Sigri situated literally "At the end of the road" is in the far north-west of Lesvos within an area of outstanding natural beauty. We chose it because the description in the Direct Greece brochure stated that it is "...peaceful, simple and unhurried..." and that is exactly what we found.
The journey from the airport took about two and a half hours late at night and when we arrived all was dark and quiet, we were led to our accomodation up windey cobbled streets. Once we arrived there (Sigri Studios) we were faced with 2 flights of stairs to apartment 2. After unlocking the door we were faced with 2 doors and, like a Tardis, the apartment opened out and was vast!! We had 2 bedrooms 2 bathrooms each with showers and a large kichen/diner area. All the furniture matched and was like brand new. We also had 2 balconies - this was really useful as some days one side was windier than the other! The Direct Greece 'Welcome Pack' of tea/coffee/bread/milk/cheese/water etc. and a very much appreciated bottle of Retsina awaited us.
Sigri itself is a small fishing community and you immediately feel "at home". Views of the Town Beach and castle from the front balcony were excellent and it was lovely to sit out and 'people watch'. From the rear balcony we looked out onto a village street and could watch the locals comings and goings. The village has two grocery shops , a butchers which doubles as a green grocers and a bakery - every day except Sunday you can buy freshly baked bread, pies and cakes made by Poppy who runs it. There are several beaches within walking distance with clear warm water and lovely soft sand, all are very quiet - all you will hear is the sheep & goat bells and the birds. (You need to ensure that you take a supply of water & food with you as there are no beach bars!) Our favourite was the "Sheep Beach" which has incredibly white sand and azure blue sea (who needs the bahamas?) There are also rare birds and terrapins in the pools around the beaches.
For a small village Sigri has lots to see - a Turkish Castle , 2 churches one of them Agia Triada was once a mosque and Agia Theofanis. 4 drinking water fountains and a Turkish House and the Petrifed Forest; caused when the land was covered with volcanic ash, preserving whole trees which are visible in the National Park near to Sigri.
Because of its headland position Sigri is very windy and you do need to take care and remember to wear sunscreen, if one side of the village is windy the other is not so you just move to a beach where the wind is least!
Sigri is well supplied with places to eat - all serve freshly caught fish and lobsters. Our favourites were Australia - a family run taverna which gets its name because the family once lived in Australia, Una Faccia una Razza ('one face one race') Italian restaurant serving mediterranean foods and lunchtime snacks, and Golden Key which is a very traditional taverna serving fish / moussaka and octopus baked in red wine (lovely). There are about 4 bars : Notia is the nicest playing chill out jazz and blues, and Anemos (run by the son of the family who run Australia) is very lively and well patonised by the locals.
PLACES TO SEE: Hiring a car is recommended as buses are infrequent, the roads are very windey and steep and not for the faint hearted driver at times! We hired a car for 3 days and stayed over one night at Molyvos. Eressos (allegedly the birthplace of Sappho and a bit of a lesbian place of pilgrimage or so we were told) and Skala Eressos are the nearest and are unremarkable. The Lemonas monastery is worth a visit, Skala Kalloni is a more populated beach resort , Kalloni itself is a nice little town. The most beautiful place we visited was Skala Sikamia with its harbour and whitewashed church of the Virgin Mary Mermaid. It is down a very steep road but well worth it.
On the whole we would certainly return to Lesvos we found it extremely traditional and unspoiled with masses of contrasting natural history .