Text and photos: Pantelis Siabanos, Katerina Pantazi
Translation to English: Violandi Vratsanou

On the second day of Christmas we met at the Archaeological Museum of Paleopolis, for the last maintenance hike of 2023.

In total we were 18 people, several of them first time participants in an Andros Routes maintenance hike, some locals, but mostly natives from Andros living in Athens and visiting Andros for the Christmas holidays and a couple from the Netherlands. We were particularly pleased to have four children on this hike: Marina, Eleni, Georgia and Angelo-Fanourios. And of course, the children were the leaders of the hike!

The hike started with the usual introduction circle in the courtyard of the Museum. We started our descent to the beach and were lucky enough to enjoy the sweet scenery of Kato Paleopolis with spring weather and strong sunshine. Paleopolis is a neat village with plenty of water and wonderful views. When we arrived at the beach for our break, we were greeted by a special surprise: a herd of dolphins playing water games! Everyone, young and old, enjoyed this rare sight.

The path is in excellent condition and the only work we did was litter picking and clearing vegetation. It took us 2.5 hours for the entire walk.

We hope to repeat the route soon in conjunction with a visit to the museum and archaeological site.

Many thanks to all participants for their team spirit and cheerfulness! Happy New Year!