Today we arrived at Patmos. We have never visited this Greek island before. The port has strict rules about allowing cruise ships to dock in high winds. The captain cautioned yesterday that high winds were predicted and we might have to anchor and tender in. When I stepped onto the veranda this morning our lines were being made fast to cleats on the pier. We were docking.
Patmos is very hilly. Most of the buildings are located near the shore on more level but still hilly land.
Alice and I set out on our walk just before 9:00. We were all alone. Most passengers were taking tours. Because of this terrain the tours were considered strenuous. Alice’s plantar fasciitis caused us to forego these. Walking on level surfaces was more manageable for us.
The primary road follows the coast. As we walked along it we noticed shops that were not open yet. We admired hotels and ventured up some side paths to try to get a feel for what living here might be like. We decided that the steep paths and many flights of stairs accounted for the good physical condition of the residents.
When we reached the ferry terminal we started back toward the port. The shops were now opened. Two things surprised us. One was how many shops there were. The other was how high the prices were. Some of these prices could rival those on Mykonos.
We did enjoy window shopping at the jewelry stores. We found a small toy store that had a large selection of wooden children’s toys. Many were classics that we bought for Sean in the 70’s. They were reasonably priced.
In one store we found leather necklaces in nice colors and styles. They had pieces of leather cut in interesting shapes and threaded together. I thought it would be nice to get one for Alice until we were told it was $170. Really! $50 would have been a good price.
As we walked the streets we heard kids playing. We turned up a side road and found a school with a yard full of kids playing.
Just before we got back to the port we found the tourist information office. They gave us a wealth of free publications and some interesting insights into life on Patmos.
We were back in our stateroom at 1:00 after 4 hours and a 3 mile walk. All that shopping slowed us down. We did spend a total of 6 euros on postcards and a neat card that we will give to Sean.
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