Lesbos Island – Taverna Vafios
Traveling was always my passion. I did not grow up in Greece but after retiring I decided to take my wife and go and live in Crete, which is the largest of the Greek Islands. That was actually not a random selection. During the last 30 years we always visited Greece during our summer holidays and we spotted several wonderful places. Finally we decided to move to a small village near Heraklio in Greece because the place is wonderful and so are the people. We found a great deal and we bought a small cottage there where we have been living with my wife in the last 3 years.
We now have plenty of time and since now we live in Greece, it’s much cheaper to visit new islands and places around the country. The price of weight loss surgery is also a whole lot more inexpensive than it is back at home. Therefore we continue traveling and visiting great new places. Actually it’s our passion. A couple of months ago we visited the island of Lesvos with some family friends from Crete. I’m really looking forward to showing this place, and visiting it again soon.
Lesbos island is a large Greek island on the North-east, very near Turkey
A weekend in Vafios and Lesvos Island
It was a lovely weekend when my best friend and I went to Vafios, a village located in Lesbos island in the North-western part of Greece. It was such a beautiful, small place with plenty of things to do, and the Mediterranean food was really fresh and delicious. Actually we toured around the whole island, not only Vafios village, but apparently that was my favorite place in the island, because of its natural beauty and the great food we had there.
Taverna Vafios is actually a village with no more than 150 locals and one of the most traditional villages in Lesbos. Although I was doing Weight Watchers workout routines and all that jazz before we went I really couldn’t resist the food. I tried to shed a few pounds initially, but I know for a fact that was just me wasting my sweet time because I gained a few there. And surprisingly I don’t regret it one bit.
My tip here is that if you ever decide to visit Greece during your holidays, be prepared to gain some weight. There’s no way you can resist the culinary temptations of Greece, especially when you are visiting an island like Lesbos or any other rural area. Even if you feel confident that you can cope up with the challenge, don’t do it because you are going to miss a wonderful experience. Taste everything, enjoy it and try to lose the weight later, that’s my advice…
The town of Vafeios, is half-way up the side of the mountain.
Why Lesbos Island?
So the reason why we went there in the first place, was because my friend’s grandmother had just beaten breast cancer, and she and her family wanted to go celebrate with her. During summer, visiting a Greek island is a great way to relax and enjoy the beaches, the food and the wonderful people. You may choose to have quiet holidays or party a little more, since all islands and places where tourists usually stay are full of restaurants, bars and clubs.
Not all of them offer the best quality and service you can find but do not be afraid to ask locals for suggestions, since they are very friendly, talkative and kind in general. Well, our friends actually wanted to celebrate the event. And by ‘celebrate’, we did take my friend’s grandmother who is 75 year old out for wine and dancing at the club among all our other activities during the weekend we stayed in Lesbos island. Old, yes, the old woman had a blast.
I have never seen an old lady be so darn happy before… Actually I can understand why, it’s not so common to beat cancer after battling with it hard for so many years. We should definitely go clubbing with my friend’s grandma more often, maybe take her even to a rave party or something. I think she can definitely deal with it and enjoy it. Thank god Vafios is not a very popular place for tourists so our options regarding going out weren’t that many, but still we had a great time there and also in many other places around Lesbos Island.
Visiting the Local Taverna
Anyways, the Greek cuisine was served like no other. We visited the local tavern, for which we had heard a lot about. The food we ordered was cooked to perfection, however it is a bit costly compared to the simpler taverns you can find in the island, but totally worth it in my opinion. I’m talking about quality food and it was rather obvious that the food was so great because only local fresh ingredients were used. And when I say fresh, I really mean it.
We had some fish that were caught just a few hours ago from fishermen from the island. The salad we ordered was made of vegetables that grew up in the farm of the restaurant’s owner, that was just around the corner. Actually we saw the owner go and pick some tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers from his field to prepare us the Greek salad we had ordered. You really can’t get anything fresher than that. From what I learnt, all the locals are organic farmers, they really respect nature and take care for their vegetables, fruit and animals with love.
This means that they eat healthy food that is not only fresh but also free of pesticides and other harmful substances. The olive oil used for the salad and the other plates was also local. The fact is that Lesbos island is one of the top olive oil producing areas in Greece and highly appreciated for its premium quality of olives and olive oil. I can confirm that fact myself since I can tell you for sure, that thing is so amazing that you do not need anything more than a slice of bread to dip into, to really taste that flavor and actually understand what I’m talking about.
Even the cheese and wine we had with our food was local and extremely tasteful. So were the fruit we enjoyed afterwards, watermelon and grapes. In fact I think the only thing that was not exactly local must have been the coffee we were offered by the house at the end of our great and delicious meal… Don’t get confused, they call even that “Greek coffee” but because of the special way they prepare it, not by its origin.
Here is the entrance of the taverna
Outside of Vafios taverna
Getting to know Lesbos Island
The activities we did around the island were lots of walking, hiking, climbing, we also went to the natural springs, and visited the small traditional villages. Even grandma joined us in many of the activities, of course not those that were more demanding physically, since she is in her mid-seventies and recovering for a very serious illness.
There was also an awesome outdoor museum with lots of unique abandoned stone watermills which that I remember and that I found to be really interesting. I give this place 5 stars and would definitely come back here again one day, for sure.
And here’s the Taverna Vafios, right beside the road.
