We got an early ferry back to Ios from Santorini. George was there with a warm welcome when we docked. We had reached the point in our trip where we had to start thinking about getting our guests to where they needed to be for their return trips home. Our next destination was going to be a long haul; so, we decided to get a head start by heading from the northern part of Ios to an anchorage at Maganari on the southern end of the island.
From Maganari we had a two-hour headstart for the passage to Astipalaia. We had a beautiful eight-hour motor-sail. The winds were moderate and consistent. We saw a large and very playful pod of dolphins, they swam with us for a while (sorry, I was too excited to get pictures). The small hidden anchorage at Pethi, Astipalaia is pretty much the opposite of the hopping Santorini we felt only a couple days ago.
We had an early start from Astipalaia, we departed for Kos just after sunrise. It was a stunningly still day. It was so calm, the water looked like oil for much of the seven-hour trip.
Kos is very close to Bodrum, Turkey (a 20 or 30 minute ferry ride). We met Doug in Bodrum and that is where he started his journey home. In the meantime, we had a few days to explore Kos.
We stayed at the Kos Marina which was very convenient and pleasant. We rented bikes for a couple of days which gave us the chance to see much of the island.
Doug left us at Kos. We had about a week before Dolce Farr Niente would exit Greece. Mike and Linda had plans to leave via Rhodes and Athens. Our plan was to make our way to Symi where they could catch a ferry to Rhodes and we could easily make our exit from Greece for the return to Turkiye. We would make one stop on route to Symi at Tilos.
We docked at the town quay at Tilos. Tilos is a small island and it felt like it had been hit hard by the past two or three years of reduced travel. Still in all, there were travellers there now… …old people with their walking sticks and fellow cruisers. We hopped on the local bus and had a full tour of the island and later had a swim at the beach at the resort just beside the town. We spent two nights on Tilos. The first night a tremendous thunderstorm rolled through, the rain gave DFN a much-needed shower.
Symi is beautiful and different from the other islands we visited this trip. We were excited to return there with Mike and Linda. We had a calm day for the trip, about 10 knots of wind. We arrived at Symi Harbour via the “shortcut” between Nimos and Symi which is very narrow and just over four metres deep in parts. DFN draws nearly three metres, we had Mike on foredeck watching the bottom (and counting starfish LOL)!
Symi Harbour is the main town and where all the action happens. We did a tour through there before going around the corner to Pedi to anchor. Pedi is equally beautiful; but, much less busy.
We had five nights in Pedi, some at anchor and one or two at the Pedi Marina. The town of Symi is an easy bus trip which we did several times; but, Pedi has everything one needs… …a taverna, decent provisions and most of all it is perfect for swimming. We had a dinghy trip to one of the local beaches and a few card games (the “Dolls” still rule).
Before saying farewell to Greece and to Mike and Linda, we had early birthday supper for me. Thanks to Linda for my favorite (and everyone’s favorite boat dinner) spaghetti.
