Nisyros

Unfortunately the wind was on the nose again for our passage to the beautiful island of Nisyros so we motored most of the way. We headed for the small port of Palon as this has good shelter and we were expecting some strong North Westerly winds. The port has been changed recently and unfortunately the charts haven’t been updated! Luckily we managed to negotiate our way in successfully, although I wouldn’t have liked to do it in the dark.

Palon is another delightful place with a couple of shops and a number of tavernas. We were greeted by the friendly port policeman who was very efficient at taking our money! There is electric and water laid on the quayside and Justin managed to do a deal with the lady concessionaire for €5 for three nights (normally €5 per night).

We hired a motorbike for the day and went up into the volcano which dominates the island. In a small village half way up there is a tiny sauna built into the rock just off the main road. It is is very hot inside and completely heated by the volcano – amazing!

After a brief stop, we carried up the very windy road to the crater. What a view from the rim – simply spectacular! We rode down into the crater and stopped at the deserted visitor centre and walked up the track to have a look at three smaller craters. It was very smelly and clearly still active with steam etc. bubbling from various cracks and crevices in the rock.

         

We then visited the main town on the island and had lunch in a small taverna overlooking the sea. What a brilliant fun day!

When we returned to the port, our friends Bill and Janet  were just arriving on their yacht Halcyon Daze and we managed to persuade them to join us for Gin and Tonics – another great fun evening!

         

The wind had died a lot during the night so we decided to get up early and head for Symi…

Kos

Following the trials of Kalymnos, we were very pleased to leave in the sunshine and head towards the island of Kos.

There are two possible moorings in Kos, one is the posh marina and the other is the town quay, which is also administered by the marina. We decided to try for the town quay although the pilot book says that it is often very difficult to find a berth. We were lucky with only a few yachts moored in the spectacular setting underneath the walls of a castle.

We had a fabulous afternoon and evening in the sunshine, enjoying the delights of the town. The marina manager was a real character and took great delight in taking our money – the most expensive mooring so far at 21.50€ for the night. Money well spent though with electric and water laid on. We took the opportunity to flush the aft tank which we had inadvertently filled with very brackish water at Kalymnos.

   

We left quite  early the following morning heading for the island of Nysiros and were only a couple of miles out of the town when we were joined by a pod of the biggest dolphins we have ever seen! Some of them were really showing off, jumping more than 30 feet clear out of the water – it is always a very special thing to see dolphins in the wild, but this really was the best yet! Helen managed to get some photos… Brilliant!!

 

Kalymnos

The weather was due to change and strong southerlies were forecast the following day so we made for the town of Kalymnos which was a ‘safe’ port with reasonable shelter at all times, according to the pilot book! Unfortunately the ‘safe’ area of the port had been completely taken over by hundreds of small local fishing boats. A new quay has been built for visiting yachts, but unfortunately it faces the opening of the harbour which is due south allowing southerly winds and the associated seas straight in making the mooring untenable for yachts.

We were fine for the first night with light winds but the following morning, the winds started to blow and the swell increased dramatically. The local boats started to up anchor and move so we decided to do the same and try and find some shelter elsewhere in the port. One of the locals suggested we go and moor under the harbour wall in the commercial docks, which we consequently did, going alongside the quay in the company of two large fishing boats, a ferry and a very large cargo ship. We were somewhat dwarfed but luckily the wind was holding us off the quay avoiding any damage – uncomfortable but safe. Another English couple, Bill and Janet, on their yacht ‘Halcyon Daze’ were also struggling to find a suitable mooring and had already been moved on twice by the port police. They came alongside and we all sat it out overnight, with high winds, heavy rain and big seas crashing over the harbour wall, directly onto our boats! Not a pleasant night, particularly as the port police came and told us to move on as he had a large fishing boat due on that mooring! Luckily after some careful negotiation, we were given permission to stay – whew! Helen says that she would rather have gone to prison than move! We all kept our heads down when the trawler eventually arrived and tried to get into our spot.. very tense!

The following day, the winds subsided, the rain stopped and the sun came out – amazing what a few hours can do. The winds changed direction and the seas calmed completely allowing us to leave the docks and return to the visitors moorings.

That evening we joined Bill and Janet on their boat for a couple of stiff gin and tonics. After a much calmer night, we left in brilliant sunshine, light winds and calm seas, heading for the town of Kos. I am not sure we will be returning to Kalymnos in a hurry!…