Marilyn's Odyssey: Patmos and Santorini

Patmos is a World Heritage Site and is known world wide as the sacred island. Our first visit via a scenic route along the coast was to the Grotto of St John which is a simple cave where he is said to have spent 16 months in exile and where he wrote the Book of Revelations. The cave now has a small chapel attached and is a place of pilgrimage. As a mass was being conducted when we arrived we elected to return later in the day which turned out perfectly as we were the only six in the cave and we were able to sit and just soak up the atmosphere. It was a very special feeling that I am not able to put into words. We also visited the Monastry of St John built in the 10th century which has a very impressive collection of jeweled chalices,crowns and crosses icons, religious paintings and old manuscripts. In the charming hilltop town of Simtra we visited an old Greek home which has been in the same family for eight generations and met the spunky 93year old owner. We completed our visit here with a lunch at a family run Taverna where we were entertained by the Greek dancing of two of the brothers.

Approaching Santorini early in the morning one cannot help but be impressed with the towering cliffs topped with white houses spilling down from the top. Our first visit was to the scenic town of Oia which is what everyone thinks of when they think of Greece with whitewashed houses and blue domes draped over a steep slope at he top of a steep cliff. Each building runs into the next giving you the feeling that they are all connected in some way. Narrow walkways take you from one to the next. At the top of the cliff are winding little lanes lined with shops and restaurants with breathtaking views over the ocean and surrounding islands. We arrived early in the morning which was perfect because the town soon turned into perfect bedlam with wall to wall people. We visited three wineries on the island which was interesting as their vineyards are all in volcanic ash and the vines are kept small and cylinder like to keep in any moisture that might occur in this very dry climate. The wines were passable with their most notable being the Vinsanto which is a desert wine. It was a fun couple of hours but we will not we in search of these wines to drink in he future. A visit to Fira revealed another whitewashed town tumbling down the hillside. Makes one wonder what would happen if there was an earthquake and one started to slide. A long pathway leads up from the port and you can take donkeys or ride the cable cars. After a delicious lunch with a panoramic view we chose to ride the cable cars down as the thought of sliding over the donkeys head was not appealing. A beautiful island but with the overwhelming crowds a short visit was enough for us.

The picturesque harbor town of Patmos

Courtyard of the Monastry of St Johns

Being entertained while we enjoyed lunch at a small family taverna. Grandpa was sitting at the bar with one of these gentlemens sons on his knee. Three generations at least.

A store front on the street of Patmos

Arriving in Santorini as the sun was coming up. Looked like snow on a mountain from a distance.

The picturesque town of Oia.

Buildings were built right into the rocks. The dome shaped roofs were used for water collection as this is such a dry island.

Still the occasional old windmill survives to add to the quaint beauty of this island

A very unique looking book store.

Oia carries on up th hill as well

A charming private back patio

The narrow streets of Oia before the hordes descended

A happy interloper

A visit to a wine museum had this myth which I thought was quite lovely

Believe it or not this is a vineyard. The vines are planted in volcanic ash and are kept low and cylinder shape to retain moisture. They are only watered for the first two years and then they are left on their own in this very dry climate.