Around
the
year 95 AD, Christ's disciple, John the Divine, St. John or John the
Evangelist, was banished to the island of Patmos by the Emperor Domitian.
John converted the island to Christianity and was beloved by the citizens.
As the world converted to Christianity John was released from Patmos
but the destiny of the island as a shrine had been determined.
In the 1088 St. Christodoulos began the Monastery of St. John, which
stands today in fortress splendor. It is the destination for
many pilgrims and the monks who manage the monastery preserve
the feeling of reverence and quiet rather than the atmosphere of a
tourist destination. 
Our first visit up to the monastery was by scooter.
It was closed but a friendly shopkeeper told us we should really
come by tour. We went back down to the town of Skala and got
the inf
ormation and planned for the
next morning. Going by scooter does give you the opportunity
to take photos whenever you see a likely spot, and here on Patmos
there are photo OP's around every bend. We loved being stopped
by the goat herd being taken up the road with the smiling shepherd
leading them.
The spectacular views along the road invite a stop and --one more picture.
Our Patmos Monastery Tour was one of those events we were glad
we did not miss. Our tour guide, Vera, spoke excellent English
and apparently also excellent German. She did trade the German
tourists to another guide
and kept the English speaking folks. She gave both a standard
explanation and also expanded into her interpretations of the significance
of the shrine. I really wanted to talk to her further but
she left us during lunch and I never had the chance.
We have eaten many 
meals
where a tour plants you, but never one so good as we had in Patmos.
The food was fresh, the selection good, the place charming and the
entertainment fresh and authentic. The waiters and owner of
the restaurant danced for us after serving our meal and you could
tell it was something they do often and with great gusto.
Patmos is enticing not only be
cause of the historical
significance but also because it is a charming and well maintained
community. We were docked stern to here, and except for having
to set another anchor in the middle of the night during a
blow, we had no problems. We had tour boats, big 
palatial yachts, and other
cruisers like ourselves tied along the clean concrete quay.
Little shops, restaurants or tavernas, and offices lined the harbor
welcoming the day tripper's that arrive on the cruise ships and
ferries.
We followed a couple of dining recommendations and ate at
an Indonesian restaurant one evening and a rather gourmet place
the next, both were excellent and the background of the lighted
"Disney looking rocks" up behind the restaurant with the moon coming
up over the harbor is just about all a soul can absorb.
It was a little difficult to leave such an ideal location but it was time to push on so on the morning of July
16 at 09:00 we pulled away from the quay.
We set sail for Kos our next stop. The fifty
miles were uneventful until we were chased down by a frantic guy
in a large fast inflatable. At first we thought it might be
someone we knew from the Millennium Odyssey but as he came up we
realized we did not know him and as he frantically tried to communicate
with us we realized he had a problem, or did we have a problem?
He kept mo
tioning
toward shore and making motions that we needed to follow him.
We got him to tie his dingy to our stern, which he did in a fashion
that made both of us doubt his seamanship and his experience.
The language barrier was big, partly due to the fact that he was
so upset and excited.
We decided to go back to where he indicated and Charlie and
I decided it was probably some type of boat trouble. We did
decide that I should go below and call Hellas Radio and let them
know our position and that we were going to the aid of a boat in
distress. I got Hellas Radio, gave our position and found
that the difficulty was just as se
vere
there; no Greek from me and no English from them. Ah well--we
were on our way, to we knew not what.
Around the point of the island we saw the plight of the frantic fellows boat. It was almost ashore being pounded by what was fortunately an almost calm surf.
I'm sure that when your boat is making contact with rocks on every wave it does get to you. Through sign language we told him we would come in as close as
possible and he should bring a line from his boat to ours. There were three souls aboard, plus one dog. The dog barked. There was Frantic Friend, Old Man and Fat Guy.
Frantic sped to his boat, tied his dingy and went to get
the line started. To reboard his dingy he DIVED into the water.
This made us especially question his judgment remembering
his boat is aground on rocks. He starts the dingy and starts
out to us with the line in hand. As he gets close he cannot
pull the line fast enough so he dives out of his dingy and starts
swim
ming
out toward Sea Gem. He dingy is now unmanned and still running,
fortunately as least he had put it in neutral. It is rare
to be able to catch an inflatable in a wind and we were incredulous
that we were in a situation with The Three Stooges in action.
I threw him a line, took his and told him by signal to go get his
dingy. He did and we were now getting in position to pull
them off the rocks.
Frantic got back aboard and started bringing in the anchor,
which apparently got hung up, so the next thing we know he has cut
his anchor line. I think they were afraid we would go off
and leave them, which, of course, we would not do. The tow line
was cleated to our stern and we eased Sea Gem forward and they pulled
off smooth as silk. 
When we got them out into deeper water both Frantic and Fat Guy
dived into the water so we stpped. Now just Old Man and Dog
are aboard and we were watching to see what would happen next.
They were checking the hull and the next thing we know Frantic is
back in the dingy with Old Man speeding out to us. His dingy
driving should be restricted to five horse power or less but he
had a big Merc on the stern of his. He collides into our side
(thankfully an inflatable) and lo and behold Old Man can speak English.
He asks if we can tow them to a marina as their engines will not
work and they cannot stay where they are for now they have no anchor
and would be right back on the rocks. We tell them, "Of course
we will tow them. They need to change the tow line from the
stern to the bow of their boat". 
They rush around and keep saying, "One minute."
We were not in least impatient and soon they were ready.
The tow was easy, the sea calm, the light still
good and we did not have far to go. When we approached the town. I got out the binoculars and saw there was a quay with some boats tied up also when we got closer we determined there
was a harbor also. We then noticed that the tow line would go slack at times so we knew they had an engine running. We slowed and circled
around to talk again. We told them where we were going to anchor and that we could loan them an anchor for the night if they did not want to go into the dock. They said they only
had one engine but we knew that one would normally be able to safely go into the port with one engine, and we gave them back their line and bade them good-bye. I think they wanted
to stay with us, rafted up, but after watching their antics they were capable of grounding their boat but probably also damaging Sea Gem in a rafting maneuver. A small adventure,
you never know what is around the corner in life.
We are now anchored off Ormos (Bay) Kamaras, on the island of Kos.
This is an action center for water sports but that is a whole new
subject. Until later from the Sea Gem floating in the clear
blue Aegean . . .
We
visited the Monastery of St. John as well as the actual cave where
he received the inspiration for writing the book which continues
to confound both religious scholar and layman. My description
of Patmos is minimal yet I hope to convey that visiting here was
inspirational. The physical beauty of the place with the panoramic
view from the monastery, the cave and chapels so dutifully kept
by the monks,
and the impressive museum are all things
which make Patmos an unforgettable experience.