In this video, Gabriel Morris takes us on a stroll through the charming streets of Mytilene, the capital and largest town on the Greek island of Lesvos, all while sharing his thoughts on why he keeps returning to certain countries time and time again.
As a seasoned traveler, outdoors enthusiast, and travel writer, Gabriel has been exploring the world since his first trip to Europe in 1990. With a deep appreciation for different cultures, landscapes, and experiences, he has found himself drawn back to destinations like Greece and India repeatedly.
Through his captivating storytelling and stunning cinematography, Gabriel delves into the reasons behind his enduring love for these countries. From the rich history and beautiful scenery to the warm hospitality and delicious cuisine, Greece and India hold a special place in his heart.
If you’re curious about the magnetic pull that certain destinations can have on travelers, join Gabriel on his journey and discover the magic of Greece and India through his eyes.
Don’t forget to show your support for Gabriel’s work by visiting his Patreon page or checking out his books on Amazon. And if you’re in need of some uplifting music for your own travel videos, be sure to give Epidemic Sound a try with a free 30-day trial.
Whether you’re a seasoned traveler or an armchair explorer, Gabriel’s videos are sure to inspire wanderlust and a deeper appreciation for the world around us. So sit back, relax, and let Gabriel’s passion for travel transport you to distant shores once more.
Watch the video by Gabriel Traveler
Video “Why Do I Go to Greece & India Over & Over Again?” was uploaded on 09/02/2024. Watch all the latest Videos by Gabriel Traveler on Gretopia
Isn’t Gabriel part Italian heritage? Maybe if you stretched back a little further there would be Greek, as he seems to have an almost spiritual connection to these lands!
India is many countries in one, as many of the Indian states are the size of some europian countries.
Also there are lots and lots of monuments, forts, palaces , intricately sculptured temples in virtually all the states which can take a lifetime to visit and enjoy.
Also the varied topography from the massive snow capped Himalayan mountains to the desert to the beaches, islands and oceanlife, and lush tropical forests along the long coastline, you can say that you can see virtually all of the topography of the world in just one country !!!
what a glorious moment to see you walking the streets of Mytilene (mee-tee-LEE-nee) ….I cross the Atlantic twice a year to walk on this island ….since you like swimming, keep in mind Lesvos has cold waters with Molyvos beach being the coldest….here are some tips:
1.Mylilene
– Ermou street, running south to north, is the market street by day and the happenings street after sunset
– the neighborhood at the north end of Ermou street, on the right, have lots of restaurants and pubs and a nice relaxed evening atmosphere for everyone
– the Castle itself, where the Scorpions performed their first ever concert on an Aegean island, on July 4, 2009
– Sourada district, at the south end of the city to see the old mansions, many of them restored
2.Yera (aka Gera) villages
– you cross most Yera villages on the way to Plomari ….Yera villages have a permanent local population
– around Yera, at sea level is Perama town ….good for lunch by the sea and for a visit to the abandoned Sourlangas Tanning Factory ….it used to be the largest tanning factory in the Balkan Peninsula ….it is a whole campus, actually, right next to the sea and with a windmill in front of it, where they used to mill acorns to make leather dies
– Tarti Bay area and Beach right after Yera villages (Gabriel Traveler sandy beach relaxing mode, to add to H. Baldr's Gabriel Traveler high roller mode)
3.Plomari town (the World Capital of Ouzo), Saint Isidore Beach, Melinda hippie settlement
– Plomari is inhabited throughout the year by locals ….but it gets crowded in the summer with domestic and international tourists
– Varvayannis Ouzo Museum between Plomari and Saint Isidore Beach
– Saint Isidore Beach, here's my video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9rahLDvBJp0
– Melinda hippie beach and rock 15 minutes west of Plomari by car (Matala in Crete and Melinda in Lesvos used to be hippie community attractions back in the day)
4.Ayiassos (aka Agiassos) centuries old and uber picturesque village
– 15 Kilometers north of Plomari ….the first 9km are paved, the rest of the ride is a scenic dirt road
– perhaps you will struggle to find the Ayiassos parking area to leave your car and walk, drink, and eat in the village, but it's worth visiting
– it has a permanent local population ….mostly domestic tourists appear in the summer, once I ran into young Mennonite women from the US in Ayiassos !!!
5.Eressos, Skala of Eressos at sea level (the world capital of lesbian women), Sigri settlement, and Petrified Forest
– from Ayiassos' north side of the mountain (little Olympus) you get on the Yera-Kalloni highway and go west towards Kalloni
– past Kalloni you enter the west side of Lesvos which is Volcanic and it looks like a place in Iceland with large lava boulders scattered along the landscape (green landscape in the Spring, yellow in the Summer, brown in the Winter or white every few years when it snows)
– lots of places to eat and drink at, in Eressos and Skala of Eressos
– before getting to Sigri you'll find the Petrified Forest, yet the Petrified Forest Museum is at Sigri
– Sigri is a settlement with a rock, a small fort, and an endless view of the sea
6.Petra, Molyvos, and Molyvos Genoese Castle
– going north along the western part of the island
– Petra and Molyvos shut down after the end of September because they are the international tourist spots of the island
– Petra is a picturesque village south of Molyvos with a big stone (petra) in the middle of it
– Molyvos has a beautiful Genoa style Castle that I'd like to claim as mine but the authorities won't fall for it, hahahaaaaa
– Molyvos itself, is a picturesque town
7. Other areas of interest on the island
– Polychnitos village and Vatera 12km beach (on the east side of Kalloni Gulf)
– Mantamados village (on the way from Molyvos to Mytilene, along the north and east coast of the island)
You are Greek and Indian…what ethnicity is a soul? If you feel it, then it is…words cannot describe the most important things in life. Topophilia…the love of place. If you’re fortunate to have discovered this, then you’ve discovered the purpose of why you’re on this strange sojourn…to find home as it feels to you. For me it’s, Crete and Northern Thailand. My soul is in both of these places no matter where I may be physically, and I’m grateful for this.
Not cheap like the good old days. I suppose, as an American, you might feel uneasy going to countries like Iran where there's a lot to see, the south of Morocco or the Middle East, Petra etc? These are wonderful places also.
Gabriel, love from nepal wherever you go in life
Good to see you finally reached Lesvos. One of Greece's best islands in my humble opinion.
There's lots of highlights across the island.
Nice haircut did you get it in Lesvos ?
Hi Gabriel and everyone. Gabe has explored India (Bharat) like 13 times and he loves Rishikesh. He knows his stuff about India. I have gone to India (Bharat) twice and will go back again despite the many hardships that are there. I really love the spiritual vibes I have felt in Rishikesh, Varanasi, Jagannath Puri, Pushkar and Varanasi plus the serenity and beauty of the Parvati Valley in Himachal Pradesh. The only city I've enjoyed in India was Mumbai. The other places I have visited I can do without returning to them.
Yes Greece is great, but your views come from us enjoying experiencing fresh destinations with you. Too much of the one place could turn pple off as you've discovered when you vlog from around your home in the US.
You choose where you travel to. We choose which videos we watch. Have fun and see you in a couple of weeks, peace!
I love your Greece videos..I keep watching them many times..Love that your back to Greece..Your videos are partly the reason Greece is was first country I visited on my first trip to Europe,, in 2022.. Now I go every year since..And now I am looking getting Greek citizenship. It's funny that my parents left Greece for better life in the 1950s..now I want to live in Greece for better life than here in Canada..anyway welcome back!
You enjoy what you enjoy. I feel the same way about Germany. I've returned there at least 25 times since 1980 and it never gets old. That said, I'll pass on this round of Greek videos unless you can somehow provide Tastevision.
Gabe, Kedarnath is one of thgose dhams up in Uttarkhand that you should go to. It's like a 10-hour hike because there are no roads for vehicles to go there. It's one of Lord Shiva's places. Beautiful landscape and rugged terrain.
As a greek and i would say that Italy, Spain and south France are the elevated version of Greece in terms of landscapes, nature, architecture,arts and infrastructure. Maybe they can't match the cosy-homey energy of Greece, the light of Greek sun, the relaxed vibes, the hospitality of greeks and the food. Countries which are all worth visiting and quite close to the F.I.G.S(France, Italy, Greece, Spain)are Portugal, Balkans and Turkey.
You still have "Kastelorizo"
The farthest island from Mainland
I did really enjoy Thassos Island🇬🇷Great beaches and the highest point in the middle of the Island is Ypsario at 1045 meters⛰️ And much more to see🙂
Gabriel – You need to visit Pitcairn Island; Saint Helena; these remote Islands will be a good visit for us to watch. Your channel has become boring . It was good back in 2015-2018. Now all you do is walk around the same old countries you visited before 10 times and keep on telling some story from the past which you already repeated 10 times…. or how you got stuck at customs, etc etc…. There is enough and more videos on Greece, Turkey & India on YouTube; we need to see the exotic Islands now..
HI GABE! If your path takes you to THASSOS, ALIKI peninsula with its double beach scenery and ancient ruins is truly a wonder of nature, make sure to take swimming shoes, goggles and make the round all the way to its end! Food for thought!
I've been hearing a lot about two-tiered pricing in some European countries lately. Have you experienced any of this in Greece, or what other countries have you noticed it if any.
gabriel when you go to philippines? there a lots of island in philippines my home country. god bless and take care always 😍
I would love more videos from India. My favourite ones, never enough 😊
You are the best, as always. Keep it up!
Welcome home bro.
I'm sorry, but I don't really see the great appeal of this land called Greece.
Gabriel, you can check out Greece anytime you like but you cant never leave!
Fantastic island. So many places to visit. I can't wait for you to go to Limnos. Another spectacular island
It's a shame you are not granted Greek citizenship immediately. Some Greeks have never budged from their own towns. I heard I story once about a Greek who didn't know that Greece has a rail transport
I don't think the issue is Greece or India. The issue is clarity. Obviously, Gabriel has put in the work to be really clear about his choices. There are few choices more personal than how we travel – how we choose to spend our often extremely limited free time. I too undoubtedly make travel decisions that are not "average" – so I get it. Even though I personally wouldn't spend that much time in India and Greece, what makes this channel so great is that Gabriel doesn’t pander by doing stuff he doesn't care about or by being a country counter with little substance. And that's very appealing!
Have you ever visited Rhodes and Chios? Two of the largest islands. And of course you should visit Kastelorizo, the easternmost Greek island.
I recommend you to visit Tawang, Kohima and Mizoram, Beautiful places in India.
Elsewhere in the world you are viewed as a consumer. To many Greeks you are seen and treated as an icon of the divine. There is history and archaeological sites around every corner. It's no surprise you keep returning.
There's a bunch of islands in the Corinthian gulf such as the island of Trizonia, don't think you've ever been to any of them or that part of Greece in general. There's also some nice towns and cities like Messologi, Galaxidi, Porto Germeno, the historical site of Zaloggo, the Evrytania and Elikonas mountains with their traditional monasteries and villages etc. As for Fourni I watched your videos of nearby islands Ikaria and Samos and you barely stayed there, there's so much more to explore so if you head to Fourni you should revisit that entire cluster of islands more thoroughly.
Have you been to Mt Kailash and lake Manasarovar in Tibet ? I am greek and I want to go there !
I get it. For me it's about that Mediterranean feel you get and all the stress washes away as soon as you arrive, but I'm also obsessed with ancient Greece, so the country has a special draw for me.
Also, thanks to you I've discovered and fell in love with Croatia. I've already been to Greece this year, but now that the high season is coming to an end, I'm traveling to Croatia and going island hopping in the less touristy, cheaper northern Adriatic. I have it all planned out already…this time I'm alone and I'm going to explore, your style!
Flying to Zadar, renting a car and driving to Pag. There's a bridge connecting it to the mainland and it's very exotic – the island where all those car companies film their commercials. After Pag, I'm catching a ferry to Rab and its sandy beaches, then Krk – the largest, most populated island in Croatia. From Krk I board another ferry to Cress, driving up and down it, crossing over to Losinj and then Mali/Small Losinj…they're all connected with bridges. Further on it's all ferries: Premuda – Silba – Olib – Ist – Molat – Zverinac – Long Island, which is very long and I intend to explore it properly…lots to see there. From Long Island I take a boat to Uglan, drive the entire distance of it and and Pasman – those two are again connected by bridge. I'll be stopping along the way of course. Finally, from Pasman I'm taking another ferry to Biograd on the mainland, with Zadar being only half an hour drive away from there. I return the car to where I picked it up from, probably spend a night in Zadar and fly back to Copenhagen.
Thanks for the inspiration, Gabe! 👍
Welcome to Greece again!
There is another small island situated in Halkidiki,north Greece, that you should visit if you haven't had already. It's Amoulliani island and it's near holy mountain Athos.
Very crowded during summers but also very satisfying to be there. Some of the best beaches to swim and relax.
18:00 It looked like you had been following instructions to come to my mother's house, we could really bump among these streets. 🙂
….yeah, you go to Limnos! It lost some of its charm but still an interesting and relatively peaceful place to explore!…
Hey Gab , dont forget visiting Nordeast of Turkey especially the town Bayburt with the best Castle in the world in top of the town and the landscape hills behind the main town… the villages güllüce, demirözü, pulur, güzelce is recommended… the landscape with the hills of 2000m is really lovely and mind blowing…
Humanity first Chose this places around bayburt and erzurum the get from Hunter guthering to farmers in small villages you can anticipate in pulur,hasiye,güllüce, demirözü etc… man it will be Great to get your Videos from there…