Kos To Leros. 10 - 20 May 2017.

Kos 10 -12 May.

          We departed the lovely port of Palon at 0800 hrs on Wednesday and motored all the 23 miles to Kos where we arrived at mid-day. It was lovely to approach Kos with its crusader castle and Italian HQ of old glistening in the sunshine. We tried our luck in the old harbor and were soon tied up against the quay with our stern to the old castle walls. 

Sunset At Palon On Our Last Night.

Departing Palon, Nisiros Island. 

This Is The Life.

A Very Contented Admiral.

Approaching Kos Old Harbour.

Tied Up In Kos Old Harbour.

     Kos Town.   We soon entered town to do the tourist bit. It is not like Rhodes with its ancient town but very much a Roman restoration yard where we were to find several large areas grown over with tall savanna grass amongst which were several Roman or Greek ruins scattered around with hundreds of bits and pieces of pillars, blocks and piles of ancient building pieces. This was due to Kos suffering badly from a few earthquakes. We were to see the Casa Romana and the Ancient Agora, the original Hellenistic city which must have been a magnificent sight. 

The City Gate.

The Old Mosque.

Another Topless Resident.

Old Roman House.

Aphrodite In The Garden!

The Auditorium.

Guy Practising Shakeaspere!

There Are Ruins Just Everywhere In Kos.

Old Mosque And City Entrance.

The Minaret By Hippocrates's Tree.

          Hippocrates  The first healer and father of modern medicine was Hippocrates who was born on Kos in 460 BC. He was the first ‘doctor’ to classify diseases and introduced new methods of diagnosis and treatment, He taught in Kos and produced the Hippocratic Oath still sworn by medical practitioners worldwide. We visited the tree where he used to teach and enjoyed a wonderful ice cream!!

Hipprocates Tree.

        Kos Castle.   The Knights of St John ruled from 1315 to 1522 leaving behind several castles and then Turks governed Kos for almost 400 years from 1522 to 1912. There is a considerable amount of Turkish architecture as well as Italian architecture as they ruled from 1912 to 1948. It is fascinating to walk around and find the influences of all the different cultures in the architecture. The Knights Castle was a fascinating building but appeared to be more of a custodian for all sorts of bits and pieces from the Roman occupation.

Kos Castle.

Whose Shield Of Arms.

Kos Knights Of St John Castle

Kisti Two From Kos Castle Ramparts.

Kos Castle And Roman Artefacts.

Turkish Gullets In The Harbour.

Plenty Of Ancient Stones In The Castle.

The Italian HQ Through The Ramparts.

Kisti Two In THe Old Harbour With Kos Castle.

Italian HQ And Castle.

         Asklepieon.     We took a short bus ride out to the Asklepieion which was set over a pine clad hillside . It was built after the death of Hippocrates in 4 BC. It is one of Greece’s most important classical sites consisting of temples, school, accommodation and baths for rest and recuperation with breathtaking views. The cult’s symbol was a snake  which is still used by medical personnel today. It is a fascinating place to visit and experience the calmness and clean air. I wish all hospitals were are resplendent as this.

Asclepion Information.

Lower Terrace Of Asclepion.

Monumental Stairway And Ionoc Temple.

Roman Corinthian Temple.

Tourist Information On The Asclepion.

Looking Down From Temple Of Asceplion.

Temple Of Asceplion.

Looking Down To The Lower Terraces.

Roman Corinthian Temple Looking Upwards.

The Asclepion From The Lower Terrace.

Plati Island 12 - 13 May.

     We departed Kos at 1000 hrs on Friday and managed to get sailing again. The wind died down as we approached Pserimos Island so we motored into and explored a few of the islands bays. We then found a lovely private anchorage between Pserimos Island just off Plati Island. We enjoyed a swim in the clear water and a BBQ as the sun set.

Anchorage On Plati Island Off Pserimos Island.

Nekronthikes Island Off Plati.

Emborios Bay, Kalimnos Island. 13 - 14 May.

    We raised the anchor at 1000 hrs and set off sailing north again. We had a reasonable sail towards Kalimnos Island and then motored into the main town of Kalimnos itself. We decided not to stay overnight here but set off sailing north again around the western side of the island exploring all the bays and coves. It was a fun sail with just the genoa as the wind frequently changed direction and from F2 up to F6 within seconds, especially on the headlands and between islands. We eventually reached a lovely Bay and Town called Emborios where we tied onto an enormous buoy belonging to Dreamcatcher Restaurant in 14m of water. Suffice to say, we had a meal in the restaurant and it was outstanding. Emborios Bay is amazing as you are completely surrounded by islands and land with no view of the main Med sea. It had a Scottish feel about it except for the warmth!

The Gap Between Plati And Nekrothikes Islands.

Kalimnos.

Kalimnos Quay

Telendhos Island.

Skipper Very Contented Tied Up To A Buoy At Emborios
On Kalimnos Island.

Dreamcatcher Restaurant At Emborios.

Our Bouy In Emborios Bay.

Departing Emborios Bay.

Leros Marina.    The weather forecast was predicting some very nasty strong winds so we decided to move on to Leros Island and seek shelter for the next week. We motored for 2 hours north and then into the large Lakki Bay and decided to enjoy 5 days in a marina, catch up with washing, shopping, blog and enjoy showers ( two a day!). We were welcomed in to the marina and given a lovely berth on D pontoon.  The marina is a very efficient family run set up and has certainly proved to be bombproof during our stay. It is run with a military air of efficiency and has all the facilities in excellent condition that you would want including a chandlery and maintenance group. It is certainly an excellent place to store a boat over winter but only has a small liveaboard community of about 10 couples each year. Lakki Town itself was built by the Italians in an Art Deco style as part of Mussolini’s vision of a new Roman empire! He even had a Villa built here. 

Leros Marina.

Lakki Bay From Leros Marina.

Kisti Two Tucked In Amongst The Many
Yachts On Pontoon D. Washing Day!

Leros Marina. Bomb Proof.

The Monument To HMS Intrepid.

Leros Marina From Lakki.

Sunset At Leros Marina From 'Skippers' Bar

Ay Marina And Pandeli Bay.     As the winds were forecast to blow for a week, we caught a bus across to the eastern side of Leros Island and the Greek capital. It was a fascinating place with large Italian Villas dotted around under a large crusader castle which dominated the hills. We had a lovely explorative walk before settling in a small Taverna in Pandeli Bay for a wonderful seafood platter and beer. We then walked back to the Marina, along some of the route of the bus trip. We also had a busy day walking down to Lepida Bay and then on to Xirokampos in the southern Bay of the island. This was much quieter with a couple of Tavernas just opening up for the season. The bay will be a most ideal location to ride out a storm as the big Taverna has placed several new strong buoys to attract sailors. 

Ols Windmill At Ay Marina.

Ay Marina.

Looking Towards Pandeli Bay.

Castle Fortress And Church.

The Windmills Of Pandeli.

Pandeli Bay.

Not Another Fix!

Octopus Waiting To Be Eaten!

Ginny All Smiles With Seafood Appetiser.

Panteli Bay, Restaurants And Windmills.

Pandeli Bay.

Pandeli Bay.

Ginny Learning Her Hellos In Xirokampos.

         The winds are due to calm down a little next week, so we are on the move north again visiting all the islands on our route. Leros Marina is very impressive and has proved to be an excellent location to complete all our admin requirements such as shopping, refueling, taking on fresh water, laundry and enjoying some non Taverna meals in the excellent Skipper’s Bar. We will visit Leros again before we book out of Greece as we intend to book into Turkey at Didim, a short sail away from here.