Blues - One in a row!

Day 52, 14th June – Exploration

Patmos is a relatively small island with not much traffic so Allan and Tony have hired motor scooters for getting around the island. I’m not as confident as them so I have stuck with the faithful quad bike. Our first stop was the Cave of the Apocalypse where St. John wrote the book of Revelation. There was a German tour group in the cave church conducting a service. We sat quietly in one of the pews and took in the biblical significance of the setting. As we were leaving another tour group was arriving. It pays to time your arrival as soon as it opens as it is a popular destination for pilgrim groups and tourists. At a fork in the road we left Allan and Doreen. They headed off in search of beaches while we went back to the hotel for our swimming gear.

We have chosen to ride to Agriolivadi Beach which is a few kilometres out of town. From the top of the hill it is a great view of the beach with its neat row of sun-beds and two white washed tavernas. After a quick bite to eat we joined the other sun worshipers. The sun-beds were a little expensive so we laid our towels out under the shade of a tree. The beach is pebbly but easy underfoot so it is easy getting into the water. The horseshoe bay is well protected and there is hardly any wind. Alice was soon in the water doing some sort of aerobic exercises while I settled for a long swim out to a yacht. There was still more exploration to undertake so it was back on the quad for more fun.

There was a sign indicating turn left for Lefkes Bay so we followed the road until it petered out into a rutted dirt track. It was way too bumpy for the quad so we gave up and headed up the mountain to Kampos. There were a couple of choices from here so at yet another fork in the road we headed for Ag. Nikolaos. The terrain was quite rugged and the barren landscape with the sea as a backdrop made it a stunning view. At the end of the road there was a little church and a track that led down to the bay. That was too far for us so it was back to the fork in the road and a trip down to Livadi Kalogiron Bay. There was only one other person on the rocky beach so we took a spot for ourselves and plunged naked into the sea. There was no point in getting our clothes wet again! Although this bay was not protected from the wind the water was quite warm. Alice did a bit of a plastic cleanup of the beach before we called it a day and headed back to the hotel.

Day 53, 15th June – On The Road Again

It was a slow start to the day as we were a little dusty after last night’s drinks. Alice and I headed North East and made our way to Panagia Beach which is situated below a beautiful Greek Orthodox Church. The path down to the beach passed by a goat pen before ending at a secluded bay. We knew it was secluded as all four patrons were naked. There was no shade available so Alice and I were soon in the water to cool off and enjoying the remoteness of the location. As we were leaving Tony and Julie pulled up so we went off to investigate Geranos  Beach and Apollou. This area is worth more exploration as there are hiking trails that take you to bays and beaches that are not accessible by motorized transport.

Lunch was calling so we found a little taverna at a beautiful bay called Livadi Geranou . The view would rival the Stradbroke Hotel but it is the simplicity of the surroundings that sets it apart. We enjoyed a couple of traditional dishes prior to walking down to the well shaded beach. Tony and I took a long swim to a nearby island while Alice and Julie cooled off in the shallow water. The afternoon quickly disappeared and it was back on the machinery to Skala town.

Tonight we decided to stay at the hotel and have a concert with the resident star Tony. There is a neat little courtyard where we can eat and Tony can perform his music. We have all prepared a different portion of the meal. Alice has put on cheese, figs, nectarines, olives and biscuits for the entrée. The main meal is potatoes, baked beans, tomato, onion and cheese prepared lovingly by Allan and Doreen. Julie and Tony have provided a traditional greek desert. Tony was in fine voice and the food which was well lubricated went down a treat.

Day 54, 16th June – The Monastery of St. John

The first thing you notice on Patmos is the monastery of St John the Divine or the Evangelist and that is our destination this morning. It crowns the hill of Hora. It looks like a Byzantine castle and was built like a fortress. Its presence is overwhelming and was founded in 1088 by Ossios Christodoulos following a grant by the Byzantine Emperor Alexios I. Komnenos. The greater part of the monastery was completed by Christodoulos in just three years. Its heavily fortified exterior was necessitated by the threats of piracy and Seljuk Turks.

The monastery’s walls are over 15 meters high, its length from north to south is 53 meters and from east to west 70 meters. It seems even larger when you stand at the entrance, noticing its thick walls and heavily reinforced door. The monastery consists of interconnecting courtyards, chapels, stairways, arcades, galleries and roof terraces. Hidden in the walls are fragments of an ancient temple of Artemis that was destroyed in the 11th century. The main chapel is lovely, as is the adjoining Chapel of the Theotokos, whose frescoes date from the 12th century.

The Treasury has an impressive array of religious art and treasure, mainly consisting of icons of the Cretan school. The star exhibits are an unusual mosaic icon of Agios Nikolaos and the 11th-century parchment granting the island to Christodoulos. There is also a painting of Christ by the famous El Greco who was born on the island of Crete.

After taking a few pictures of the nearby windmills we headed down to the beach at Stavros Bay. It is an extremely hot day and the deserted beach was just what the doctor ordered. The water was refreshing and if not for the lack of shade we would have stayed longer.  A homemade lunch partaken on our balcony was a great way to wind down. Alice is so relaxed that she can just drag herself off the bed for a stint of window shopping. Tony and Julie are relaxing at Kampos beach on the four euro sun-beds. Doreen and Allan on the other hand are relaxing and touring around on their scooter.

I did not think it was possible but Alice managed to shop for about four hours and did not return until 7:00pm. She also managed to relieve a few shops of their merchandise. Doreen dropped by the room and told us that she and Allan were going out for a romantic dinner. Tony and Julie were also still out and about.  Alice was still charged after her shopping spree so we decided to take an evening drive to Aspri Beach. There is a great little restaurant overlooking the water but unfortunately they had no customers. We backtracked a little and stopped at Meloi Beach and the lone seafood restaurant there was doing a brisk trade. The beach has brown sand which we would call dirt and some shady trees. It would appear to be a quiet spot that the kiddies would enjoy. It was starting to get late so we took a drive to a point that overlooks Merika Bay. The local authorities have installed a couple of seats as it is a perfect position to enjoy a Patmos sunset. We were not disappointed as spot on 8:30 pm the sun dropped behind a distant island in a bright red orb.

I knew Alice was starting to get hungry as it was well past her dinner time. She directed me to a restaurant in the back streets of Skala that she had seen earlier in the day. When we arrived there was only one other customer but nevertheless we took a seat. It was a good decision because the oven baked lamb and the rabbit stiffado (stew) were both delicious. For me that was the first time that I had eaten Bugs Bunny. Elmer Fudd eat your heart out! Cost for the meals including a litre of rose was 27 euro. It was a perfect way to end the day.

Day 55, 17th June - On The Beach

We are spending so much time on the beach that I will have to pull out my old Chris Rea compact disc. Today we headed north to a beach at Lefkes Bay. The road in winds through a small fertile valley which supports a number of small farms. When the bitumen ran out we parked the quad and walked the last few hundred metres down a rutted gravel track. A couple of the houses in here could have been called mansions as they were huge and had great views of the sea. The beach was mostly gravel and was quite wide. There were plenty of trees that were obviously planted to provide shade for the sun worshippers which consisted of only Alice and me. The marine life around the rocks and sea grass was a little more prolific but the fish are quite small. We both had an enjoyable swim in the warm water before heading back for lunch.

Alice and Doreen went for a shopping walk so I decided to head south to Petra beach. The drive mostly follows the sea and you have a great view of the yachts and ships entering the harbor. The beach at Petra is mostly sand but as you enter the water there is a few metres of stone that runs parallel with the shore. This is probably my favourite beach as there is plenty of shade, easy access and a beautiful view. There is also a couple of tavernas with good sea views and reasonably priced food.

Back at the hotel and it was time for dinner. We chose a seafood option at the rear of the town and had a platter of assorted greek snacks. After the meal we had an after dinner drink at the Shirley Valentine beach.

Day 56, 18th June – State of Origin 2

Alice was on a mission this morning as she was investigating the cost of posting some of our excess baggage home. It was approximately 25euro to send 2 kilograms to Australia but unfortunately they don’t sell post packs. The others were checking out the Delfini Hotel as they said that they would try to get the big game on their satellite television. The weather was quite humid today so Alice and I thought we would get a swim in prior to the game starting.

It was back to Petra beach and a nice long swim. The beauty here is that you can swim parallel to the shore for about 500 metres without getting bored. The water is clear and warm which makes it easy to enjoy. Back at the restaurant the others are relaxing over a few drinks but unfortunately the game can only be watched on a delayed telecast. I joined them at half time with Queensland leading four to nil. Everyone was feeling merry but that turned to dismay when Doreen received a text that NSW had scored a converted try. I don’t think we needed an excuse but that text led to more consumption of drinks of the alcoholic variety. By 6:30 everyone had definitely had enough and retired for the night. Not to be outdone by the rugby league the Aussies lost to the Netherlands 3-2 after leading 2-1. It wasn’t a great day for our sporting heroes.

Day 57, 19th June – Last Day in Patmos

Today is our last day in Patmos and Alice and I still have to complete our goal of having a swim at all the accessible beaches on the island. We started off slowly as everyone was a little dusty after yesterday’s marathon drinking effort. Alice also wanted to lighten our baggage so she made a visit to the post office and discovered we could send two kilograms home for 25euro. Lilian will have to keep an eye on the postman for us. The only drawback was that they do not sell post packs or supply tape to keep it all together. Alice solved this dilemma by making a couple of trips to the supermarket for a box and then the gaffer tape.

Finally we were on the quad bike and heading north to Lambi Beach. When the wind is not blowing this is one of the better beaches. The beach consists of fine pebbles which is mildly therapeutic to your feet. The water is as always crystal clear and suitable for a long swim or just floating around. There is a sun-bed operator but we preferred a mat under the shady trees. With our swimming done we took up residence at a beachside table and ordered up some lunch. There is only one tavern and they grow a fair proportion of the produce that is on the menu. We opted for some boiled vegetables (potatoes, spinach and zucchini) and some cheese (saginaki?) that was grilled and then flambéed with raki. I would have liked to have tried the fresh lobster but at 80euro a kilogram we gave it a miss. We did notice that a couple of tables with a good supply of gold bullion had ordered them. The fried stuffed zucchini flowers were something we would have tried.

With lunch over it was time to hit Vagia beach which is the last one on our to do list. It is another beautiful bay with tress to shelter you from the sun. The wind was chopping up the water so we had a quick swim before heading back to the hotel. Tony was still feeling a little washed out so I convinced him that we needed a long swim. We made a cute couple as Tony sat on the back of the quad en-route to Petra Beach. He did look better after taking the plunge and putting in some hard yards.

Doreen and Allan whipped up a gourmet meal for our last dinner. The main ingredient is baked beans which have been infused with sausage, tomato, onion and potato. Some crusty fresh bread to wipe up the rich sauce was the perfect accompaniment to the meal. We were all full so it was back to our room for a little lie down. Our ferry tonight departs just before midnight so it was lucky that the hotel is allowing us a late checkout at 10:00pm. With a little under two hours to kill we left the girls holding the luggage and headed off to a restaurant to watch the England v Uruguay world cup game. After a couple of beers and the score at 1-1 we headed back to the port to comfort our women. The ferry was on time and it wasn’t long before we were in our sleeping berths heading towards Athens.

Day 58, 20th June – Happy Birthday Jemma

Eventually we did fall asleep and it was nearly 7:30am when the internal alarm clock went off. Tony and Julie were the last ones to emerge from the cabin. Julie was a little bleary eyed as Tony had kept her awake with some loud snoring. Imagine the volume if he would have had more than two beers. Alice and Doreen did not fare much better however it was the freezing air conditioning that made it a difficult night.  We berthed a little after 8:30am and as our flights are not until the afternoon we decided to have an American breakfast near the railway station. It wasn’t a bad breakfast but the fried eggs were a little greasy.

Our train trip to the airport involved a change of trains and cost 20euro for a 3 person group ticket. A single ticket from anywhere on the metro to the airport is 8euro. The journey was uneventful and took a little over an hour. Julie and Tony are flying home to Australia via Bangkok and were leaving from a different terminal. We said our sad farewells and as usual it has been a pleasure and a lot of fun travelling with them. They should have some fun in Bangkok figuring out how to get Julie’s last minute purchases into their bags.

After the four of us checked in we made our way past the first security point. At this stage I was heading for one of the lounges to take advantage of our priority pass. Unfortunately, in my haste I went through the next level of security and missed the opportunity. The girls changed into their warm clothing as the weather in Copenhagen is supposed to be a bit ordinary. My main concern was to find some wi-fi so I could activate my Skype. Lucky for me I was able to get a free connection and on our first attempt contacted Jemma. In the semi crowded waiting area Alice and I sung Happy Birthday in a voice that would have made the Three Tenors proud. A quick chat and we left her to enjoy her birthday dinner.

The airline gods once again have seated us in an ordinary seat. The seats were not reclined in front of us but we did have three young boys seated in front of us. Like all young boys they were easily excited and spent the whole journey jumping around in their seats. My stern face that cannot scare anyone did manage to keep them quiet for a few minutes. Alice thought there was a lot of flatulence emanating from their region and had to pull the air freshener out. As our journey was getting closer to the end the behavior became more rambunctious. Dad did endeavour to keep them quiet but it was only short lived.

Our flight landed at Kastrup, Copenhagen’s international airport at 4:00pm local time. After collecting our baggage which took 50 minutes to hit the baggage carousel we were met by Doreen and Alice’s cousins (Jens and Jytte) who will look after us for the next four days. The trip up to Ordrup took just over an hour. Jens took a couple of detours which allowed us to see some of the small villages and the lush green countryside. The weather is not being kind to us at the moment and we are being forced to endure dark grey skies with intermittent showers. Jytte prepared a delicious salad with marinated steak that we grilled on the weber barbeque. For desert we had fresh Danish strawberries (jordbaer). All this food was complemented by a 2012 Grenache Noir from the south of France. The little red fruits gave it a smooth yet powerful, liquorish taste and enough kick to make us sleep like babies.