Green, Green Samos

"Geez, ya know, Basil - I really like Samothraki. It's so mountainous and so green."

"Well, just wait until you see Samos. Samos is really beautiful and all that too."

I laughed knowing that he had to say that, I mean, he's from there right? There seems to be some unwritten rule in Greece that you must love where ever you are from most of all. Many times I have asked Greek people to tell me about their favourite place in Greece and almost as many times they have told me that their hometown is the best place in Greece. Growing up in a place that most of of my peers thought quite negatively of, I found this to be quite a refreshing change, but after a while it starts to sound a little like brainwashing. However, once again, Basil was right: Samos is really beautiful, and really green, and has a sizeable mountain range.

In ancient times, people believed that anything you planted in Samos would grow to epic proportions and it is clearly still a gardener's paradise. Looking down into nearly any valley the variety of trees is astonishing and unlike any island we have visited yet. Samian wines, especially those from the vathy grapes, are internationally proclaimed.

Samos is a gem of an island from the first sighting.