Today we got up early for our private boat ride to Patmos- we leave Turkey to go to Greece!!
We passed through customs at the port and boarded a small boat piloted by a captain and his assistant.
On the way to the port our guide informed us the trip will take 4 hours and fortunately the sea was very calm.
The boat was small but clean with one bathroom. No food but I think they had water.
In Turkey we were advised to drink only bottled water.
The ride was smooth and uneventful. Once we arrived around 11:00am and loaded onto a bus which drove us to a nearby bakery where we were allowed to get off and buy some food for lunch to go. We had to get to the Monastery of St. John the Theologian by noon as it closes at noon.
http://www.sacred-destinations.com/greece/patmos-monastery-of-st-john.
Once we reached the monastery we got off and ate our food quickly and then went into the monastery for a tour. We stayed past noon since we got there so late and the guards kept telling our guide to hurry up.
After the tour we were given some free time for the gift shops or coffee shops before we would get on the bus.
We came across the Balcony cafe where we stopped for a coffee and cookies. The coffee shop owner was Demitri/Jimmy who sat down with us and visited with us. He had been in the US and traveled extensively throughout the country. I forgot when he came back to Patmos but think he was in the US for years.
He was a character! Telling jokes and stories in English and Greek. He really made our day.
We got back on the bus to go to the Grotto of the Apocalypse to pray and sing Christos Anesti!
After this we got on the bus and taken to our hotel to check in.
The hotel was small but centrally located with clean rooms and friendly hosts.
We met at 6pm to head to our restaurant for dinner. This was a disaster since whoever scheduled the restaurant picked a Meze place- small plates- and there was not enough small plates for everyone.
We got up and walked to the gyro place and had gyros and fries. It was filling traditional meal.
Headed back to the hotel to get ready for tomorrow- another early day.
We passed through customs at the port and boarded a small boat piloted by a captain and his assistant.
On the way to the port our guide informed us the trip will take 4 hours and fortunately the sea was very calm.
The boat was small but clean with one bathroom. No food but I think they had water.
In Turkey we were advised to drink only bottled water.
The ride was smooth and uneventful. Once we arrived around 11:00am and loaded onto a bus which drove us to a nearby bakery where we were allowed to get off and buy some food for lunch to go. We had to get to the Monastery of St. John the Theologian by noon as it closes at noon.
http://www.sacred-destinations.com/greece/patmos-monastery-of-st-john.
Once we reached the monastery we got off and ate our food quickly and then went into the monastery for a tour. We stayed past noon since we got there so late and the guards kept telling our guide to hurry up.
After the tour we were given some free time for the gift shops or coffee shops before we would get on the bus.
We came across the Balcony cafe where we stopped for a coffee and cookies. The coffee shop owner was Demitri/Jimmy who sat down with us and visited with us. He had been in the US and traveled extensively throughout the country. I forgot when he came back to Patmos but think he was in the US for years.
He was a character! Telling jokes and stories in English and Greek. He really made our day.
We got back on the bus to go to the Grotto of the Apocalypse to pray and sing Christos Anesti!
After this we got on the bus and taken to our hotel to check in.
The hotel was small but centrally located with clean rooms and friendly hosts.
We met at 6pm to head to our restaurant for dinner. This was a disaster since whoever scheduled the restaurant picked a Meze place- small plates- and there was not enough small plates for everyone.
We got up and walked to the gyro place and had gyros and fries. It was filling traditional meal.
Headed back to the hotel to get ready for tomorrow- another early day.
No comments:
Post a Comment