Kalymnos

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Monday 20th June, 2011 cont'd

We went out for some dinner at 8 o'clock and went straight across to the restaurant Panos Mitilinios. We had a Greek salad to start then kalamari and spaghetti bolognaise, which was all very nice and good portions. We had a 250 ml carafe of wine, coke light and a big bottle of water. We were given repeat drinks on the house and free desserts. The bill came to €20.00, so we left a good tip. I for one was stuffed.

We then took a walk in the other direction from earlier to get an idea of where the ferry is to the adjacent island of Telendos, which is on the to do list. The ferries are maybe 15 minutes away so we turned round and back to the room. A very warm evening as well as a hot day.

Tuesday 21st June 2011

We had a very slow start to the day and finally left the room at sometime after 12 o'clock and headed for the Telendos ferry.

The ferry was every half hour and we caught the one o'clock. The journey across only takes a very short while and we were on a little boat called Eirini.

As we had had no breakfast we headed straight for the restaurant on the quayside. After some drinks we then ordered food and more drinks. We had a pork chop and pork souvlaki. Very hospitable and not a rip off price either.

Then a walk in one direction along the coast, passing ruins of ancient Christian basilicas and ancient Roman baths.

We found Paradise Beach, turned back and returned through the village to go in the other direction.

Then across the island to the other beach and more ancient ruins of a church an early Christian necropolis. Through the island's current cemetery and then back on the ferry at about 5 o'clock across to Myrities.

We stopped at the Aegean restaurant for drinks overlooking the beach and popped into a supermarket for bits and pieces then returned to the room.

We had a further lazy afternoon and did some research on our next destination. Our thoughts are with Rhodes, there are some islands in between here and there, but we have decided to skip the ones we haven't visited on previous holidays.

After showering we went back to the restaurant opposite for a drink because it has free wifi.

The hotel is supposed to have wifi avialable in every room which is why we booked, however it doesn't reach our room and when we asked about it they really didn't care and said it works on the balcony, which it doesn't. There isn't a reception area to the hotel so the solution is to sit on the stairs surfing or go to the nice restaurant next door!

As an aside on the restaurant menu board for tonight was "Octopus Balls €5.50", I'm not sure quite what to say about that, number of things went through my mind, but it did make me smile and I suppose that's a good price?

Anyway we have booked a hotel in Rhodes, so that is that. Tomorrow we will go to a ticket agency and book a ferry.

After our drink we ambled further along the road in the other direction looking in shops and so on. We returned to the room at 11 o'clock.

A further couple of observations, one being that the main road along this part of the coast is one way for quite some distance. It is a narrow road and with the tourists wandering all over the place this is a very good idea. There is another road further up the mountain which acts as the other lane.

However being one way doesn't take into account tourists in hire cars which you occasionally see going the wrong way. Nor does it take into account the Greeks who don't follow any rules even on a good day. Also motorbikes, which obviously don't count in any traffic regulations, are also often seen travelling in the wrong direction and I have seen a car reversing for a distance. So having said it is a good idea, you still have to watch for traffic in both directions.

The other observation is for information about Kalymnos. We have discovered that there is a lot of rock climbing here - that tells you about the terrain by the way - and there are shops that sell and rent all the gear.

I haven't as yet given any of my thoughts on our last island of Patmos. It is a small island and we certainly enjoyed our few days there. Pat describes it as a real place, which is true. There is a lot about the island that relates to the St. John side of things, but it doesn't lose anything because of it.

There are plenty of restaurants and there was enough to keep us amused for a few days. As a holiday destination looking for the quieter side of life then this is your place. Although Antiparos is even better, but you would run out of things to do fast if you were looking for more.

Wednesday 22nd June, 2011

We had an earlier start to the day and were on our way out by 10 o'clock.

The tour/travel agent was open and we popped in to see about a ferry ticket booking to Rhodes. They were very helpful but don't do ferry bookings, even though the sign says they do.

It was time for some breakfast so on the other side of the road was Sunrise where we had coffee the other day and they did various types of breakfast. We had two English breakfasts and a big bottle of water. The breakfast was priced at €7 each and the total bill came to €13, so work that one out.

We then walked further along the coast and caught sight of some rock climbers on the mountains behind us as we walked along. Fascinating and frightening at the same time. After the amble we returned to the room at 1 o'clock and changed for visit to the beach.

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Photos

Telendos
The view from our balcony