Xenia was an excellent host and responded to my queries quickly with lots of useful info. Her property is in an excellent location, just a short walk to either Artemonas or Apollonia which are picture perfect villages accessed by the most charming pedestrian lanes. It was a joy to start each day with a walk along these lanes. I would highly recommend learning a few words of Greek as everyone I passed was keen to say hello, good morning or good afternoon. Artemonas and Apollonia have an excellent range of bars and restaurants and we didn’t feel the need to travel anywhere else on the island in the evenings. For trips to the beach the whole island can easily be accessed form the cottage by bus or car and most of the walking trails, which are excellent, start here allowing you to connect a few up to make for a circular walk.
The views from Ano Petali are spectacular and I was really pleased to find out that there were partial sea views from both terraces at the cottage. Both outside spaces offer something very different. The larger terrace at the back of the cottage offers sweeping views over Apollonia to the hills and the little table and chairs at the front offers a more peaceful spot below the spectacular church which is just above the cottage.
As an old building there are some impracticalities, if you are over six foot tall be prepared to duck going in the kitchen door and to dodge the lampshade by the dining table but these are more than made up for by the high quality finish and the fabulous location which gives you a real slice of village life.