LA NEGRA

29. pril 2013

Today we are leaving Kalymnos behind and sail towards Kos. Kos it self is not really an island that we feel an urge to see, but I have to pick up a work related courier package in the marina of  Kos, and we need to find a shop to top up our internet. (Internet is always a bit of  headache for us.) Besides, I am flying to Sweden for work for a week on friday, and I will leave from Bodrum in Turkey, just one hours ferry ride from Kos.

Kalymnos is a strange little place. We are in the main city, Pothia, and I constantly keep forgetting that we are in Greece. The Dodecanense, the island group that Kalymnos belong to, used to be italian, 1912-1947, and you can really tell. The flair is much more italian than greek. The buildings, the vespas, the attitude, and people even LOOK rather italian than greek, how they dress and behave.. It is kind of strange, becauase I am sure that if you would ask them, they would say they are proud greeks, and detest the italians and the italian occupation... Yet they seem so italian, probably without even knowing.

Anyhow, it is a nice little place. It may not be the prettiest greek island ever, but it has a nice flair and atmosphere. Even though it used to be a sponge divers island, it is now buzzing with fishing boats, and along the pier there are more fish shops than what we have seen since we left Italy and Spain behind, and the smell and sound of the many vespas and hords of sea gulls really make it a cozy place. I am not sure how it will be in a month or so, when all the toursits arrive, because it seems like there will be quite a bunch, but for now, we like it.