In case you're not sure how to pronounce "Chios," it makes an alliteration with "kitties." Or at least the sort of English-ized version does, the Greek sound of the "Chios" is not a sound we have in English and is kind of a combination of "k" and "h." Anyway, just wanted to be sure you understand the cleverly alliterated title. (haha ... nobody else could ever have thought of something so intellectually complex and clever!) 

Now, whatever could this post be about? You must be on the edge of your seat with raw curiosity. So, although we came to Chios Island in order to volunteer at the Souda refugee camp, we spent several days sightseeing on the island, which turned out to be a great tourist destination, many interesting villages to see. Souda camp no longer exists, by the way. Several months after we left, the municipality took up all the tents and everything, to restore their nice beach for the tourists landing in the ferries to remain blissfully unaware of the refugee crisis and the abysmal living conditions of those hoping for approval for asylum in Europe. Everyone in Souda was moved to other camps, most of them to Vial, which is the other one on Chios run by the Greek military and a far, far worse place to be than Souda ever was. It's a real shame. 

So without forgetting the unfortunate reason we were there, I'd like to introduce you to the feline inhabitants of the villages of Chios. I take pictures of kitties everywhere we go, as I love them and always miss mine while traveling. Erik and I are the creepy people accosting cats across the globe with my camera and our fingers just itching to dish out some pets and scritches (as illustrated also in my Old San Juan, Puerto Rico, post). But Chios had a particular preponderance of friendly ones, most of them looking quite healthy, and so I decided to collect some of them together in a post for cat lovers. That's the rest of this post: cat pictures! 

These cuties come from the village of Anavatos, which is mostly abandoned now but open to tourists to wander around the ruins. Referred to as a "Byzantine tower-village," the ancient city perches high up on a granite hillside, basically surrounded by cliffs.  

So these kitties have very defensible space. And yet they could not escape ME!

Can you locate the little fella below? I could have cropped in on him, but I like how his small size makes the landscape seem particularly epic around him.

These next kitties come from the very beautiful and charming village of Pyrgi, also referred to as "the painted village," known for its unique black-and-white patterned facades on the houses in the medieval town center.  

A very beautiful village, and a perfect residence for beautiful kitties!

Now to another hilltop village, Volissos, topped with an 11th century castle, whose narrow streets contained an integrated mix of abandoned ruins, utilized buildlings that look like ruins on the outside, and houses and businesses that people clearly still live in and use.  

These kitties were fun to watch, as they were playmates. In the first pic below, what I like most about it is the cat sitting by himself in the background sticking his tongue out. 

These cats, I have to confess, I'm not sure which village they're from, but not from any of the other villages I've included here. We did an awful lot of driving around and stopped in some places randomly for a short period of wandering time, and I just don't recall the name of them all. The other villages mentioned here are ones that we specifically drove to as a destination. Anyway, I thought these guys were picturesque in front of the old wooden door and stone doorframe. 

We visited the medieval village of Mesta, another Byzantine-era walled village, a couple different times, and it was a particular mecca for cats. It's the perfect kind of village to wander its narrow maze of streets and get lost in.  

The mealtime companionship of the cats was mostly fun, but there were the occasional impolite brats who muscled everyone else out and didn't care if their claws or teeth accidentally sunk into the skin of your fingers while you were setting down tidbits. This black fellow was actually really friendly, but he looks intimidating here: "None shall pass without dropping some steak!" You can see what a little fan club I had around me once they sensed what a sucker I was -- which is pretty much the same caliber of sucker as everyone eating in the cafe!

 I'm guessing that behind that door lies a bunch of yummy food and a person who is scheduled to bring it all out shortly. The little one peeking out from behind the flower barrel isn't sure whether I am friend or foe. 

 I think this kitty is cute for the way it kept changing which paw it was holding up ... first her right one, then the left one, like she's a tripod and can only have three legs down at a time. 

Every corner you turn, there's a kitty waiting for you!

I included a pic of this perfectly framed cat in the Tuesday Tale, "A Life Left to the Cats." 

We did stop over for a couple days in Athens on our way home from Chios.

So ... here's an Athens cat, hanging out outside a little convenience store where we bought some bottled water. Oh, and bonus -- it's got its tongue sticking out! Also here but not pictured was a momma cat suckling her kittens right on the doorstep of the store. 

Of course this post does not present the extent of my cat photos from Chios, but I didn't want to be unreasonable and post the whole lot ... I know you guys have other things you need to get done today. :)  But these were some of my favorites. 

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