A most charming island - Patmos

We did not book ahead for any tours on Patmos partly because they were over-the-top expensive but mainly because we thought we might need to give ourselves a break.  This would be the 8th day of our trip and we would have been sightseeing every day for a week.   By the time we did get to Patmos, we were very glad we made that decision earlier because we were more than a little tired and really needed a day off to recuperate.  But of course we couldn't come to the doorstep and not enter, if just for a look around.

After a leisurely breakfast, we took the tender in to Patmos and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves just strolling through the little town, wandering into stores at whim, chatting with a shopkeeper from Cuba (his sesame seed crunch was delicious!),  and dawdling around watching the cats. The houses were charming with colourful windows and trims.  What I enjoyed most was the lack of crowds and the ability to stand back and soak in the atmosphere.

A young lady approached us when she noticed us making a fuss of two cats by the waterfront.  She too was a cat lover and told us about this beautiful view that she just came upon.  She showed us the panoramic photo of Patmos on her camera and even offered to show us the way up to the little chapel up on the hill.  We thanked her and told her we could find our own way, which we did, with several wrong turns and sign language from a local who must have been used to tourists stumbling into her backyard.  It was quite an adventure for us to go up the narrow stepped footpath to the little chapel which was closed - but the view from its terrace was stunning.

Patmos was also known for St. John's Cave (now a chapel) which was supposedly where John had the Revelation.  We didn't visit as it was quite a distance up and not one of the twelve taxis on the island were around to offer us a ride.  We have reached what I consider to be that "mature" stage of life where we accept that we could not see everything there is to see in the world and happily resigned ourselves to a more leisurely way of enjoying the island.

The main square in Patmos

A local goods store we visited - great sesame crisps!

Gorgeous bourgainvillea

Twin-domed church 

Neat hotel!

It was just a 15 minute walk to the other side of the island with a pebbly beach

Idyllic life - fishing on the waterfront

NIce house by the waterfront

We climbed up to the little chapel at the top of this hill 

Huge cactus on both sides of the stepped path up to the top of the hill

Steps up to the chapel 

The chapel 

Patmos panorama - you can see both sides of the island from the terrace

It's nice to be a Patmos cat...