After a sumptuous breakfast in the dining room, with a window overlooking the sea (actually, not very hard in this hotel as almost every window faces the sea), we drove off in our hired car in the direction of Batsi, which is about 5km south of where we are. We in turn are about 2.5 km south of Gavrio, which is where the port is. I've marked with an x where the hotel is situated.
One of the advantages of having one's own transport as opposing to being with a touring group is that one can stop wherever one likes, for as long as one likes. So when we got to a high road overlooking the bay of Batsi, I announced that we had a photo opportunity for ten minutes. One can get a good idea of what the town of Batsi looks like from the accompanying photo.
We drove down the hill and into the town area, assessing what we might do. What became clear was that the road around the harbour was one way (and fortunately we were driving that way); this meant that there had to be a road which enabled one to travel the other way. In the end, we went completely around the town and found a back road which led to Gavrio. We then followed this road until we found where we had turned off in order to go to Batsi, then went down this road again.
The town itself was deserted - and this was at 11am. There also aren't many shops, which disappointed me as I had envisaged something like the main alley in the old town of Sorrento. We found one souvenir shop run by an old lady, where we bought many items - they were all fairly cheap. The most expensive item was a book about Andros costing €12.50. I don't know whether it was because we paid cash or because the lady was pleased to have custom, but we received a 15% discount.
We then sat on a bench - perilously close to the water's edge - and had an ice cream, whilst assessing what to do. Apart from a few tradesmen, there was nobody about. Well, it is off-season, but even so, I thought that there would be a few more people. On the way back to the hotel, we stopped at a supermarket at the back of Batsi, where we bought tea, milk, sugar, bread and cheese - for impromptu lunches or dinners. We had our first impromptu lunch on our balcony, overlooking the sea. This is what 'having a rest' really means.
After a rest in the hotel, we set off again, this time heading to Gavrio and the hills that overlook it. We went a certain distance in the hills, but there wasn't much to see and we didn't want to get lost. Coming back to the harbour area of Gavrio, we spotted a shop which sold a variety of items: summer dresses and shirts, along with a variety of handmade souvenirs. We spent maybe an hour in this shop as there was so much to see. We also talked with the man who runs the shop - he comes from Chora, the island's capital, which is on the other side of the island.
One interesting thing which I noted was that all the souvenirs from Batsi had 'Andros' written on them in Greek - Άνδρος (this is in script, but the cups etc. used Greek capital letters) whereas all his souvenirs had 'Andros' written in English. The shop owner explained that this was due to the clientele - most people coming to Andros are Greek, not foreigners.
In the evening, we decided to dine in the restaurant which is otherwise known as the breakfast room. We were entitled to a 20% discount for our first meal here, which is just as well because otherwise we wouldn't have eaten there. They don't have grilled fish on the menu - too early in the season - so the menu didn't really speak to us. They are aiming for a gastronomic experience and we were looking for something to eat. It was clear that future evening meals will either be fish in Gavrio or sandwiches in our room, if we have a cooked lunch.
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