Kim and I just returned from our 3-day Aegean cruise but you'll have to wait a couple of days for those pictures. I'm posting in order so I don't lose track. Today's pictures are from Patmos, the island we visited May 17/18.

This is the view from the balcony of our room on Patmos, at the edge of the village of Naoussa. It is not some spectacularly stunning view, but that's not why you visit Patmos. This is a nice, quiet cove where you can swim without tens of thousands of people around. This particular hotel
is not for jet setters who want room service. It's for people looking for a quiet getaway.

The hotel rooms actually had the old split doors, where you can close just the bottom half. I always associate these with Mr. Ed, but I think it had more to do with the era: early '60s.

After having lunch, settling in and seeing a bit of the village with Matta, it was time for her to go back and open the shop. She turned her car keys
over to Kim and encouraged us to explore the small island.
(Just one of the many examples of Greek hospitality we have been blessed to experience). Her recommendation was that we visit the village of Lefkes, just a few miles away but at a higher elevation. Kim was excited: it was her first driving this trip. The village was scenic and I think probably less visited by tourists than the coastal towns, although it certainly gets its share (as judged by all the foreign language signage).

I think most of these places have recognized that tourism depends on their "look" so they make
sure to follow the design. I bet they wish they could get paid a commission for each of the pictures that are taken. We've only visited a total of six Greek islands, enjoyed some of them more than others, but all of them have been beautiful. People must take great pride in their places. Most (not all) of them are painted every year or every other year, have great flowers. Even the seams in the stone sidewalks are painted each year - not by the municipality but by the people whose property fronts the walkway.

I probably rate Paros as my favorite, and that

may be influenced by a number of things unrelated to the island itself: it was the first island trip we made on our own, we drove around the countryside for the first time, we got to visit Matta who we hadn't seen for a month, and it was the first time we visited three different villages on one island, seeing the contrast between them.


On the other hand, the cruise we just took was a completely different experience. We were in ports for a short period of time. Most visits we felt there was not enough time. Our tour guide

on Rhodes had a cheesy but effective metaphor,

saying a cruise trip is like a wine tasting: small sips from all these different places just to get a flavor. Later you can go back and buy a full bottle of those that you truly like.


We had conversations with a number of people on the cruise ship and it was interesting to hear how some people's impressions of places we had all visited were dramatically different. I guess we all intuitively know that some people have different tastes than others but this was a real reinforcement of that idea and a reminder to take anyone else's assessment of a place with a grain

of salt.


This wreath was outside a bar/cafe in Lefkes. I thought it was clever.

As "foodies" I must say that we were disappointed in the cruise ship food. Everyone knows they feed you plenty, but it really was quantity over quality. It may just be this particular cruise line or even just this particular ship but it just wasn't great. Cheapskate that I am, we ate what they fed us rather than going

out for meals in ports of call. If we had wanted to eat on land it would have given us less time for sightseeing anyway, so it really wasn't an option. The food was edible - it just wasn't what I'd expect.


I say the same thing about the cruise that I have said about having taken the overnight train to Istanbul: I'm glad we did it, but I'm not anxious to do it again anytime soon. If and when we return to Greece, we'll just take ferries to islands and hotel it on our own.

Sunday evening on Paros we went to a performance by a collection of choirs from the island. It started at 8 and the shop was open until 9, so Matta met us there. The small place was packed. Kim and I managed to find seats. Thankfully they were near a window. People on the other side of the room were fanning themselves with all the body heat. The woman a row ahead of us kept trying to close the window because she was feeling cool air. How thoughtless. Fortunately the window had been wedged open so she was unable to close it. There were good groups and not so good ones. Here is one of them: you decide.