July 4 – 12, 2019 —
After picking up Tom and Chelsea, our nephew and his wife, at the airport in Kos we headed back to the boat for a Greek dinner aboard. 
The following day we did a walking tour of our own around Kos Town to see the ancient ruins, as well as the recent ruins — the two main Greek churches and the old Mosque damaged in the earthquake of two years ago. Neither church is currently in use nor do any repairs appear to be underway. Later we stopped for an authentic Turkish meal at a small Turkish restoran in an actual Turkish village in Greece. Not a surprise since this part of Greece used to be Turkish.
Sunday we sailed to the island of Nisyros, about a three hour trip, where we rented a car to explore. The church at the top of the island has magnificent views, and a tiny village good for coffee and ice cream. 
From there we drove to the Nisyros volcano in the center of the island which is one of many volcanic cones that make up the volcanic arc that sits atop a lava lake stretching under most of the Cycladic islands, including Kos. 
It is considered dormant, but not extinct because although it has not erupted in 25,000 years, it still has small active fumaroles releasing sulphur vapors.
Heading on to Simi with great winds behind us, Bob and Tom together put up the spinnaker only to have the wind die down within minutes. 
It was a bit frustrating but a good exercise for Tom to experience. We only had an overnight available to spend in Simi as we were trying to have more time for them to experience Rhodes before they had to leave. They did have a chance to get in a swim and walk the town. That evening we all enjoyed dinner at a quaint restaurant on the quay just off our stern where we pulled in.
Our favorite area of Rhodes is Lindos, located on the southeast part of the island. It drowns in atmosphere with narrow stone alleys, colorful shops, great restaurants, and beautiful picture postcard bays, all watched over by an incredible acropolis, made even more dramatic when lit up at night. 
When we were there in April, staying in a local hotel, we discovered a perfect spot to anchor when we returned with the boat. We now anchored there, St Paul’s Bay. With our long lines ashore we were the only non-local boat there. 
The bay is small with a restaurant and beach at each end. A very traditional Greek wedding took place on one of the beaches while we looked on. We spent the next two days exploring Lindos and enjoying swimming off the boat before Tom and Chelsea had to leave for Athens. Another meltemi was due overnight so we decided to head out and get ourselves settled before it arrived. As Tom and Chelsea were flying to Athens, we were motoring four hours north and into the marina in Rhodes Town.
Anchorage: Lindos, Rhodes, Greece: 36° 05.217′ N by 028° 05.294′ E: Anchor near the middle, slightly towards the eastern side and drop back with two long-lines taken ashore to rocks. Bottom is mostly clear sand, with ledge in places and great holding.
Rhodes Marina is a new marine on the east side with all the amenities – the only problem is the location. It was built during the period when Greece was receiving lots of EU funds for development and apparently in the rush to build the engineering was not as thorough as it should have been. The result is a beautiful marina that doesn’t always offer good protection, especially during winter storms. Fortunately we were there for a summer storm, and although there were a lot of high winds in the marina there was no surge. Boats were pouring into the marina at quite a rate to get out of the winds. Once we were thoroughly secured we checked out the area by foot and relaxed for the rest of the day before heading off again. This time we would be departing without the boat and going back to Turkey by ferry. With nothing else to do while waiting out the winds we decided it was a good chance to get back to Marmaris to visit friends and pick up boat parts for some service work we were doing. We always love a change to get back to Turkey!
Nisyros Volcano
