Spring Destination: The Timeless Grace of Tinos

Located only a relatively short ferry ride from Athens in the Cyclades, Tinos has a unique character thanks to its rich historic, religious and artistic heritage. The Villages  The island is ideal for a springtime tour by car of the traditional villages, each of which have their own charms. Start with Pyrgos, the birthplace of Yannoulis Chalepas (the early 20th century sculptor who created the famous “Sleeping Woman”). Thanks in part to Chalepas’s legacy, the village has also been home to many other sculptors and painters. Continue via Ysternia with its amazing view and head to Loutra which features a convent of Ursuline nuns. For an atmospheric walk surrounded by springtime flowers, visit the ruins of Monastiria, a village abandoned by its last inhabitants in the 1970s and now an intriguing ghost town. Nearby Volakas (or Volax) is worth visiting for its curious landscape which is littered with enormous round granite rocks as if giants once used the land for a game of marbles. In Tripotamos, noted philosopher and psychoanalyst Kornelios Kastoriades (1922-1997) once had his home, while Komi is famous for its valley where artichokes are cultivated. But those are just a few of Tinos’s villages; also worth a visit are Xinara, Krokos, Myrsini, Arnados, Falatados and Smardakito. see full article here