Circular tour

We have had a week going round in a circle, from Lipsi to Patmos to Arki and back to Lipsi, with strong winds, force 4-6, all week. The internet seems to have collapsed in this part of the Dodecanese. Apparently Cosmote had a special offer for August which led to a big increase in usage which has overloaded the system.

We left Lipsi on Friday 10^th of August and had a windy reach motor-sailing up to Patmos,

where we anchored in a bay behind the small island of Agios Georgios, North-east of Patmos town, where we swam, canoed and chilled.

Kai dived off the back of the boat,

but chickened out of his dives from the bow.

On Saturday morning we moved to the noisy, busy quay in Patmos town.

Becky, Andrew, Kai and Charlie went to the hotel swimming pool.

On Sunday morning Kai and Andrew went up to the monastery,

where Kai lit candles for everybody he knew.

On the way down they went to the cave of the apocalypse, where St John had his revelation, and as soon as they came back we set off for another fast, windy motor-sail across to Arki.

Andrew, Becky and Charlie took the kayak to a lovely little beach in the harbour – sand, shallow, warm and nowhere for Charlie to run away to.

Kai met his Belgian friend Elliot, from last year, and spent the time cycling and playing football, while we all enjoyed Nikolas’s food in his taverna.

Charlie loves tsatsiki!

And he loves Nesquick cereal for breakfast.

 And Kai loves chocolate cake for breakfast, lunch and tea.

We stayed three days in Arki and on Tuesday motored the mile across to Marathi, where we picked up a mooring.

The mooring rope creaked all night so that Andrew hardly slept, while the wind howled all night so that Becky hardly slept, up in the cockpit with Kai. We set off early on Wednesday morning and motor-sailed round Lipsi, being buzzed by the Flying Dolphin,

to come onto the quay in Lipsi town.

That evening there was live music in Manolis’s taverna, and in a taverna in the harbour. We had dinner in Manolis’s,

where Kai loved the cheese soufflé

and Charlie gobbled up the tsatsiki. 

Charlie fell in love with a little Italian girl, who danced with him.

 While we all went home, Kai settled in to dance all night – putting on a solo performance in Manolis’s, then joining the dancing in the tavern on the harbour. He eventually was dragged to bed at midnight, but the deafening music kept going until just before 6 am, so the rest of us had little sleep.