Although primarily a trip for a friends wedding (where I did get chance to smash some plates and do something that vaguely passed as Greek dancing) the week away also gave us a chance to explore five places in the area. Namely Kardamena, Kos Town, Nisyros, Pserimos and Kalymnos. The first picture shows how they appear on a map in a travel agent in Kardamena. The second shows tickets to the castle in Kos Town and the monestary in Nisyros and the third the view from our apartment at the Aegean Village Hotel in Kardamena.

Kardamena

The centre was a twenty minute walk away from our Aegean Village Hotel. Growing up in the late 70s (as continental holidays boomed) and then early to mid 80s (as 18 to 30 holidays boomed) there was no family money or money of my own to be able to do these things. So my aim in Kardamena was to imagine what it would have been like back then if such trips were possible for me.

I enjoyed sunbathing and a dip in the pool at the hotel and in the Aegean Sea close by. In the town itself there were numerous bars and restaurants which were packed even on a Monday night and it’s easy to imagine the scenes when 18 to 30 was at its peak. It’s certainty something I would have liked to experience for real. I do think even a package holiday may have been a little overwhelming for my parents though.

Kos Town

There are buses from Kardamena to Kos Town which take about 40 minutes. The harbour there is lovely to stroll by, we then choose three main experiences during our stay in the town which are shown in the photos below. Firstly a statue to Hippocrates who was born in Kos, then Neratzia Castle and finally the Ancient Agora.

Nisyros

The ferry from Kardamena to Nisyros takes between 45 minutes to an hour. There is a beautiful monastery there (photos two and three) and also a secluded beach (photo four). There are numerous cats on the island, but once most of the others ferries have departed in mid-afternoon and many of the remaining tourists have joined the trip to the volcano it can feel as if you have the whole place to yourself (photo five). No bad thing but certainly a little disconcerting initially.

Pserimos

This island has just eighty permanent inhabitants. We were only here for an hour as part of a three island cruise. As seems to be standard in Greece there is a lovely beech and stunning views.

Kalymnos

Shown in the photo below and known as the ‘Sponge divers’ island the main discovery here is the remarkable amount of natural sponges there are. Particularly impressive was the Elephant Ear sponge with large examples available at nearly one hundred euros.

On departing Kalymnos there was the opportunity to dive from the boat into the water close to the uninhabited Plati islands. For my part I felt my twenty five metres swimming certificate from 1977 didn’t totally qualify me and I observed safely from the upper decks of the boat.