Exploring Local Samos Beaches

We decided the night before not to try and make up for the time we lost due to the ferry delay. We could have done a bus trip today, but instead we just checked out the local beaches.

After breakfast we walked down the hill and then along a relatively quiet road to Paralia Gaggou beach—or at least that’s what Google Maps calls it. The actual signs said something slightly different. It was an easy walk, but just long enough that we were ready for an early morning dip.

It’s a pebbly beach that turns to sand as you get into deeper water. There were a good number of lounge chairs and a few people already there when we arrived. A couple of resorts and a café sit right by the beach, but it’s all quite low-key compared with many Greek beaches.

The little fish bite here! As Sarah quickly discovered—along with the rest of the people on the beach when she let out a yelp. 😂 The fish are about 20 cm long and obviously hungry little blighters. They didn’t bite me—clearly I wasn’t to their taste—or maybe I just learned quickly to keep my feet and hands moving. Sarah kept everything moving too after the initial stealth attack. At one stage she claimed there were four piranha-like fish circling her, waiting for their opportunity. They never got one, and she survived! 😁

After enjoying the water for perhaps 20–30 minutes, we’d had enough there. It was too soon for a coffee at the café, so we walked back the way we’d come. The next beach, Roditses Beach, was only a short distance away. It was very basic—just pebbles and rocks, no sand, and no chairs in sight. At first there was only one other woman there sunbathing and swimming, and later a couple walked along and sat down. We had a short swim, and it was nice—very clear water and much friendlier fish.

We stopped for more bottled water at a mini-mart, but otherwise headed back to the apartment. After getting changed, we had a coffee before walking down to the main town to visit the bakery. A really nice-looking bakery/café. We picked up a ciabatta loaf and two small apple pastries.

The ciabatta made for great hummus, lettuce, and tomato sandwiches for lunch.

The afternoon was relaxed at the apartment. Cold beer, pizza, and lettuce salad on the terrace made for a nice, easy dinner.