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Tinos island Mediterranean gastronomy tour, Aegean Sea

Tinos island Mediterranean gastronomy tour, Aegean Sea
Tinos island Mediterranean gastronomy tour, Aegean Sea
Tinos, a hidden secret in the Cyclades Archipelago
Tinos island Mediterranean gastronomy tour, Aegean Sea

Learn all the secrets of the healthy and delicious Mediterranean diet, with this 7-day tour of culinary discovery in Tinos. Sylvain, an ASAM guide, takes you on this unique tour, tasting and collecting fresh local products, and learning delicious recipes.

Not specified

7 Days

Feb

Occasional

First Time


Description

Tinos is a fascinating and still unknown island of the Cyclades Archipelago, in the beautiufl Aegean Sea. The island has stayed away from massive tourism, preserving its culture, traditions and nature.

Tinos is the perfect setting for a culinary and cultural discovery trip. I invite you to join me on a unique 7-day stay in Tinos for an initation into the secrets and precepts of the Mediterranean diet and gastronomy. 

Every day, you will have the chance to discover and learn about production activities and specialties of the island. We will collect local products, prepare delicious meals and have cooking lessons.  You can check the day-by-day itinerary below this text.

The walks during the picking are educational, with exchanges devoted to plants, their uses, birds and ecology in general. Cooking classes are supervised by a chef in the kitchen of the Marathia restaurant. A presentation of the benefits and the nutritional interest of the Mediterranean diet will be realized by a naturopath-herbalist. Individualized health advice will be offered to each participant on the basis of a personalized interview.

Souranis Marinos is the owner of the restaurant and he is originally from Tinos. He has brought modernity to this gastronomic culture maintaining the quality of local products. This project was conceived between two passionate people. Together with his team, he opens his restaurant, his inn and his culinary secrets. 

This trip is perfect for people willing to learn and put into practice the healthy Mediterranean diet. It is aimed to everyone who wants to know how to eat better and discover a healthier lifestyle, while discovering an amazing destination in Greece.

The diversity of local products make Tinos a paradise for food lovers. Between the sea and the mountain, there is honey, wine, cheese, sausages with fennel, figs, olives, capers, seafood, seaweeds, vegetables and legumes, and aromatic herbs from the countryside. In Tinos you will also find the artichoke, the symbol of the island, offered in all its forms, canned, stuffed, omelette or moussaka.

However, the Mediterranean cuisine is not just about food. There is also the special setting of the plate, the decoration of the table, the fraternity and the local smiles. Also, there is the amazing blue color of the sky and the sea, the joy of living, the country work and the generous nature.

Agriculture, breeding and gathering are living practices in Tinos and opportunities for sharing and exchange are wide in authenticity and simplicity. The island is a serene natural paradise and the nutrition-health curious, the passionate about wild areas, the lovers of the simple life will be absolutely charmed.

The basic principles of the Mediterranean diet are frugality, diversity, seasonality and local products. The month of February in Tinos is very rich time in nature products.

So if you want to discover the secrets of the Mediterranean diet in an authentic local environment, send me a request! Book your trip and get ready for a unique trip in Tinos.  I also guide a great 7-day hike in Tinos. Check it out!

Price includes

- Accommodation included

- Guiding fee

- Breakfast

- Lunch

- Dinner

- Transport during the trip

Price details

The price includes transfers during the program, supervision, accommodation with full board except drinks. The price does not include air transport, airport shuttle to Rafina, ferry (half-fare), insurance, entries of sites and museums, drinks and personal expenses. Price per person for a group of 9: 1242 CHF.


Itinerary

Day 1: Tinos

11h30: Arrival at the port of Tinos, transfer to the hotel and accommodation in rooms. Meeting at the restaurant for the presentation of the programme, around a raki-mezze.

2.30 pm: Visit of Kostas vegetable garden, vegetable supplier of the restaurant near the hotel.

4.30 pm: Ascent of the Vrekastro hill to admire the beauty of the sunset on the Aegean Sea.

5:30 pm: Return to the hotel. Relaxation or individual health interview.

19:30: dinner and demonstration of the different ways of preparation of vegetables picked up in the morning.

Day 2: Exomvourgo Massif-Farm visit-Cheese and desserts course

08h00: Breakfast made of local products (milk, butter, yogurts, fruit juice, homemade bread, eggs, vegetables, etc).

09h00: Departure by car on direction to Kionia for a walk to the Exomvourgo massif, with a stop at the village of Tarambados for the visit of the farm of Markos and a demonstration of milking cows and their breeding. Picnic at the top of Exomvourgo.

5:30 pm: Return to the hotel

18.30: Course of cheese and desserts manufacturing with previously recovered milk. Tasting of local cheeses. Dinner. Free evening or individual health interview.

Day 3: Falatados Village-Vegetable garden and raki destillery-Herbs and aromatic plants

8h00: Breakfast

9:00 am: Departure by car to the village of Falatados and visit the Papandonis estate. Visit the vegetable garden and the raki distillery. Tasting of raki accompanied by homemade cheeses and cold meats.

12.30: Departure on foot on the path towards Livada, collecting herbs and aromatic plants on the way. Arrival in Livada and picnic on site.

5:30 pm: Return to the hotel by car. Relaxation or individual health interview.

7:30 pm: Meeting at the restaurant and cooking demonstration with the plants that were previously picked up. Dinner.

9 pm: Lecture on the Mediterranean diet by Sylvain Garraud

Day 4: Kalatha-Mushroom and plant collection-Visit to winery and vineyards-Tasting-Cooking class

08h00: Breakfast

9:00 am: Drive to Kalatha for mushroom and plant collection with a local guide. Naturalistic walk in the surroundings.

13h00: Visit to the winery of Alavaggelou (T-oinos). Walk in the vineyards then tasting of wine and mezze.

5:30 pm: Return to the hotel by car, relaxation or individual health interview.

19:30: Meeting at the restaurant for a cooking class of mushrooms and herbs picked up in the morning. Dinner.

Day 5: Exomeri-Hives-Honey tasting-Panormos-Ways of marinating fish

8:00: Breakfast.

9:00 am: Departure by car to Exomeri (Isternia, Pyrgos, Panormos). Stop in Isternia for a visit to Mr Xantakis’ hives. Honey tasting.

10.30am: Arrival at Panormos, meeting local fishermen and fishing demonstration with traditional methods. We will visit a fish tavern and make fish soup with the ingredients recovered earlier. Lunch.

15:00: Departure to Pyrgos by car and visit of museums. Greek coffee on the plane tree square in the village.

5:30 pm: Return to the hotel by car, relaxation or individual health interview.

19h30: Demonstration of the different traditional ways of salting and marinating fish. Dinner.

Day 6: Smardakito Village-Nature Hike-Musical evening

08:00: Breakfast.

09h00: Departure to the village of Smardakito. Visit the historic church of Chrisospiliotisa.

12:00 pm: Traditional lunch in an inn.

14h30: Nature walk on one of the oldest trails on the island.

17:00: Return to the hotel. Preparation of an aperitif with a Mediterranean flavor.

19:30: Dinner 9:00 pm: Small musical evening

Day 7: Basilica and museums-Brewery with beer tasting-Departure to Rafina

08:00: Breakfast.

09h00: Visit to the Basilica Agias Panagias and museums.

11:00 am: visit to the Nissos brewery. Beer tasting and light meal.

14h30: Boat departure to Rafina.

 

Details

More info

-The price per person for a group of 9 people is 1334 CHF.

-We will have all meals at the Marathia restaurant in the dining room. Breakfasts are served at the restaurant. They are traditional and composed of fresh and local products. The food will be Mediterranean with vegetables, fresh fish, olive oil and the various preparations made collectively throughout the stay. Meals will be a picnic or lunch on the tavern and at the restaurant in the evening. Secial diets will be taken into account as far as possible provided we warn the cook before the stay.

-You should bring a small backpack of less than 30 liters for hiking, to put everything you need in the day.

-Besides hiking shoes or boots suitable for stony ground, and comfortable clothes, you should bring a swimsuit, a hat, sunglasses and sunscreen.

Meeting point


About the guide

Guide profile image

Sylvain

Mountain Guide

Passionate about botany and ornithology, trained in ecology, I have long worked in environmental protection, rural development and adaptation to climate change in the Sahel.

Coming from a family of (small) farmers in the West of France, my initial training focused on the management and protection of nature. My associative activities have also allowed me to develop a solid naturalistic culture.

My professional career began with a regional development project in the Alpes de Haute-Provence. Afterwards, I was an ornithological animator in the Eastern Pyrenees. At 25, I went to Niger and worked there for 7 years, first as an international volunteer (France volunteers) then as a technical advisor for the German cooperation services (DED/GIZ). After a brief return to France and a visit to Canada to perfect my English, I went back to West Africa - this time to Senegal where I coordinated a climate change adaptation project for a French NGO.

Tired of the contradictions of the associative and institutional milieu, I finally chose to fly on my own while keeping a privileged link with nature. While my stays in so-called "developing" countries have led me to grasp the fragility of life, it is quite naturally that I wanted to take a closer interest in health.

I then trained in naturopathy with the Herbothèque (Quebec) and the Mandorle School (Switzerland), and specialized in scientific aromatherapy with Dominique Baudoux. I also returned to my first loves: botany and the study of plants. Settled in Switzerland since September 2015, I also trained as a mountain leader at the Saint Jean d'Anniviers school in Valais. I opened my naturopathic practice in Neuchâtel in the summer of 2016 and am a member of the Syndicat des professionnels de la naturopathie (SPN) and the central committee of the Association suisse des accompagnateurs en montagne (ASAM).

Two caps - naturopath and herbalist and hiking guide - for the same passion: nature. My vocation today is to share and transmit it in many ways.
I propose "nature and health" or "nature and culture" stays, cooking-nutrition courses, herbal walks, botanical walks. It's about walking, discovering a region, its nature, learning about wild plants, who they are, what they do. A complete naturopathic check-up can be integrated into the program. This allows individuals to have a complete view of their health status and to obtain an individualized health optimization program.

The proposed destinations are regions to which I am strongly attached and/or that I know well for having lived there: the Mediterranean basin, West Africa, South-West and West France, Switzerland :

France: the Languedoc Roussillon Mediterranean and its causses, the eastern Pyrenees, the Grenoble region with the Chartreuse and Vercors, the Charente Maritime, Brittany, the Southern Alps.
Southern Italy, Naples region.
Greece: Cyclades and Parnitha Natural Park
Sahelian Africa: Northern Senegal, Niger, Burkina Faso.
Morocco: from Essaouira to the South of the Atlas Mountains
Switzerland: Vaud, Neuchâtel and Bernese Jura, pre-Alpes, Valais.

The stays take place either from a fixed point in a gîte, or while roaming. In both cases, healthy local cuisine will be at the party.

Any reservation of my stays abroad for my Swiss clientele is made through the travel agency "Le goût du voyage". This partnership is based on mutual trust and a shared travel ethic. The organization of the pre-trip is thus delegated to competent and experienced professionals, which allows me to concentrate on my work as a guide and to secure this activity on the legal level.

Other tailor-made offers can also be proposed. Feel free to contact me.

The past and present programming of my health hiking activity can be found on the "Events" page.

A blog also presents articles on hikes or stays proposed to inspire you (choose the "hiking trips" category).

Languages

French | English

Certificates

ASAM


What people are saying about Explore-Share

Kumari

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Thank you explore-share for a wonderful via feratta experience. We have been wanting to learn for a long time but don't have the facilities in Scotland. The guide Mitja was extremely helpful and knowledgeable, answering all my many questions and providing advice. On the day head to take another group but he quickly arranged another guide Borut, who was brilliant. We had a fantastic morning learning via ferrata at Hvadnik in the gorge. It gave us the confidence to later hire our own equipment and go out in Mojstrana. Altogether a five star + experience. Thank you.

 

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