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The Deep South
The southern part of the island, between the Gulfs of Gera and Kalloni,
is dominated by the 3140' white peak of Mt Olympos and largely covered
in the pine forests that stretch north across the main Mitilene-Kalloni road.
Plomari
the main town of the area, lies sandwiched between the hills and the sea
at almost the southernmost point of the island.
It has some pleasant harbour side tavernas
(spoiled somewhat by the main road from Mitilene running alongside),
but its main claim to fame is as the ouzo-producing capital of Lesvos.
(The 'resort' of Plomari is in fact two miles to the east at Agios Isodoros)
But turn right through the town and the narrow road
climbs steeply into the hills behind,
winding above small villages half hidden in deep forested valleys,
and along mountain escarpments with views far across the island.
Most of the road is (or was, the road improvers are moving fast)
unsurfaced, but in good condition and easily driveable,
and leads eventually to Agiasos, in the shadow of Olympos,
the highest peak in the south of the island, and contender, at 968m,
for the title of highest on Lesvos.
Or continue along the coast to the tiny beach resort of Melinda,
and from there return along the tarmac road which winds north around
the end of the Olympos range through the villages of Paleochori and Ambeliko
before reaching the main road from Mitilene to Polichnitos.
Agiasos
Agiasos is the largest village in the area -
its importance and prosperity derived
from a miracle-working icon
in the originally twelfth-century church
of the Virgin (Panagia),
making it a place of pilgrimage.
(Behind the present church, built in 1814,
there is a large colonnaded guesthouse,
set around a courtyard, with ranks
of cells to accommodate the pilgrims).
Today the village has protected status,
and although pilgrims still come,
mainly for the feast-day of the Virgin
on 15 August,
they are far outnumbered by the foreign holidaymakers
brought by excursion coaches to see a 'traditional Lesvos village',
and on whom it now depends for survival.
The main streets are lined with gift and craft shops,
but elsewhere rural depopulation has led to large numbers of
empty and decaying buildings.
- though many disagree Agiasos, despite its beauty, can be a melancholy place.
Olympos
If you want to reach one of the highest points on the island,
it is possible to drive to the top of Mt Olympos.
(Vigla in the Lepetimnos range in the north is the other)
An partly unsurfaced, but reasonable condition road zigzags its way up
the mountainside mainly for the benefit of the engineers
maintaining the TV transmitter on the summit,
and there is a viewing platform giving stunning panoramic views.
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