1. Simi and Kos

We both have a great sleep and depart the Mandraki Marina at 8am.  We have no anchor issues which is a miracle.  The seas are definitely calmer even though we are  heading into the breeze.  We pass one of the sailing cruise ships in full sail, it looks really good.  

Just a half hour out of Simi the winds pick up.  We were heading for an anchorage called Ay Marina, which looks beautiful with turquoise waters and a small hotel.  However there are two entry points and the wind is howling through there.  

We give this anchorage a miss and head further north for Pethi a small village south of Simi.  We anchor up for the lunch but the gusts down each side of the hills are too uncomfortable so we decide to head for Simi Harbour.

We arrive around 2pm and get a great possie on the wharf.  It's a very pretty place, with all the shops and houses painted and in very good condition.  We spend the afternoon walking around the village, meeting our new neighbours from Germany and Ireland and generally relaxing.  It's a great afternoon for people watching as there are lots of tourists around.

Gary from Australia comes over to the yacht to introduce himself.  He is from the Blue Mountains originally but has be living here for nine years.  His apartment is directly above our yacht and he invites us up to climb his 49 stairs in the morning to get some great photos.  Unfortunately he is still sleeping when we depart.  Anyway his place is up for sale if anyone is interested.  Simi really is a lovely place to live.

We depart early around 7am and are now heading for Kos.  We take a short cut between Simi and Nimos, a very narrow channel with depths to six metres.  I'm up front to check out the depths although it's impossible to tell how shallow it really is.  A fishing boat goes by and he waves us through so we feel safe.

A little further on we see a front forming and a twister is forming from the clouds down to the sea which kind of freaks me a little.  We take down out head sail just in case, however is disappears soon after.

The rest of the trip is very uneventful except for the cruiser who flashes by at god know how fast with a huge rooster tail.  We see him a mile away and grab some footage, he is obviously showing off as we've never seen anyone go this fast before.  The wake is enormous.

We arrive in Kos Harbour around 2pm and there are plenty of vacant positions on the wharf.  The marina guy leads us in and we are charged 5 Euros for the night, very cheap as we are right in the middle of the old town, unlike the Kos marina about three kilometres from town.

Once we are settled we catch the tourist train around the town to check it out.  It only takes about 20 minutes but helps us with our bearings.  We then head out on our own walking tour to see the ancient ruins.  It's incredible that in the middle of the village you can just walk past the acropolis, theatre, and old Roman houses; whilst eating a yummy gelato, mine was a snickers one, delicious!   We stop in the town square from some refreshments and people watching then return to the yacht.  

We have dinner at a grill restaurant which seems very popular and enjoy the food and ambiance.  On the way home we walk through the party area of town with loads of bars for all the young ones.  There are many more bars along the water and beach area on either side of the harbour. Kos really is a party place.

Ancient Kos is also famous for Hippocrates, the father of modern medicine.