Greece


							The afternoon brought us to the town of Skala on the island of Patmos. A tender boat delivered us to the colourful port (1), the captain taking the time to yell at some local children playing on a navigational buoy. The tourist area was small, but picturesque (2), with shops selling a range of goods from the usual trinkets to large model Trojan Horses (3). I had read a travel guide which recommended a walk up the hill of Kastelli behind the town, once the site of an ancient temple. We came across a road that went uphill, which seemed as good a starting point as any (4). We were quickly among people’s houses, stumbling across two young boys dancing in the street, accompanied by the clapping of two older women in the doorway. At the threshold of another house, we came across two snakes, who were far more interested in each other than in us (5, see video). The paved walkway ended abruptly, turning into a rocky track between the remains of a pumice-stone Hellenistic wall (6). As we got higher, views opened out onto the port and Skala (7), as well as to the town of Chora on the next hill over, site of the dominating Monastery of St. John (9). Our encounter with the snakes left us wary of sounds in the tall grasses, even when the rustling was caused by small lizards (10). We wound our way back down to the port, stopping at churches (8) and to buy a few souvenirs, and caught a tender back to the ship. After dinner we ended up in the bar along with Lisa, George, and Erika (11, l-r), where some drinking and some dancing occurred. The moon, meanwhile, slipped along the waters as we headed for Rhodes. < previous \| index \| next >