While Lemnos (or Limnos as it is also known) is not one of the Greek Islands visited by larger cruise ships, it is an ideal place for a relaxed day or a week if you travel there on your journey through Greece. The sheltered bays cocoon the island with a real sense of peace which emanates from not only the Aegean Sea as the backdrop but the quaint way the village winds its way in twists and turns with surprises around each small corner.
The Bougainvillea provides a canopied walkway through the small shopping streets. Unlike the hubbub of the bigger islands, Lemnos is just like shopping with family. The beaches are uncrowded and with a view that is synonymous with Greece. However, as with many of the Greek Islands, there are myths surrounding her beginning.
The first is about Hephaestus and his dear sweet mother who thought he was such an ugly baby she threw him from Mount Olympus where the gods lived. The legend says he survived with nothing more than a broken leg.
The next oddball story is about the dearly beloved Aphrodite. The local women it is said failed to pay an honor to her so the goddess cursed them with a foul smell. But it gets better – the men could not stand this so took concubines from nearby Thrace. The not-so-overjoyed women then killed all of the men and their concubines. One woman became their Queen. Hypsipyle- and we have all heard of Jason and the Argonauts, welcomed the adventurer and eventually bore him twin sons.
Some articles put Patmos ahead of Lemnos for popularity but for me, that is the very reason Lemnos wins in those we have seen. Less crowded, great cafés, warm and friendly people, laid back and pristine, these things will do it for me every time and provide a perfect holiday in between the rest of your travels.
My tips, if you wish to get away from it all you will be enamored by this small community.
Make sure you meet the locals and perhaps make new friends that will chat for hours.
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