Rocky Halki and Abandoned Alimia

Ever since Three Sheets told us about the islands of Halki/Chalki/Khalki (Greek spelling doesn’t always translate consistently) and Alimia off the west coast of Rhodes I have wanted to visti.  So to fill in a few more days in Greece before going to Turkey, we headed to these islands.  We had a very pleasant, easy motor sail from Pedi in light winds.

  

Halki is the smallest of the inhabited Dodecanese Island; a misnomer as there are more than 12 inhabited islands to this group of islands in the Eastern Mediterranean.  There are about 300 permanent residents living in the port village of Emporio.  We tied up to the floating pontoon with the other five sailing boats in the harbour and went about exploring the pretty village.

Chalki harbour

The next morning we got up early to walk to the old castle and Chorio.  We walked past some lovely beaches and anchorages and made the long climb up the mountain.

Beautiful beaches

The area on the hill overlooking the harbour had been settled since the 4th Century BC by the Minonians.  The Knights of St John built the Medieval castle in the 14th Century and the Ottomon Turks took over the area in the early 16th Century.  By the 1800’s the village was abandoned once the pirate threat was small enough that the people of the island felt safe enough to live in the harbour.

Castle and abandoned Chorio

Church for very small people

Bob having some cold water on the throne of Zeus

Fantastic view from the castle of the barren island and Rhodes

In the afternoon we made the short sail to the uninhabited island of Alimia, only about 6 nm away.  We had the place to ourselves.  We tried three time to anchor in the northeastern bay but no luck but then got securely dug in on the southern side.

 

Our anchorage in Alimia

Wonderful sunset

The first night we were in a terrific blow but our anchor held well. We were getting consistent 30+knot winds for hours with gusts much higher.  One gust was so powerful that it tilted the boat so that the books fell off the table.  This can and does happen when sailing (you have to put all those things away before setting out) but we hadn't experienced it at anchor.  We put the anchor watch on the GPS and managed to get a reasonable night's sleep.  The next day it was totally calm - typical Med winds of all or nothing.  We took the dinghy ashore to explore.  

Alimia was a WWII German Army base and the old barracks are still there with wonderful cartoon drawings done by the soldiers adorning the walls.  Sadly the walls are also adorned with more modern graffiti. 

WWII German barracks

Every soldier's dream

 

 An abandoned village is in the northeastern bay of the harbour.  There is a church, still maintained as always, and some dormitory style rooms in which local fishermen sometimes doss down.  The island’s only inhabitants are some emaciated sheep and goats.  There is not a blade of grass on the whole island so I have no idea what the poor animals live on. 

Abandoned village of Alimia

Now inhabited by sheep

It was a great exploration of the island; made all the more special in that we had the island to ourselves.  It is not often that one gets a Mediterranean island to oneself.