Shoreline Walk To Kos Town

We’d landed on the Greek island of Kos on Sunday evening and we’d spent Monday alternating between our balcony and poolside at the Blue Lagoon Resort, recovering from the excesses of that first night (see: First 24 Hours At The Blue Lagoon Resort, Kos) so Tuesday was our first decent chance to get up, get out, and have a proper look around.

There was an obvious place to head towards: Kos Town; obvious, because Kos is a small island with not a huge amount to do, and in terms of things within walking distance of the hotel, this was pretty much Option One in a list containing a single item. We had no complaints here because this was a different sort of holiday in a different sort of year for us. Our primary reason for getting away for this week of late-autumn, Mediterranean sunshine was just to get away, and if we’d had to spend it around the pool or on our balcony all day, every day we might still have gone simply to have had a break from work and an escape from the UK for a short period.

There are effectively two walking routes into town from the resort, differing in terms of length and attractiveness of the first part of each, and we took the longer, more scenic, shoreline walk. The total length of this walk was around four kilometres and took around an hour and a quarter because one of us – no names – likes to take lots of photos and videos, and two of us – no names – don’t like to get too hot so really take our time when we move anywhere. This travelogue post will be primarily photos from that walk into the town while the next post will cover what we saw there and where we ended up drinking, so consider this an appetite-whetter for the more important information to come.

The first thing we did was make for the private stretch of beach to the north of the hotel. It was bright, it was sunny, it was still very windy, and it was another chance to take some photos, and I never pass them up. The view from the beach looks out over the Mediterranean Sea. Okay, technically, it’s the South Aegean Sea but I’m fairly certain that most people wouldn’t be able to point at a map and tell you where the boundary of that is.

Do you want a geography lesson? No? Well, you’ve come to the wrong place then because now you’re going to get a short geography lesson.

Leave the Blue Lagoon Resort, cross the wide road, and walk down the boards to the beach until you come to the water’s edge. Turn slightly to your left and you’ll see an island. This is Pserimos and if you’re the sort of person who thinks a holiday is improved by putting in more effort than is needed then this could be worth a visit.

Yes, we went to Kos too. Lovely place. Those typically Greek buildings and those fabulous, white churches. Great little beaches. Love being beside the sea, and it’s fantastic for some stunning sunrises and sunsets. We liked the remoteness of it all, the way you can walk off into the countryside and hike around without seeing a soul for ages then suddenly stumble on a group of buildings. Tell me, did you walk into Kos Town and take the boat to Pserimos off the north coast? Oh you should have! Bumpy ride on account of the wind; felt a little seasick to be honest. Still, so worth it once we got there. Lovely place. Those typically Greek buildings and those fabulous, white churches. Great little beaches. Love being beside the sea, and it’s fantastic for some stunning sunrises and sunsets. We liked the remoteness of it all, the way you can walk off into the countryside and hike around without seeing a soul for ages then suddenly stumble on a group of buildings. Personally, I don’t really think you’ve been to Kos at all if you’ve not visited Pserimos.

We didn’t visit Pserimos during our stay on Kos.

Now turn to the right. That’s no island you’re now looking at. That’s Turkey. There was a global pandemic and travelling more than necessary was frowned upon and subsequently more difficult to do so we didn’t visit Turkey while we stayed at Kos but if it had been possible to hop on a boat there then we would have because it’s a country we’ve not visited yet. In normal times there is a regular service between Kos Town and Bodrum.

The Blue Lagoon Resort beach is mostly sandy but there are some pebbles along the tidemark. You’ll find plenty of loungers under fixed parasols for lying under the sun and partial shade while being battered by the wind, and there are some nearby portaloos for those who don’t want to traipse back to the hotel or make it obvious to everyone what they’re doing when they wander waist-deep into the sea, stand still for thirty seconds, breathe a deep sigh of relief, then stroll back to their spot on the sand.

Mark, I cannot believe we’ve got this far into this post and you’ve not even started your shoreline walk to Kos Town.

Ah, you’re new here.

We left the beach and headed back for the main road, alongside which there is a separated lane for pedestrians and cyclists to use in safety, not that we saw a whole lot of traffic on our walk anyway. The wide road had the distinct feel of something that had expected to be used more or, perhaps, and knowing how the construction industry and local governments work, anticipated growth on the island hadn’t quite reached the forecasted levels when the inflated contracts for the work were being decided over drinks somewhere.

There’s a reason I take a lot of photographs. Actually, there are many reasons I take lots of photographs. One reason is that my camera and lenses are expensive and you’ve got to justify that sort of expenditure somehow. Another reason is that I work in a job that involves no artistry – a lot of skill, and the right sort of brain, but not a lot of scope to go crazy – and my writing and my photos are an outlet for that part of me that’s always been a bit imaginative, so the more stressful and intense my job gets the more I need to vent through art. No, I’m not saying what I write or take photos of is in any way actual art. The reason for taking a lot of photos I was originally getting at is because I don’t pay a lot of attention sometimes so need visual reminders of what I’ve seen when I’m writing up about them often months later. And sometimes, I spot something I didn’t notice at all at the time, like in this following photo.

I do try to look out for compositions when taking photos. Rule of thirds, diagonals into corners, that sort of thing. I also try to look out for wildlife. I never know what it is at the time. “Bird! Cow! Bird on a cow!” I’ll exclaim. In this instance I thought I saw a cricket on a sawn-off part of a tree we were passing so I fired off a shot almost without stopping and carried on. I didn’t want to get too close because although it looked big I did just think it was a cricket and I didn’t want it to jump off the tree in fright into my face as nobody likes to hear a grown man scream.

When I was processing the photo, though, I suddenly spotted the shadow of the insect and took a closer look. I’ve mentioned before in our travelogues that we love spotting unusual creatures when we travel so now I can check off Preying Mantis from the list. I wish I’d realised at the time.

For the first part of this walk along the northern coastline of Kos towards the main town on the island we were some way back from the water; able to see it and hear the waves crashing on the beach, but with plenty of scrubland and grass and trees in the way. One other sight that cropped up on a few occasions was that of abandoned World War II bunkers. The main sort of history we were interested in on Kos was a lot older, but the middle of the twentieth century naturally saw some military action for this Greek island thanks to its strategic position in the Aegean. If you’re interested in wartime history and a little bit of urban exploration then there’s plenty of opportunity to see some remnants up close on this walk and I imagine the same is true across the island. For more information on the fighting that took place please read about the Battle of Kos.

Buildings along the walk were an interesting mix of old ones, daubed with graffiti and clearly abandoned, crumbling and potentially damaged in fighting or earthquakes or through shoddy construction techniques, as well as new ones, bright, clean, with modern architectural styles taking advantage of the fabulous sea views in this quiet location not far from the town.

We’d been walking in a roughly easterly direction all this time and were now approaching the point at which the shoreline road would turn southwards towards the town. Here, the scrubland and beach mostly vanished, leaving the road a lot closer to the water, and the effects of coastal erosion were clear to see. If we had harboured any doubts that the wind and waves were a constant force of nature on this side of the island then this mostly put them to rest. A military pillbox had slid to one side; the pavement was cracked, exposing cables; and what we thought was a cute, scale model of Durdle Door turned out to be all that remained of what had been a concrete pipe.

Not many photos taken along this stretch of road because it wasn’t anywhere near as attractive and because we were now walking directly towards the sun, but a couple of places did stand out on the other side of the road, and since I am an amateur fan of architecture I’ll mention them. Both are modern hotels, but both are very different. First up is the Aqua Blu hotel with some great use of separation and open spaces in the square-edged blocks of material that makes it all look like a puzzle composed of interlocking rectangles you need to twist and slide in just the right way to untangle. More photos and more about the design by Liakos and Associates can be found here: Aqua Blu Hotel.

The second piece of design to catch my eye was the Apollon and the reason was simply that we instantly recognised the ancient Minoan style of architecture of the Palace of Knossos on Crete in use here. We had not been too impressed with Knossos, although we’d been glad to see it, and it was great to see the obvious influence but with some modern touches in this construction, such as the tapered column shapes.

If you’re walking from the Blue Lagoon Resort into Kos Town then the landmark you’ll want to keep an eye out for if you’re not simply relying on your phone for directions is the Konstantinos Shopping Mall/Supermarket building. It’s easily recognisable as it’s got the words “Konstantinos” on one side, “Supermarket” on another, and “Shopping Mall” on the corner atop which is a dome or, possibly, a climbing frame. I can’t comment on how Greek adults approach health and safety when it comes to letting their children play. This building stands on a crossroads.

We’d been approaching this from the north and were we to continue south we’d end up in the town centre eventually. To the west was Olympias and following this road eventually takes you to the Blue Lagoon Resort; indeed, of those two walking routes to take into Kos, if you want the shortest way then this is the road you’ll walk along (and would be the road we’d head back along when returning to the hotel later in the day). The final option is to head east along Antigonis which provides a slightly longer way into town as it takes the walker along Lambi Beach. As we were after the most picturesque way to get into town and we’re more fond of beach and sea views than we are of tourist shops that’s the way we went.

The road to the beach was a short one and there was more evidence of probable war-related buildings along its length.

Lambi Beach, on the northeast edge of Kos and just above Kos Town, is a more golden, sandy beach than those we’d walked alongside to get to this point of the stroll. There are some pebbles but they’re few and far between, and even though there was hardly anyone around with this being November we could tell this would be a popular spot for holidaymakers and locals in the height of a virus-free summer. The sea looked reasonably calm as the wind was blowing across it rather than driving it towards the shore, and it even looked inviting following our quite warm walk, but we knew from dipping toes in the pool at the hotel the day before that the temperature would induce some shrieking so we didn’t venture any closer than the promenade.

I’m going to finish this coverage of our walk from the Blue Lagoon Resort hotel along the coast and into Kos Town with some pictures leading from Lambi Beach down to and into the harbour area. This was where we would sit for a few minutes to take the weight off our feet, have a look at the boats in the sheltered bay of water and the fortifications opposite us, and take stock of what our plan was now we’d reached the town. You can certainly get to Kos Town faster than we did but if you’re staying at the same hotel or one nearby then it’s worth doing this walk at least once despite the additional time and risk of seeing dead fish on the ground or the increasing likelihood that some of the road will be washed out into the Mediterranean at some point in the near future, possibly while you’re on it taking a photo of a cricket that might be a mantis.

This wouldn’t be the only day we’d walk into the town during our week on this Greek island and in the next post in this Kos 2020 travelogue series I’ll go over what we saw in town on this first occasion (spoiler: ruins) and what we did (no surprise: found a bar), which turns out to be shockingly similar to the other occasions too. We know what we like.

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