1 May 2011

First day at the town was very nice and quiet in contrast to Leros.  Town is a short walk away along a path/dirt road that hugs the shoreline and is the perfect spot to have built a small sewage treatment plant.  As typical with Greece it is not fully finished but functioning at least.  Rare sight in the Med.  Probably built with loans from the EU that were depleted before the job was completed.

Anyway the path takes only a few minutes to reach the town of Pythagorium.  They recently changed the name to honor the geometric hero.  Today the town has a nice partially enclosed harbor that is lined with Tavernas.  Ferries from other islands and Turkey come here and feed the summer tourist trade.  Back a few streets from the water the town has small hotels, some shops and every rental car agency known to me.  Since the island is large there obviously is a large rental car business in the summer.

There are a few old ruins that have been preserved as most of the town is very well kept.  Pleasant place to walk around for an afternoon.  Now in spring the sides of the roads and fields are abloom with wildflowers making it even nicer.

As expected the weather was a little rainy in the morning but cleared in the afternoon for our town visit.  Stopped at the local harbor police to get the transit log stamped as required for foreign flagged boats.  Nice people and finished the process efficiently.  Not sure what they do with all these copies of transit logs and crew lists but they collect them for decades at each port.  Not computerized, all done by hand.

As the afternoon changed to evening the winds have begun to increase offshore and sending in some larger waves.  This will continue for a couple of days with southerly winds so our three day visit may be extended a few days.  Nice to be in a safe calm marina than sitting at anchor in a bay that could turn ugly if the winds veer.  We expect 30+ knot wind gusts during the next few days.  May need to use one of the car  rental agencies to tour the island with the time on hand.

Rocky beach along the path to town.

Lunch being prepared at one of the tavernas.

Tavernas along every step of the waterfront.

Basilica in town

Old restored Lycourgos castle on the cliff above the sea.

Wildflowers at the castle.