Family. Togetherness. The mantra of Karpathos Island, a gem in Greece’s Dodecanese island group.
The family feeling of Karpathos struck us within the first hour of our arrival. Six of us had flown from Athens and were to be picked up by our guide Michalis Reissis. His company, Holiday World Karpathos Travel, and the Municipality of Karpathos were hosting this small group for six days, in order to promote tourism to Karpathos
Michalis, though, was unable to be at the airport due to a death in the family. So we were met by Stavros, who works with Michalis and would be escorting us around the island for the week, and by Manolis, filling in for Michalis. Manolis, it turns out, was a logical substitute, as we were driven directly from the airport to his family restaurant, Rina’s, for dinner. His mother (yes, Rina!) produced prodigious amounts of food for the locals and visitors who filled the place over the dinner hours; his father kept an eye on the back room and a soccer match.
Family restaurants, family tour companies, family boats, family chapels, family homes. Throughout our stay, we were invited to witness the tight family networks that keep Karpathos on track. Read more by clicking here
