Kos Island

Serafina
Rob & Sarah Bell
Thu 3 Sep 2009 15:40
36:53.7N 27:17.3E

Wednesday 2nd September

Heading for Kos today and have been warned that we need to be there early to
get a spot on the quay, so we retrieved our anchor from its totally buried
state in the sea bed (it was burrowing its way to Australia) and set off
into a flat sea and light wind. Bit of a false dawn as in no time at all we
were rolling in a very lumpy sea with a fresh 15 knots of breeze. Shot over
to Kos, barely giving Sarah time to swap the courtesy flags over as we
changed country (and continent) again!

Kos is a very well protected harbour and you enter through a very narrow gap
which takes you behind the big castle that guards the town. This is by far
the busiest place we have been to probably since Palma, Mallorca and it is
packed with big tripper boats and endless ferries and hordes of tourists,
but very few moorings for visiting boats as there is a large (expensive)
marina just half a mile away.

In my defence it must be said that there really was only one free slot when
we arrived and it was a complete coincidence that this was alongside Souris
Rose. (David & Jill). We backed in and tied up and were immediately invited
over. I mentioned that we had at least just had a week of detox to which
David replied that such a thought had never crossed his mind!

Kos is a very pretty place and it is clean and very well organised with real
cycle routes etc. But it caters solely to the trippers and there are no food
shops to be found within a mile of the harbour. Just bars and bars and
restaurants and bars and ....yes, not one but TWO McDonalds!

Cycled over to the marina to check it out for another time and also look
round the chandlery (it a bloke thing) while Sarah inspected (and used) the
showers and toilets there. Cycling is very much encouraged here and lots of
the boats have unearthed their folding bikes (mostly Bromptons) and I think
that we might have to organise the Kos Brompton challenge Race at some
point.

Went out to a restaurant for dinner with David and Jill which was very nice
indeed although the portions were huge. Clearly it caters for the majority
of the tourists wandering the streets here who are not exactly
undernourished.

Had a bit of a moan at the charter guests and crew of the big gin palace
moored on the other side of us as they had their generators still running
when we went to bed. Turns out that they are going to run them all night as
they cannot get enough power from the shore line. Oh joy, how nice it is to
be in a harbour again.