Some practicalities of island life
Island life largely revolves around farming, fishing and tourism apart from the commercial activities carried on in the larger towns.

Tourism is relatively low key but beach lovers, ‘escapists’, walkers and bird watchers are particularly well catered for. The mix of residents and visitors to Lesvos has resulted in the availability of a wide range of cuisines. You can eat excellent, traditional Greek food in Eresos and Skala Eresou, including a number of island specialties, as well as having access to restaurants offering more international cuisine.

Each coastal community has a small harbour from which fishing boats go out on a daily basis. Across the seasons the range of available sea food is very wide encompassing white fish, sardines, shellfish, octopus, squid and, for the more adventurous, sea urchins.

The islanders make good use of every piece of fertile soil to grow a wide range of seasonal vegetables and fruits. Many families will also keep chickens and graze a few sheep and goats in the surrounding countryside. The islanders are also adept at harvesting the wild herbs and vegetables that abound in the spring. As the locals generally have small incomes they aim to be self-sufficient whenever possible. It is customary for people to share their produce and it is common practice for someone who is unable to farm the land to offer it to another in return for a share of the fruit and vegetables grown. The locals are generous people who will readily share their harvests.

The largest commercial crop is olives, produced mainly for oil. There are reputed to be 15 million olive trees on the island. The award winning extra virgin olive oil is the islands’ major export.

Driving
The road network is pretty good and the main routes out from Mytilene continue to be improved. Generally the locals take a fairly relaxed approach to their driving and patience can come in handy. Probably the fastest drivers on the road are the taxi drivers who ply their trade between the airport and the towns and villages. Traffic congestion is not a problem apart from Mytilene during one of the ‘rush hours’ associated with going to and from work in the morning, at lunch time and in the late afternoon/early evening. However, in the villages the roads tend to be narrow and in the countryside coming across shepherds driving their sheep and/or goats along the road is not uncommon.

Shopping and money
Visitors can be self-sufficient in Eresos as there are restaurants, bars, bakers, butchers, greengrocers, mini-markets and a post office. As is common in the Greek island villages there are also mobile vendors who offer a range of goods from fresh fish, to fresh vegetables, to nuts and nibbles, to baskets and furniture and strictly for the locals, live chickens. The larger towns have a wider selection of shops and supermarkets.

However, Eresos is very much a cash society. In the village there is a small bank with a currency facility and an ATM, the latter has a flat fee for withdrawals. In Skala Eresou there is an ATM outside Sappho Travel, where you can also exchange Travelers’ Cheques. You will be able to use credit cards for more significant expenditure such as car hire and in shops selling handmade jewellery and other more expensive souvenirs.

Language
It is certainly possible to get by without speaking Greek. Many of the people working in the businesses frequented by visitors speak English, with some also speaking German and French. However, the locals appreciate it if visitors have made the effort to master the daily greetings, please and thank you. If you can also master some other basic phrases the warm response you receive will certainly reward the effort.

Health
Eresos has a resident dentist and there is a small clinic situated in Skala Eresou and more comprehensive medical services are available 24/7 in Antissa which is approximately 12km from Eresos. There is a hospital in Mytilene which offers a comprehensive range of diagnostic and treatment services.

Whereas at the time of writing we have no personal experience of the health services available on the island a number of the ex-pat residents have spoken favourably about these.

Communications
There are numerous wi-fi hot spots in the cafés, restaurants and bars in both Eresos and Skala Eresou. Greece has embraced the mobile phone with great enthusiasm and the signal is generally good. Anyone with a GSM phone from a country with a global roaming arrangement with Greece will be able to use their phone in Lesvos. You will need to activate the global roaming service before you leave home. For those expecting to be frequent visitors it is worth buying a local pay-as-you-talk rechargeable SIM card so you can have your own Greek number and pay local call rates which are low. There are also public phone booths which use OTE phonecards (telkarta), not coins.