our first island - Patmos

well actually - technically it would be our second Greek Island since we had gone to Rhodes (Rodos) over the Christmas holiday in 2004... but for this trip to seven islands- it was our first...

my first piece of information about the islands is that no matter which one you are on there are a thousand steps- in the case of Patmos a thousand up to the monastery and a thousand down to the cave where St John was given divine guidance in writing the gospel of John (the fourth one...LOL)

the place was absolutely lovely and our ship docked right there in the small town. photos follow of the highlights:

we will climb to the top of the "castle" - which is actually the monastery-

our little ship- 26 cabins.... the Arethusa!

something along the way built the same year we were- LOL

the church over the cave where the divine guidance was given---

the little port town:

a small church on a hill outside of town:

you can never tell until you have done the whole thing which part you liked best but Patmos continued to be among the favorite ports of call for me... it was just the right size - not too developed but had enough to do that it kept us interested for the time we were there... next up Santorini- jewel of the Aegean!