nothing against Djokovic, we love Djokovic.

Yeah. He's a lovely guy. We love him. We love him.

But we're supporting the Greek guy.

Very nice. That's right.

OK. Here again. Let's go.

That's it.

I'm getting pissed.

That's very good. OK.

(THEME MUSIC)

Calm seas and a beautiful morning make for ideal paddling weather.

It's a fantastic way to start the day and to see the island.

Just be careful where you look because being so quiet,

Anafi is a naturist's heaven.

As you come out of the port of Ios Nikolas,

you come to the first beach,

which is only a few hundred metres over,

and it's called Klisidi.

And I can see over there at the moment

that there is a couple of people on there

and there's a couple of campers in behind.

Because this island is known for its free camping,

people just come here and camp for free,

all over the place.

Now, why wouldn't you?

It's free and you got the best waters

in all of Greece.

I'm going to go and take a closer look.

Look at this water. I can see to the bottom.

Paddling in these turquoise waters takes my mind away

from the rat race and all my worries.

It's also a great way to get a workout,

because the sceneries are distraction from the pain.

Awesome stuff. I love this.

This is Katsouni beach.

As you see, there's a couple of campers here

having an absolute ball.

Are they happy people, oh...

Don't go too close with the camera.

They're doing full camping stuff.

You know what I mean?

Awesome. Awesome.

I better not get too close.

Man, look at that rock.

Look at the size of it.

It's just so impressive.

You know, Jason and the Argonauts, thanks very much.

Now, wow!

Like I mentioned earlier, in Anafi, you need to be careful paddling,

or even hiking to remote parts of the island.

Many of the nudist beaches aren't marked

and some people bathe nude regardless.

I can certainly understand why,

because there are very few humans out here.

We come to our third beach.

Our third, fourth, I don't know.

It's Flamourou.

I don't know where they get these names

because Flamourou is not Greek.

It is Greek. I'm being told it's Greek.

Remember, I was born in Australia, right?

And I skipped the last two years of Greek school...

and I'm paddling pretty hard.

Well, it looks like I'm paddling pretty hard anyway.

This is the most popular beach, it's called Roukounas.

Now, there's not many people here at the moment

because it's early.

You know what the Greeks are like.

But it gets packed.

Look at this beautiful water.

Ahead was a spectacular view.

Now, as much as I would love to show it to you,

there was a slightly less stunning addition to the setting

composed of a group of naked people,

enjoying the surrounds and making the most of the sunshine.

So, instead of showing you that landscapes up ahead,

you'll have to make due with the wonderful view

at the opposite end of the beach.

Now, I could have stopped into the tavern of Papadia

just around the corner,

but I might have lunch with Helen,

if I get her out of the water.

Who can blame Helen for not wanting to leave

this gorgeous water?

It's clear, warm, and surrounded by stunning landscapes.

The locals here on Anafi opened their homes to us

like we were long lost friends.

So, we thought we would return the favour

by having a barbecue and inviting the whole town.

Long before the guests arrived,

the crew and I started the celebrations.

You can only imagine where things were going.

There was a long evening ahead of us.

If you know what Greeks are like, there would be a few drinks,

plenty of music, lots of dancing, and even more food.

It would definitely be an event to remember.

As the sun started to head down,

the energy in the port began to go up.

Celebrations in the Med never really start

until well into the night.

It's a part of the Greek DNA that I think I missed out on,

because I'm normally one that's early to bed.

After dark, it really came to life.

We ate, drank, sung, and danced

well into the wee hours of the morning.

All the while, the production team and I were contemplating

the big day we had planned for tomorrow.

On the agenda was a hike up Kalamos,

but we weren't gonna let that stop us

from having a great night.

Our retired cardiac surgeon, Alkis, smoked cigars,

drank the home-made rocket fuel,

and danced like there was no tomorrow.

He's definitely one that lives by my motto.

Life's too short and you only have Mia zoi, one life.

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)

(THEME MUSIC)

The climb to Kalamos starts here

at the monastery of Zoodochos Pigi,

which sits above and besides some Hellenistic ruins.

These are actually the foundations of the Temple of Apollo.

It's got something to do with Jason and the Argonauts obviously.

And how they mix mythology with reality

is beyond my capability and understanding.

Just read about it.

As you can probably hear in my voice and see in my energy levels,

last night's party took its toll, but it was worth it.

Kalamos has its own micro climate.

And in spring, it has clouds covering the top of the mountain.

You can see some of them now.

But have a look at this.

Is there any more dramatic start to a walk than this?

It is sensational.

They say that the walk is about 90 minutes

and that you should do it first thing in the morning

at 5:30, for the heat.

But what worries me is that nuns said to us

that we should pray before we go up.

Yeah, worries me a bit.

Pray before we go up, we're only going for a walk.

I mean, what's up there?

A word of warning.

When a Greek anywhere tells you how long a hike is,

you can normally double their estimate.

Maybe it's their way of making things

sound a little easier

so, you're more likely to give it a go.

To be honest, this was maybe an extra hour or so.

Mind you, despite filming on the way up,

there was no stopping to enjoy the scenery.

I think it's almost impossible to get lost on these trails.

But what happens is you think

you're on a trail, but in an actual fact,

this seems to be some sort of watercourse

for the natural overland flow of the water from the mountain

because I've been climbing up that,

but in actual fact, this is the trail.

I know it's the trail because there's donkey poo on it,

so, pretty obvious, isn't it?

I'm starting to think 90 minutes might be a little short.

I think it's a bit longer than that.

And there's this second ridge line of the rock in the background.

And if we have to cross that ravine and go to that ridge line,

this is going to be like a four-hour walk

and it could be, I don't know.

It's very windy up here.

And thankfully, my sweat saturated hat

is glued to my head.

And as I round this first peak,

I suddenly realise that we have to cross

the ravine to go to that second peak.

I smile, but it's sort of a bit of a cry as well.

Good things are worth the hard work.

And what was ahead of me was pretty special.

I was probably moaning more than usual

because of all the tsipouro and dancing last night.

The poor camera crew had also lug a tonne of gear up,

so, I probably shouldn't have been complaining.

As we get to the top,

there is a vast temperature change, probably 15 degrees less

than it was down at sea level.

And I look at this...

I don't think

from a vista point of view,

I don't think I've ever seen anything

as majestic as this from every single angle.

It's just not fair that you are not seeing

what I'm seeing right now.

I don't think I can bring it to you, because I look at every point

and there's something different, something special.

It is undoubtedly the best short climb

I've ever done in Greece.

I've hiked all over Greece,

but I struggle to think of one that's as rewarding as this.

There is a gradual reveal of the church,

but it's not until you're at the very end

that the entire vista opens up before you.

It really is spectacular.

You can see the top.

As the team rounded this bit of the track

and we could see the cross of the church,

there was this euphoria and this jubilation,

and there's five of us that have to come up here.

If you come up here, you just need two bottles of water,

but we're carrying three cameras,

a whole lot of equipment, first aid kit.

You name it, we've got everything.

And you get up here

and there was a sense of love amongst all of us.

It's a real accomplishment, even though it's what?

3.5ks, it's nothing, but, it's just so special.

There are some pictures that the camera

just can't capture in their truest sense.

This is one of those experiences that's far more

than a handful of two-dimensional images.

There's a sense of awe being here,

that can only be appreciated first-hand.

So, you need to hop on a plane,

then into a ferry, and walk up yourself.

Trust me when I say,

"It's well worth all the time it takes to get here."

You know, I find it difficult to fathom

or imagine the fear in these people to come up at this sort of height.

Build these tracks.

Build this church.

The architecture behind this, the engineering, the buttresses.

The fear that they must have had to put all that work

and to risk their lives.

It's just amazing.

(INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC)

Two of the most popular islands in Greece,

Santorini and Crete, sit to the immediate west

and south of this forgotten Aegean oasis.

With neighbours that have so much to offer,

it seems like Anafi has been overlooked by travellers.

The tourists' season here

is just 40 odd days over July and August.

The rest of the year,

there's just a couple of hundred residents here.

But anyone that's been here,

will tell you that it's well worth a visit.

Not just to climb the scariest rock in Europe

but to swim its beautiful beaches,

enjoy the fresh local food,

mix with some of the most hospitable people in Greece,

and just slow down for a little while.

I couldn't think of a better spot

to finish my time on this fantastic island.

It gave me a chance to reflect on not just my time here

but my journey as a whole.

I mean, when you're in a setting like this,

who wouldn't stop,

take a breath and ponder life's big questions?

In the next episode,

I'm taking you to three very different islands,

starting with Amorgos.

It's a mountainous landmass

that has some of the prettiest scenery in Greece.

There are also quiet villages

with an abundance of old world charm.

Its best feature is it hasn't become popular with tourists, yet.

I'll also be making my way to the remote islands

of Levitha and Kinaros,

where life for the few people living there

is a complete contrast

to that of the populous neighbouring landmasses.

(THEME MUSIC)

Captioned by Ai-Media ai-media.tv