PLOMARI
Plomari is 42 km from Mitilini on the
southern coast of Lesvos. It is built
ampithitheatrically by the sea and is
the second largest town on the
island.
Plomari was originally up in the
mountains where the beautiful
village of Megalohori now stands.
Both the original mountain village and the port were destroyed by fires
between 1841 and 1843.
The architecture of the town ranges from old mansions and decaying factories
to olive presses and tanneries set among houses of all different sizes, shapes
and colours.
The town straddles a ravine which, in the rainy season, turns into the
Sedountas river. Some of the houses are built right in the rivebed and their
walls form the banks, containing the water and keeping it moving towards the
sea.
Whether from drinking the extra strong ouzo that many of the local favour or
for some other reason, Plomarian's have the reputation of being a little bit
crazy and enjoying life to the fullest. The women of Plomari have the
reputation of being a bit strong-willed, as this child's rhyme demonstrates:
Stin Agiassou y Plomari
From Agiassou or Plomari
Oute yeneka
neither woman
Oute mulari
nor mule
Plomari is the ouzo capital of Greece. This is home of the famous
Barbayiannis Ouzo as well as several other smaller labels like the excellent
Ouzo Giannatsi which is distilled in the traditional method.
You will find several ouzo factories and also the Barbayiannis ouzo museum
on the road leading into town .
George Kabarnos and his son have taken over the traditional distillery of the
renowned Ouzo Giannatsi. While many of the other ouzo companies have
sold out to the big companies and perhaps sacrificed some of their traditional
methods in order to keep up with demand, the Kabarnos still use the old wood
burning kasani (still) to distill the ouzo. Their shop is right in the main market
area of the town
It’s really good but beware if you buy any of the ouzo they sell to the locals. It
will be poured into any plastic bottle they have to hand and I shudder to think
how strong it is but I suspect you could use it as rocket fuel.