Friday 14 August 2015

LOUISA'S VISIT

SHORT TRIPS AROUND LEROS, PATMOS AND LIPSI

WALKING AROUND THE CHORA ATOP PATMOS
We had Anne's friend Louisa and daughter Meg join us in Leros for a week. Louisa timed it perfectly with great weather, anchorages, crystal clear unruffled water, nice water temp, swims, good tavernas and a full moon! 

We stayed one night on Patmos quay giving us time for a swim, refill the gas bottle and head up to the Monastary of St John with it's surrounding white cube houses of the 'Chora' which is the big attraction for cruise ships and tourists. My only bible is the cruising guide but apparently St John dictated some wild poetry of the apocalypse in a cave here and one thing led to another which is the Monastery. Being savvy travellers we waited til the cool of the afternoon to take the racing driver taxi through the S bends up the hill only to find the monastery closed ten minutes earlier at 6.00pm. Maybe not so savvy. Instead we had a scenic cafe stop and a dreamy walk around the Chora in sunset light bouncing off white walls that we would otherwise have missed.

It's August and that means peak season is nigh. The crowds have arrived pretty much as the clock ticked over into August. The beaches and restaurants are heaving with tourists on Lipsi where there are good ferry connections, but away from those spots the August crowds haven't been an issue. Boat numbers haven't been a problem yet though only early August. We haven't had stifling heat either like our friends in Turkey are getting. In the Dodecanese you can usually count on a breeze and it can be five to ten degrees cooler than the coast of Turkey. The Meltemi has behaved itself lately and with the water temp hovering on 26oC it's been a great time to be in these parts.

COAST GUARD SWOOP ON JALANO FOR A CLOSER LOOK ON OUR WAY TO  PANDELI

LOUISA, MEG & 4D. XEROCAMPOS, LEROS

ARKHANGELOS

SUNDOWNER TIME
ARKHANGELOS CAT RANCH
ARKHANGELOS STIGMA TAVERNA. HOMESTEAD OF THE CAT RANCH

ANNE STEERS US OUT OF ARKHANGELOS

PATMOS TRAFFIC SNARL

YOURS TRULY BACK FROM THE CHORA VISIT
ANNE HAS A SPECTRAL VISION AT THE MONASTERY OF ST JOHN, PATMOS
CHORA, PATMOS
ANNE AND MEG STYLE UP LIKE THE RUSSIAN TOURIST SHOTS
ABOVE SKALA PATMOS

ANNE AT THE THROTTLE LEAVING PATMOS
FULL MOON RISING OVER LIPSI HARBOUR
MEG AND LOUISA JOIN THE THRONG LEAVING LIPSI
HELPING MY NEIGHBOUR, A SOLO TURK SAILOR WHEN HE CROSSED MY ANCHOR ON LEAVING LIPSI

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