boat trip to kos & patmos, greece

When they announced that Turks could travel to Kos & Patmos without a visa for as long as traveled on Greek boats, off I went with a friend.

A friend of mine was about to come and visit me in Turgutreis so I asked her to bring her passport. The day before the trip, we went down to the harbour to book our tickets. We were going to go to Kos and Patmos the next morning.

We’re leaving Bodrum… This is also the time I lost my signal on my phone. Clearly, I have no roaming.

It was a Greek boat (John P.) with entertainment and food. It had a sundeck which we took advantage of.

There was a photographer on the boat as well who took random photos of everyone on the boat to sell them later on. And of course, they were quite expensive. But my friend told me that at the end of the journey, he would be willing to sell them at reduced prices as it is better to get rid of them cheap than not to get single penny. So, we waited…

Kos
We arrived in Kos. Just before we got off the boat, their entertainer was totally flirting with me. I think he mentioned at some point that he would’ve liked to be locked up somewhere with me. I said, “What about my five kids at home?” That made his face fall.

Kos is a small island and my landlady and her family actually live here. On a clear day, I can see the buildings of Kos from my balcony. Here we were photographed after we got off the boat.

Here’s a photo of me (below) at Kos Marina. Having a little bit of tan suits me, don’t you think?

First thing we did in Kos was to find Body Shop as you can’t get that stuff in Turkey. My friend took ages to make decisions and made us lose quite a bit of time there so we didn’t have a chance to see much around the island because of it. I mean, we only had so little time on the actual land anyway because that’s how it works. I mean visiting Greek islands by a Greek boat without a visa.

Photo opportunity although I had to crop the left side as my friend managed to put a darkness to that corner somehow.

We bought some Roman looking sandals from a shop on our way back to the boat. The shopkeeper was fascinated to find out that we were from the ‘other side’. He even shared the news with other Greeks near by.

Back on the boat for more entertainment and food. Now we’re on the way to Patmos.

Patmos
I must admit, Patmos is a lot more beautiful than Kos. It certainly has more charm whereas Kos was bit more commercial for my taste.

The birth of Patmos according to Greek mythology…

According to a legend in Greek mythology, the island’s original name was “Letois”, after the goddess and huntress of deer, Artemis, daughter of Leto. It was believed that Patmos came into existence thanks to her divine intervention.

The myth tells how Patmos existed as an island at the bottom of the sea. Artemis frequently paid visits to Caria, the mainland across the shore from Patmos, where she had a shrine on Mount Latmos. There she met the moon goddess Selene, who cast her light on the ocean, revealing the sunken island of Patmos.

Selene was always trying to get Artemis to bring the sunken island to the surface and hence to life. Selene finally convinced Artemis, who, in turn, gained her brother Apollo’s help to persuade Zeus to allow the island to arise from the sea.

Zeus agreed, and the island emerged from the water. The sun dried up the land and brought life to it. Gradually, inhabitants from the surrounding areas, including Mount Latmos, settled on the island and named it “Letois” in honour of Artemis.

Shopping in Patmos
My friend bought some colourful Greek slippers from a gift shop, whereas I picked up a pair of delicate pearl earrings, but she wanted the same thing. So, they took us to another shop to get one for her, too. They were very helpful and friendly.