Text: Philippos Perrakis

Photos: Philippos Perrakis, Pantelis Siambanos

Translation into Greek: Katerina Pantazi

On Sunday March 15th, 2026 we carried out a maintenance hike on route 15. We met at 10.00 a.m in Gavrio, outside of the two bakeries. 15 people and 5 dogs showed up on this chilly, cloudy Sunday morning. The temperature was 12 – 13 degrees celsius with a north wind of 5 bf.

Despite this, spirits were high and eager to start walking. The group was mostly Greek with 2 people from California that were dog sitting Stamatis Pantazi’s dogs. It was their first time in Andros and their first walk on the island. The remaining people in the group live or visit Andros regularly and were from all 4 main towns: Gavrio, Batsi, Chora, Korthi.

We began our hike along the road towards Ano Gavrio. At Panagitsa Church, which is around 1.5 km from the port, we turned right and began our ascent to Anos Agios Petros. Vegetation here is low so not much work, but we did collect some trash.

Taking small quick stops (because of the uphill) we approached the picturesque village of Anos Agios Petros. Here we did some work with vegetation and cleaned rocks that had been swept on the path from the rain. After about an hour and a half we reached the village and took our break to admire the beautiful views and have some snacks.

After taking pictures and socializing, both humans and dogs, we were ready to begin our return. The sun came up but it was still windy and chilly. However, the group was very happy to be out in nature offering voluntary work and meeting new people!

Just below the village is the Tower of Agios Petros. Here we stopped to admire this amazing structure. Stories were exchanged as nobody really knows why it was built. More pictures were taken and some grooming was done as spring vegetation was beginning to grow fast.

Slowly and steadily being careful of downhill and fresh vegetation we reached the main road at Agios Petros Beach. Here the group wanted to visit the beach so we all decided to go together.

At the beach, some people wanted to stay and others wanted to return to Gavrio. The sea was beautiful but nobody was brave enough to join the two dogs that entered the sea. 

Eventually the day came to an end, everyone full of images and satisfaction of offering something back to this beautiful island we call home. 

Thank you to all participants who joined this hike and help maintain the route! See you at the next maintenance hike!