Local Weather Forecast
from the
National Observatory
of Athens
www.meteo.gr
The one the fishermen
rely on!
 

Money, Food, Books,Weather & Easter
(the important stuff)

Money

At the last count (October 2009) there were two banks and
 five ATMs in Molivos, all clustered at the entrance to the village near
the Information Office on the road leading towards the harbour,
apart from one ATM, belonging to Piraeus Bank, at the bottom
of the harbour end of the Agora opposite the Sansibal Restaurant,
and one belonging to Alphabank at Best Car Hire at the start of the village.

In Petra there is an ATM kiosk next to the OTE on the sea-front,
plus three conventional ATMs, one at the Hotel Ilion, also on the sea-front
not far from the bus stop in the direction of Molivos,
a second is in the one bank (The Co-Operative Bank of Lesvos-Limnos)
on the corner of the war-memorial square between
the bus stop and the main sea-front square,
and  a third at the farmers' co-op on the one-way system
at the Molivos end of the village.
   (The ATMs take Maestro and Cirrus cards, as well as credit cards.)

 Nirvana Travel, towards the Anaxos end of the sea-front,
 operates a bureau de change service.

The post offices in both villages will also change money and travellers' cheques.

Food & Drink

In both Molivos and Petra you will be spoilt for choice,
with restaurants and tavernas spread through the town
(though for fresh fish in Molivos head towards the harbour -
 time it right and your meal may come straight from the boat to the grill).

In Anaxos most of the tavernas are spread along the back
 of the beach facing the sea.

No recommendations or star ratings here
(I have too many friends to lose), but you will be unlucky if you find a bad meal.
       

Most dishes are basically Greek: though menus tend to be organised
 into courses to suit the northern European taste, most places will be pleased to serve a selection of meze if you prefer to eat Greek-style.
(If you really insist, it is possible to find an all-day English breakfast
with Guinness and wide-screen TV football in Petra).

Tourism, the microwave, and government regulation have made the barely warm meals
 of legend almost extinct. Similarly almost all tavernas now work from a printed menu:
 if you wish to see your food before ordering the choices will be laid out
in chilled displays rather than the simmering pans of a few years ago.

Books & Maps

Guidebooks

There are large sections on Lesvos in Lonely Planet, the Rough Guide to the Dodecanese
 & East Aegean, Thomas Cook's Greek Island Hopping,
and all the many other general English guides to Greece or the Greek Islands,
but most English-language guides devoted to the island
come from several specialist Greek publishers, all well-illustrated,
comprehensive and almost indistinguishable from one another.
They are available everywhere in Lesvos;
 in the UK Hellenic Bookservice (www.hellenicbookservice.com)
lists at least one of them.  

An exception is 'Landmark Visitors' Guide to Lesvos', published in March 2004.
It can be ordered from www.amazon.co.uk
 

However for now the best guide to the island is 'Lesbos' by Thomas Schröder, unfortunately published only in German. Get it from www.amazon.de,
or from Rodi (Ρόδι) bookshop in Petra.

Maps

There are many maps of the island on sale in Lesvos:
the best is:- 'Lesbos'
published by Road Editions of Athens (Sheet 212; 1:70,000)
It is based on Greek Army surveys, and regularly updated.
It is distributed in the UK by Portfolio and is available from
www.amazon.co.uk or through any bookshop.

Other Books

'Aeolian Lesbos' by Lisa Evert (Constellation Books, Athens,
 published in the UK by Millbank Books)
A coffee-table book of Lisa Evert's gorgeous photographs of Lesvos,
introduced with historical essays by the directors of
the government departments of archaeology for Lesvos.

'The Greek-o-File' edited with contributions
by Sylvia & Terry Cook.
 (www.greekofile.co.uk)
An annual collection of articles etc. on Greece, Greek life, holidaying, working, and settling in Greece.
 The editors have a home in Polichnitos
and often include features on Lesvos.

 These are both available from bookshops and www.amazon.co.uk

  English Books

Imported books are expensive in Greece, because of distribution arrangements and
 taxation (unlike the UK, books are subject to ΦΠΑ, the local equivalent of VAT),
 so if you like reading on holiday, it is best to bring your books with you.
  Imported books are available in shops that sell foreign newspapers. 
English translations of modern Greek classics are published, at more reasonable prices,
 by Kedros and Efstathiadis (the latter also issue reprints of titles by English authors
 on Greek subjects). They are available from Rodi (Ρόδι) in Petra, and from
 Panagiottis Karakatzanis' bookshop in Molivos.
 (To find either of these shops, carry on uphill from the respective post offices:
 in Petra Rodi is on the left under the church on the rock (Panagia Glykofilousa),
 in Molivos just off to the right at the next crossing)

    Weather

If you want to explore Lesvosit is best
to visit in May, June or September.
 The sun is usually reliable, and it is pleasantly
 warm rather than suffocatingly hot.
Climate change has come to the Greek islands:
 in the last few years mid-summer temperatures
 have reached 40°C, while springs
have become later and wetter,
and autumn storms more violent.
 And in the winter it now often has snows heavily.

Molivos, Petra, and Anaxos face west
and north-west and are backed
 by a 3000' mountain range,
so often have their own weather system,
which may be completely different
from what is going on at the nearest weather station at
Mitilene Airport, which faces east thirty miles away to the south-east as the crow flies.
 Therefore the charts and forecasts here are only indications
of what might be happening in the north of the island.
For an up-to-date forecast click here

Easter

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