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Published: November 5th 2010
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Villa Knossos Patmos Island
My lovely studio rental in Patmos I arrived in Patmos at 11:00 at night and the owner of my hotel, Villa Knossos, met me at the harbour and we drove to the hotel. And guess what? Yep. I had another studio apartment all to myself! It was beautiful! I paid 30 euros a night for this luxury and it was totally worth it. There was even some tea and coffee and water and a coke waiting for me. The teacher next door had rented his studio for the winter while he was teaching and he had adopted a cat who came to visit me every day and I broke down and let him come in, even though I wasn't supposed to. I made him stay in my lap and he had no problem with that. I really wanted to take him with me, but alas, that was not possible.
The next day I slept in a bit and then took a walk around Skala, but there really isn't much to see. Patmos would be great in summer when the beaches and all the shops are open, but Skala is small and many shops were closed for winter already, although there were plenty of great cafes and
restaurants still open. This day was cloudy and rainy, so I ended up going back to my hotel and relaxing and watching TV with the cat.
The 28th of October is a national holiday in Greece that, if I understand correctly, celebrates the first day of the invasion of Italy. I know that eventually Italy was pushed out, but it seems like a strange thing to celebrate. Maybe celebration is the wrong word. Maybe it just a remembrance. I visited St. John's Monastery and the Monastery of the Apocalypse where St. John wrote the book of Revelations. I went to the cave where he supposedly did the actual writing and it is set up like a small church and altar. The room surrounding it are not open for tourists. I think maybe some priests still live there. I took the old Byzantine footpath to both monasteries and the walk was lovely.
Next I continued up past a school to St. John's Monastery which is quite impressive from the outside and can be seen from pretty much everywhere in Skala since it is at the top of the highest hill. It actually looks like a fortress from the outside.
When I got to the monastery all the school children were just leaving to prepare for the parade through the town. Lucky for me. I was pretty much the only tourist inside and the museum opened just as I reached the entrance. The museum has a very impressive collection of art, manuscripts, and religious artifacts going back several centuries. It is really worth the 6 euros, especially since I could take my time. I really was the only person in the entire museum! The monastery itself is also impressive and many priests seem to live there, so their rooms are closed, of course. But you can still see a good deal of the monastery, especially the frescoes that are painted on the ceiling to the left of the courtyard. Very impressive.
As I left a big storm appeared to be brewing so I hustled down the hill back to town and got inside an internet cafe just before the skies opened up and it began to rain. I just relaxed the rest of the day, again with the cat, and packed my things to head to Samos the next day. I was only going to Samos because I needed
My Little Friend
who kept me company on Patmos. He was so healthy and clean and very friendly. I wanted to keep him, and I've never wanted a cat before! the ferry back to Kuşadası in Turkey.
Samos is a big island and very touristy because a lot of people come there just for the day from Turkey. I ended up having to spend the night there because there were no ferries leaving on the afternoon of myarrival. I just walked around, did a bit of shopping and reading and eating, and was just impatient to get back to Turkey.
I had a great time in Greece sightseeing and eating the lovely food and just relaxing, even though I didn't go to the beach. I saw some beautiful sights and towns and of course, was not disappointed by Europe. I never am.
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