So, in the end, we stayed in Tilos for 5 days. The winds were blowing a little too strongly for the crew's liking, so we decided to substitute bashing about in 20 plus winds for walking , swimming and enjoying the laid back place that Tilos undoubtebly is. We made friends with the boats around us, who, like us did not need to break cover until the wind abated. The walks along the coastal path were absolutely stunning, with hardly a soul for company. We would arrive at a beach, where bathing costumes were not required, drip dry in the sun, marvellous. A walk from sea level, upwards, inland brought us to Mikro Horio, which is basically a village on the moutainside which until the the 1970's was a thriving community. presumably a decision was made to just give up life on the slopes , where, i guess, there was no electric, running water etc. Now, the village, is just crumbling away before your eyes. a solutary experience. The walk from sea level to Mikro Horio with Dorothy-Anne however, had its points of note. It was never going to be easy on the legs or the lungs in the warm. So, when Dorothy asked "we are not going all the way up to the top are we?"...a teenie weenie white lie had to be told. Well, let me tell you, lying, is never the best policy. As we laboured up the hill in the heat, Dorothy, trailing behind like a recalcitrant teenager, could be heard to moan..."I am not moving another inch, I am waiting here"...to which I replied "stop moaning and just get on with it" ...and i moved on. i finally reached the village, and sat down to soak up the fantastic view. A few minutes later, Dorothy, rosy faced and clearly in some distress, joined we in the view. The view itself and the eerieness of the village seemed to calm Dorothy, and the appearance of a spinnach and feta filo pastie positively brought Dorothy back to life. The walk back to the boat went a whole lot better as it was downhill all the way.
On Tilos, there is 1 bus which meanders from one end of the island to the other. So, we took the bus 1.5 euro from end to end. Having stopped in the 'main' village, the choice, was a vertiginous climb up to the castle of the knights or a gentle walk to a beach , which we were promised came complete with sand. you can jolly well guess which option we took. The beach was beautiful.