Kos
We left Lakki on a flat, calm morning at about 8 .30 and headed for Kos where we were booked in for the next month. Once outside the harbour we found only light winds and a current against us. We tried sailing but after an hour or so the speed dropped to less than 3 knots so we fired up the engine and hoped that the antibacterial treatment of the diesel had killed the diesel bug which has given us such a problem over the last month.
 
We sailed down the East coasts of Kalymnos and Pserimos in hazy sunshine and when about a mile from Kos called up on VHF to be told to approach the harbour and await the pilot boat to escort us to our berth - good eh?
 
Right on cue a wee RIB (for the less nautical among you this is a rigid inflatable boat - not a chest bone) shot out of the harbour and escorted us to a berth among a lot of charter boats (worrying!). The marinero in the RIB leapt from his boat, took our ropes, moored us up and welcomed us to Kos Marina.
 
The marina is lovely, probably the best since Lagos. It has luxurious showers, very helpful staff, 2 chandleries, a small but well stocked supermarket, bar, taverna and free wireless internet . It is pleasantly quiet yet only a ten minute walk into the town centre - all for less than €20.00 per night - South Coast sailors eat your hearts out!
 
In the marina office we were checked in by the Port Police and then the receptionist checked us in, gave us a map of the town, a free nautical key ring and told us where everything was. We then tried the bar for a leisurely pint and headed into town.
 
Kos town is centred around the old harbour which is full of trip boats and gullets offering day trips around the Islands and to Turkey. A few metres inland the tourist tat shops and innumerable tavernas are mixed with some remarkable archaeological sites including a Roman Odeon (not a cinema but a sort of outdoor meeting place called an Odeon or Odeum), an ancient market place or Agora, the Altar of Dionysus, the Knights of St John castle, the plane tree under which (tradition has it) Hippocrates taught medicine, the Casa Romana - a restored Roman house, a remarkable set of other Roman excavations which include many recovered mosaic floors and even painted plaster walls ..
 
On the edge of town, about 4km out, is the Asklepion which is the hospital/college at which Hippocrates first taught medicine (presumably they must have been bloody fit in those days to walk 4km each way to have their theory lessons under a tree). It is a delightful and imposing place situated among the woodlands on the side of a hill with panoramic views across to Turkey and the rest of the Dodecanese islands. There is also a Knights of St.John castle here.
 
If you add to this the innumerable sports bars shoowing the Rugby World cup, the footie European qualifiers and various Grand Prix, all in all Kos is a hell of good place to holiday!!
 
Our first mooring in the harbour was among the very large charter fleet here (note to other yachties; it is so full of charter boats that it is difficult to get a berth here particularly on Fridays and Saturdays - always book ahead if you want to get in). On Friday at 17.00 they started returning home in their droves.Whilst the majority knew what they were doing, some were still very poor boat handlers and created all kinds of problems . The marina pilot boat acted as a tug boat, pulling and pushing them into berths and out of trouble. Even more unnerving was Saturday when the new charterers picked up their boats and left. One crew managed not only to damage their boat trying to get out of the berth but also went back and forth in their manoeuvres for about 20 minutes. Just as they were about to collide with us the fleet manager and the pilot boat extricated them, pushed them back into a berth and then set about repairing the boat (the damage deposit paid by the crew - €1200 was all spent by the time they had finished). The following day they left and, again performed exactly the same stupid move but, this time, the pilot boat was waiting and towed them out of the harbour - frightening!
 
We moved to another, safer mooring, but even here we were rammed by a charter boat that I had helped to moor up. They ran into the back of us while sorting their mooring and hit our self steering gear (it is an Aries made in the 1960s out of melted down Churchill tanks so was not damaged) however, as I was checking it from the boarding ladder on the back of the boat , the charter skipper came up to apologise . Just as I had lifted my pointing finger to tell him a few home truths the ladder gave way, I crashed backwards into the harbour and had to climb back out looking like a mangy drowned cat. He and Gina had the good manners not to laugh too much! No damage was done, except to my ego - and that's no bad thing.
 
Dunfermline, York and a Family Wedding
While in Kos we left Tiercel for a week and returned home to Scotland for our nephew Chris's wedding to Sarah. Kos airport is too small for the volume of traffic consequently large queues form outside the airport for most flights. We blithely ignored the queuing system, strolled past the officials manning it, waltzed into the terminal and, when our flight was called were about 3rd in the queue. Luckily Greeks understand this system of queuing and, the two in front of us had similarly queue jumped. It was a Glaswegian who let us into the queue saying that it "would allow him time to tell us what he thought of us in our own tongue, can't have these foreigners telling you off" .
 
The next flight left Athens at 1.00 in the morning (Greek time) and arrived in Glasgow at 3.30. We had been told our car would be ready at 8.00. Luckily we slept on the flight and in the cafeteria at Glasgow airport after a full Scottish breakfast.
 
We drove through to Dunfermline and stayed with our son Will his partner Angela. It was good to be back in Scotland. While there I managed to eat all my favourite foods (Scottish sausage supper, roast beef, Sunday Lunch, City Inn fish and chips, takeaway curry and Chinese takeaway - wonderful).
 
The wedding in York was perfect. The ceremony in a tiny church in Seaton Ross, the reception and dance in a marquee in the grounds of Sarah's parents house, canapés made from Yorkshire pudding, sausage and mash main course and a coach to take us home - it doesn't get better than that - the only downside being that I thought I would die of pleasure!
 
Kos again.
Our return to Greece was decidedly unpleasant. Our flight arrived in Athens at midnight and our flight to Kos left 5 hours later . The seats in Athens airport are designed for sitting in for about half an hour after which you are allowed to call the European Human Rights Commission to complain. We survived on a combination of good coffee and Greek food. On arrival in Kos Will and Angela were there to greet us, their flight got in 20 minutes before us. They are holidaying on Kos for 2 weeks.
 
After a day's rest Will told us that he had arranged for us to go horse-riding a few miles away next day so we hired a couple of motor scooters. Gina and I haven't been on a horse or a motor bike for over 20 years so we looked forward to this with some trepidation. Nonetheless the horse riding was on a beach and then across a dried salt lake. Despite the aches and pains experienced later we thoroughly enjoyed the experience. I have also really loved being on 2 wheels again. The only draw back is Greek road maintenance. The main transportation on the island is the small wheeled scooter yet some Greek roads look like they haven't been touched since the Germans dive bombed them in 1943!
 
Bodrum- The Chickens go to Turkey
On Monday we took the good ship (trip boat) Maria Star for a day in Turkey to see the port and popular holiday resort of Bodrum . This seemed a good opportunity for Gina and I to see Turkey before sailing there next year. However, we discovered that it is like judging the Lake District by going to Blackpool.
 
It was the day of the Bodrum clothes market - designer goods, sold from the top floor of a warehouse in a bus station at unbelievable prices! Bloody right, I looked at a pair of shoes and was told the price was €130.00. I bargained him down to €25.00 and I still reckon I wuz dun! We realised that the market traders always pull this stunt of giving a ludicrous price and then taking about 10-20% off the asking level.
 
The Bazaar operates on a similar basis but is a lovely place to wander around, through the narrow alleys, under a vine covered trellis, laughing at the prices asked by the sellers.
 
Restaurant prices are about 20% higher than on Kos. The only thing that seemed cheaper were the fake Rolex watches which sell for €10.00 as against €40.00 on Kos.
 
However, we really enjoyed Bodrum and know that its commercialism is far from typical of Turkey . The ubiquitous Knights of St.John castle is a must see. It has excellent marine archaeology displays, art galleries, fantastic sea views, interesting architecture and dungeons to die for. It is also very alive with lovely gardens, small stalls selling local craftwork and small cafes. Unlike many castles which seem to suffer from the preservation paranoia of the archaeological community, this one gives one the sensation that it still has a purpose and a living community.
 
 
Pserimos.
On Wednesday the 4 of us sailed to the island of Pserimos for a day's swimming and a bit of a sail. The sail both ways was in fairly light airs but Tiercel really picked up her skirts and ran - delightful. We anchored in the azure waters of Pserimos Island in Pserimos bay by the tiny village of Pserimos (Pserimonians are really rather an unimaginative lot) and had a lovely day.
 
Back to Kos.
 That evening we returned to Kos, had a cracking meal in a taverna looking over the ancient Agora then, over cocktails (pretentious - moi!!) watched England thrash Russia 3-0. Life doesn't get better than this!
 
Will and Angela departed for the town of Kardamena on Thursday. On Saturday we went to watch Wales get gubbed by Australia in the Rugby world cup - back to reality again!
 
Next Wednesday we leave here to head, via Leros, to the more Northern Dodecanese Islands before returning to Lakki on Leros for the winter.