The fairy tale of the electricity poles on Tilos

When we first visited Tilos in 2001, we began a lifelong love for this enchanting island. Back then, just as we do today, we did many wonderful hikes. One of them was to Gera. On the way back to Livadia from Gera, there is the magical view you see in the picture below. After admiring the beautiful scenery, we walked the gravel road back to Livadia. You can see parts of the gravel road above the white arrow.

We did the same hike many times in the following years. But when we took the hike in 2010, we noticed that the gravel road had been paved. Well, well, well, we thought. What were they thinking? The electricity poles are right in the middle of the road! Just to be sure, they had put up a stop sign and a left arrow on one of the utility poles. Otherwise, you wouldn't have realized that you couldn't drive on the right side of the road.

The thing is, the road isn’t exactly heavily trafficked, and it never has been. The road leads to the small monastery of Panagia Politissa and ends there. You can't go any further. Well, there is a path that leads to the small chapel of Agios Pavlos. We walked past it, smiling, and laughed all the way back to Livadia.

In 2011, the gravel road had been paved, but the electricity poles were still standing.

The message was clear: stop, look, and then turn left.

The following year, in 2012, we took the same hike, and by then, there were new guardrails and fresh road markings. The "turn left" sign was gone, but the stop sign remained. I assume it was for safety, because you never know who might come around the corner.

The same road in 2012.

For those of you starting to worry about how this story will end, you can start to relax. The story ends happily, as the road is now safe for traffic again, and everyone is soooo happy.

The same road today. The electricity poles have been moved to the right side of the guardrail.

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