Great nights sleep we awake with anticipation of our day ahead. We wanted to walk hike 4 and 5 taking in the Tholaria after visiting Agios Ionnis Theologos and walking to the dramatic cliff faces of Stravos. However walk no 5 appeared not to exist from Theologos to Tholaria........

The walk by our app we use was 10.8 miles walking from sea level to the highest point at 2671 feet. We were walking for 8 hrs but a couple of this was where we got lost.

So we start with our picnic of Greek salad, sandwiches, fruit and Chocolate croissants. Walking from Amorgi Studios down to the beach and off per printed instructions climbing steadily to the beautiful village of Lagada. The walk takes you through the village giving you beautiful panaroma views of the valley and down to Egialis as well as the the abandoned village of Stroumbos, here we saw spectacular views as we followed the path to the left by mistake, the views made it worth while though! So we back tracked and walked on climbing steadily.

The walk gives you some shade and we picnicked on a boulder where a cat from no where appeared! As my sandwich had gone soggy I gave it the cat who ate all up very quickly! He also had a snippet of my feta cheese.

From here you continue to climb steadily to more open terrain. We are rewarded with spectacular views and panaroma shots of Panaghia Epanochoriani and the north coast of Amorgos.

By the time we reached Aghia Varbara where there is a deep well with birds taking drinks the cloud was growing and sweeping over the northern tip. We visited Agios Ioannis Theologos where a lovely lady offered us a drink and blessed bread from the festival yesterday plus sweets. We took a look inside the church. The church is located on a plateau on mountain Krikelos and it is dedicated to John the Evangelist. According to tradition, it was built by a sea captain who made a solemn promise for his ship to be saved when he was sailing on the dangerous sea area NE of Aegiali. It is considered to have been built between the 7th and the 9th century and it is a three-aisled basilica with a dome.

As we back tracked to hike on 5 to Stravos the cloud surrounded the church. We carried on as the clouds were moving very quickly and every now and then the deep blue sea and stunning cliffs would be revealed. The path was a bit of a climb and then evened out. When you first reach the point where the west cliffs are seen it is a true holiday "wow" for me. The fast sweeping clouds were kind and gave plenty of photo opportunities. The walk west was very narrow so we decided not to walk to the church in the rock. we stayed here for a while taking in the beauty. The cloud eventually swept over the path to the church so I was glad we decided not to walk any further. safety comes first.

So we back track walking in the cloud and realise the instructions we had then back tracked to Lagada (this is the first point we should have decided to follow the instructions!) and not continuing on hike 5 around Theologos ending up at Tholaria the village above Egialis. We climbed back up,to the church looking for a hike sign, there were none (2nd point we should have returned to Lagada). We scanned for cairns or red dots, none, yet still we continued trying our best to find some kind of path through the rocks and low thorny bushes looking at the map,for land marks as to where this no5 path was. It got to a point where we decided unsafe to keep walking down so scrambled our way back to the top of Skopos which the path is supposed to skirt. All of this had probably taken an hour, such hard work. We were hoping that we would be at a vantage point to look down and see a path but no such look. We could see Tholaria in the far distance but the terrain looked full of gorges and cliffs so I suggested we make our way to Epanochorani which we could see in the distance.

So we headed off again finding our own path amongst the small,stones, rocks, thorny bushes and goat tracks. After a while we spotted what looked more like a path and in deed this was and is marked on the map as black dots. This took us to the church, a very rocky path but it felt good it was a path!!

By this time we were rather hot and tired and when we reached the concrete even path to Lagada it was a relief. We stopped off at Aoudxpos for the toilet and a quick drink to cool down, I thought my head was going to explode!

I suggested we catch a bus from here but Russ refused!

Returning to Amorgi studios, dusty, hot, aching feet but what a fabulous walk. Definately recommend this walk for sure without the bit of 5 to Tholaria of course, well from the church at the top anyway. Loved all of the walk and the sites it took us on.

Our host Panos told us the next day that that part of hike 5 has not been maintained!! Oh well now we know!

We headed into the village for tea and stopped at the beach for a drink and to watch the stunning sunset. We ate moussaka and fries and had a drink in a bar by the sea that reminded me of Matala in Crete.

Top tips for today:- Do not take hike 5 on the terrain map from church to Tholaria
Print instructions off to,take with you.
Freeze all your water, we do this every time, it melts as you walk, giving us cold water all day.
Visit the church
Drink and eat somewhere different to last night
Watch the sunset