36:53.84N 27:17.97E Kos
Wednesday 18th
September, 2013.
We had a frustrating sail down from Kalymnos as one minute there was a breeze next it went to nothing so in the end we had to motor half the distance. We had tied up in the marina when we heard one of our rally members had gone aground off the headland before Kos harbour bay well marked on the charts. Another member tried to pull him of and the coast guard was called which for Captain Ginger turned into a nightmare.
He had registered his two year old boat in Croatia this year as they were offering 5% VAT (to boats which had purchased without paying VAT) before joining the EC and he had taken up the option as he said it saved him £10,000. The coast guard took away his boat papers and wanted a surveyor and diver to give reports but first he had to contact the Croatian authorities for their permission for the boat to be inspected. Thank goodness once all the paper work was done after the authority came through from Croatia for the diver to inspect and the surveyor wrote his report he was given back his papers and allowed to go on his way being 300 Euros poorer.
We had our farewell party at a taverna on the beach and said good bye to those who were leaving the next day. A great end to a super rally organised by Richard and Barbara Heywood.
We hired a car on Tuesday with Frank and Sue and had a fabulous day exploring the island. Frank drove us to the other end of the island to Kefalos and we were able to see across to the islands of Yiali, Astipalaia (birthplace of Hippocrates) and the Turkish coast and from up in the mountains we were able to look down on the beaches such as Paradise Beach thought to be one of the best beaches in Kos. The mountainous region is known for its thyme, honey and cheeses which are sold in the local shops. After coffee we climbed up to the ruined castle of the Knights of St. John who ruled from 1315 which is supposed to be the lair of a dragon. According to legend Hippocrates daughter was transformed into a dragon by Artemis and awaits the kiss of a knight to resume human form. Unfortunately, it was a little dilapidated for her to be still waiting.
We climbed up to the deserted Byzantine town of Palaio Pyli which is perched on a huge crag two miles above the farming village of Pyli with the remains of the castle walls built into the rock. It is where the Blessed Christodoulos built the 11th century church of Ypapandis which means Presentation of Jesus before he went to Patmos. We drove through the Asfendiou villages of Asomatos, Lagoidi and Zia where we had lunch overlooking the mountains and wonderful sea views out to Kalymnos.
We had to drive through Kos town in order to follow the road to Thermes where Frank and I took a dip in the hot springs. There are rocks surrounding the pool with the sea splashing into the pool but the springs were bubbling and releasing hot gases into the pool and it was certainly very hot with the added smell of sulphur. It was worth the track down the mountain and along the beach to experience the hot springs. Donkeys take the lazes up and down the track to the beach. Quite an experience!