Panagia

A few kilometres
in from Golden Beach on the northeast coast, Panagia is a sweet mountain
village with typical houses that have schist roof tiles and wooden balconies
and verandas.

Tightly packed
onto steep ground 300 metres above sea level, Panagia was built away from the
coast as a safe haven from pirate attacks and was the capital of the island for
a short time after the Greek Revolution in the 1820s.

The village is
downstream from Mount Ipsaron, and channels the mountain’s spring through a
system of fountains and conduits.

In the evening the place to be
is the central square by the fountains where there’s a smattering of tavernas.