the rental house is located at the quietest part of loutrá village, a predominantly catholic village, where the valley of kámbos begins. this valley is the greenest part of tinos and is full of oak, olive, silver lime (tilia tomentosa) and other very old trees which are crossed by a stream that empties it’s waters on the beach of colybėthra. most of the local produce of tinos is cultivated in the valley of kámbos and the surrounding agricultural villages of aetofoliá, klísma and kalloní; succulent tomatoes, tasty artichokes, earthly potatoes, zesty lemons, juicy oranges to name some products.
there are numerous century old footpaths, paved in stone, which pass by the house and lead to the villages around; tarambádos, kámbos, xinára, perástra, kómi, krókos, skaládos, voláx, koumáros, smardákito, are all within a comfortable walking distance from the summer rental house in loutrá. these treks are part of a broader network of paths, some historical, and cover around 60 kilometers connecting most of the villages in tinos and several of the beaches. they are easy to follow since they are marked.
the village itself has a couple of very interesting folklore museums: the ursuline covent folkore museum and the jesuit monastery museum. there, one can find a huge collection of old farm tools and equipment, presses for oil extraction, old cameras and typewriters, silverware, clergy vestments and other exhibits that are too numerous to mention. both buildings are very interesting architecturally with the jesuit monastery dating back to 1661 and the ursuline covent back to 1862.
Please note that the house is prepared and cleaned* a few hours prior to your arrival. It is done in a rudimentary way. Just the basics: broom, mop, bed sheets, towels. The island is usually windy so in combination with the simple vernacular structure it could get a little dusty minutes after cleaning! It is a village house after all. Please treat it as you would your own house!
* I support people from the local community for the cleaning and most of the work done on the house