British newspaper Guardian’s writer Hannah Jane Parkinson writes a piece entitled “Island hopping in Greece’s Dodecanese”, where she explains why she is obsessed with the small island of Leros. From the Guardian:
There is a blueness of sea that seems feasible only via Photoshop or an Instagram filter, but which is made real around the south-east Aegean’s Dodecanese islands. The star players of the archipelago are Rhodes, Lesbos and Kos, but there are 12 large islands in the group, plus tens of smaller ones. The refugee crisis has affected bookings to the region, according to operators, despite the fact that most islands, in particular the lesser known, are unaffected.
I’d come for a week to see for myself, visiting Kalymnos, Telendos, Leros and Lipsi. It’s easy enough to island-hop independently, of course, but with my backpacking days long behind me, I’d decided to let someone else book ferries, transfers and hotels – a tour operator which had just introduced the islands to its portfolio and provides a local rep on each island to give greet visitors and give them tips. From Kos, Kalymnos is just a 40-minute hop by ferry. It’s a mecca for rock climbers who come to hang off outcrops silhouetted against the sunset, a vision Apple has since used to sell its products (see climbkalymnos.com for where to go).
After stopping for homemade spinach pie at cafe Ethereal in Massouri, my guide Kalliopi and I visited the Agios Savvas. The island is famous for its traditional painters and craftsmen, and there are several pretty churches, but Savvas is special: every inch of the monastery’s interior is covered with gold and icons. It was difficult to pick the better view; the inside or the stunning vista across the Aegean sea from where it sits atop Porthia port.full article at: theguardian.com
