Samos

It was time to leave this first Greek Island and head for the second, only about ten kilometres from Ikaria.

Getting on the boat took a while as it seemed like thousands and thousands of people, cars and trucks disembarked from the boat and it took over an hour to unload them all.  At last we got on and churned out in the dark, heading east.We arrived at Samos early, drawing close to the island as the dawn grew ahead of us.  

This bit of footage we took on the boat, stopping at a town not far from Samos town, otherwise known as Vathy, which was about another half an hour journey.  I left it in because it went in by mistake, but will give you an idea of the sights on the way.

This was the boat, very powerful,  churning around the Mediterranean using what smelled like diesel.  There are a lot of these, and some mighty ones at the port of Kusadasi, which we saw later on.

 I was packing a very sore back when  I woke up before heading out from Ikaria, and as soon as we got to the Samos Hotel just next to the wharf where the boat anchored, I hit the bed and didn't move much for two days.  It was really hot and the air conditioning was a big attractant to staying put as well. Dirk hauled me out of there a couple of times to check out the sights and walking did help a bit, but it felt like a pinched nerve and constantly niggling.

Samos is flasher than Ebdilos in Ikaria, with more restaurants and probably, more tourists.  I wasn't in love with the place but its probably because of my back.  I had a nasty fall on one of our walks which didn't help....tripped over a stirrup in the concrete on a footpath, pitching me into a solid barrier post that I hit in the middle of the chest ....and it was not a happy day. We did manage to look at the very good museum on the third day, showing the relics of the changing eras of the islands' population.   It's actually a very nice place, Samos, and seems to have a thriving community of many small villages all over the island.

A few back streets up the hill in the Vathy town.  We did the museum that day and here are a couple of pictures to prove it.

 A massive Kouros, which was the style of figurative sculpture the early Greek sculptors used, following the style of the Egyptian figure stance.  This was all before things got more realistic as the Greek culture evolved.  (Just a little bit of history, there....)

I couldn't resist putting the back view in...such a lovely set of buns.

So enough of the antiques, for now.....much more to come I'm afraid.   We left Samos early on Tuesday morning and headed east on a smaller ferry, and landed in Kusadasi, an ancient port  in Turkey, to a hot bright day and a new adventure.

Our last sight of Samos.  Love to all back home.