It was a bold decision to spend one week in Iceland during the summer. Being Greek, vacation means beach and sunbathing, so the idea to spend the entire summer holidays in freezing temperatures was a bit too much. We had just one week and we did not want to spend it on traveling, so I looked for an island with an airport that I had not visited before. Leros? Odd choice. You see, Leros carries a wicked brand name, due to the mental institution located in this remote island of the Dodecanese (means the twelve islands). But the feedback I got from friends was very positive. And indeed the island is beautiful. For starters, it has many beautiful beaches, not crowded, especially in early September.
Then it is the architecture. The influence from the Italian occupation (1912-1945) is strong and you can see many beautiful villas with vivid colors, rare in the Aegean sea. The port of Lakki is an excellent example of Italian architecture. I was particularly impressed by the old movie but still operating art-deco movie theater.
A visit to the castle is a must. Sitting on top of Panteli, the 11th castle, built by Byzantine emperor Alexios Komninos, oversees the Agia Marina, Platanos and Panteli and offers wonderful sunset views.
We really enjoyed our stay in hotel des couleurs, a beautiful villa that we enjoyed by ourselves since we were the only guests at this time of the year.
