There's an intriguing picture of a waterfall in our Andros guide book which is supposed to be in a village called Ramatis. I actually found Ramatis on the map, but it wasn't clear how to get there. Coming back from yesterday's journey, I noticed a signpost to Ramatis just before entering Batsi from the south, so I knew from where to start. Unfortunately, there was no sign when one leaves Batsi which is what we do, so I had to keep a careful eye for signs and we reversed once or twice looking for the correct sign.
The road that we took led us up into the hills which are in the middle of Andros. There aren't many signs on the roads so it's a gamble when one comes to a junction as to which turn to take. First time around, we arrived at a sign saying 'Welcome to Arni' which was a bit off-putting as Arni didn't seem close to Ramatis on our map. So we backtracked and took the left hand turn where previously we had taken the right hand turn. This didn't seem any more hopeful; as the neutron bomb effect was still applicable, we didn't see anyone for several kilometers. Eventually we saw a non-English speaking farmer who said that the road that we were on would lead to Atheni, not Ramatis. I then read the guide book once again and figured out what it was trying to tell us.
Back we went to the sign 'Welcome to Arni', where we continued on our way. After about ten minutes, we saw a small sign saying 'Ramatis' in Greek. Carrying on, we found a site of bubbling water which did not resemble the picture in the guide book but was good enough for us. There were also scattered around many monasteries, chapels and similar buildings.
Our route became clear after passing Ramatis: we would carry on to Vourkoti and thence to Apoikia. The road was over the top of mountains and quite exhilarating: every now and then we would stop to take a picture (or video) of something interesting. The funniest time was when I saw a goat standing all alone on a big stone, as if it were a statue. When we started calling to it, other goats ambled over.
The village of Vourkoti seemed very small but once we were past it, we could see that most of the houses on the village were on the hill side and not on the main road. We carried on over the mountains (and poorly signposted roads) until we came to the village Apoikia. This is the site of a factory which sells water; we found the factory without problem but no one was working there.
Carrying on from Apoikia, we came to the back entrance of Chora: from this road it was easy to see the arrangement of light house, Venetian fortress, square of the unknown sailor and the rest of the town. We followed the road down the hill until we came to what might be called a promenade.
As the time was already after 1pm, we decided to stop for lunch. The first few places which we saw looked liked cafes, but further on we found something which was definitely a restaurant. It was also empty, with a girl waitress who knew very little English. She showed me a menu and we decided what we would have to eat, when along came a man (probably the owner) who did speak English. He showed me what they had to offer, including fresh fish. I chose two of a type whose name I did not catch - something in Greek. When grilled, the fish was delicious and my stomach was hurting from too much food. The meal cost a reasonable €40 (after all, it's fresh fish which is sold by weight). So hint: if you want to eat well in Chora, don't go for one of the tourist traps in the middle of the town; instead head for the promenade to the Archipalagos restaurant. You will not be disappointed. Of course, as soon as we were eating, two more couples turned up to eat in this restaurant; we feel like magnets.
After the long lunch, we found our way through the back streets of Chora to where we had parked the other day. Then it was just the usual ride home, which we have now done three times in three days: we're getting to know the landmarks as well as the potholes in the roads.
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