Kalimnos and Levithia

It was time to drop the mooring lines from Kos Town Harbour and make our way to Kalimnos to meet up again with Reg and Phoebe.  As the winds were not predicted to start until late morning, we took our time getting ready, had one last iced Freddo onshore and motored out of the harbour a bit after 10 am.  

We rounded the headland on the northern tip of Kos and decided to poke our nose into the harbour of Psérimos, a pretty little island just off the coast of Kos.  This tiny island of about 2 by 3 miles in size has only a few houses and is mainly a stop off for day trippers on gulets from Kos.  Now early in the season the harbour looked quite inviting but come July – August it would be quite crowded until late in the afternoon when all the gulets went back to the main island.

The tip of Psérimos with a ferry zooming by - That is Turkey in the background

We continued to motor sail to Vlihadia, a snug harbour on the southern tip of Kalimnos.  There was an empty mooring ball and the smiling welcome of Three Sheets waiting for us.  We moored – so easy – rested and then had a great dinner with our Canadian friends at a nice tavern ashore.

Quiet Vlihadia

Many of these islands are rocks and goats but definitely claimed by Greece

 

It was to be an early start the next morning for our 25 nautical mile passage to Levithia as the winds, although from a good direction, were predicted to get a bit gnarly by about 3pm and we wanted to be tied up in the bullet proof harbour of Levithia before then.  So we left Kalimnos just before 7 am, earmarking the island to return to for further exploration on our trip south in the autumn.  The heavy winds set in a good 3 hours before predicted and we had quite a ride.  There were gust to 30 knots and heavy seas with breaking waves.  I was at the helm for the last half of the passage and it took every ounce of concentration and strength to keep on course.  It was a good experience to know how the boat handled in such conditions but I don't plan to voluntarily go out in those conditions again.  When we arrived in Levithia the harbour was filled with others with similar tales and worse.  At least we had the wind behind us which is more comfortable than beating into the wind as some had done.  That really would have been quite awful.

Bullet proof harbour but waves crashing at the entrance

Lots of whitecaps even after the wind has eased

So after a stiff G & T, lunch and a Nanna nap we were ready to go ashore for dinner.  Levithia is a very special island.  It is inhabited by just one extended family, who do a marvellous job farming the rugged terrain.  This is a rare sight in these islands, most of which are barren, rocky outcrops denuded of trees by the over-grazing of goats and poor land management.  The island is only accessible by private yacht and the family caters for its visitors by providing top class mooring and fantastic home cooked and raised dinners for the yachties – On the menu were goat and lamb that were running around outside the gates.  Grandpa was cooking over a fireplace, the sons were waiting on tables and taking orders and Grandma and daughters were in the kitchen.  During the meal they came out to announce the winds for the next few days for everyone.  There were Finnish, Austrian, Greek, French, Canadian, British, and German sailors represented.   

Kid goats frolicking

Future dinner outside the gates of the taverna

 On the half km walk back to the anchorage after dinner, the full moon came out reflecting the boats lying peacefully at their moorings – Magic.

Full moon over the anchorage

Levithia is another island to which we definitely want to return.  It was a magically little island and we would like to go there again to spend a few restful days walking around and enjoying the hospitality of the family.