Mytiline to Molivos to Mytiline.

When we got up today the weather had turned nasty.  Actually Peter told me there was thunder and lightning during the night, but I was sleeping like a bear and didn't hear a thing. Instead of riding to Plomari we decided to catch the bus to the other side of the island and visit the seaside town of Molivos. In this part of the world, a town can be spelt 3 different ways.

When I looked outside the hotel it was still raining at 9am, and I was hoping by the time we reached the other side of the island the sun would be out. We walked in the rain to the bus station and caught the 11am bus which took about 1 & 1/2 hours.  The bus left right on 11am and made it's way through narrow villages up over the mountain that overlooks Mytiline.  At stages I thought the bus was going to lose it mirrors or smash into vehicles parked on the kerb in these villages.

Many of the villages had very little to other for the tourists.  A majority of the shops and restaurants were closed due to the end of summer and all the tourists have gone back home.

The landscape was very mountainous and I was glad we were on a bus instead of on the bicycles pushing our heavy bikes up these big mountains.  I think I might just be over mountains. We arrived in Molivos at 12.30pm to a village nestled on the side of a mountain on the shore of the Aegean Sea. 

We headed to a small cafe for a nice sandwich and worked out what we intended to do in this town.  Len and I went for a walk up to the castle and Peter went down to the harbour to have some seafood for lunch.  The walk up to the castle took us up a winding road to the top of the mountain, which once again gave us spectacular views over the harbour and the town. 

When we started the long walk up to the Castle of Methymna, I knew I would looking at something very special.  The history of the castle goes back further than 1128 when the Byzantine castle was taken by the Venetians, and from 1204 to 1287 it was in the possession of Baldwin II of Flanders.  In the late 13th Century, it passed into the control of the Catalans. In 1373, the Genoan Francesco I Gatteluse, who assumed the rule of the island in 1355 following his marriage to the sister of the Byzantine Emperor John Palaiologos, rebuilt the castle.

The castle's strategic position and the protection it afforded the settlement at Molyvos harbor, from which the olive and olive oil were transported, were the main reasons why the Gattelusi dynasty took care to maintain the castle in good, battle worthy condition.

Molyvos is the 2nd largest castle on Lesvos. 

 The above photo was taken down in the town of Molyvos looking up at the Castle of Methymna.

 The above photo is of the Castle of Methymna.

 The above photo was taken whilst walking the huge walls of the castle looking out over the Aegean Sea.

 Once again another photo looking out into the Sea. The sun was trying so hard to break through the clouds, but not today.

After walking the castle we went back into the village where we located Peter.  We went back to the harbour for a cuppa and to enjoy the scenery. The photo above is down at the harbour with all the little cafes nestled right on the edge of the water.

Time was getting on, so we made our way back to the bus station for the 4.30pm trip back to Mytiline. As we made our way back over the mountains we could see that we were heading back into stormy weather. I'm glad we didn't try and ride our bikes today, as it would have been very dangerous and wet.

We got back to the hotel around 6.30pm (1.30am Aussie time) after a long day out to drop off our gear and go back into town.  Tonight we went to the cinema to watch 'Percy Jackson & the Sea Monsters'.  I love going to the cinemas when I go on holidays, and this wasn't that bad if you're into monsters and weird looking creatures popping out of the ocean.  And YES, the humans survived, and the monsters were all destroyed, or maybe not.

Not sure what tomorrow will bring, but it looks like more bad weather is on it's way.

Until tomorrow, safe riding.