Category: Greece

Experiences from Greece.

The Island of Symi

I know it’s been a while since we visited Greece, but I’ve finally had a chance to start going through my back log of pictures. When I originally went to Symi with my wife, Katrina, I was disappointed with the lighting when I took these pictures.

Greece - Symi - Panormitis - The Monastery Bell Tower — Greece – Symi – Panormitis – The Monastery Bell Tower

We had taken a day trip boat ride on The Aegean Prince II (a high speed hydrofoil) from Kos to the towns of Panormitis and Ano Symi on Island of Symi. We arrived in Panormitis early in the morning. Unfortunately Panormitis faces west, placing the morning sun behind its buildings for most of my shots. This greatly limited the angles available to me while I was shooting Panormitis.

Greece - Symi - Ano Symi - Boats in the Harbor — Greece – Symi – Ano Symi – Boats in the Harbor

Around mid-day we boarded The Aegean Prince II again and travelled around the island to Ano Symi, which of course faces mostly east, placing the late day sun behind many of its buildings. Fortunately, Symi is a larger town that is arranged in a horseshoe around its bay, providing more angles to photograph without the sun. Also, when we first arrived it was early afternoon and the sun was high in the sky. While this kept the sun out of most my photos, the sun is brightest at this time of day and tends to washout many of the colors in my pictures. Luckily I always use a high quality polarizing filter whenever I photograph in the sun. This helped to reduce the suns negative impact on my pictures, but it could not eliminate its effects.

Greece - Symi - Ano Symi - A Back Alley — Greece – Symi – Ano Symi – A Back Alley

I can understand why the Dodecanese boating company that scheduled (I apologize, but its name escapes me at this time) our boating tour of Symi preferred to end the day in Ano Symi. It is larger with more merchants and restaurants. I’m confident that the merchants in no small part sponsor these excursions for the business that it brings to their island. However, it would be nice if the boating companies provided a schedule for those of us looking for the perfect picture, who would love the opportunity to visit Ano Symi in the morning and Panormitis in the late afternoon. I’m sure the lighting would be superb.

Greece - Symi - Panormitis - Our Boat Crew — Greece – Symi – Panormitis – Our Boat Crew

Needless to say, when I got back to Kos in October 2013, I wasn’t excited to look through my photos of Symi. So, I stuck them away with the backlog of pictures I have on my hard drive and haven’t looked at them until last week when I was pleasantly surprised at how many pictures had turned out well. While I’m sure I could have had even better pictures in the proper lighting, these pictures are still worthy to be shared with everyone on my website. So please check out my photos of Symi. And check back again soon, as I continue to clean out my backlog of pictures from Greece, Puerto Rico and New York..

Ode to the Thermes

Greece - Kos - Thermes - A Lovely Mermaid

Wow, the nighttime sky is so clear here! I can’t believe how sharp the stars are. I can even see the Milky Way from horizon to horizon. Damn, it is spectacular. I could never see it back in the States. Ah, there’s a shooting star. They’re always fun to look for. Hey, what is that streaking across the sky? It’s moving like a plane, but it’s going way too fast and there are no blink lights on it. It’s not leaving a streak across the sky or burning out like a shooting star. No it can’t be, damn it really is, isn’t it? I’m actually watching a low flying satellite reflecting sun light back at me … Cool! Like I said, with no bright city lights to wash it out, the nighttime sky is crystal clear here while laying on my back peacefully floating in the Thermes (hot springs) on Kos Island, Greece.

The Thermes might be one the best hidden treasures of the Greek Isles. Katrina and I love coming here to relax and heal whenever we’re on Kos Island. The sulfur rich salty waters, which many believe to be medicinal, have been especially soothing for my ascaris skin infection. The Thermes are a natural hot spring bubbling up into the Aegean Sea on Kos’ southern coast located on the eastern edge of the island about 12 kilometers (7.2 miles) south of Kos Town under majestic cliffs and a wonderfully spooky old building. The pool is large enough to accommodate at least 60 swimmers. Plenty of room to allow for cooler spots that you can float into when you need to dissipate some heat from the warmer waters that can range as high as 42^o C (108^o F) – 50^o C (122^o F). If you are planning a trip to the Greek Isles I highly recommend spending some time in Kos to take in the soothing waters of the Thermes, and while you’re there enjoy Kos’s other beautiful sites and delicious Greek Cuisine.

Greece - Kos - Thermes - Mysterious — Greece – Kos – Thermes – Mysterious

Alas, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that the Mother Nature demonstrated her humbling might when an early storm struck the island and completely filled in the large pool with boulders and rocks in less than one day on October 1st. However, there is no need to worry. The Thermes will return again next spring when every year, to the delight of Kos’ many visitors, local merchants sponsor to dig her out from the harsh winter storms that normally hit the island..

Greece Local Cuisine Travel

Ladokola

Katrina and I just had the best lamb & sausage dinner I’ve ever eaten at restaurant called Ladokola in Kos Town. It is a relatively new place, housed in wonderfully quaint building, opened about a year ago by family from northern Greece. The mother and father cook up the culinary delights while their three sons serve the meals. We’ve eaten their twice and both times were a special experience. The food was so good I had to write about it. It is best restaurant we’ve eaten at yet on Kos Island.

We discovered Ladokola when we asked where we could find a restaurant that served locally raised lamb from Kos. We had learned that many local restaurant were serving lamb imported from New Zealand because it was cheaper to buy. While I’ve enjoyed good quality imported frozen lamb and other meats from New Zealand when living in the USA, I didn’t travel all the way to Greece to eat imported lamb. It was a Wednesday when learned about Ladokola and we immediately marched out to try it. Only to discover that lamb is usually served just Friday and Saturday, because they slowly roast a whole lamb on spit all day. But, I’m getting ahead of myself.

After getting over the initial disappointment about the lamb, we decided to stay anyway to try out some of the other wonderful aromas coming from the kitchen. After looking over the menu of traditional Greek dishes, we decided on Dolmadakia for an appetizer and the Special for the Day, the Mixed Grill for 2, which consisted of grilled:

Chicken
Burger
Sausage
Pork
Fresh Fries/Chips

Served in plain butcher, which we found out is the English translation of the restaurant’s name, Ladokola. Everything was delicious! Growing up in America the only sausages I could ever find were greasy and heavy, but this sausage was everything American sausage wasn’t. They mixed leeks into the sausage adding flavor and helped to cut the grease. I liked it some much I started steeling some Katrina’s sausage. I honestly never new sausage could taste that good! After that meal we knew we had to come back on Friday for the Lamb night and to photograph everything (you can see all of my photos in my Ladokola Gallery.).

Greece - Kos - Ladokola - The Sausage — Greece – Kos – Ladokola – The Sausage

We started again with the Dolmadakia (one of my childhood favorites). I, of course, ordered the lamb without even looking at the menu. Katrina ordered Kokoretsi, which is basically a lamb sausage wrapped in lamb intestines. Again, everything was amazing. The lamb had that flavor and tenderness you can only get from slow roasting. Katrina and I always share dishes when we eat out, so I even had the opportunity to enjoy her Kokoretsi. If you have the opportunity to visit Kos, you definitely need to stop by Ladokola for a meal or two … or more.

Greece - Kos - Ladokola - The Lamb — Greece – Kos – Ladokola – The Lamb

Greece - Kos - Ladokola - The Kokoretsi — Greece – Kos – Ladokola – The Kokoretsi

Greece Hippocrates Travel

Greetings from Greece

Greece - Kos - Asklepeion - An Immortal View

Greetings from Greece,

Well, my wife, Katrina, and I finally did it. We sold most everything we own and we’ve begun our worldwide tour. We arrived on the Island of Kos Sunday, September 8^th. After spending the last week resting, decompressing and recharging we’re ready to photograph and explore the Greek Isles, starting with Kos and the rest of the Dodecanese Islands. Our first stop was Hippocrates’ Asklepeion (healing temple) on the Island of Kos. Below you can see the view of the lower temple, town of Kos and Asia Minor from the top steps of main temple.

If you would like to see more I posted a complete set of photos from Asklepeion in my Gallery.

Our healing time included frequent swims and soaking in the Aegean Sea and the famous hot springs on Therma Beach. Here salty waters of the Aegean Sea meet the sulfur rich heat from a volcanic vent. The warm waters are extremely relaxing and in my opinion (and many others) healing. Later I will be writing about my own healing experiences here. Meanwhile watch for additional photos from Therma Beach in my Gallery soon.

Next we plan to further explore Kos and visit many of the beautiful surrounding Greek Isles over the next couple of months. So, check back often for more photos and updates on our adventures..

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