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We
move from island to island by whim, reading ahead in the guide  books
to see what sounds interesting. The capitol of the island,
Nisyros, is Limin Mandraki, but we decided to go into the small
port of Paloi about two miles east of the capitol. Paloi has
a good harbor where you Med. moor or tie stern to the quay (as usual).
The picturesque village hugs the harbor.
We entered the harbor about four-thirty in the afternoon, dropped the anchor and prepared to back into an empty place on
the quay. A German fellow comes running to the bow of his boat yelling, "What are you doing? What are you doing? Go
away." Of course that in itself is unnerving, along with the stiff cross-wind Charlie was fighting, but we backed in while everyone watched. The German's wife was on the quay and I asked her to take a
line. She missed catching it four times, all the while telling me she wanted the other line. Finally we secured the boat with many fenders and a little stomping around from our neighbor who seemed to
want the whole dock for himself. Later another boat came into a space on the other side of us so narrow it seemed impossible but he did it slick as a whistle. Nothing like practice to learn a
maneuver. Sometimes people are very helpful, sometimes they just watch. With just the two of us on the boat this "Med. mooring" with the stern to the dock, is a challenging exercise in a 25 knot
crosswind. Someone has to be on the bow, letting out the anchor chain, someone on the wheel backing the boat in, and someone on the stern handling the lines. Hard to accomplish with two
aboard, but with enough planning ahead, so far so good.
The island of Nisyros is a volcanic crater sticking
up out of the sea. No more than 1,200 people live on the island
and most live in Mandraki. The capital is below the imposing
 monastery
of Our Lady Spiliani (built in 1600) which stands  high
over the town and is well worth the climb, not only to see the monastery,
but to see the view from the monastery. We were, as usual, looking
for an internet connection and the gentleman staffing the monastery
gift shop told us of the three computers on the island and even
tried to call the people who owned them to make an appointment for
us to go use one. He also gave us his home phone number to
see if he could later make some arrangements. It is amazing
how many people go out of their way to help a stranger. We
have found the Greeks to be extremely friendly, ready to help, and
also very giving. Nick, the restaurant owner on Karpathos,
sent us away laden with home made cheese and bread.
We wanted to explore the island and the best and
easiest way is to rent a scooter. Now riding on the back of
a motor scooter up and down a volcano
is not exactly a stroll in the park but we had the scooter for two
days and I think we covered most of the roads on the island.
Actually, Charlie did not terrorize me, the approaching busses did,
especially around curves with loose rocks on the road. I have
found an excellent speed control. I ride with my arms wrapped
around him, fingers dug into his abdomen. If more control
is necessary I just insert my little finger nail into his navel.
If I had longer fingernails that would be even more effective-and
I'm working on it.
Paloi is a pretty village and as we
walked down the street and peeked into the church window a man yelled
and asked us if we wanted to see inside the church, then motioned
where to go to ask to have it opened for us. We did, and a
young woman from Switzerland accompanied us into another beautiful
and very ornate Greek church. All over the islands are not only
churches but chapels built to celebrate a saint. Each is lovely,
usually white, with the rounded domed roof and trimmed with a bright
color. Each seems maintained so whatever the system, it seems
to work.
Nisyros is a good island on which to ride a scooter
for the traffic is almost non-existent and most
of it consists of other scooters. There are a few busses and trucks,
very few cars and so far most locals seem to want to preserve tourists.
The roads traverse difficult terrain and guard rails non-existent.
The mountains are steep and in the old cities and towns the alleys
are just wide enough for a scooter to pass. We were so fascinated
by the narrow alleys of Mandraki that we went back the second time
just so that I could video the ride through. I am afraid it
will  be reminiscent
of "Blair Witch" but worse, with me holding the camera, in constant
fear of my knees getting clipped by nearby walls.
On Sunday we rode up to the top of the volcano.
 We
opted not to climb down into the still hot caldera. You know,
there are some things I just don't have to do. We took lots
of pictures of the huge caldera where steam still escapes and emits
the familiar sulfurous odor. We then took off and rode up
to the little village of Nikia where we parked the scooter and walked
into the village following our noses to where a man was barbecuing
chickens on a spit. We chose that place for lunch. While we
were there the fish delivery man arrived on his scooter with the
"catch of the day" and the menu expanded. We had the chicken,
a Greek salad, of course, and some tzadziki, the cucumber, yogurt
and garlic combination which is so good on bread. Olive oil is usually
on the table, as is vinegar, salt and pepper. The flatware
is brought in the bread basket along with the napkins. Most
restaurants invite you
into the kitchen to see what they have and show you how fresh the
ingredients are and where they are kept. Most menus are limited
and everything is fresh. Informality and friendliness are
pervasive here in the Greek Islands and most people are anxious
to strike up a conversation.
June 26 we left Nisyros bound for Kos and anchored off Kamari.
We had made contact with our friends Don and Lois Babson aboard
Que Sera Sera by Immarsat e-mail on the boat. Instead of staying
and exploring Kos we arranged to rendezvous with them midway
on the island of Astipalaia. Our trip from Kos to Astipalaia
was unusual as the fog closed in completely and we motored
into a headwind depending on radar to be our "eyes." The weather
here is so different from what we are accustomed. There are
few clouds, yet the winds can  be
very strong. We have not had rain for months, in fact I cannot
remember the last time we saw rain. Water is a precious commodity,
and just a couple of days ago our big water-maker blew a high pressure
fitting. I'm sure glad we have the 12 volt "Little Wonder"
back-up water maker. If this trip has emphasized one thing
to us it is the value of fresh water in the world. There is
precious little, and it is precious. The Greek Islands are
so dry yet they manage to raise some delicious ve getables
and fruit. Each plant must be irrigated and seldom do you
see anything growing that is not carefully tended. The brilliant
flowers that grace so many homes and businesses are nurtured carefully
and the vibrant purples, reds and pinks of bougainvillea and oleander
offer slashes of color against stark white walls and flawless blue
skies. Radiant light bathes everything giving intense contrast
between the deep blue of the sea, the craggy roughness of the land
and the brilliant white of almost every structure. We have
wondered about the whitewash concession in the Greek Islands.
The blue and white of the Greek flag is carried by so many buildings
it would seem to be almost an edict. 
We spent two lovely days with Don and Lois exploring Astipalaia on motor scooters. We rode out of town to explore the
countryside, stopped to have coffee and cold drinks at a sea side taverna, and ate in several different restaurants. We were disappointed that "The Lonely Planet Guide" did not offer good
suggestions for dining but we found a lovely restaurant where we overlooked the anchorage and had two lovely meals. We had dinner one evening on Que Sera and Lois outdid herself giving us
a beautiful meal in relaxed surroundings. They came to our boat one evening for dessert and a movie, the Bernini, "Its a Beautiful Life". We feel that is one of the "must see" movies of current
time and we enjoy showing it to friends.
Astipalaia has an unusual mascot, a white pelican that was blown
in one day and has just stayed. The fishermen feed him well and
he is friendly and totally tame. We took a lot of pictures
of him and only wished we
had a fish to offer him.
One of the spectacular sights on Astipalaia is the fort, citadel and church crowning the peak overlooking the harbor. Old windmills stand as photo op.'s for tourists now, where once their existence
was not esthetic but practical. When you walk through the narrow alley ways of a Greek village you are within arms touch of peoples homes. |
Many times someone will step out and point you in the right direction
to the next attraction with a smiling face. The amount of whitewash
on the walls is contrasted sharply with the old ladies in  black. They are so in
character of everything you have ever seen about Greece that you
wonder if you have just stepped into a stage setting. Another
thing very Greek are cats every where. We have seldom eaten
that we haven't attracted a least one cat. Maybe they have
a system between the cats that identifies a soft touch. They
put a mark on us like the hobos marked a soft touch along the railroad
tracks of long ago.
After seeing the sights on Astipalaia we raised our anchors and sailed over to
Anafi. Anafi has a lot of nice beaches, a town a 30 minute
hard climb from the harbor and several small tavernas along the
harbor within walking distance. There are a lot of campers
on the island and we saw one fellow that looked like he had been
"beamed up" straight from Woodstock. Starting with tangled
blond grey dreadlocks, blood shot eyes and sunken cheeks his bare
skinny chest and shoulders were covered by a sheer scarf tied Captain
Marvel style around his neck. On the back of the "cape" was,
I kid you not, a peace symbol. His pants were tights which
went to mid calf and the feet, of course, were bare. It was
like viewing someone out of a time capsule. Time may not have
changed FOR him, but time HAD changed him. The picture, although
comic, was pitifully tragic, a sad illustration of too many bad
trips looking for an unreachable Nirvana, out there somewhere. .
.just beyond reach.
July 1, 2000 -We bid Don and Lois good-bye last night and
got up and saw them off this morning with Charlie playing "Romanza"
by Andrea Bocelli over the loudspeaker. This music has become
somewhat a theme of our Millennium Odyssey boats since Alfredo introduced
it over VHF many months ago. 
Charlie and I are again on our own, headed toward Santorini, again, where we know there are Internet Cafes where we can pick up our e-mail and send in our logs. It has been awhile
since we have had any contact and we miss hearing from home. Almost to Santorini, until later from Sea Gem. . . |
