A message from Neil Le Milliere:
Topically many of the London Grecians, the Exeter Exiles, and assorted others in the Exeter family have, over the last nineteen years, enjoyed their own odyssey to the Greek island of Andros with some tourists enjoying an island-hopping experience as well.
Andros is a charming and relatively unspoilt island in the Cyclades group and usually visitors are Greek although you may hear the odd American accent in Chora, the main town on the island though there is also a healthy ex-pat contingent as well.
2027 will see the twentieth anniversary of the very first trip to the island and both ourselves and friends on Andros have special plans to celebrate this fantastic milestone.
Batsi Harbour from the quay – the village where we all stay
We would like to invite anyone who has ever made the trip in previous years to join us next year, along with any friends who have yet to experience the charm of Andros but would like to.
Until 2017 one of the highlights of our trips was a football match between the tourists and one or more of the local teams. Back in 2013 the Exeter Daily published a story about us going to Andros here.
After this a lack of players, or rather those still able to play, meant the game had to be shelved and the tour then took on a more leisurely pace and atmosphere. As next year will be a special one, it would be great if we could resurrect this tradition if there are enough tourists who can kick a ball around without it leading to a medical emergency! So, if a game of football on a 4G pitch on a Greek island in front of an audience of goats as well as people piques your interest this surely is another reason to come along.
So, turning to specifics the proposed dates are from Thursday 10 June 2027 to Friday 25 June 2027.
A meal at one the numerous Batsi beach front restaurants, a regular occurrence on tour.
We’re putting the dates out nice and early to give everyone as much warning as possible. Of course, people can join us for part of that time frame as well as for all of it.
We have deliberately not included too much detail in this message, but we’d be more than happy to tell you anything you want to know if you are interested in making the trip next year. We can offer advice on how to get there, what flights to buy, how to get to Rafina Port on the mainland and ferry times to get to the island along with various suggestions/recommendations on where to stay in Batsi. We have a friend who organises taxis for us on the island so we can help with that for travellers too if you’d like.
Villa Rena where lots of us stay – one of only two or three in the village that has a pool - looking down the Valley to the village. There is a dedicated path down to the village taking three or four minutes.
If you are interested, then do contact me if you would like any more information or have some questions you would like the answers to before deciding whether to join us or not.
Please email Neil on neil_le_milliere@btinternet.com or call 02088020644 (H) or 07946615889 (M).