There is an abandoned Greek village on Island of Chios called Potamia.

Some say wave of leprosy cursed the village 70 years ago and everyone fled.

Others say it was it became abandoned through Greeks emigrating over time to US, Oz, and Canada.

Tucked away deep in the hills, it can only be accessed by foot or bike now.

When you are in these places of absolute silence you can feel the thin veneer between the material and the spirit world slipping

You get the feeling you’re being watched by some gorgon whose scream could pierce the silence and kill you instantly.

I wonder what creatures dwell in the houses long abandoned and virtually impossible to reach. Unclaimed minotaurs of old return, or a sorceress awaiting a man to lure into her dwelling

Bizarrely there was one building in the village that was brand new, with working appliances and the door was unlocked but nobody there. I was half expecting some contemporary Diogenes to jump out at me

I ring the church bell before I leave to let the spirits know I had visited

The roads on this island are astonishingly beautiful. The landscape is sublime almost prehistoric compared with most other Greek islands.