After motoring a half hour across to Lipsi, a twenty-minute
hike along a paved trail brings you to a small, solitary monastery with expansive views. Another half hour brings you to
Marathi, the next island to the north, for a splendid lunch at
���Pantalis��� restaurant. Be sure to call en route to select from
the fish just caught in the local waters. After flying a kite above
the restaurant by the abandoned village, you can swim in the
nearby blue lagoon, Tiganakia. Or better still, climb to the
top of adjoining Arki as the sun sets with a view of as many as
twelve islands around you. Both destinations are about twenty
minutes by boat. Return to Patmos one and a half hours distance as the great Monastery of Saint John rises above you,
fully illuminated, guiding your way into the harbor.
For those less adventurous, take the cai��que twenty minutes
into the middle of crescent-shaped Patmos Bay towards the
end of the afternoon, climb forty minutes to the top of Hiliomodhi Island and watch the sun set behind the hills of Patmos
and the island of Ikaria beyond. Descend quickly, reaching
your boat in time for the last rays of sunlight and the moon ascending behind pyramid-shaped Hiliomodhi. Celebrate your
return on board with Santorini wine, goat cheese and hard
bread.
HYLAND
62
